David Allston

Founder
Belt Avenue

At Belt Avenue, we specialize in sourcing opportunities across debt, manufacturing and distribution, healthcare, technology and software, services, and consumer end markets, making us versatile and valuable partner for private equity firms, family offices, and independent sponsors.

We operate with a relationship-driven approach, building trust and access through our deep connections across investment banking, brokerage, and trusted advisor networks. Our strategies are also data-informed, using analytics to target key opportunities, develop executive and company target lists, and drive warm introductions.

Belt Avenue’s unique model blends expertise, genuine relationships, and cutting-edge data insights to enhance deal flow and optimize the deal funnel, making us a trusted and effective partner in the business development ecosystem.

Rachel Wallis Andreasson

Principal
The Sixth Level Collaborative

Rachel Wallis Andreasson, MBA, a Principal of The Sixth Level Collaborative is committed to creating a culture no one wants to leave. Rachel is a second-generation owner of Wallis Companies and has a proven track record of building sustainable infrastructure and governance systems. Rachel is known for her ability to unlock individual and group potential, making her a transformative force in every endeavor she undertakes.

Gabe Angieri

Executive Director
Arch Grants

Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Negotiation, Operations Management, Strategy, and Event Management. Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Economics & M.A. in Nonprofit Management from Washington University in St. Louis.

Jonathan Babcock

Senior Associate
Compass Group Equity Partners

Jonathan Babcock joined Compass Group in 2022 and is responsible for sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities.

Prior to joining Compass Group, Jonathan worked in various roles providing strategic guidance to private equity groups and their portfolio companies. Jonathan began his career working in buy-side and sell-side investment banking, leading target identification on both platform and add-on acquisitions for private equity groups and corporations collectively managing over $1B in committed capital. Additionally, Jonathan provided transaction support for senior-level deal managers including financial modeling, valuations, and industry research for companies ranging from $50M to $250M.

Jonathan holds a B.A. in Accounting from MidAmerica Nazarene University and is an MBA Candidate at Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School.

Erica Barnell

Chief Medical & Science Officer
Geneoscopy

Dr. Erica Barnell (MD/PhD) is the co-founder, Chief Medical and Chief Science Officer of Geneoscopy, which is a healthcare company that is developing innovative tests to prevent, detect, and monitor gastrointestinal disease. Dr. Barnell has published 27 peer-review manuscripts, holds 4 patents, and was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2020.

Alex Burkart

Director of Strategic Marketing
America's Central Port

Alex is a strategic intelligence analyst, with a strong foundation in marketing, communications, and B2B business development. In his role as Director of Strategic Marketing for America’s Central Port, Alex is responsible for identifying new opportunities to further advance the mission of America’s Central Port, business attraction for the 1,200 acre industrial campus, and economic development for the Port's 200 square mile Port District.

Tara Butler

Founder
Iyengar Capital

Tara is a medical technology venture investor with over 30 years of experience in venture capital, finance, and health care delivery. She is Managing Director of Iyengar Capital, an early stage medical technology investment and advisory firm which she founded to advance early stage medical device companies, and to positively impact patient care in a manner that is sustainable within a value oriented healthcare environment.

Prior to founding Iyengar Capital, Tara led the medical device investing practice at Ascension Ventures where she led 27 medical device investments over a continuous 20-year span as a strategic venture capitalist over five funds. These investments supported the development and commercialization of numerous standard setting medical devices which have treated over 800,000 patients worldwide.

Tara holds a BS and an MBA from the Wharton School, an MD from the University of Pennsylvania and completed her residency training at Barnes Jewish Hospital at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Paul Cambridge

Partner
Armstrong Teasdale

Paul Cambridge is a Partner at Armstrong Teasdale in St. Louis, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, corporate and securities matters, and lending transactions. He represents a diverse range of clients, from entrepreneurial startups to large publicly traded companies. Paul’s practice is particularly focused on the financial services sector, advising banks, bank holding companies, credit unions, and mortgage companies. He also works with clients in private equity, venture capital, technology, manufacturing, and real estate.

