Committee

In early 2023 Paul Adams, Founder & CEO of Columbia Home Services created his thesis to aggregate “Mom & Pop” legacy home service businesses across the US who deliver an unparalleled customer experience for residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical services. In partnership with Tenex Capital Management and Oxbow Equity Partners the thesis came to life. With Tenex and Oxbow being the primary financial backing they also have continued to provide sound operating advising to the portfolio, and they began this venture when they closed their first acquisition Anderson Air in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2023. Since then, CHS has gone on to acquire new 10 new partners with over 300 employees in 6 states in the past 16 months amassing over 75m+ in revenue and still growing. Paul’s vision at Columbia Home Services was to be the leading provider of home services in the industry while helping former entrepreneurs preserve their legacy. His aim to achieve this goal incorporated improving their legacy services, further investing in their people’s value proposition, and leveraging technology to deliver innovative solutions to their customers. Paul set out to provide a wide range of services to meet the needs of his partners, including accounting, tax, consulting, advisory services, marketing, human resources and sales support. His team of experts working alongside of him had the knowledge and experience to help his partners achieve their goals and objectives of immense growth that they could not achieve on their own. To date the collective businesses have outpaced the market top line. At Columbia Home Services, Paul and his team take a customized approach to each partner engagement. They work closely with their partners to understand their unique needs and develop tailored solutions that deliver results. Their approach is collaborative, responsive, and focused on delivering value to their partners and a loyal client base. They do not believe in “one size fits all”, as each business takes on its own identity in each market, they continue to operate in. Paul drives core values through his organization that encompass obsessing about the customer, elevating his people by hiring the best, fostering ownership mentality & grit and finally gracefully leading his partners by encouraging a culture that recognizes success and scale bring responsibility.

Jesse Abercrombie is a financial advisor and general partner with Edward Jones. He focuses on providing wealth management solutions to business owners in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Together with his strategic alliance partners, he helps affluent clients address their five biggest concerns: preserving their wealth, mitigating taxes, taking care of their heirs, ensuring their assets are not unjustly taken and charitable giving.

Jesse has been with Edward Jones since 2003 and now serves over 200 clients. He uses a consultative process to gain a detailed understanding of his clients’ deepest values and goals. He then employs customized recommendations designed to address each client’s unique needs and goals beyond simply investments.

Doug is a recognized leader in the technology world with more than 45 years of industry experience. He has led more than 20 successful sales, acquisitions, mergers and financings of high-tech firms. Prior to co-founding Tango Networks, he founded and led Microtune as President, CEO and Chairman, a firm he took public on NASDAQ.

He was a division president of Cirrus Logic, was president and CEO of Acumos, and has held various leadership positions at other leading technology enterprises such as VLSI Technology, Motorola and Honeywell. He has been a regional winner and national finalist as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year, MTBC CEO of the Year, NRCC Businessman of the Year, and a “10 Most Admired CEOs to Watch”.

Bartek has an electrical engineering degree from the University of Texas, with highest honors, and both a Masters in Engineering/Computer Science and an MBA from Arizona State University.

He spends his personal time helping with his church and with local charities, most recently as Chairman of 29Acres, an adult living community in north Texas for autistic adults.

Gene is Head of the Industrials Group with Founders Advisors based in the firm’s Dallas office. Gene has over 20 years of experience acting as both a principal and advisor to companies executing mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and debt and equity financings. Gene began his career as a process controls engineer and transitioned into investment banking at UBS in New York, where he specialized in industrial technology areas such as automation, instrumentation, sensors and electronics. Gene developed significant transaction expertise while working for Houlihan Lokey in New York and other organizations such as Cooper Industries in Houston and AZZ Incorporated in Fort Worth.

Callie leads sourcing and origination for Unity Partners, supporting both new platforms and existing portfolio companies. She works closely with external partners and the broader Unity team to Build Better Together.

Prior to joining Unity, Callie was Vice President of Business Development at The Stephens Group, where she focused on deal sourcing and origination. Earlier in her career, she was an Investment Associate at ORIX Private Equity Solutions and Tribune Capital and began her career as an Investment Analyst at the OSU Foundation. Callie earned a BSBA in Finance from Oklahoma State University.

Serial and multi-exited entrepreneur looking to build and invest in companies at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and AI.

