Experienced operators and seasoned investment professionals.

Laurence E. Hirsch

Chairman

Responsibilities

| As a co-founder and Chairman with more than 40 years of domestic and international experience leading operations of complex organizations, Larry focuses on the overall strategic direction of the firm. He plays an active role on the firm’s management and investment committee and its overall approval of each of the firm’s investments.  He also serves as Chairman of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).  CEPA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy institution based in Washington DC, focused on strengthening the transatlantic alliance through cutting-edge research, analysis, and programs.

Experience

| Larry co-founded Highlander Partners in April 2004, after retiring as CEO and Chairman of Centex Corporation, one of the largest homebuilding and related financial services companies in the United States. He joined Centex in 1985. Prior to joining Centex, Larry served as President, CEO and a director of Southdown Inc., a cement and oil and gas producer. He successfully transformed Southdown into one of the country’s premier domestically-owned cement producers, which was later acquired by Cemex, S.A. de C.V. Prior to that, he was a partner at Bracewell and Patterson, a Houston-based law firm.

Education

| J.D., cum laude, Villanova University School of Law
Masters in International Public Policy (M.I.P.P.), Johns Hopkins University
B.S. in Economics, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

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Jeff L. Hull

President and CEO

Responsibilities

| Jeff focuses on a broad array of industries and investment types, and his breadth of experience provides Highlander with the expertise to structure, finance, and manage successful transactions. As President and CEO, Jeff leads the day-to-day operations of the firm and management of the investment professionals and marketing strategies for the firm. He also heads the firm’s management and investment committee.

Experience

| Jeff joined Highlander in 2009. Prior to Highlander, he most recently served as Vice-Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Equipment and Supply Corporation (SESC), one of the largest providers in the United States of design services, equipment and supplies for the foodservice industry with revenues of $300 million.  Previous to SESC, he was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atrium Companies Inc., one of the largest building product manufacturers in the United States, with annual revenues of approximately $800 million and 7,000 employees. Prior to Atrium, Jeff held management positions with AmVestors Financial Corporation (NYSE: AMV) and Deloitte & Touche.

Education

| M.B.A. in Finance, with honors, Emporia State University
B.A. in Accounting with distinction, cum laude, Ottawa University
Certified Public Accountant (inactive)

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Ben R. Slater

Chief Operating Officer and Partner

Responsibilities

| Ben serves as Chief Operating Officer and Partner in Highlander’s private equity practice and is based in Dallas. In this capacity he oversees investment operations and focuses on leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and growth financings across a variety of industries. He is responsible for sourcing and assessing potential investment opportunities, managing the transaction process and working closely with portfolio company management teams. Additionally, Ben also serves as Head of Highlander’s Romania private equity practice based in Bucharest and is a member of the firm’s management and investment committees.

Experience

| Ben joined Highlander Partners in 2016. Prior to joining Highlander, Ben was a member of Tipp Hill Capital Management, a hedge fund based in New York. He previously worked at AlpInvest Partners, a global private equity group and a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group. Ben started his career with Banc of America Securities in consumer and retail investment banking.

Education

| M.B.A., with distinction, Columbia Business School (Value Investing Program)
B.S. in Commerce, University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce

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Alex L. Guiva

Partner

Responsibilities

| Alex focuses on leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and growth financings within a variety of industries and his breadth of experience provides Highlander with expertise to structure, finance, and manage successful transactions. His focus is on the business development and add-on opportunities with firm portfolio companies.

Experience

| Alex joined Highlander Partners in 2004, shortly after it was founded. Prior to Highlander, he was employed in the Corporate Finance department of Stephens Inc., most recently as an Investment Banking Associate. During his tenure, he provided support to a broad range of industry groups; including logistics, IT, manufacturing and financial services.