Vincent Cooper

Owner & CEO
Chartwell Groupe

Vinny is a transformational CEO with a proven record of driving EBITDA expansion, operational turnarounds, and successful exits in metals, defense, and industrial platforms. Brings full P&L ownership, disciplined operating systems, and leadership depth to scale businesses rapidly and position them for high-multiple exits within 2–5 years. Retired fighter pilot who brings out the best in the team.

Richard Coughlin

Market Executive
Merrill

Experienced and versatile professional with successful track record of delivering business results through sales and operational leadership, leadership development, talent acquisition, as well as project management acumen. Proven ability to build and maintain partnerships with all levels of an organization.

Areas of Focus: Talent identification and development, coaching and development of leaders, coaching and development of sales professionals, data and metric management, process creation and improvement, and project leadership.

Ron Daugherty

Owner & CEO
Daugherty Enterprises

For 40 years, Ron Daugherty has driven innovation, growth, and customer success while making a meaningful impact in the community. He founded Daugherty Business Solutions in 1985, expanding the company into a global consulting firm. After its 2024 merger with CGI, Ron launched Ron Daugherty Enterprises and The Daugherty Foundation, investing in technology, innovation, and compassion to create lasting change.

Jeremy Degenhart

Professor of PE and VC, Olin Business School at Washington University
Principal, Advantage Capital Partners

The consistent focal point of my career has been providing entrepreneurs with the flexible, cost-effective financing they need in order to scale their businesses, typically in geographic areas and industries that are underserved by traditional capital sources. Now I spend most of my time teaching my students at Olin Business School how they might succeed in their own private capital market endeavors.

For well over two decades, I have worked with Advantage Capital, utilizing private capital and economic development programs including New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) and Solar Investment Tax Credits (ITC) to invest in growing businesses and projects. Since its founding in 1992, Advantage Capital has invested more than $4 billion in companies at all stages of development from a broad array of industry sectors spread across almost every state.

I personally led deals providing over $300 million of growth capital to entrepreneurs. The investors, lenders, Community Development Entities (CDEs), and portfolio companies involved, as well as their respective lawyers and accountants, relied on me to manage the project team and bring these structured finance transactions to a successful closing.

Through stronger capitalization, these companies achieved greater success. The businesses I funded have gone on to raise more than half a billion dollars of follow-on capital and co-investment, and to employ more than 1500 people, exceeding the economic development goals of our public-private partnerships.

John Dolan

President & CEO
PFI InStore

John is the President & CEO of PFI Holdings (d.b.a. PFI InStore), which owns and operates four manufacturing companies that produce in-store displays and fixtures for major retailers and brands. A CFB portfolio company with over 350 employees in 7 different manufacturing facilities, PFI InStore closed on their most recent acquisition in December 2020. John has built a reputation in turning around PE held companies in distress with sales focused leadership and rapid managerial development.

Emelie Goering

Business Development Manager
Broadview Group Holdings

Emelie is Broadview Group’s Business Development Manager and is focused on driving the firm’s growth through new acquisitions. She sets the firm’s business development strategy and maintains relationships with intermediaries, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals. Prior to joining Broadview Group, Emelie was a Private Banker at J.P. Morgan, spending time in both their Houston and St. Louis offices. While at J.P. Morgan, Emelie managed a book of high-net-worth clients, advising them across their investments, financial & retirement planning, banking, and borrowing.

Emelie earned her BA in Economics and Global Studies from Principia College.

Taylor Hall

Chief Legal Officer
Permanent Equity

Taylor Hall is Chief Legal Officer/Managing Director at Permanent Equity, a midwest-based private equity firm seeking long term investments in enduring companies with durable value propositions, strong leadership, and ambition for the future. At Permanent Equity, Taylor leads all transactions, from diligence to documentation to integration. Taylor also supports all portfolio companies with their legal and operational needs. Previously, Taylor was in private practice as a corporate attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions, with experience representing a broad array of buyers and sellers in a wide variety of both private and public transactions.