Matt Briggs leads DYOPATH's PE and M&A practice, leveraging 27 years of IT and cybersecurity experience, including 22 years with DYOPATH. Launched in 1996 and based in Houston, TX, DYOPATH is a founder owned and operated industry leader, specializing in IT advisory, outsourcing, and cybersecurity. DYOPATH excels in supporting PE firms with pre-close due diligence and post-close transitions and growth, driving value creation through a broad suite of IT and cybersecurity solutions.

Mr. Brown brings a diverse perspective to the boardroom combining deep financial expertise, strategy and corporate governance honed from 40 years of global business experience. He is a Board Leadership Fellow with the National Association of Corporate Directors earned the NACD Directorship Certification in June 2022. David was a founding member of the Dallas chapter of the Private Directors Association.

As managing director for Riveron, Stewart leads strategic growth initiatives to expand the firm’s footprint across the United States. His primary responsibilities include business development, private equity relationship management, brand building, and operational leadership. During his tenure, Stewart has led the relationship with key national private equity accounts and helped organically build markets in New York, San Francisco, and Boston.

Prior to his current role, Stewart spent several years in accounting and financial roles assisting Riveron clients with capital markets readiness, carve-out divestitures, audit support, and technical accounting advisory. Stewart has worked with public and private equity sponsored companies across industries including energy, industrial products, manufacturing and chemicals.

Kendall is a Vice President of Business Development at Rosewood Private Investments. Prior to joining Rosewood, Kendall was a Vice President of Business Development for a Houston-based, industrial focused private equity firm where she was responsible for sourcing transactions and managing intermediary relationships. Previously, Kendall worked in the Sponsor Coverage group at BBVA (now a part of PNC) executing and managing leveraged loans to private equity backed companies across industries, the compliance group at HBK Capital Management, and the Audit Assurance group at KPMG.

Vikas has over 15 years of cross functional experience in leading Digital Strategy, Business Transformation, Business Planning, Analytics and IT projects. In his last role, as Sr Director and Head Asia Pacific for a leading IT services company, Vikas was working with clients across industries on Digital Strategy and its implementation across the value chain. He successfully built the services business in APAC from scratch and was recognized for his contributions to create the fastest growing region across the world, for the company.

Vikas spent a decade with one of the largest private life insurance company. As Head of Distribution Operations he led complete responsibility for Sales Strategy, Planning, Compensation, Sales Promotions, Technology and Compliance for all distribution channels. Other remarkable achievements for Vikas include, setting up the Middle Office for Investments function, setting up Market Intelligence and supporting transformation of the Training function.

Mark V. Dendle is the Chief Financial Officer at Valtir, bringing extensive financial leadership experience supported by an Executive Master of Business Administration and Chartered Accountant certification.

Mark has served as Chief Executive Officer & Director on the Board for Growers Express and Green Giant Fresh, demonstrating capabilities in business development and operational management within the agriculture and grocery retail industries.

Earlier in his career, Mark held the Chief Financial Officer position at The Coffee Cherry, contributing to financial operations within the food and beverage sector. Prior to that, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Ecom, applying financial analysis and risk management principles.

Jay Desai is a partner of Kainos Capital, a consumer-focused private equity fund, and has over 20 years of principal investing, investment banking and strategy experience in the food and consumer products sector. Jay re-joined the firm in 2016 after serving as the senior vice president of strategy at CROSSMARK. He is a graduate of Stanford University.

Braden is a Partner at Juniper Capital Management, where he is responsible for the origination, execution, and monitoring of portfolio companies. He focuses specifically on sourcing and evaluating new opportunities, driving strategic growth across the portfolio, and actively supporting Juniper’s overall investment strategy.

Previously, Braden was a Senior Vice President at Hastings Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in industrial and professional service businesses. Braden led the sourcing and evaluation of new investments as well as corporate development for the firm’s portfolio companies.

Prior to Hastings, Braden worked in corporate development at Safety Management Systems, the industrial division of Acadian Companies. He was responsible for sourcing strategic acquisitions, managing due diligence, and supporting post-integration efforts. Braden also spearheaded the expansion into industrial and infrastructure end markets, overseeing business development, recruiting, and project management.

Braden received a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Louisiana State University.

As a Partner with Valesco, Patrick Floeck’s primary responsibilities include overall leadership and brand of the firm including business development strategy, investment origination and transaction structure. He also plays a meaningful role in other functional areas including fundraising, due diligence, and portfolio company management through active Board positions. His athletic background and drive for success helps promote Valesco’s brand and mission of Commitment Beyond Capital.

