Dealmakers Awards Presentation

Megan Bailey has more than 18 years of leadership experience in the healthcare industry. As Chief Executive Officer of Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx), she leverages her extensive knowledge of clinical diagnostics, business development and commercialization to lead a team focused on providing precision cancer care solutions that allow all patients to have access to best-in-class genomic testing. Prior to her role as CEO, she served as Chief Commercial Officer, leading the Company’s marketing, sales, and customer support teams, and before that, as Vice President of Marketing.

She began her career in diagnostics with Ventana Medical Systems, a company with a patient-focused mission to improve cancer diagnostics globally. Following Roche Diagnostics’ acquisition of Ventana in 2008, Megan spent the next 10 years rapidly progressing through commercial leadership roles of increasing responsibility. In her last role at Roche, she served as Senior Director of Commercial Operations, responsible for a $200M+ portfolio across four Divisions, addressing multiple disease states and market segments.

Mark Carter joined Up To Date Laundry Inc. in April of 2009 bringing 29 years of leadership experience in various roles within the textile rental and laundry industry. Up To Date named Mark as their President in 2011 and CEO in 2021, he has been instrumental in leading the dramatic changes within the organization. He has established Up To Date as the market leader and innovator in the region. Mark is also an active member of the TRSA (Textile Rental Services Association), working on the Healthcare Committee.

Up To Date Laundry is one of the largest healthcare laundries on the east coast, processing close to 75 million pounds of linen each year. Offering rental, customer owned goods processing and full exchange cart programs for hospitals in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Recently recapitalized Up To Date Laundry via Arctaris Opportunity Zone Fund and Calvert Street Corp Partners and investing an additional 5M in capital projects to improve energy efficiency and fully automating our facilities to meet the exacting needs of the healthcare industry.

He also served as the General Manager for the Mid-Atlantic region from 2004- 2009 with G&K Services and he was President of ITSI, a large regional textile rental company from 1990 to 2004.

Luke Cooper is Partner at San Francisco-based Preface Ventures, and Founder and CEO of Latimer Ventures.Luke sold his previous venture, Fixt, to Assurant. He raised over $6MM in Series A funding, and delivered an Enterprise SaaS product used by millions of end users. Luke served as VP, Global Growth, Alternative Service Delivery at Assurant following the transition. Luke advises dozens of high growth companies, and is a trusted advisor to investors, business leaders, start-up founders, academia, and government leaders. Luke currently serves as the President's Distinguished Scholar at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He has previously been a member of the Maryland TEDCO Board of Directors, and was the Entrepreneur in Residence at Georgetown University.

Delali Dzirasa is the CEO and founder of Fearless, a full stack digital services firm in Baltimore, Maryland with a mission to create software with a soul — tools that empower communities and make a difference. He’s also the CEO and founder of Fearless Sports, an apparel company with a mission to ignite, equip, and uniform the impactful. Delali’s committed to creating a soulful world where action breeds impact, and he’s been named as one of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurs of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic Region, the Daily Record’s Most Admired CEOs, in the Baltimore Business Journal’s (BBJ) Power 10 list, and in the Black Business Review’s 40 under 40 list. He chaired the inaugural DevOpsDays Baltimore, as well as Hack Baltimore, and is a founding member of the governing board of the Digital Services Coalition.

William is co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Rextar, an Internet marketplace for buying and selling residential real estate. He is also Chairman and CEO of traditional real estate auction firms Fox Residential Auctions, LLC, and Fox Commercial Auctions, LLC, and was also Co-Founder and Chairman of GoIndustry-DoveBid, plc, an international, Internet based asset disposition, valuation and management company, headquartered in London with 45 offices in 27 countries around the world. Prior to being acquired by Liquidity Services, Inc., (NASDAQ - LQDT), GoIndustry-DoveBid was a public company on the London Stock Exchange. 

As a professional auctioneer Mr. Fox has conducted real estate and machinery and equipment auctions throughout the United States, Canada and around the world. He is past President and Chairman of the Board of the Auction Marketing Institute and is a charter designee of the Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI).  Mr. Fox was a member of the teaching faculty of the CAI program at Indiana University for over 20 years.  He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the National Auctioneers Association (NAA), a past President of the Auctioneers Association of Maryland, and a past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NAA Education Institute. He has lectured at seminars sponsored by the NAA and is a sought-after speaker at auction and real estate industry meetings throughout the country. 