Education

| B.A. in Economics, Lyon College

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Jeff Partridge

Partner

Responsibilities

| Jeff serves as a Partner for Highlander.  He focuses on management buyouts, recapitalizations, and growth investments in a variety of categories, primarily in the consumer products areas.  He is also responsible for working closely with portfolio company management teams to develop and execute strategic plans, with a focus on product development, branding, and channel expansion.  He will also play a key role in sourcing and analyzing new opportunities in these categories.

Experience

| Jeff joined Highlander in 2017 with more than 25 years of experience growing and developing lower middle market consumer products companies. Since joining Highlander Jeff has been responsible for the oversight and successful exits at Benestar Brands, Bettera Brands, and Kernel Seasons, for a combined $1.8B in enterprise value. Prior to joining Highlander, Jeff served as CEO of Truco Enterprises, where he grew On The Border Retail Products from the #17 to the #2 tortilla chip nationally, which was later sold to UTZ Brands (NYSE: UTZ). Before Truco, he served as CEO of Combs Produce until it was acquired by Lipman Produce in 2012, and Wickham Supply/Water Zone until it was acquired by Pool Corp (NASDAQ: POOL) in 2006. Additionally, Jeff spent 12 years at The Coca-Cola Company.

Education

| B.S. in Communications, University of Oregon

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Bret Furio

Partner

Responsibilities

| Bret serves as a Partner at Highlander. He focuses on management buyouts, recapitalizations, and growth investments in a variety of categories, primarily in the consumer packaged goods category with a focus on the health and wellness sector. He is responsible for working closely with portfolio company management teams to develop and execute strategic plans, including product development, branding, and channel expansion.  He also plays a key role in sourcing and analyzing new opportunities in these categories.

Experience

| Bret joined Highlander in 2022 with more than thirty years of experience in growing Global Consumer Brands at both publicly-listed and privately-owned Companies.  Prior to joining Highlander, Bret served in executive roles at Philips Consumer Lifestyle (Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Leader), Zarbee’s Naturals (Chief Executive Officer) where he led a successful exit to J&J Consumer, and most recently with Canidae Pet Food (Chief Executive Officer) leading unique Brand Growth and Transformations during each experience.  Concurrently, Bret has served on the Boards of various Consumer companies eager to build brands and grow in their respective categories.  Prior to his executive experiences, Bret spent a number of years with The Gillette Company in various management roles across marketing, sales, and operations.  

Education

| BA in English, Fordham University

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Stanley C. Bould

Partner - Asian and Alternative Investments

Responsibilities

| Stanley is responsible for overseeing Asian private equity and alternative assets under management, including investment partnerships, mezzanine securities, real estate investments and several credit oriented investment strategies, as well as public/private equity investments across a range of industries, including the energy sector. His primary responsibility is Asia and the management of short term liquidity and yield enhancement opportunities for the firm’s portfolio.

Experience

| Stanley joined Highlander Partners in 2011. From 2000 until 2011, he served as a Director in the Private Bank for Credit Suisse. Prior to Credit Suisse, he worked in the Private Wealth Management Group at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (“DLJ”). Stanley has more than 22 years of experience helping both wealthy families and institutional clients in all aspects of asset allocation and portfolio management.

Education

| M.B.A., University of Texas at Austin
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

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Michael Knigin

Managing Director

Responsibilities

| Mike serves as a Managing Director at Highlander. He focuses on management buyouts, recapitalizations, and growth investments in a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, distribution and business services. He is also responsible for working closely with portfolio company management teams to develop and execute strategic plans, including product development, branding, and channel expansion. He also plays a key role in sourcing and analyzing new opportunities.

Experience

| Mike joined Highlander in 2022 with more than twenty years of experience in growing products and services businesses. From 2009-2021, Mike served as Chief Executive Officer of Apache Industrial Services, Inc. (Apache), a buyout he organized in 2009. During Mike’s tenure, Apache grew to one of the largest industrial service providers in its sector with annual revenues of approximately $1 billion and 8,500 employees. Previous to Apache, Mike served as a Partner of Nassau Point Investors, a boutique private equity firm (from 1999-2008), as well as, Chief Financial Officer and Director of HMT, Inc. (between 2000-2007), the leading products and services provider in its industry. Concurrently, Mike has served on the Boards of various companies eager to build their enterprises and grow in their respective industries. Mike began his career in the investment banking division at Deutsche Bank Securities.

