Committee

Pete Aden is a partner focused on providing tax, audit, and consulting services for businesses in the construction and real estate industry, and professional services organizations. His experience in the construction and real estate industry runs deep, having specialized in serving the industry since 1999. Pete is very active in community organizations and was recognized by the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants (COCPA) as an Everyday Hero in 2017 for the difference he has made in others’ lives and the contributions he has made to developing the next generation of certified public accountants. Pete currently serves as Wipfli’s Rocky Mountains Market Leader. In that role, he oversees a team of professionals who provide audit, tax and consulting services to businesses, organizations and individuals in Arizona and Colorado. Pete is responsible for driving the overall financial results of the market, client development and retention, Wipfli’s brand and value proposition in the marketplace and community engagement.

Ted Brown is a Lockton Partner, as well as, President of Risk Solutions for the West series, and is responsible for the strategic growth and investments of our largest P&L. Ted is also accountable for the growth and performance of our Real Estate and Development practices as well as his client’s balance sheet protection and the overall client experience.

Anthony Chirikos is a Founding Partner of Snow Peak Capital and a member of SPC’s Investment Committee.  Anthony is involved in all aspects of SPC activities, including establishing strategic direction, originating and executing transactions, overseeing investment operations and providing firm oversight. Anthony brings substantial experience to SPC, having led or been involved with several acquisitions and divestitures over the course of his career, and having served as a Director of numerous private companies.

Prior to co-founding SPC, Anthony was a Managing Director for The Gores Group where he was responsible for evaluating, structuring and executing acquisitions, leading due diligence efforts, arranging financing transactions and overseeing portfolio company exits. Prior to joining Gores in 2004, Anthony worked for Jefferies & Company, where he focused primarily on leveraged finance transactions and mergers & acquisitions assignments. Mr. Chirikos earned a B.S. in Economics, graduating summa cum laude from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Carlos Elizondo has an accomplished career spanning over 25 years of corporate finance, advisory, special situations and operations experience. Mr. Elizondo is currently the Head of Originations for the Pacific Southwest Region of PNC Business Credit and a Senior Vice President with PNC Bank. He is responsible for a team of business development officers located in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles whose coverage responsibilities include private equity firms and middle-market companies located in the Western US. His team is tasked with originating asset-based and cash flow loans as part of the senior secured lending arm of the bank. Mr. Elizondo is a respected leader and has advised clients through all economic and corporate life cycles, bringing to bear his strong relationships and a diverse range of experiences across multiple industries and disciplines.

Mike Franson is an experienced financial advisor who has worked with a variety of middle-market businesses in both the public and private sectors. Over the course of his career, Mike has completed over 100 transactions with a total value exceeding $4.0 billion. He co-founded St. Charles Capital (SCC), a top M&A boutique headquartered in Denver, where he served as President & CEO, leading the firm to 25 investment bankers. In 2014, SCC was sold to KPMG, and Mike became the Global Head of TMT M&A, overseeing a team of 200 investment bankers focused on middle-market TMT M&A across 80 countries.

Mike has also led SCC's merchant banking efforts, investing in growth, buyout, and recapitalization transactions. He continues to hold investments in several of these transactions and serves as an active board member for Outlast Technologies GMBH and Chairman of Slumber Cloud. Mike successfully exited a private equity investment in Adam's Polishes in 2020, where he served on the board of directors. He was the lead M&A advisor to CoorsTek from 2003 to 2019, advising on over $1.3 billion in transactions and helping to build the company into a global market leader with ~$1 billion in annual revenue.

Currently, Mike serves as lead director of the board of directors of Northwest Pipe Company (NWPX), a publicly traded company and market leader in North America manufacturing large-diameter steel water transmission pipe and precast concrete pipe. He has also served on eleven other for-profit boards, including three other public company boards.

Beverly Gibson brings over 24 years of experience at Insperity, specializing in strengthening HR infrastructure and driving strategic human capital initiatives for companies across the country. Based in Denver, she partners closely with executives, private equity firms, and investors to streamline operations, ensure compliance, and support successful business evaluations and integrations.