Kevin Hambrice

CEO
TerraSource Global

Dynamic, entrepreneurial-spirited industrial manufacturing excellence executive, board advisor and investor with diversified B2B industrial technology & automation experience in contract manufacturing, fluid handling, process instrumentation, and bulk material handling & processing solutions with proven success in creating and implementing transformational value-data driven product marketing programs that increase sales, expand market share, and facilitate entry into new markets.

Keith Harbison

Founder
Alitus Partners

Keith was founder, chairman and president of Pretium Packaging, growing it into one of the largest plastic bottle manufacturers in North America. After selling it, he founded Alitus Partners, which provides small business owners with the capital and operating expertise to enhance growth and support infrastructure development. Alitus has a long-term strategy and invests in control positions in lower middle-market businesses involved in manufacturing, processing, industrial services and business services.

Allen Hauge

Chair
Vistage

The life of a Chair for me has been extraordinarily rich. If you have any orientation toward learning, it’s the best learning experience you will have as an adult, hands down.

Adam Herman

St. Louis Market Leader
Wipfli

Adam Herman has over 30 years of experience in supporting new business growth nationwide through his leadership, creativity, energy, integrity, networking skills and credentials, which are highly respected among valuation, IRS and business professionals. As a market leader, he oversees an elite group of professionals, including CPAs, valuation analysts, forensic experts, engineers and technical writers, in the fastest-growing areas of public accounting today.

Jacob Herschend

Partner
Herschend Family Entertainment

Jacob A. Herschend has returned to Marsh McLennan in St. Louis, Missouri (MMA:StL), after a two-year hiatus. He now serves as Senior Vice President at Marsh McLennan Agency, where he leads the Family Business Practice Group for the region, with a particular focus on multi-generational family-owned and operated businesses. Jacob has also built an extensive network of privately-owned businesses operating throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Prior to returning to MMA:StL Jacob spent two years with Brightstar Capital Partners a Private Equity Frim based in New York City. He was responsible for Business Development for the Midwest and building a robust network across many different industries.

Jacob also has strong roots in the Family Business space a third-generation stockholder of Herschend Entertainment. He is deeply committed to helping families establish or build their legacies, with a vision of becoming families that are in business together. To that effort Jacob serves on the Education Committee for the family.

Kevin Hogan

Shareholder
Polsinelli

Kevin finds fulfillment in helping businesses prosper. Kevin has a diverse corporate practice, with extensive experience in the areas of mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and general corporate matters. Driven by his passion for problem solving and helping clients achieve their goals in an efficient, yet thorough manner, Kevin works closely with clients to develop and execute strategic transactions and business objectives.

When serving clients, Kevin prioritizes developing a strong understanding of their business priorities and is diligent about keeping that focus throughout the course of a project.

Jack Howell

Head of J.P Morgan Private Bank: Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska
J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Jack Howell leads the J.P Morgan Private Bank for Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. Jack and his team work with business owners and corporate executives across investing, banking, lending, and estate planning.

Clayton Jones

Executive Vice President of Corporate Development
Hoffmann Family of Companies

Clayton Jones joined HF Companies in 2022 and works with acquisition and post-purchase integrations into the family of companies.

Prior to joining The Hoffmann Family of Companies, Clayton was a Sloan Fellow at MIT, a partner in a private equity firm, and a consultant, and has taken on top executive and finance roles in several companies where he drove multi-million-dollar EBITDA expansion. As a consultant, CPA, and CFA, Clayton developed strong analytical and financial modeling skills serving industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, services, and software, in PE and Venture backed companies. As a consultant and as portfolio manager, Clayton sourced, diligenced, and/or closed dozens of investments, devised strategic plans for existing and start-up businesses, and negotiated critical contracts.

Milan Joshi

Senior VP, Private Equity
Heartland Growth Partners

Milan is a Senior Vice President on the Heartland Growth Partners team and is responsible for sourcing, transaction due diligence, underwriting, and future portfolio company activities for Heartland's private equity deals.