Education

| B.B.A., University of Michigan

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David Olsen

Managing Director

Responsibilities

| David joined Highlander in 2019 and leads Highlander’s efforts in sourcing investments in the beauty and personal care industry and plays an integral strategic role in these businesses post-close. He also works closely with Highlander’s existing CPG-oriented businesses in the areas of product development, branding and channel expansion with an emphasis on digital excellence.

Experience

| David has been a leader in the digital retail space for 20 years. Since 2016, and just prior to joining Highlander, he served as the CEO of private equity-backed Cos Bar, where he brought his digital and e-commerce expertise to transition and grow a traditionally brick-and-mortar beauty retailer into an omnichannel business, while remaining true to its luxury DNA. Prior to Cos Bar, he launched the beauty and grooming businesses at Net-A-Porter and Mr. Porter as Global Vice President, growing those businesses by triple digits annually during his tenure. He originally founded and was the CEO of an e-commerce cosmeceutical business, DermTeam, which he later sold to DermStore, where he went on to lead business development, buying, and operations before selling the business to Target in 2012.

Education

| J.D., Cum Laude, University of Miami School of Law
M.B.A. Marketing, University of Miami Business School
B.A. History, University of California, Berkeley

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Stewart Baseley

Chairman, CEE - Poland

Responsibilities

| Stewart focuses on advising the Highlander in Europe team on portfolio company strategy and operations. He has over 30 years of executive leadership in large organizations and focuses on developing high-performance executive management teams for the firm’s Central Europe portfolio companies.

Experience

| Stewart joined Highlander Partners in September 2008 to help evaluate investment opportunities and provide strategic consultation to portfolio companies. For 25 years he served as a CEO within the homebuilding industry with a wide range of achievements, including the successful restructuring and turnaround of Charles Church and overseeing its sale to Beazer Homes in 1996. He led Centex’s acquisition of Fairclough in the UK in 1999. After completing the company’s successful turnaround, it was sold to Miller Group in 2005.

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Artur Dzagarow

Managing Partner, CEE - Poland

Responsibilities

| As Managing Partner and CEO of Central Europe – Poland, Artur focuses on day-to-day operations of the office and management of the investment professionals and marketing strategies for the region. He uses his extensive operational experience to develop and implement value-creation strategies for both prospective and existing Highlander portfolio companies.

Experience

| Artur has served as CEO of several pharmacy chains in Poland. He was the founder and CEO of Apteki Polskie S.A./Apteka 21, a successful start-up investment of a pharmacy chain by a major private equity fund. He subsequently managed the wholesale operations and logistics of the TAMRO (Phoenix Pharma) group in Poland, and spearheaded TAMRO’s entry into the pharmacy retail space. He next served as the CEO of Super-Pharm Poland, the leading Polish drugstore chain.  Artur also founded and served as president of the Polish pharmacy employers’ association, PharmaNet.

Education

| M.B.A., L’Université du Québec à Montréal
M.Sc. in Control and Robotics, Warsaw Polytechnical University

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Raluca Nita

Managing Director - CEE - Romania

Responsibilities

| As Managing Director of Highlander Central Europe – Romania, Raluca focuses on day-to-day operations of the office and management of the investment professionals and marketing strategies for the region, as well as sourcing and executing strategic transactions. She uses her extensive knowledge of the Romanian markets to develop and implement value-creation strategies for both prospective and existing Highlander portfolio companies.

Experience

| Raluca spent more than 16 years in private equity with a focus on Romania as a part of the CEE teams of Advent International and GED Capital, both being among the first fund managers with teams dedicated to Romania. Prior to joining Highlander, she formed and managed Private Equity Partners, an investment advisory firm targeting PE funds and entrepreneurs, which led her to join Highlander Partners in 2018.