Prior to Valesco, Patrick began his career with Amegy Bank N.A. focusing on private equity sponsored transactions and middle market companies across multiple industries. His business development, financial analysis, and credit management background working with privately held businesses from the commercial banking and leveraged finance perspective brings a valuable dimension to Valesco’s team.

Patrick received his Master of Business Administration from the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business, with a concentration in Finance. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and was a member of the Trinity University Men’s Soccer Team, earning All-America honors. Patrick is involved in his community, church and kids’ schools as well as numerous other charitable organizations. He also enjoys anything athletic including golf, running, cycling and hunting, but spends most of his time with his wife, two daughters and son.

Shaun Gordon is Managing Partner of Astria Elevate, a private equity firm that sees business transformation through an operator’s lens. His hands-on experience building and scaling companies revealed that the most compelling opportunities often lie beyond the financial statements – in the untapped potential of teams, processes, and market positioning. While many lower middle market firms bring only financial engineering, Astria Elevate partners with business owners to unlock transformative growth through operational expertise and strategic vision.

Shaun is the Founder and Managing Partner of AGI Partners, a private equity firm focused on acquiring and scaling companies in the lower middle market. The Association for Corporate Growth (ACG NY), the premier global community for middle-market M&A deal-makers, has recognized AGI Partners with awards including Private Equity Firm of the Year. He has also received M&A Advisor’s 40 Under 40 Emerging Leaders Award for his work as a Dealmaker.

Shaun served as Founder and CEO of BreachQuest, a cybersecurity company that developed incident response technology to minimize breach cost and downtime. Shaun lead the company’s sale to Resilience, a cyberinsurance company.

In 2010 Shaun co-founded and served as Chairman of Pristine Environments, a leading integrated facilities management (FM) and building intelligence technology company with operations across North America. He drove the company’s growth from its formation to nearly $100 million in revenue within five years, which included executing five acquisitions. From 2017 to 2019, Shaun served as CEO and led a successful operational turnaround, resulting in expansion of profitability and an acquisition by KBS. Today, Pristine Environments is part of the KBS Facilities platform, owned by Cerberus, with annual revenue exceeding $2 billion.

Mr. Gurley is the Founder and Managing Partner of Haywood Lane, where he is responsible for directing strategy, developing investment opportunities and capital allocation. He is concurrently the Executive Chairman of Alta Arbor Holdings, a leading operator of landscape products businesses.

Mr. Gurley founded Haywood Lane following nearly 20 years in investment banking, most recently as a Managing Director with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. He was formerly a Partner and Managing Director at Blackhill Partners prior to its acquisition by Stephens Inc. He received his BA from the University of Mississippi.

Will joined Boyne Capital in 2023. As a Vice President of Business Development, he helps drive the sourcing and origination efforts at Boyne. Prior to joining Boyne, Will served as a Senior Associate on the origination team at Sole Source Capital, a lower-middle market private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas. Will previously worked for Edge Capital Group, where he managed investment strategies across all asset classes for family offices, foundations, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Will received his BS in Economics with Financial Applications from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Levar Haffoney is the founder and Managing Partner of Vedere Capital Group (VCG), a private investment firm. He is responsible for all aspects of strategy, deal sourcing, due diligence, negotiations, financing, and post-acquisition management.

Mr. Haffoney is a board member with ArtsATL and chairs the Resource Development Committee. He is also the former board Chair with Spectrum Health Services, Inc., a federally qualified health center, based in Philadelphia.

Mr. Haffoney began his career in financial services. He earned a B.S. in Business, Management, and Economics from the State University of New York and an M.B.A. from the Eastern University College of Business and Leadership.

After a BBA from The University of Texas, Colby joined Digital Marketing startup Coremetrics, serving their EMEA client base until being acquired by IBM. She then looked after online analytics for Estée Lauder Companies until 10 years ago when she returned stateside to join Eaglebine Capital, a Texas-based single family office. 

Mike, the visionary founder of TrueSpot, is a wireless industry pioneer and accomplished leader with a remarkable career spanning multiple startups and influential roles at technology giants like Ericsson, Nokia, and Accenture. Throughout his journey, he has been celebrated for spearheading numerous industry firsts in wireless technology, consistently pushing the boundaries of innovation by integrating cellular, wireless, internet, media, location, and digital technologies into successive generations of products, across hardware, software and cloud.