Milan has been a private equity investor since 2020 and spent 5+ years at Brown Brothers Harriman Capital Partners Private Equity (“BBHCP”), the private equity investing arm of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”) that today manages over $3.0B of committed capital. At BBHCP, Milan focused on transactions with founder- and family-owned and operated businesses across industrial and infrastructure services, distribution, and other B2B services within the lower middle market. 

Milan began his career in the Consumer & Retail Investment Banking group at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey (now Truist Securities), advising on sell-side M&A and strategic capital engagements across food and beverage manufacturing and distribution.

Milan received a B.A. in Economics from Vanderbilt University. An Atlanta, GA native, Milan currently resides in New York City with his fiancée.

Atul Kamra

Managing Partner
SixThirty Ventures

Atul has 25 years of experience in Financial Services. Most recently, he was Head of Advice for Wells Fargo Advisors, where he oversaw investments and advice quality. In previous roles, he was President of Wells’ clearing business, First Clearing, and Partner with Booz & Co.

Missy Kelley

Chief Growth Officer
Anders CPAs + Advisors

As Chief Growth Officer at Anders CPAs + Advisors, Missy is responsible for strategy, business development and marketing. A Washington University MBA, she has a history of driving results in healthcare, consumer packaged goods, and civic non-profit organizations. She is passionate about St. Louis, specifically the revitalization of Downtown St. Louis.

Sean Kelley

Managing Director, Business Development
Gridiron Capital

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.

Meg Kellogg

Principal, Tax Practice Leader
BDO USA

Meg Kellogg is a Principal at BDO, serving as the Tax Practice Leader of the St. Louis office. She has more than 30 years of tax experience, including 29 years in public accounting. Meg’s extensive experience includes serving privately held flow-through entities with tax planning and compliance, in addition to her experience with consolidated entities and income tax accounting. Additionally, she has led clients through complex IRS examinations. Meg has served clients in a variety of industries including construction, telecommunications, retail and manufacturing.

Dr. Han Ko

President & CEO
USAKO Group

With over three decades of experience in international tech investment, business scale-up and commercial real estate, Han Ko is a seasoned leader in the field. Leveraging his technology background, Han has successfully launched and managed multiple ventures in both the United States and Asia. His expertise spans venture capital investments in technology and innovation, as well as commercial real estate.

In recent years, Han and his company have solidified their presence in the global market, including significant $10M investment agreements with reputable high tech companies in various parts of the global market in high tech AI platform, visual image processing and ESG solutions, which were recognized by both the South Korean government and the U.S. market. Additionally, USAKO Group has invested in numerous high-tech companies specializing in AI, healthcare, biotech, fintech, blockchain and ecommerce.

As a second-generation commercial real estate investor, Han's background has equipped him to navigate and capitalize on strategic opportunities. USAKO Group, headquartered in the USA with an office in Seoul, South Korea, maintains a global partnership status and network, particularly in the South Korean market.

Driven by his passion for bridging the U.S. and South Korean markets, Han has spearheaded initiatives such as "Go Global with USAKO Group," in collaboration with the S. Korean Government, bringing multiple businesses to the Greater St. Louis market.

Beyond his entrepreneurial pursuits, Han is deeply engaged in the economic development community and mentoring entrepreneurs, actively contributing to various EDO organizations and educational institutes. Currently, he serves as a board member of the St. Louis County Commission as a Commissioner, MO District of Export Council, Asian American Chamber of Commerce, and Southwest Illinois Investment and Trade Council. He has also served as a board member of a S. Korean presidential advisory council for the past 2 decades. In addition, he serves as a part-time faculty at a U.S. university in teaching and mentoring technology and investment. Through his dedication, Han continues to play a pivotal role in advancing regional economic growth, fostering international partnerships and grooming the next generation of entrepreneurs. 

Lee M. Koury

Managing Partner
Smart Business Network Inc.

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. 

