Building the Right Deal Team: Lessons from the PE Pros
Presented By: Metz Lewis Brodman Must O'Keefe LLC
Great deals aren’t driven by individuals — they’re driven by teams. In this fast-paced, candid conversation, three experienced private equity professionals pull back the curtain on how winning deal teams are built and managed. From internal leadership and decision-making to external support and execution discipline, learn how top investors organize for complex transactions — and how CEOs and owners can apply these lessons to their own deals.
Moderator:
Founding Member
Metz Lewis Brodman Must O'Keefe LLC
John Lewis is a founder of his law firm, dedicates his focus to assisting clients in building their business value, including M&A, succession planning and corporate governance. John's passion comes from his childhood involvement in his father's trucking business, including being thrust into running the business and selling it when his father suddenly died when John was 29.
Panelists:
Co-Founder & Principal
Thayer Bancroft Private Equity Partners
Jim Balet started his business career in McKinsey and Company’s Pittsburgh office and spent several years working with clients across a range of industries and functions. In 2005 he left to apply that experience, along with his prior experience as an officer in the U.S. Marines, to build small and medium sized businesses as part of The Legacy Network and Thayer Bancroft Equity Partners.
Over the ensuing years Jim has lead numerous investments in industrial manufacturing, business to business services and medical imaging. He currently serves on the boards of portfolio companies Six15 Technologies and Alinabal.
im served for five years as a Logistics Officer in the U.S. Marines. He has a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Managing Director
Platte River Equity
Mark Brown is a Managing Director at Platte River Equity and joined the firm in 2011. He focuses on the firm’s investments in the Industrials target sector. For more than 15 years, Mark has been a private equity investor in the industrials sector, including manufacturing, distribution, energy and service-based operating companies.
Prior to joining Platte River Equity, Mark was a Vice President at Code Hennessy & Simmons, a private equity investment firm. Previously, he was an Investment Banking Analyst with Citigroup.
Mark holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Mark is also a CFA charter holder.
Partner
Incline Equity Partners
Joe Choorapuzha, Partner, joined Incline in October 2015. He is responsible for evaluating, analyzing and monitoring investments made by the firm.
Prior to joining Incline, Joe was a Vice President at Tenex Capital Management and Centre Lane Partners. Joe started his career at Bank of America in Leveraged Finance.
Joe received his M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his B.A. from Columbia University.