Education

| MBA Joint Program ASE Bucharest – University of Ottawa – HEC Montreal
BA from Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest

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Adrian Stroilescu, MD

Managing Director - CEE - Romania

Responsibilities

| Dr. Stroilescu focuses on management buyouts, recapitalizations and growth investments in Romania, in a variety of categories, primarily in the healthcare area. He is also responsible for working closely with portfolio company management teams to develop and execute strategic plans.

Experience

| Adi joined Highlander in 2018 and has over 20 years expertise in the healthcare sector with private equity backed companies in both executive and non-executive positions. He previously served as Chairman and CEO for Labormed. Prior to that he was Business Development Director for Europe with Ranbaxy and also worked with Pfizer.

Education

| Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy

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Charles C. Thomas

Principal

Responsibilities

| Chaz works closely with management teams on buyout, recapitalization, and growth financing transactions across a variety of industries. He also spends a substantial amount of time assessing potential investment opportunities, performing company valuations, and supporting the day-to-day activities in the transaction process, including managing due diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio company monitoring.

Experience

| Chaz joined Highlander Partners in 2014. Prior to joining Highlander, he was a Hedge Fund Analyst with Stadtler Capital Management in Fort Worth, Texas from 2011 to 2014. Prior to Stadtler, he served as a Private Equity Associate with AlpInvest Partners in New York from 2008 to 2011 and an Investment Banking Analyst at Jefferies and Company, Inc. in New York from 2005 to 2008.

Education

| B.S. in Commerce, with distinction, University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce

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John Rabenhorst

Principal

Responsibilities

| John joined Highlander in 2018 and focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain across our portfolio companies. He is responsible for identifying and capturing supply chain improvement opportunities to drive near term value and unlock new opportunities for growth. He also spends a substantial amount of time on buy-side due diligence assessing potential supply chain synergies for new targets.

Experience

| Since 2009, John served as a Principal at A.T. Kearney, a partner-owned, full service, management consultancy. John brings nearly 10 years of expertise in leading large-scale cost transformations for Fortune 500 companies across the globe. In addition, John brings deep expertise assisting private equity firms capture significant savings with EBITDA improvement within their portfolio firms.

Education

| M.B.A. University of Texas at Austin – Concentrations in Finance & Entrepreneurship
B.S. Centenary College of Louisiana

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Dustin Herman

Principal

Responsibilities

| Dustin, as a Director, participates in buyout, recapitalization, and growth financing transactions across a variety of industries. He focuses on managing due diligence and post-transaction integration activities. He also spends a substantial amount of time supporting day-to-day activities in the transaction process and portfolio company monitoring.

Experience

| Dustin joined Highlander Partners in 2019. Prior to joining Highlander, he was a Principal with JMAM, LLC from 2014 to 2018. During this time, he served private equity clients with financial due diligence engagements and assisted numerous portfolio companies with financial and operational improvement initiatives. Prior to JMAM, Dustin spent eight years with KPMG, most recently as a Director in the Transaction Advisory Services practice, and also served for two years as Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions with Colorado National Bancorp.

Education

| B.S. in Finance and Accounting, magna cum laude, The Ohio State University

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Michael Sherman

Director

Responsibilities

| Michael engages as an operating executive and leader in our portfolio companies, with an emphasis that includes consumer products, food service/hospitality, ingredients and food/beverage.  He works closely with portfolio company management teams to develop and execute strategic plans, with the objective of improving top/bottom line growth and cash flow through the use of various levers.  He also plays a key role in sourcing and analyzing potential opportunities across these categories.

Experience

| Michael joined Highlander in 2019 and was a senior executive at Pinnacle Foods until it was sold in 2018. Prior to Pinnacle, he worked in several roles focusing on procurement, supply chain, and commodity risk management at Kraft & KraftHeinz, Ahold and M&M Mars.  He started his business career as a commodity trader-working for both Cargill and Louis Dreyfus. Michael is a former US Army Artillery Officer.

