Private Equity Fast Pitch

Chris Burbach is a Co-Founder, Partner and the Chief Executive Officer of Fundamental Income. Chris is a member of the Board and jointly leads the Company’s Investment Committee. Before founding Fundamental Income, Chris served as Executive Vice President of Underwriting for STORE Capital Corporation (NYSE: STOR) for seven years. In that role, he led the underwriting of approximately $12 billion in net lease investments, including over $7.5 billion in closed transactions. Chris also served as both a member and chairman of STORE’s Investment Committee. In addition to his investment and management responsibilities, Chris co-led numerous aspects of STORE’s capital markets activities, including corporate capital strategy, corporate credit ratings, the issuance of $725 million in investment grade corporate unsecured notes, and the issuance of over $2 billion in asset-backed notes, including A+ and AAA-rated notes. Before joining STORE, Chris spent six years at Spirit Finance Corporation, where he served as the Vice President of Investment Management responsible for managing the company’s $3.5 billion real estate investment portfolio, in addition to managing the underwriting group. He also previously served as CEO of VM Management, Inc., an owner and manager of private charter schools, and as a consultant for Navigant Consulting working with construction and government industry groups. Chris earned his B.S. in Finance from Santa Clara University and his M.B.A. from Arizona State University. Chris is also a CFA® charterholder.  

Jeff serves as Managing Partner of Cloverlay and is a member of the Firm’s Investment Committee and Board of Directors. Prior to founding Cloverlay, Jeff was a Managing Director with Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (AIP), a division of Morgan Stanley’s institutional asset management business. While at AIP, Jeff was a member of the Executive and Business Committees and served on AIP’s Private Markets Investment Committee as a Portfolio Manager responsible for leading primary fund, co-investment and secondary transactions focused on special situations globally and North American buyouts. Prior to AIP, Jeff advised and traded equity options and futures with U.S. hedge funds in Morgan Stanley’s Equity Derivatives Group in New York. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Jeff was on the investment team at Petra Capital Partners, where he was responsible for screening, researching, structuring and monitoring private equity investments in health care and information services companies. Prior to Petra Capital, Jeff was an investment banker at Robertson Stephens, where he executed a variety of public and private equity, debt and convertible offerings along with mergers and acquisitions in financial services, health care, and business services.  

As president of EGI, Mark oversees all aspects of the business. He focuses on maximizing and sustaining the value of the firm’s investment portfolio and applies his 20+ years of board and CEO experience inside and outside the organization by actively engaging with the investment team and portfolio companies to improve business strategies and operating capabilities. In addition, Mark is the chair of the Chai Trust Company, LLC (Chai) investment committee as well as the executive vice president of Chai, which serves as the corporate trustee for the Zell family trusts. He also serves as board chair for Ardent Health Services, East Coast Warehouse & Distribution, Lanter Delivery Systems, Paper Transport, and an agricultural equipment dealer. Mark joined EGI in 2006 as a managing director and has held temporary in-house assignments within EGI portfolio companies to accelerate and increase the effectiveness of turnarounds, including stints at Tribune Interactive and Exterran Holdings, Inc. Prior to joining EGI, Mark was the chief executive officer of Sunburst Technology Corporation and on the company’s board of directors. He also served as the president of Budget Group, Inc. (Budget Rent A Car and Ryder Truck Rental) and was on the company’s board. Earlier in his career, Mark worked at The Coca-Cola Company in senior brand management and sales roles. Mark holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Amherst College.

Head of Secondary Investments Private Equity Responsibilities at Schroders Capital Christiaan van der Kam is the head of Schroders Capital’s secondary investment program, responsible for all secondary investment activities globally. Background Prior to joining Schroders Capital in 2020, Christiaan spent more than 12 years at Unigestion, where he co-lead the global secondary investment program and was responsible for all secondary investments in North America and Asia. Prior to that, he worked at New Amsterdam Capital, a hedge fund based in London, where he provided financial and advisory services to companies. Christiaan started his private equity career at ATP Private Equity from 2001–2006. ATP is the largest pension fund in Denmark and one of the largest private equity investors globally. Education Christiaan holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business and a Master degree in Applied Economics and Finance from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.  