Brian is a Partner at Calvert Street Capital Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm focused on industrial services and technology and specialty manufacturing. Through it's thesis-led and sector-focused approach, Calvert Street seeks to transform owner-operated businesses into much larger, scalable and professionally-managed enterprises. Brian has been with Calvert Street for 17 years and oversees a third of the firm's investment portfolio as well as the firm's new thesis and sourcing efforts. Prior to Calvert Street, Brian was in investment banking and public accounting.

Kathy Holland, Co-Founder and CFO of Global Premier Benefits. Now on the Management Team with Integrity Marketing Group. With a Business/Marketing degree from Albright College, she administers financials and Human Resources. Kathy strongly believes that our strength is diversity and our supportive, loving and hardworking environment helping seniors across the country.

Tony Holland, Founder & CEO of Global Premier Benefits, and new Managing Partner of Integrity Marketing Group is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University. Tony's thousands of downline brokers across the country have been offering insurance services in the senior communities of America for over 27 years. Through education, we are proud to help seniors understand Medicare and other benefit programs.

25 years building cloud companies from startup through IPO and global scale. 2011 E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in Maryland. Led strategy, growth and evolution of IBM Cloud Platform. Actively investing and scaling undiscovered local cloud startups.

Jeff is the Co-Founder of Bark Social - a dog bar with locations in Baltimore, Bethesda, and Philly (opening soon). Co-Founder and Former CFO - Better World Books. University of Notre Dame graduate.

Ngu H. Morcho – President & CEO KeraLink International. Ashoka Fellow. 24 years of healthcare experience. Founded Yako Medical Africa, Ltd, an Africa-focused medical technology platform. Previously served as Project Development Leader, GE Healthcare, Sub-Sahara Africa, & GM, West & Central Africa for GE Healthcare; Founder: SaiTek Solutions, LLC; Entrepreneur Fellow – AlphaDev, LLC; Senior Sales Leader – Pfizer Inc., veteran – US Navy.

Chris Pope is the co-founder of Parkway Capital. Parkway invests mezzanine debt and minority equity in lower middle market companies, through PCI II, LP, a Small Business Investment Company, licensed by the SBA. Since 2000, Parkway and its affiliated funds have invested in more than 65 companies. Prior to Parkway, Chris served in numerous roles at Bank of America and predecessor banks.

Luke Silverman is the CEO and Co-founder of Bark Social. Luke is a graduate of Muhlenberg College, and received his MBA from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business. Luke grew up surrounded by hospitality, retail and dogs; he's a third-generation restaurateur, and his father was an executive for three decades for menswear companies in New York.

Angel is an applied researcher and systems thinker committed to creating a more equitable world. Throughout her career she’s built a reputation for being a fiercely committed, skilled and effective designer, leader, and manager of data-driven, systems-level change efforts that scale impact. Angel is the co-founder and CEO of The Black Brain Trust (TBBT), that created a software platform, EquiScore BI™, to help companies understand where to invest in DEI in order to measurably improve. She created a patent-pending methodology for measuring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and is the visionary behind the technology that collects, measures and analyzes comprehensive DEI data across companies.

Franklin Staley joined the Patriot Capital Group in January 2020 to lead Exeter Street Capital Partners, Patriot’s micro-cap buyout strategy that makes control equity investments in promising lower middle market businesses with $2-5 million of EBITDA within the industrial growth & technology, business, consumer and healthcare services sectors across North America.  Franklin brings to Exeter Street more than 25 years of private equity, advisory and strategic operating expertise.

Most recently, Franklin spent over 9 years with DC Advisory LLC (formerly Signal Hill), where he founded the firm’s sponsor coverage effort and was a Managing Director in the Business Services practice area. Prior to joining Signal Hill, he spent 9 years as a Principal and founding member of Meriturn Partners, LLC, a private equity fund focused on buyouts of lower middle-market companies in basic industries.

Tranice Watts is co-founder of Lifting Lucy, co-owner of Patuxent Brewing Company, and the CEO of The Absurd Institute. Her focus is DEI consulting; mentorship; decreasing procurement disparities; and the upward mobility of Women of Color. Ms. Watts is also a member of the Brewers Association’s DEI education subcommittee and Craft Brewers Conference seminar subcommittee. Previously, Ms. Watts was special advisor to Nobel laureate, Dr. Robert W. Corell.

Matt Weiss is the President of O’Donnell Metal Deck, a value-added steel distributor of metal deck and bar joist products serving commercial contractors. He joined the Company in an executive role with a prior experience in sales, e-commerce, and technology. His vision for changing the way the steel industry does business was a key element in a recent transition with Baltimore PE group Slate Capital.