Matthew LaMartina

Managing Director
Merrill Lynch

Matthew LaMartina is a Managing Director and Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in St. Louis, Missouri. He began his career in the financial services industry in 1997 and joined Merrill® in 2004. Matt draws on nearly three decades of experience to help high-net-worth individuals and multiple generations of their families.

Dr. David Lenihan

President & CEO
Tiber Health

Dr. Lenihan is the CEO of Tiber Health, an experienced educator, innovator, and medical practitioner. He is passionate about improving access to medical education for students of all backgrounds and income levels. Tiber Health was born out of that passion and it remains the core of everything we do.

The Tiber model is inspired by students at Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico, where Dr. Lenihan serves as President, and the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York, where he served as Dean. Dr. Lenihan has fundamentally changed the way medical education is taught. By creating a dynamic model, personalizing curriculum and assessing students and faculty in real-time, he has created a model that reduces costs while improving quality, graduate rates, and U.S. Board scores.

Heather Lewis

Vice President of Business Development
WILsquare Capital, LLC

Heather Lewis is the Head of Business Development at WILsquare Capital. WILsquare Capital is a Private Equity firm established by private equity and operational executives to dedicate financial capital and operating experience to lower-middle market companies in the Midwest and South.

Brian Lord

CEO
iSite Media LLC

Brian Lord is co-founder and CEO at iSite Media. Brian leads the vision and growth of iSite's video signage network inside the most recognizable professional and D1 college sporting venues is the country. Previously, he worked for the world renown talent agency Creative Artist Agency (CAA) in their NFL devision and then followed that by a carrier as an entrepreneur, including a successful exit as co-founder of Chicago based Select Energy Partners.

Mark Mantovani

Retired Chairman, Pres & CEO of Ansira
Mantovani Holdings, LLC

Mark served as Chairman, President and CEO of Ansira from 2000 to 2017 where he led the business from a 50 person, $5.5M revenue stream to one of the three largest independently owned digital marketing businesses in America with more than 800 employees and approximately $130M in revenue. During that period, he led the Company’s transition through multiple recapitalizations, private equity partnerships and acquisitions. Prior to assuming control of Ansira, he was co-founder and principal in the St. Louis law firm of Behr, Mantovani, McCarter and Potter, P.C., where he advised clients on general corporate law, mergers and acquisitions and related matters. Most recently, he was a Senior Fellow in the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative.  

Drew McLaughlin

Financial Advisor/ CEPA
UBS Financial, Private Wealth Management

Drew focuses on family owned businesses in the Midwest. He adds financial planning and transition planning depth to the team.

Drew had a successful career as a public accountant at Deloitte and Ernst & Young. Drew is a CEPA® (Certified Exit Planning Advisor®) and a non-practicing CPA and with his broad background, he assists closely held businesses owners before, during, and after business transitions. This is often a multi-year process during which Drew and his clients build long lasting relationship.

Drew is married and has three kids. Drew and his wife Liz live in St. Louis and enjoy taking active roles in their community. They met at the University of Tulsa, where Liz played soccer and Drew was the captain of the football team and was recognized as a Verizon Academic All-American. Drew is passionate about building our nation’s next generation of leaders and does so by coaching football.

Terry Moody

President & CEO
Altor Solutions

Terry A. Moody is a highly experienced leader at the C-suite level, with a proven track record in international business, strategy, business development, and P&L management for companies valued between $250 million and $25 billion. He is currently the CEO and board member of Altor Solutions in St. Louis, Missouri, which operates 16 manufacturing and distribution sites across the U.S. and Mexico.

Before joining Altor Solutions, Terry was the President and CEO of Alpha Packaging, where he led the successful sale of the company to Clear Lake Capital and Pretium in October 2021. His career includes significant roles such as serving on the Board of Directors at Fives, Inc. from February 2018 to December 2020, and as CEO of Metal Cutting/Composites at Fives, where he managed global aerospace and heavy industrial operations.