Scott Gotshall is the CEO / Head of Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx), a cancer genomics company that was acquired by Labcorp in Feb '22. PGDx was formed out of Johns Hopkins in 2010 and provides comprehensive genomic profiling products in services, which are both tissue and blood-based. Previously, Scott led the legal and business management functions at PGDx and helped drive this acquisition which was >25+ revenue. Prior to PGDx, Scott spent close to 10 years as a legal and operations leader at Roche Diagnostics, served as Corporate Counsel at a tech company, and worked a law firm as a corporate law focused on M&A transactions.

Empowering Futures, Enlightening Minds: Guiding Wealth Creation through Comprehensive Education and Unparalleled Access to Global Capital Markets.

Karen Hayward, author of Stop Random Acts of Marketing, is an accomplished strategic growth expert and Managing Partner at Chief Outsiders, specializing in accelerating revenue for mid-market companies and private equity firms. Recognized for transforming marketing functions, Karen leverages extensive experience in technology and professional services, providing pragmatic insights and actionable strategies that empower businesses to achieve sustainable, profitable growth.

Carolina Hensley is a partner at Progress Equity Partners, a firm she has been with for the past 14 years. At Progress Equity, Carolina is intimately involved with portfolio companies in strategic planning sessions, financings, hiring decisions, and providing general portfolio management. She also spends her time in deal sourcing and execution. Prior to Progress Equity, Carolina worked at two other investment firms in Denver. She started her career in investment banking in New York. Outside of work, she can often be found on a mountain trail;hiking, running, biking, or skiing as well as spending time with her family. Carolina grew up in Sweden and came to the US as a student-athlete.

Tracie brings over 19 years of experience in private equity marketing, communications, and origination as the Director of Marketing; Tracie leads the day-to-day execution of Excellere's marketing and communications strategies and overall brand strategy. These initiatives include balancing creativity with analytical skills while supporting the firm’s origination efforts and investment opportunities.

Lisa Kislak is a fractional CMO with Chief Outsiders, an executive as a service company recognized as a top private company by Inc. 5000 for the past nine years. She is a growth expert having worked across a variety of B2B and B2C industries including private equity, family owned, public and startup companies. She also has her Level 1 Sommelier Certification.

James Knight has three decades of B2B and PE experience, He has steered companies through transformational growth and navigated intricate M&A deals. He leads KTC Instruments, a global leader in testing instrumentation equipment and services. He is a thought leader in value based management and is an advisor and director to a number of families and privately held companies.

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. 

A Colorado native and serial entrepreneur leads an LED lighting company that combines software with best-in-class installation. Under his leadership, NSES has earned the Xcel Energy Efficiency Partner Award for six consecutive years, from 2017 to 2023. He was honored as a Denver Business Journal Who’s Who in Energy for 2018-2019. He is a Rice University graduate.

With 20 years of Hospitality experience as an owner/operator of 14 bars and restaurants in Illinois, Wisconsin and North Carolina, Matt took that knowledge and understanding of consumer trends and in 2013 launched Crafthouse Cocktails. Along with co-founder Charles Joly, Matt brought to market the first super premium Ready-to-Drink/Ready-to-Serve bottled cocktails. Still independently owned, they have expanded to over 20 markets and have national partnerships with Virgin Voyage cruise line, Amtrak and Ambassador Theatre Group.

As the Director of Business Development at BDO, I am passionate about building meaningful relationships within the local market. With a robust background in private equity, real estate investments, manufacturing, and energy, I bring a wealth of expertise to my role.

My commitment to driving growth and creating opportunities for clients and partners is evident in my strategic approach and innovative solutions. I am dedicated to understanding the unique needs of each client, ensuring tailored strategies that foster success and long-term partnerships.

In my role, I excel at identifying new business opportunities and forging strong connections that benefit both BDO and our clients. My ability to navigate complex markets and deliver results has made me a trusted advisor and a key asset to the BDO team.

Outside of my professional endeavors, I am an advocate for community engagement and enjoy participating in local events and initiatives. I believe in the power of collaboration and am always eager to explore new ways to work together.