Education

| M.B.A., The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
B.A. in Economics, University of Florida

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Saurab Guha

Vice President

Responsibilities

| Saurab works closely with management teams on buyout, recapitalization, and growth financing transactions across a variety of industries. He also spends a substantial amount of time assessing potential investment opportunities, performing company valuations, and supporting the day-to-day activities in the transaction process, including managing due diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio company monitoring.

Experience

| Saurab joined Highlander Partners in 2021. Prior to joining Highlander, Saurab served as a Vice President with Lazard from 2018 to 2021, where he focused on M&A. He also previously worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Corporate Finance practice from 2016 to 2018 and with Wells Fargo in Corporate Banking from 2011 to 2016.

Education

| M.B.A., with Honors, New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business
B.S. in Finance and Sport Management, Syracuse University

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Ryan Holcomb

Vice President

Responsibilities

| Ryan focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain across our portfolio companies. He identifies and executes supply chain and operational projects across the portfolio that drive near term value and facilitate growth. He also participates in buy-side due diligence by assessing the operations of potential acquisitions as well as identifying any supply chain synergies.

Experience

| Prior to joining Highlander Partners in 2019, Ryan was at A.T. Kearney for 5 years, most recently as a manager in the consultancy’s analytics practice. Ryan specialized in supply chain network strategy including network design and optimization, 3rd party manufacturing, and logistics. Ryan also has experience in post-merger integration synergy realization and large scale procurement transformation initiatives.

Education

| M.B.A., Kellogg School of Management
B.A. in Supply Chain Management, Michigan State University

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James J. Laureys

Vice President

Responsibilities

| James joined Highlander in 2021 and focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain across Highlander's portfolio companies. He is responsible for identifying and capturing supply chain improvement opportunities to drive near-term value and unlock new opportunities for growth.

Experience

| Prior to joining Highlander, James served as Sr. Director of Strategy for Sally Beauty Corporation where he led strategic planning and growth initiatives. From 2016 to 2020, James served as Director of Strategy & Operations for Levi Strauss & Co, accelerating their international retail expansion. From 2008 to 2016, James worked as a Management Consultant for A.T. Kearney in their Consumer Practice. In this role, James focused on growth strategy, profit improvement, and supply chain efficiency for CPG and Retail clients.

Education

| M.B.A. University of Toronto,
B.Com, Carleton University

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J McNamara

Vice President

Responsibilities

| J., as a Vice President, works closely with management teams on buyout, recapitalization, and growth financing transactions across a variety of industries. He also spends a substantial amount of time assessing potential investment opportunities, performing company valuations, and supporting the day-to-day activities in the transaction process, including managing due diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio company monitoring.

Experience

| J. joined Highlander Partners in 2014 as an Analyst and was promoted to Associate in 2016 and Vice President in 2018.

Education

| M.B.A., Harvard Business School
B.B.A. in Corporate Finance, University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business

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Nicholas E. Thicksten

Vice President

Responsibilities

| Nick, as a Vice President at Highlander, is responsible for overseeing our liquid and alternative assets under management, including the firm’s internal public equity portfolio and yield-oriented investments, as well as investment partnerships for private equity, real estate and credit oriented investment strategies. He is primarily responsible for managing the internal public equity portfolio, where he spends a substantial amount of time analyzing individual equities across a range of industries, as well as actively managing the portfolio and monitoring financial markets.

Experience

| Nick joined Highlander Partners in 2013 as an Associate and was promoted to Vice President in 2016. As an Associate, he supported the private equity team on buyout, recapitalization, and growth financing transactions; he also assisted in overseeing the firm’s liquid investments and alternative assets under management. Prior to joining Highlander, he served as an Analyst from 2008 to 2011 and Senior Analyst from 2011 to 2013 at Highlander Partners Healthcare Fund (HPHF), an affiliate Hedge Fund of Highlander. While at HPHF he developed extensive knowledge of portfolio management and acquired broad analytical skills related to research, valuation and financial modeling.

