Private Equity Fast Pitch

Michelle is the Founder and Managing Partner of Clearhaven Partners, which she founded in 2019 to build a private equity firm grounded in focus and shared values. She sets the firm's strategy and direction and chairs Clearhaven's Investment Committee. Under her leadership, Clearhaven manages more than $1 billion in AUM across multiple funds, investing in growth-oriented software and technology businesses. Michelle is responsible for firm leadership, investment origination, execution, and portfolio management.   Prior to founding Clearhaven, Michelle was a member of the investment teams at Thoma Bravo and Riverside Partners; at Riverside she served as a General Partner and member of the Investment Committee. She began her career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. Michelle holds an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School and a BBA, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame. She also studied at l'Université Catholique de l'Ouest in Angers, France, and taught at Erakommertzkolledz in Tallinn, Estonia. Michelle has been recognized by The Wall Street Journalas one of private equity's most influential women and by Buyouts as one of ten "Rock Stars of Private Equity's Future." She serves on the Advisory Board of 51 Vets.   Michelle lives in the Greater Boston area with her husband, two children, and their golden retriever. Michelle is a Christian, a music lover, and a proud alumna of the St. Charles, Illinois state champion dance team (go Saints!). She's also a novice fly fisher, having recently discovered an unexpected passion for the sport.  

Russ Roenick, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Transom Capital Group, shares his extensive experience from McKinsey to Microsoft. He delves into Transom's focus on corporate carve-outs and distressed assets, revealing their unique operational model. Russ highlights the importance of integrated deal execution and operational discipline over financial engineering. He also discusses the 'six levers of value creation' and emphasizes that preparation leads to success. Plus, hear his personal anecdote about acquiring a life-size Han Solo in Carbonite!

Episode 183 of the Private Equity Fast Pitch features Sean MacIver, Managing Director with KeyBanc Capital Markets. He has over 15 years of experience advising both private equity and corporate clientele across the debt capital markets. Sean currently spends most of his time working collaboratively with his industry partners within the Industrial & Business Services, Building Products, and Aerospace & Defense sub-verticals, but also has industry agnostic coverage of KeyCorp's Colorado and Southern California Commercial Banking markets. Sean has led and executed over 250 unique financings over his career, raising well north of $100BN in capital for both middle market and large corporate clients. For Sean it isn't just about executing transactions—it's about forging longstanding trusted partnerships that will endure the test of time (and various market conditions for that matter). Sean is a graduate of the Richard T. Farmer School of Business at Miami University of Ohio and earned his MBA at Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Outside of the office (or airport) you will find Sean spending time his with family (Sarah, Charlie, Teddy + Stevie), working on his sub-par golf game, or headlining at CORUS45, a Cleveland-based high-intensity pilates studio. The opinions expressed by the KeyBanc Capital Markets speaker are not necessarily those of KeyBanc Capital Markets, or any of its affiliates. Any opinions expressed are provided for informational purposes only, does not constitute research, legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or investment advice, and should not be regarded as a recommendation or a solicitation.   

Kristin Johnson Managing Director, Business Development Kristin Johnson is a Managing Director of ACP, where she leads the firm's Business Development efforts. Prior to ACP, Kristin was a Principal in the fundraising group at TPG Capital, where she helped raise capital for the firm and manage investor relations. Previously, Kristin was a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley's corporate finance department, focused on working with private equity clients, for 10 years. Kristin began her career as a Consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton, focused on marketing-intensive clients. Kristin received an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Math and Economics from Pomona College.      

Matthew Sparks, Managing Director, is a senior leader on the private equity team at Northleaf Capital Partners. Matthew leads the firm's North American secondaries strategy and also plays a key role in managing its Canadian fund investment portfolio. With more than 15 years at Northleaf, he brings deep expertise in evaluating complex deals, building trusted GP relationships, and navigating the fast-evolving secondaries market. He's been recognized as a Next Gen Leader by Secondaries Investor and awarded the Emerging Leader Award by The Private Capital Markets Association of Canada as "One to Watch" — a reflection of his thoughtful approach to investing and long-term perspective in a dynamic market. Before joining Northleaf, Matthew started his career at Monitor Group, where he worked across industries on strategy, M&A, and integration. He holds an H.B.A. with distinction from the Ivey Business School and is a member of Northleaf's Private Equity Investment Committee.  