Brendan Mackay is a senior asset based lending and restructuring finance professional with 20+ years of experience leading the origination, structuring, underwriting and syndication of asset based and DIP/exit finance transactions for large corporate and financial sponsor clients. Brendan specializes in structuring innovative secured deal structures for non-investment grade credits.

Throughout his career, Brendan has navigated and advised his clients through various business and economic cycles and unique situations. He is currently a Business Development Officer and Senior Vice President with PNC Business Credit. Brendan is a recent transplant from New York City to Denver where his coverage responsibilities include private equity firms and middle market companies located in the Rockies region for the origination of a broad array of senior lending and specialty finance solutions.

Deal expertise: asset based secured lending, leveraged buyouts, M&A financing, carveouts, turnarounds, recapitalizations, bankruptcy, debt restructuring, high growth lending and general corporate loan financing for leveraged client base.

Ethan Mann, PhD, MBA is a Partner at Blacktip Ventures, LLC based in Denver, CO. Dr. Mann directs the firm’s bioscience practice assisting emerging companies with technology development, commercialization activities, and capital formation. He has a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Pathology and an M.B.A. in finance. Dr. Mann has held executive positions at Sharklet Technologies, Inc., Validus Cellular Therapeutics, Inc., ForCast Orthopedics, Organic Liquid Spray, LLC, MuscleSound, Inc, EnteroTrack, LLC, and Nanodose Therapeutics, Inc.

Taylor Merritt is Chairman and CEO of the Merritt Companies, a values-driven organization in its third generation of stewardship by the Merritt family. The organization consists of manufacturing companies, a shared service organization and diverse investment holdings, primarily in commercial real estate and alternative investments.

Marcia leverages over 10 years of financial services expertise and 20 years in business advisory to guide clients through complex deals. Drawing from 100+ service offerings, including tax, advisory, and attest, she works closely with business owners, CFOs, and executives. Marcia has extensive experience across private equity, real estate, healthcare, and SaaS industries, among others.

Michael Nolan is the Development Director – Private Equity and Quality of Sales at Sales Xceleration. He is responsible for building relationships with private equity sponsors and helping their portfolio companies grow their topline performance to build value creation and accelerate performance. Michael and his team leverage a collective of 110 sales leaders with portfolio company experience to help their companies grow 32% in year 1, resulting in $1.7B in revenue growth. Their focus is to drive significant growth through strategy formulation, process development, and effective execution in pre-acquisition due diligence, value acceleration during the hold period, and value maximization to support successful exits.

Lena Phoenix is the co-founder of Xero Shoes, the leading American brand of minimalist footwear. A 4th generation entrepreneur, she currently serves as an Executive Advisor and Board Director.

Greg Ramos has more than 25 years of experience helping companies large and small execute on their strategic vision through mergers and acquisitions, technology and other strategic business transactions, corporate organization, and succession planning.

Alex Rich is a healthcare‑focused operating partner and investor. He brings 15+ years guiding post‑acquisition growth, value creation and strategy for private‑equity‑backed businesses, previously leading transformations at J&J, Platinum Equity and Deloitte. His expertise spans publicly funded healthcare, tech, energy and consumer sectors.

Ben Russell is a Partner at Trigran Ventures, a long-term oriented private investment platform focused on partnering with profitable and growing businesses led by passionate management teams, based in Boulder. Before helping to launch Trigran Ventures in 2025, Ben held a leadership role on the Private Equity team of Partners Group, a multi-national private asset manager with over $150 billion AUM.

Dr. Afshin Safavi is a founder, CEO, councilman, consultant, board member, Scientist, entrepreneur, and investor in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, animal health, technology, and real estate sectors with multi-billion-dollar turnovers in biological products, and is responsible for multiple drug products in the market today. He is the founder and CEO of Colorado Health & Tech Centers (CHTC) and General Partner at Summit Impact Partners (SIP).

Prior to that, he founded BioAgilytix Labs, one of the most successful multi-billion-dollar Contract Research Organizations known internationally. He has extensive experience establishing and leading teams in start-ups, as well as Fortune 500 biotech and pharmaceutical companies. He has worked with clients and companies in more than 30 countries. Dr. Safavi obtained his B.S. in Biochemistry from UCLA and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Kentucky Medical School. He completed a two-year postdoctoral assignment at Emory University.

