Private Equity Fast Pitch

Jeff Eaton is the Global Co-Head of Eaton Partners, a leading global private capital markets and fund advisory and placement firm. Eaton Partners has raised over $130 billion for over 175 funds, including over $41 billion raised for energy and real asset funds.

In addition to overseeing the firm, Jeff sits on the Investment Committees for the North America, EMEA, and APAC private funds groups as well as for the General Partner Advisory and Directs (GPAD) group. Based out of our Houston office, Jeff also manages our energy and real asset businesses. Jeff has more than 23 years of experience in the investment and financial services industry. Jeff is serving on the Board of Advisors at Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Jeff also is on the Board of Advisors at 51 Vets. Prior to joining Eaton Partners, he was a Director at Constellation Energy Commodities Group leading principal transactions for their natural gas structuring and trading division

Jeff graduated with honors from Duke University with degrees in Economics and History, and received his MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business. He holds Series 7, 63, 57, 79 and 24 licenses and is also licensed with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in Europe.

As Head of the Financial Technology & Services vertical and member of the firm's Management Committee, Ganesh manages a large and diverse portfolio and works closely with the Strategic Resource Group to drive growth for the firm's portfolio companies. He also contributes thought leadership to THL's Identified Sector Opportunity (ISO) platform and fosters a thriving culture through mentorship and professional development. Ganesh is a Director of 11 businesses, including CARET, Dun & Bradstreet, AmeriLife Group and a board observer of Guaranteed Rate. His prior investments include Comdata, Optimal Blue, Nielsen, MoneyGram International, ServiceLink Holdings, Ten-X Commercial, Sedgwick, FIS and Ariel Re. Before joining the THL team, Ganesh worked at Morgan Stanley. In his spare time, he enjoys cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers and traveling to explore new cultures and cuisines.

Stephen is a Managing Director and Head of Private Equity. In his role, he focuses on forming long-term partnerships with leading private equity managers, including buyouts, growth equity and venture. Stephen serves on the Investment Committee, which is directly responsible for the firm's asset allocation strategies and the selection of investment managers for client portfolios. Stephen has over 15 years of industry experience, most recently at the University of Pennsylvania's Office of Investments, where he focused for eight years on growing the private equity investment program for the University's $13 billion endowment and $2 billion pension fund. As a senior team member, Stephen played an active role in investment committee discussions across public equity, private equity, real assets, and absolute return strategies. Prior to joining Penn, Stephen was a Senior Associate at Princeton University's endowment. At Princeton, he worked in private investments across buyouts, venture capital, natural resources, and real estate. Before Princeton, Stephen was a Principal with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he led a wide range of projects in the firm's Corporate Finance, Technology & Telecom, and Healthcare practice areas. Stephen began his career in telecommunications software for Nortel Networks. Stephen holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Yale University. He is a CFA® charterholder. In addition, he is an Investment Committee member for a global non-profit.

Caroline Stevens, an Investor with MPK Equity Partners based in Dallas, Texas. Caroline is a franchise expert, having been a part of 14 franchisor investments across the home services, health, beauty and wellness, and family entertainment spaces. Prior to working in private equity, Caroline was a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. She shares how the strategic toolkit acquired while at BCG helps her in her investing career.

Caroline currently serves on the board of the Human Trafficking Institute, an organization working to stop human trafficking at its source around the globe. She formerly served on the advisory board of the Canfield Business Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin – her alma matter.

While a Texan through-and-through, Caroline and her husband, Logan, are avid travelers. Caroline visited her 30th country, Egypt, in 2022.

Caroline prioritizes and enjoys time with family and friends, traveling, playing tennis and watching the Longhorns or Cowboys on a fall Sunday.

Jeffrey Armbrister, Managing Director, Head of Direct Equity Investments

Jeff is a Managing Director and the Global Head of Direct Equity Investments where he is responsible for direction and oversight of the firm's direct equity investment platform.

Jeff has over 20 years of private equity and public market investing experience, and has served on the board of directors of several portfolio companies and non-profit organizations. Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2018, Jeff was a Managing Director at Versa Capital Management, where he focused on making control-oriented, special situations, debt and equity investments in middle market companies across a variety of industries. While at Versa, Jeff participated in all major investment functions and his responsibilities included origination, underwriting, transaction execution and portfolio company development. Prior to joining Versa in 2003, Jeff was an Equity Research analyst at Oppenheimer + Close. He has also held private equity, venture capital, corporate development and investment banking positions at Berwind Financial Group, Redleaf Group, ICG Commerce and Wheat First Butcher Singer, respectively. Jeff received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia

We are excited to present a montage of quotes and mottos from prior guests that have inspired them throughout the years in both their careers and personal lives.

As we begin a new year, we hope this special episode sets the stage and provides you with a new mindset for conquering the challenges & opportunities that lie ahead.

We are excited to present a montage of quotes and mottos from prior guests that have inspired them throughout the years in both their careers and personal lives.

As we begin a new year, we hope this special episode sets the stage and provides you with a new mindset for conquering the challenges & opportunities that lie ahead 

Tom O'Rourke is a Partner at BayPine. Previously, he was a Principal at Bain Capital, which he joined in 2008 and where he was a member of the North American Private Equity team. Most recently, he worked in the Consumer and Business Services verticals, where he was a member of the senior leadership team and evaluated and executed investments across a broad spectrum of industries, including auto services, consumer health, retail, and travel & leisure.

Prior to that, he worked in the Healthcare vertical, spanning opportunities across the healthcare ecosystem. Mr. O'Rourke began his career at Goldman Sachs as an analyst in the Private Equity Group covering a variety of industries across primary, secondary, and direct investments.

Mr. O'Rourke serves on the Boards of Penn Foster and Mavis. He holds an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Alex Western is the Founder and Managing Director of Terminus Capital Partners ("TCP"), an Atlanta-based private equity firm focused on majority recapitalizations of $10-$50m business software companies who want a growth-oriented and operationally-oriented partner to reach their potential. Previously, Alex was a managing director at Trilogy, a hold-co. of more than 100 enterprise software companies. Before Trilogy, Alex was an investment analyst at GMT Capital, a $5B value-oriented hedge fund. Alex began his career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and as a private equity associate at Audax Group. Alex received his AB from Harvard College and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife and two daughters.

Paul is a founding partner of Genesis Park and GP Capital. He has extensive M&A experience, decades of diverse public company board service, and proven management ability. Mr. Hobby's sector expertise ranges from network infrastructure to downstream energy (both renewable and traditional gas fired) to media and telecom. His executive roles over time include Columbine JDS Systems, which became the world's largest provider of back-office media software, CEO of Alpheus Communications, which built out the largest alternative fiber optic network in Texas, and CEO of Texas Monthly, expanding the print media brand to include podcasts, social media, a national alliance with Creative Artists Agency, and syndicating content through new channels that include Apple News, Flipboard, Pocket, Random House, Google News, Audm and Trip Advisor.

Paul has served as the Chairman of the Texas Ethics Commission, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Texas General Services Commission and the Texas Business Hall of Fame. Paul holds a BA in History from the University of Virginia and a JD from the University of Texas Law School.

Paul serves on the Management and Investment Committee of GP Capital.