Terry's earlier roles include Senior Vice President of Business Integration at Colfax/ESAB and COO at Victor Technologies, where he played a key role in increasing the company's value by over $500 million. He has also held senior positions at Videocon Industries and Technicolor, and began his career at N.V. Philips, advancing from engineer to senior program manager.

His expertise spans diverse regions including the U.S., Mexico, Australia, Malaysia, China, India, Europe, and Eastern Europe, supported by extensive international assignments. Terry holds a BS in Manufacturing Technology and advanced certifications in Six Sigma and Value Creation.

Bill Morgan

CEO/Owner
Impact Automation

Bill currently owns and operates Impact Automation, a provider of automation solutions and products in the Midwest. Impact is the result of 6 acquisitions over the last 8 years in the Automation space, rolled together. Prior to Impact Automation, he purchased the assets of a distressed St. Louis based manufacturing company which he later sold after a complete turn-around. Additionally, Bill was a senior executive for a diversified, privately held middle market manufacturing company having key roles in Corporate Operations and serving on the Executive Staff of various business units within the portfolio. He has an MBA from the University of California and has been a board member for multiple businesses.

Danish Nagda

Founder & CEO
Rezilient Health

Danish is Founder & CEO at Rezilient where they help employers reduce their healthcare costs using a hybrid model that combines the best of virtual and in-person care. Their CloudClinics enable a remote doctor to conduct physical exams, labs, and imaging.

Prior to founding Rezilient Health, he created Schoology, the first social learning platform, which transformed educational technology and now serves over 20 million users across 130 countries. As a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and an ENT resident at Washington University in St. Louis, he has served in advisory roles for multiple companies including Doximity, Inventr, and Enterprise Bank & Trust.

Nick Najjar

Founder & CEO
ACS Communities & Elephant Capital Partners

Nick Najjar is an investor, advisor, and entrepreneur focused on private equity investments and is an asset based private lender. He is an active investor and owner of manufactured housing communities. Nick is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AlphaCurrent Partners, a buy-side proprietary search firm that originates off-market opportunities for private equity funds and family offices. He brings a strong background in sales, deal origination, executive leadership, and capital formation, with particular strengths in relationship-driven sourcing, creative deal structuring, and building scalable acquisition platforms.

Matt Pijut

Group SVP, Client Partnership
Ansira

Mindy Schuster

CFO
The Birner Group, LLC dba Renewal by Andersen of St. Louis

Melinda Schuster, the CFO of The Birner Group since January 2024, brings over 20 years of extensive experience in accounting and finance. Her diverse background spans various sectors, including Property Development and Management with McEagle Properties, Smelting Manufacturing with Toyota, and the Food & Beverage industry with J&J Snack Foods, where she served as VP of Finance for numerous manufacturing locations across the United States before joining The Birner Group. The Birner Group operates six affiliate Renewal by Andersen locations: St. Louis, Southwest Missouri, Greater Memphis, Southern Louisiana, Greater Arkansas, and Central Pennsylvania.

Jack Senneff

Managing Director
Thompson Street Capital Partners

Jack serves as a Managing Director at Thompson Street Capital Partners, a St. Louis-based private equity firm focused on investing in founder-led middle market businesses in the Healthcare & Life Science Services, Software & Technology Services and Business Services & Engineered Products sectors. He leads the firm’s Deal Origination and Portfolio Support teams. Prior to joining Thompson Street, Jack served in the United States Army as an Infantry officer in Ranger, Airborne, and Mechanized units. He also subsequently managed a regional service sales force with Cintas Corporation, a national facilities service provider. Jack is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned his MBA from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Tom Singh

Managing Director | Senior Resident Director
Merrill Lynch

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.

Justin Smith

Managing Director
Agellus Capital, LLC

Justin brings over 13 years of experience in private equity, M&A advisory, and investment management to Agellus, having served in a variety of roles. Previously, Justin served as Director of Business Development at Longwater Opportunities, a lower middle market private equity firm. Prior to Longwater, Justin was a Vice President at Atomic Capital and an Associate in EY’s M&A advisory practice in Houston.