Marc J. Leder, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., has been engaged in leveraged buyouts, investment banking, and business operations for more than 30 years. In addition, Mr. Leder is a member of the Sun Capital Executive Committee which oversees and manages the overall strategy of the firm. Mr. Leder received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Leder is a Member of the International Counsel for the Museum Berggruen in Berlin and also sits on the Board of the Institute of Contemporary Arts at the University of Pennsylvania.

Today's special episode isn’t simply "advice". It provides deep insight into life’s journey, successes, and failures from top private equity and investment banking professionals. We’ve compiled a video of college photos from our speakers to connect the past with the present. To explore the journey and look at what it takes to achieve your dreams.  Want to listen to a particular guest, see below: Kurt Haras - Cowen (5:20) Jay Jester - Plexus Capital (7:45) Charlie Gifford - New Heritage (12:04) John Huhn - Compass Group  (17:58) Doug McCormick - HCI Equity Partners (20:11) Ken Firtel - Transom Capital (24:30) Brandon Knapp - Evercap Advisors (36:18) Jim Mahoney - Huron Capital (40:49) Julia Buthman - Prudential Private Capital (44:44) Connor Mitchell - Solomon Partners (48:13) Vikram Agrawal - American Resilience Partners (51:28) Paul Hobby - Genesis Park (54:51) Alex Western - Terminus Capital Partners (58:47) Tom O’Rouke - Baypine (1:05:00) Jeffrey Armbrister - Hamilton Lane (1:07:49) Caroline Stevens - MPK Equity Partners (1:14:36) Stephen Vaccaro - Hirtle, Callaghan, & Co (1:16:59) Ganesh Rao - Thomas H. Lee Partners (1:21:13) Jeff Eaton - Eaton Partners (1:22:51) Arthur Hollingsworth - Lone Star Investment Advisors (1:26:01) Dave Tayeh - Investcorp (1:27:55) Brian McGee - New Water Capital (1:31:35)

Brian McGee, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at New Water Capital, shares insights on investment focus, deal sourcing, and the importance of relationships. They discuss the team composition and operational approach, emphasizing gradual implementation. The chapter also explores McGee's journey into private equity, challenges of starting a business, and offers advice for young professionals.

Dave Tayeh, Partner in the Private Equity team at Investcorp, discusses Investcorp's focus in North American Private Equity and their evaluation process for partnering with CEOs and founders. He shares his journey from playing Division III football to his current position and highlights the value of different experiences as a CEO and advisor. The podcast also covers factors to consider when choosing a private equity partner.

Mr. Hollingsworth is Managing Partner of five private equity funds with over $350 million under management. He has 30 years of experience in private equity investing and investment banking with the funds mentioned above, Paine Webber Incorporated (now UBS), and First Boston Corporation (now Credit Suisse). He served on the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, was Chairman of VisitDallas, was Chairman of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, and also has served as the Vice Chairman of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority. Mr. Hollingsworth currently serves on the boards of Continental Electronics Corporation, Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, Frac Tank Rentals LLC (Managing Member), Oil Works, Inc. (Chairman), Trinity Forge, Inc. (Chairman), Mall Area Redevelopment Board, Safety Storage, Inc., and Yellow Checker Cab Company of Dallas/Fort Worth, Inc. He is a former board member of the City of Dallas Reinvestment Zone Board, the City of Dallas Privatization Technical Subcommittee, the LBJ Executive Board, which developed the construction plan for IH 635 Freeway, and the University of Texas Southwestern University Hospitals and Clinics Board of Visitors. Mr. Hollingsworth was a Director and largest shareholder of Accessbancorp which was successfully sold in 2022 to Texas Regional Bank. A Harvard College Scholar, Arthur Hollingsworth earned an undergraduate degree in Economics from Harvard University and has served as Chairman of the Harvard Club of Dallas. He received Harvard's Albert H. Gordon '23 Award. He is an inductee in the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame for his role as Co-Captain of the National Championship 1985 Harvard Rowing Team, as referenced in Devin Mahony's book, The Challenge. (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1989. Print.) In January 2009, the Dallas Business Journal awarded Mr. Hollingsworth with the Community Impact Dealmaker of the Year award. Mr. Hollingsworth was honored as the 2014 Human Relations Award recipient by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance. A direct descendant of Alexander Hamilton, Mr. Hollingsworth serves as President of the Alexander Hamilton Scholars Board of Directors (www.hamiltonscholars.org). Mr. Hollingsworth's daughter is currently a senior at Harvard College and Co-Captain of the Harvard Cheerleading Team.  

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.