Education

| B.S.B.A. in Financial Management/Investments, University of Arkansas, Sam M. Walton College of Business

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Nick Julian

Vice President

Responsibilities

| Nick works closely with management teams on buyout, recapitalization, and growth financing transactions across a variety of industries. He also spends a substantial amount of time assessing potential investment opportunities, performing company valuations, and supporting the day-to-day activities in the transaction process, including managing due diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio company monitoring.

Experience

| Nick joined Highlander Partners in 2022. Prior to joining Highlander Partners, Nick was a Senior Associate at Parthenon Capital, a middle-market private equity firm. Before Parthenon Capital, he worked in the M&A practice of Greenhill & Co in New York.    

Education

| B.B.A., summa cum laude, in Finance, Texas Christian University

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Piotr Popławski

Vice President - CEE - Poland

Responsibilities

| Piotr, as a Vice President at Highlander, is responsible for assessing potential investment opportunities and executing transaction processes for the firm's Central Europe office. On the side of portfolio management, Piotr, with his hands-on approach, works closely with management teams on buyout, recapitalization, growth financing transactions, and new business development initiatives.

Experience

| Prior to joining Highlander Partners in 2021, Piotr worked for MCI Capital - Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed PE firm specializing in digital investments in the CEE region. Having most recently served as an Investment Manager, Piotr was involved in many successful investment projects in such sectors as B2B services, financial services, insurance, e-commerce and SaaS in both Poland and CEE. Previously he gained investment and operational experience through internships at Innova Capital in Warsaw and at SOSV in Shanghai as well as his positions at multinational companies such as Unilever and L'Oreal.

Education

| CEMS Master's in International Management at Warsaw School of Economics & IIM Calcutta
M.A. in Accounting and Finance at Warsaw School of Economics
B.A. in Accounting and Finance at Warsaw School of Economics
B.A. in Management at Warsaw School of Economics

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Arno Curtis

Associate

Responsibilities

| Arno works closely with management teams on buyout, recapitalization, and growth financing transactions across a variety of industries. He also spends a substantial amount of time assessing potential investment opportunities, performing company valuations, and supporting the day-to-day activities in the transaction process, including managing due diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio company monitoring.

Experience

| Arno joined Highlander Partners in 2023. Prior to joining Highlander, Arno was an Investment Banking Analyst at TD Cowen where he focused on middle-market M&A transactions.

Education

| B.A. in Economics, magna cum laude, University of Chicago

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Ana Dolea

Associate - CEE - Romania

Responsibilities

| Ana supports the private equity team on leveraged buyout, recapitalization, and growth financing transactions in Romania. She is focused on analyzing potential investment opportunities, performing company valuations, building financial models, executing due diligence, and conducting the day-to-day activities in the private equity transaction process. She also assists Highlander’s portfolio companies in achieving strategic initiatives.

Experience

| Prior to joining Highlander in 2018, Ana was an Analyst with Private Equity Partners, working on deal sourcing and execution, and being part of the sell-side team. Previously she was an intern at Deloitte in the valuation and modeling department; working on various valuation projects from a wide range of industries, including agriculture, energy and information technology.

Education

| B.B.A Management, Master Degree in Financial Analysis and Business Valuation, Bucharest University of Economic Studies

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Robert A. Sussman

Chief Financial Officer

Responsibilities

| Bobby oversees all aspects of accounting, tax and administrative matters for the firm. Specifically, he focuses on managing the financial reporting process, tax compliance and the administrative support function. Bobby also serves as a board member with certain portfolio companies.

Experience

| Bobby joined Highlander in November 2008. From 1998 to 2008, he served as Managing Director of Hunt Private Equity Group, the middle market private equity investment arm of the Ray L. Hunt family. From 1995 to 1998, Bobby served as Vice President of Hoak Capital, a Dallas-based middle market private equity firm focused on the media and telecommunications industries. He also served as a management consultant with Bain & Company and as an Associate in the Reorganization Group of Credit Suisse First Boston.