Justin holds a BS in Communication Studies from the University of Texas and an MBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University. He lives in St. Louis with his wife and two daughters.

Tim Spihlman

Managing Director
Lewis & Clark Capital

Tim is responsible for Capital’s private equity strategy, including leading our team of investment professionals; sourcing and analyzing opportunities for new investment, negotiation, and execution of transactions; and post-execution oversight and governance of our portfolio companies.

He is also on the Board of Brace for Impact 46, a not-for-profit organization targeting support for Haiti and North St. Louis. Both Tim and his wife Jenny have traveled to Haiti several times in recent years to support the organization’s efforts. They enjoy spending time with their four children and traveling.

Kumar Srinivasan

President & CEO
Wugen Inc.

Kumar Srinivasan, Ph.D., MBA, in his most recent role served as executive vice president and chief business officer at Turning Point Therapeutics with responsibility for corporate strategy and business development, including collaborations and alliances where he successfully lead the sale of the company to Bristol Myers Squibb for $ 4.1 billion.

Dr. Srinivasan has over 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, most recently as vice president and global head of business development for the BioPharmaceutical business unit of AstraZeneca.

During his 9+-year tenure at AstraZeneca, Dr. Srinivasan was responsible for all in- and out-licensing, business development and alliance management activities within several therapeutic areas. During the pandemic Dr. Srinivasan lead the licensing and global supply agreements for the AstraZeneca’s vaccine and mAb cocktails and contributed significantly to the success of both these programs which made a tremendous impact on global health.

Earlier in his career Dr. Srinivasan held senior business development roles at Wyeth; Vivoryon (formerly known as Probiodrug), a publicly traded biotech based in Germany; and Torrey Pines Therapeutics.

He has a Ph.D from Case Western University in chemistry, did his postdoctoral work at Caltech and has an MBA with a concentration in finance and strategy from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Jacob Sturdy

Founding Partner
ArchStar Capital, LLC

Jake Sturdy is co-founder of ArchStar Capital. ArchStar takes a long-term, patient approach to building industry-leading companies, with a focus on long- term value creation rather than short-term, IRR-driven results. The founders of ArchStar work alongside our management teams to drive results and create sustained, durable growth over an extended period. Since 2004, Jake has dedicated his career to private equity investing and portfolio company operations.

Bob Surrette

President & Shareholder
McAndrews, Held & Malloy

Robert Surrette is a Shareholder and serves as President of McAndrews. He focuses his practice on the resolution of intellectual property and technology-related disputes with an emphasis on patent, trademark, trade secret and trade dress litigation. For the last 20 years, Bob has counseled a leading global medical device manufacturer on numerous litigation and transactional matters.

Katie Thompson

Chief Operating Officer
Elemental Enzymes

Katie Thompson is co-founder and chief operating officer at Elemental Enzymes, founded in 2011. Elemental Enzymes develops sustainable biochemistries to address agricultural challenges such as drought, heat stress, disease mitigation, and fertilizer use efficiency. Katie leads the cultural vision and has performed several key roles as the company has grown including running the day-to-day operations, building of the team and facilities and investor and partnership establishment.

Brian Viehmann

CEO
Gateway Dredging and Contracting, LLC

Brian Viehmann is CEO and a third generation owner of Gateway Dredging and Contracting. Gateway produces sand for the Construction Industry in the St. Louis area. They also provide Marine Support. This includes Boat Services, Rentals, and Dock Maintenance. Gateway has a sister company, Kimaterials, Inc. They supply sand and gravel to St. Charles, Lincoln, and Warren Counties in Missouri. Brian has decades of experience managing the companies' generational transition.

Douglas Wilber

Chief Strategy Officer
Capacity

Doug Wilber is the Chief Strategy Officer at Capacity, an AI-powered support automation platform. Wilber is an experienced AI and social media thought leader, skilled at guiding brands through digital transformation that preserves the authentic relationships core to many industries.