Jenna Schlageter is the Head of Business Development for the AEA Growth team. In her role, she is responsible for deal origination, sourcing strategies, marketing, and relationship management.

Prior to AEA Growth, Jenna led business development for Bow River Capital’s Private Equity strategy, where she focused on service companies in tech-enabled business, industrial, and healthcare end markets. Prior to Bow River Capital, Jenna spent 14 years in banking roles at BMO and NBH Capital Finance, providing financing solutions to closely held businesses and private equity firms for growth capital, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and syndications.

Jenna holds a B.S. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Chad brings two decades of experience investing in private and public businesses. Prior to founding Black Lake, he was at leading private equity firms HIG Capital and AEA Investors, which manage over $60B collectively. He also invested in long/short global equities with SAC Capital and Tiger Cub, Fox Point Capital. Chad began his career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. He earned an MBA with Honors from the Wharton School and a BS in Chemical Engineering with Distinction from the University of Wisconsin.

Mark Spiecker is President of STAQ Pharma, a 503B Outsourcing Facility in Columbus, OH and Denver, Colorado that will provide sterile injectable compounded medications to hospitals across the country. Prior to joining STAQ, Marks’s career spanned a number of strategy and leadership roles. In each role Mark utilized his passion for business development, process improvement and innovative operations to successfully guide complex organizations through significant change.

Mark is the former CEO of Sharklet Technologies, Inc. a medical device firm that developed a texture inspired by Sharkskin to control bacteria on surfaces. Mark exited Sharklet to a Bioscience group out of China, providing significant returns to shareholders. Mark is an active community leader, currently serving as a Chair and Board Member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, a Trustee at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Prior to 2019, Mark served as Chair of the Board of the Colorado Biosciences Association.

Founder of a private capital firm that employs industry-specific skillsets to make strategic investments in distressed and turnaround situations and merger and direct investments in private and pre-public companies.

Daniel Steyn serves as the Chief Development Officer at Sales Xceleration, where he also co-heads the company's Private Equity practice. Before joining Sales Xceleration, Daniel was a key member of the leadership team for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, where he focused on driving market expansion and growth strategies.

Sales Xceleration helps PE Firms and their PortCo's create repeatable, scalable, profitable revenue growth by implementing and executing a defined sales strategy, process and methodology. With over 6k client engagements, and increasing client revenue by an average of 32% in the first year, Sales Xceleration’s results speak for themselves.

Bo Sutton is a Co-Founder and Partner at Liftout Capital with 15 years of private investing experience. Prior to co-founding Liftout Capital, he was a Director at Bow River Capital, where he led acquisition and sale transactions focused on business and industrial services. While at Bow River Capital, Mr. Sutton served on numerous boards and was Chairman of Ocean Tomo. He currently serves on the board of directors of Pay4Leads and AG&E, and is Chairman of Franchise Creator. Before joining Bow River, Mr. Sutton worked as a private equity real estate investor, focusing on distressed real estate debt at Platform Ventures and agricultural real estate at Resource Land Holdings. He holds an MBA with an emphasis in Finance and a BS in International Business, both from the University of Colorado, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Willy Van Dehy is the CEO of Slumber Cloud, a performance bedding brand using NASA-based technology to optimize sleep. With a strong background in performance marketing and brand growth, Willy focuses on data-driven strategies to scale DTC revenue, improve operational efficiency, and position Slumber Cloud as a leader in the sleep technology space.

Lyle Wallace has more than 20 years of experience counseling corporations and private equity clients through acquisitions, dispositions, and mergers, both domestic and international. He has represented clients in more than two hundred transactions during his career and has developed a reputation not only as a talented legal practitioner, but also a practical problem-solver.

Russ is a partner at West Elk Partners where he supports the firm's deal sourcing, exectution, and investment growth initiatives. He is an experienced CFO consultant with a background in business and complex securities valuation. Russ also maintains an active presence in the Denver non-profit community, helping charitable organizations optimize fundraising and operations.