Education

| M.B.A., Stanford University
B.A. in Government, Harvard College

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Chris M. McRorie

General Counsel

Responsibilities

| Chris is responsible for all legal affairs for the firm, including acting as the primary legal officer for most of the firm’s portfolio companies. His focus is on legal structuring and due diligence related to our transaction executions, as well as post-closing oversight of legal matters and governance. Chris also assists in tax compliance and administrative support functions.

Experience

| Chris joined Highlander Partners in 2008. Prior to joining Highlander, he advised clients in public and private capital formation transactions, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate advising first as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York and later at Andrews Kurth LLP in Dallas. Throughout his legal career, Chris has represented a wide variety of public and private companies, private equity firms and individuals in complex financial transactions and corporate governance matters.

Education

| J.D., Yale Law School
B.A. in Letters and B.A. in Spanish, University of Oklahoma

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Doran E. Smith

Associate General Counsel

Responsibilities

| Doran serves as the legal liason to Highlander Partners’ portfolio companies. Her focus is on providing those companies’ management teams with legal guidance on business contracts, real estate, employment and other general operational matters. She also assists with documenting and due diligence for Highlander’s acquisitions and dispositions, as well as post-acquisition organizational support and integration.

Experience

| Doran joined Highlander Partners in 2016 after 15 years as general counsel for a family office with real estate investment interests in the Pacific. She also practiced in the Washington, D.C., office of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, the Dallas office of Andrews Kurth and Case Lombardi & Pettit in Honolulu.

Education

| J.D., Southern Methodist University School of Law
B.A. Plan II Honors and Government, University of Texas at Austin

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Ashley Greene

Counsel

Responsibilities

| Ashley is responsible for the corporate governance affairs for all of the portfolio companies of Highlander Partners, in addition to providing legal insight and advice on the day to day to legal issues that arise at the portfolio companies. Ashley advises the business and sales teams at the various portfolio companies on structuring contractual terms within their marketing, distribution, development and non-disclosure agreements. Ashley also assists with matters that arise during Highlander’s acquisition and disposition of portfolio companies.

Experience

| Ashley joined Highlander Partners in 2014. Prior to joining Highlander, Ashley spent eight years in the New York, Dallas, Austin and Houston offices of Vinson & Elkins. While at Vinson & Elkins, Ashley worked with private equity sponsors investing in private and public companies and executing initial public offerings with the SEC. Her experience also involved representing various investment banks during their underwriting of large debt and equity public underwritten offerings. Ashley also served as Assistant General Counsel at Jefferies & Co, Inc. in New York where she had broad corporate responsibilities at Jefferies including advising on securities law compliance and drafting Jefferies’ public disclosure documents with the SEC.

Education

| J.D., University of Texas
B.A., Foreign Affairs, with Distinction, University of Virginia

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Bradford R. Hirsch MD

Senior Advisor

Responsibilities

| Brad serves as an advisor to the firm’s management and investment committee in developing strategy and evaluation of investment opportunities. As a Senior Advisor, he has a particular focus on evaluating new investment opportunities in the healthcare and technology industries.

Experience

| Dr. Hirsch is CEO and Co-Founder of SignalPath, a start up leveraging technology to make clinical trials more efficient and effective for research sites and sponsors. He was also a practicing medical oncologist with Texas Oncology. Prior to his present focus, he held leadership roles in technology companies and academics including as Senior Medical Director for Flatiron Health and as a faculty member of the Duke University School of Medicine and the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Across all of his roles, he focuses on the use of novel technology platforms to advance the frontier in medicine.

Education

| M.B.A., with concentration in Health Sector Management, Fuqua School at Duke University
M.D., UT Southwestern Medical School
B.A. in Economics and the Biological Basis of Behavior, University of Pennsylvania

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