His groundbreaking work, supported by multiple patents, has always focused on enhancing how we work, live, and play. With an unwavering passion for transforming industries, Mike now directs his expertise toward advancing real-time location systems (RTLS) and location intelligence through TrueSpot. His relentless focus on technological innovation sets new standards, particularly in healthcare and automotive sectors, addressing real-world business challenges with cutting-edge solutions. TrueSpot’s success is evident in its numerous prestigious business and technology awards.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Mike treasures traveling with his family and supporting his children at their many sporting events. A proud University of Texas graduate with a BA in Economics, he and TrueSpot have been recognized as part of the esteemed Longhorn 100, including ranking #7 in 2024.  His thirst for knowledge shines through his extensive post-graduate accomplishments, including business certificates and technical accreditations from renowned institutions such as SMU, INSEAD, UCLA, UCSD, and UTD.

Jeff Harvey represents public and private companies, investors, family offices, private equity firms, and venture capital funds operating or investing in startup through upper middle-market businesses and heads up the firm’s General Counsel Services team.

Jeff represents companies and their owners, boards, management teams and financial partners across industries concerning entity structuring and formation, compliance and governance, public and private securities filings and reporting, technology transactions and licensing, M&A and joint ventures, private equity and venture investment, international business operations, global supply chain management, franchising, dealership and distribution, real estate and equipment leasing, among other matters and concerns. He provides strategic advice and counsel for transactions and throughout the life cycle of a business or investment.

Dom is responsible for all activities related to sourcing, fundraising, and investor relations at the firm. Prior to joining Farol in 2024, Dom was a Senior Advisor at Capital Asset Advisors focused on buy- and sell-side M&A, real estate, and technology transactions. Prior to CAA, Dom was a management consultant at Jabian Consulting where he conducted business development for new clients, M&A roll up strategies, project management office optimization and was published in the company’s journal on various business topics.

Dom also worked for several healthcare companies, including CVS Health during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, he was selected as an Albert W. Neimi C-Level fellow at the George W. Bush Institute.

Dom is a United States Navy veteran, having served in the aviation community by way of supply chain and logistics. Mr. Haskett is also a graduate of the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and University of Texas at Arlington College of Business.

Greg brings a rich, 25-year career history of leadership and growth in various industries. Before foundingHirsch Ventures, he previously served as an executive at Daseke, North America's largest flatbed and specialized trucking company. He successfully scaled the first operating company, doubling its revenue in just three years. Greg later contributed to growing Daseke's corporate revenue to over $1.6 billion.

Before Daseke, Greg excelled at Sysco North Texas as a distinguished salesperson and sales executive. Additionally, Greg has a background in public service as a former Mayor Pro Tem for Addison, TX. He originally came to North Texas to play football at the University of North Texas, where he earned both his bachelors and masters degrees.

Greg is an active Eagle Scout and remains dedicated to scouting. He and his wife Barbara have been happily married for nearly twenty years and have two teenagers, Michael and Emma.

Jonathan joined Sterling in 2024, bringing 15+ years of middle market private equity experience focused on investments in the services, industrial and food sectors. Previously, Jonathan was a Managing Director at Sun Capital Partners. Jonathan received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

TK Kader is an entrepreneur, international best-selling author, GTM coach and investor. He believes that you can achieve anything through belief, discipline and an unstoppable strategy.

TK worked at Bridgewater Associates (one of the best hedge funds in the world). He then founded ToutApp (backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Jackson Square, two of the best venture capital firms in the world). TK sold ToutApp to Marketo (then owned by Vista Equity Partners, one of the best private equity firms in the world) and was part of the executive team at Marketo that helped drive its transformation and eventual $4.75bn sale to Adobe.

TK now leads the Unstoppable movement to help SaaS Founders build & scale incredible software companies. To date, TK has helped 14+ companies achieve $1M ARR, 6+ companies achieve $3M ARR and helped later stage companies add millions of ARR to their revenue base through his flagship SaaS GTM Coaching Program.

At Gridiron Capital, Sean focuses on developing new business partnerships, marketing, communicating with business owners, and managing investment sourcing and exit planning. Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Sean served as vice president at BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, Virginia. His responsibilities at BB&T included executing mergers and acquisitions advisory for middle-market businesses, as well as establishing and strengthening business development relationships with middle-market investors. Earlier in his career, Sean worked at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

Megan Kneipp is the head of Business Development for Blue Point and actively supports the firm’s investment sourcing efforts. Previously, Megan was the Vice President of Business Development at CenterOak Partners. Prior to CenterOak, she was an Associate at Credit Suisse Securities and previously an Associate in Brokerage Services at Direct Development in Dallas. Megan holds a M.B.A. with honors from Southern Methodist University and a B.A. from the University of Texas, with a concentration in Economics.