Disclaimer: The discussion in this podcast is for informational purposes and should not be relied on as investment advice or an offer to sell or a solicitation for an offer to buy any securities. Any opinions expressed are those of the speaker and are subject to change. Any discussion of past performance is provided for informational purposes only, is not track record information and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of future performance. Any information regarding the performance of prior companies was discussed in order to illustrate the experience of the partners of the firm and does not reflect the private equity fund management experience of the partners. It should not be assumed that investments made by Cresta will be comparable in quality or performance to the prior companies.   About Chris Rozzell: Chris Rozzell brings 23 years of investing and operating experience across the infrastructure sector. He co-founded Cresta in 2016 and leads the firm's transaction sourcing, execution, portfolio management, and overall operations. Mr. Rozzell currently serves on the boards of LF Bioenergy, Lapis Carbon Solutions, and Braya Renewable Fuels. Before Cresta, he was Chief Executive Officer of Wildcat Midstream Holdings, a middle market energy midstream investment platform. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Regency Energy Partners, where he directed commercial project development, acquisitions, gas supply, marketing, scheduling, and gas control. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rozzell held leadership roles in strategic planning, development, and enterprise risk at TXU Corp., and began his career in the Investment Banking Division of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Southern Methodist University.

Scott is Co-Chief Executive Officer and a co-chair of the firm's Management committee. Scott's current and prior directorships include Thermo Fisher Scientific Corp., Agiliti, the Madison Square Garden Company, Experian, Warner Music Group, Houghton Mifflin Co., Fisher Scientific, Univision Communications, Inc., iHeartMedia, Inc., Front Line Management, The Learning Company, PriCellular Corp., ProcureNet, ProSiebenSat.1, Wyndham Hotels, Federal Street Acquisition Corp. and several other private companies. Prior to joining Thomas H. Lee Partners, Scott was, for more than a decade, managing partner of the affiliate of Harvard Management Company that managed all alternative asset classes for Harvard University's endowment fund. Before that he was a Senior Consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. Scott is involved with a number of charitable and non-profit organizations. He is Chairman of MassGeneralBrigham, the Parent of the Harvard teaching hospitals, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & Women's Hospital as well as a number of leading specialty and community hospitals and physicians practice groups. He is Chairman Emeritus of the CitiCenter for Performing Arts and Wang Theater. He is also a member of each of the Harvard Business School Board of Dean's Advisors, the Harvard University Committee on University Resources and the Harvard Business School's Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.

Paul Raphael Paul is an established investment professional with extensive M&A and financing experience. He was Executive Vice Chairman at UBS from 2018 to 2021. He joined UBS in 2010 initially as Head of Global Emerging Markets and later served as UBS' Head of Wealth Management for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America where he managed $450 billion of client assets and over 3,000 employees across four continents. ​ Before joining UBS in 2010, he spent six years at Credit Suisse, including three years in Hong Kong as Head of Investment Banking for the Asia Pacific region. Prior to this, Paul spent 10 years with Merrill Lynch in London and Paris and eight years at Salomon Brothers in New York in various M&A and capital markets roles.   Paul is a member of the advisory board of LIFE where he was founding chairman and a member of the Special Advisory Council of International Crisis Group. He has a degree in economics from the University of Maryland and an MSC in management from MIT Sloan School of Management.  

Neda Vakilian, Partner and Global Head of the Investor Solutions Group at Actis, brings 20 years of experience in private capital markets. She discusses the importance of storytelling in fundraising and the strategic fit behind Actis' partnership with General Atlantic. Neda highlights Actis' focus on growth markets for infrastructure, driven by unique demand and resilience in returns. She also shares insights from her journey, emphasizing diversity's role in enriching investment outcomes and offering advice for young professionals.

As Lincoln's Chief Executive Officer and a key driver of the firm's growth from its beginnings, Rob has been instrumental in building its global footprint and a highly desirable culture that prioritizes attracting, retaining and engaging top talent at all levels. As a connected leader within the firm, Rob works closely with Lincoln's investment banking professionals to help them achieve success. He continues to focus on building long-term relationships with clients and prospects, achieving optimal results through his thoughtful, interpersonal and collaborative approach. Rob has nearly 30 years of experience advising leading private equity groups, privately owned businesses and large public companies on divestitures, acquisitions and other strategic initiatives. Rob helped start Lincoln's industrials and consumer practices and led the firm's business services practice for more than a decade. Accordingly, Rob has a deep understanding of how to best position companies for sale, drive competitive processes and negotiate to successful closings. As a recognized advisor and thought leader in the investment banking industry, Rob is a frequent guest on WBBM's Noon Business Hour in Chicago and a speaker and author on mergers and acquisitions-related topics. Rob sits on the board of UNICEF USA and the Dean's Business Council for the Gies School of Business at the University of Illinois. He is also President of the Board of Regents at Saint Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. Prior to Lincoln, Rob worked at Price Waterhouse. His diverse experiences include management positions in Price Waterhouse's investment banking subsidiary and the Transaction Services group. Rob earned a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois. Rob is a certified public accountant (inactive).