Lee is managing partner of Smart Business Network Inc., a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Aspire deal-making conference throughout the U.S. He plays a key role in establishing corporate policies and developing long-term strategy and growth plans. Previously, he founded and chaired the Growth Group at national law firm Arter & Hadden LLP (now Tucker, Ellis & West), which focused on working with middle-market and high-growth technology companies. 

As a seasoned executive with proven leadership in both Fortune 500 and middle market firms, Daniel specialize in steering companies toward sustainable growth and operational excellence. His expertise spans P&L management, mergers and acquisitions, pricing strategy, and operational turnarounds across distribution, manufacturing, and HVAC industries.

Daniel excels at fostering high-performing, customer-focused teams, achieving top engagement scores while optimizing costs and margins. With his leadership approach, backed by an MBA, CPA, and expertise in Salesforce, SQL, and advanced analytics, he thrives in complex, high-stakes environments, aligning vision with execution.

With over 25 years in investment management, I’m a seasoned entrepreneur and corporate development professional. Early in my career, I earned the trust of Boone Pickens, who backed me in founding BP Capital Fund Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor focused on energy and infrastructure.

I serve as a Strategic Advisor to Alpha 8 Group, working alongside an experienced leadership team and board. We specialize in helping breakthrough ideas reach the market by tackling the hurdles that stall commercialization—leveraging our strengths in IP strategy/valuation and strategic partnerships.

I also maintain strong relationships with select institutional investors across private equity, venture capital, and family offices.

Bret Madole is a seasoned corporate attorney who brings nearly 40 years of experience in general corporate matters, mergers and acquisitions, banking, and intellectual property to a variety of clients, primarily middle market private companies and entrepreneurs, spanning across many industries. He advises individuals and companies from startup, implementing successful strategies for resolving issues with trademark, copyright, employment, licensing, governance, contracts, leases, mergers and acquisitions, and related matters.

Katie Marshall is Senior Vice President, Business Development Officer for PNC Business Credit, PNC’s senior secured lending group. Based in PNC’s Dallas office, she is responsible for identifying and executing on lending opportunities with existing and prospective clients in Dallas/Fort Worth, North Texas, the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Katie’s focus is largely on building relationships with Private Equity firms and other financial investors to provide financing solutions for M&A transactions but also with privately-held, family/founder-owned businesses for refinancing or growth financing solutions. Katie has been with PNC Business Credit since graduating from the University of Pittsburgh and has held many different roles within the organization since joining in June 2007, including business development, underwriting and collateral analyst.

Marne has more than 25 years of technology business leadership. She has an illustrious track record working with both public and privately-held software companies, driving teams that deliver exponential profitable growth, market expansion, and increased brand and analyst recognition. Her experience includes leading organizations through initial public offerings, go-privates and other growth initiatives, M&A, and strategic exits.

Marne joined Emburse from IFS, where she spent more than five years on its leadership team, culminating in her role as chief strategy officer and president. Prior to joining IFS, Marne held a variety of senior roles, including CEO of ServicePower PLC, and CFO of Norcon PLC.

Marne holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Finance from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service with a years’ study at the London School of Economics, an MBA from Krannert School of Business, Purdue University and a Masters in International Management from ESCP-EAP.

Matthew completed his undergraduate studies at Texas Tech and Texas State University, completed his graduate studies of accounting at Texas State University, and is a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants. Prior to joining FourCo, he prepared quality of earnings analyses and healthcare revenue evaluations for local and national healthcare entities as part of a local consulting firm, JTaylor. In his spare time, he is actively involved in the local non-profit organization, Cuatros Hermanos Foundation and regularly volunteers at Fort Behavioral Health.

Brandon leads the deal sourcing, financial modeling, due diligence, deal execution, and portfolio company oversight for Trinity’s Operating Company portfolio.  He is also a board director or observer at several Trinity portfolio companies including Hearing at Home, Devansoy, and Waterloo Sparkling Water.

Prior to Trinity, Brandon was a Director on the Credit Research team at Highland Capital Management, a multi-strategy alternative asset manager here in Dallas with over $15 billion in assets under management.  Prior to his time at Highland, Brandon worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in their Forensic Services division.

Brandon graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting, a Master in Professional Accounting (MPA), and a minor in Finance. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential granted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Imola Pinter is a Principal at Citation with experience investing across control buyout and public equity transactions. Previously, Imola was a Senior Associate at Blue Wolf Capital, where she focused on buyout, recapitalization, and growth capital investment opportunities. Prior to that she was a Research Analyst at Pzena Investment Management investing in public equity transactions across various industries.

Before her investment career, Imola worked as an Associate at McKinsey & Company's Private Equity Practice and as a Consultant at Deloitte.

Imola holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, a Master of Science degree from HEC Paris, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Corvinus University of Budapest. Imola is originally from Hungary and now lives in Dallas.

Derek, based in Southlake, Texas, leads SERVPRO with 30 locations across DFW, Houston, East Texas, and South Carolina. In just four years, he grew the business from 14 employees, 3 locations and $2.5 million in revenue to over 200 employees and $50 million. SERVPRO offers commercial restoration and full turnkey construction. Derek also founded an environmental company, and most recently acquired a plumbing entity to complement his portfolio.

Jeff is a seasoned finance executive currently serving as the CFO at JSX, where he leverages his extensive experience in the airline industry and public accounting. With a remarkable 30-year career, Jeff has held pivotal roles at notable companies including PwC and Delta Air Lines, where he focused on financial strategy, auditing, and mergers. His track record includes driving significant cost reduction initiatives and implementing robust financial systems that enhance operational efficiency.

A licensed CPA in Texas and a graduate of the University of Florida, Jeff combines technical expertise with a passion for leadership and innovation.

Outside of work, he values family life as a husband and father of four, and he proudly supports his alma mater, the Florida Gators. His commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace reflects his forward-thinking approach to leadership.

Tom has spent the last 22 years at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch where he considers himself an “Intra-Preneur”. He is the founder of a 9 person boutique within the company called Singh & Associates.

He and his team specialize in pre-exit planning for business owners looking to sell their company in 12-36 months. By using their Proprietary financial Modeling Process, they run various simulations and prescribe strategies to help owners maximize their desired outcome.

He also oversees the Avalon location of Merrill Lynch managing 9 Billion of client assets and has been named the top 13 “Best in State Wealth Advisors” list by Forbes Magazine – 4 years in a row.

A trusted advisor to entrepreneurs, funds, investors and businesses, Matt Smith is a veteran deal lawyer with nearly two decades of experience guiding clients through complex transactions. He advises on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and commercial transactions, with an emphasis on lower-middle-market businesses.

Before joining Polsinelli, Matt spent more than a decade as in-house general counsel with Goldman Sachs, the D. E. Shaw Group and Solera Holdings — experience that honed his business-focused perspective and sharpened his understanding of how clients assess risk, strategy and growth. He began his career at leading law firms, where he developed the technical foundation that he now brings to every deal.

I’m a builder of products, teams, and companies that actually move the needle. For over two decades, I’ve lived at the crossroads of technology, product, and marketing, turning raw ideas into market-ready solutions that scale.

I’ve taken startups from napkin sketches to acquisition, launched software used around the world, and built teams that don’t just execute, they innovate. My playbook is simple: talk to customers, move fast, test everything, and keep what works.

Matthew is an exited entrepreneur with roots in engineering. He finds passion in understanding how businesses work and fit within the broader ecosystem. Matthew started his career at Boston Consulting Group, and before that, earned his B.S. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from M.I.T.

Elizabeth Wattley is the President and CEO of Forest Forward, a non-profit neighborhood revitalization organization focused on breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty in South Dallas/Fair Park. She previously led strategic initiatives at CitySquare and is now heading the restoration of the historic Forest Theater. A Spelman College and SMU Cox graduate, Elizabeth is dedicated to driving economic development while preserving the community's rich history and culture.

Brad is a Managing Director at Trive Capital, where his responsibilities include identifying and evaluating investment opportunities.

Prior to joining Trive, Brad was a Vice President at Prudential Capital Group, a private investment arm of Prudential Financial, Inc. While at Prudential, Brad was responsible for sourcing, executing, and managing investments in a wide range of industries, including aerospace and defense, transportation, distribution, consumer finance, real estate, restaurants and equipment rental.

Brad began his career as an Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was a member of the Investment Management audit practice. Brad received his BS in Business Administration and Accounting from the Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics at Washington and Lee University.

Thomas Woolsey has deep experience advising clients with mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, financings, and debt and equity offerings in transactions ranging in value from $5M to $1B+. Thomas advises clients in transactions that involve a broad range of industries, including health care, software and technology, energy, manufacturing and construction, real estate, and food and beverage. His clients include private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, operating companies, and management teams.