GrowthCap is pleased to announce The Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors of 2022. Our ninth year running this awards process, we were highly impressed by the level of experience and acumen represented by the largest pool of nominees we have seen since beginning this annual awards process nearly a decade ago. We deliberated over three rounds to arrive at this year’s final list of awardees. Our evaluation process involved reviewing feedback on nominees from their colleagues, peers, portfolio company CEOs and others on their investment skill, judgement and performance over time as demonstrated by specific examples.
It was extremely challenging to make selections given the large pool of high caliber candidates and there were a good number of deserving investors we were not able to include. Ultimately, awardees were selected based on the depth of their deal experience, ability to help the companies they invest in, collaborative work style, and progression towards firm and industry leadership roles, among other attributes. Please join us in recognizing and celebrating the achievements of The Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors of 2022.
Firm: Thoma Bravo
Title: Partner
Andrew Almeida is a Partner on the Flagship team at Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm. He is instrumental in driving the firm’s equity investments in large, market-leading software and technology companies, as well as helping grow the firm’s distinguished cybersecurity practice. Andrew also plays a critical role in accelerating growth across the firm’s portfolio and is widely recognized as a thoughtful, growth-oriented partner to multiple Thoma Bravo portfolio companies, currently serving as a board member for SailPoint, Proofpoint, Flexera, Venafi, Sophos, Imperva, LogRhythm, Imprivata and Qlik.
In the past year, Andrew has co-led Thoma Bravo’s $6.9 billion take-private acquisition of SailPoint and the firm’s additional investment in portfolio company Imprivata to fund Imprivata’s strategic acquisition of SecureLink. In addition to deploying new capital, he also helped enable the firm’s exits of Veracode, Kofax, Imprivata and Barracuda Networks, representing over $11 billion of combined enterprise value.
Andrew holds a Bachelor of Arts in finance and a Bachelor of Business Administration in economics from The University of Wisconsin, Madison, as well as a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University.
“It’s an honor to partner with incredibly talented leaders at software and technology companies and apply Thoma Bravo’s industry knowledge and operational expertise to accelerate growth across these businesses. There has never been a more exciting time to be an investor in the software industry and cybersecurity specifically. The management teams we partner with are at the forefront of emerging cybersecurity trends like XDR, cloud security, and identity-first defense—enabling businesses of all shapes and sizes to protect themselves from cybercriminals and malicious insiders alike. I look forward to supporting current and future portfolio companies as they help their customers securely transition to the digital age.”—Andrew Almeida
Firm: Francisco Partners
Title: Partner
Jason Brein is a Partner at Francisco Partners where he invests in growing application software and education technology companies. This year, Jason led FP’s investment in NewGlobe Education and co-led FP’s carveout of Litmos from SAP. He headed the firm’s award-winning sale of Discovery Education and the firm’s equity recapitalization of Renaissance Learning. Jason currently serves on the boards of Barbri, Civitas Learning, Discovery Education, Follett School Solutions, MyFitnessPal, NewGlobe, Renaissance and VitalSource. He previously served on the boards of Capsilon, Corsair, CoverMyMeds, Metaswitch, myON, NMI, Paymetric and Verifone.
Prior to joining Francisco Partners in 2012, Jason worked at Elevation Partners and Goldman Sachs. Jason graduated from Princeton University with a degree in public and international affairs. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
“Francisco Partners has been a consistent, active growth investor in the education technology market, and the importance of this sector has never been clearer. At FP, we commit to partnering with innovative ed. tech founders and management teams at companies that leverage technology to deliver personalized learning and drive cost efficiencies. With the infusion of technology into education only continuing to accelerate, we are excited about the opportunities ahead.”—Jason Brein
Firm: Great Hill Partners
Title: Managing Director
Craig Byrnes is a Managing Director at Great Hill Partners, where he originates, evaluates and manages investments in companies across healthcare, healthcare technology, software, and technology-enabled services. In particular, he is passionate about working with companies in the healthcare sector in an effort to execute on their growth strategies, lower costs and improve patient outcomes while creating value for shareholders and other stakeholders. Over the course of his over ten-year career in private equity, Craig has helped lead 12 investments and numerous exits.
Craig helped spearhead Great Hill’s investment in IVX Health (a provider of outpatient infusion centers) and currently serves as a board observer. He also helped lead the firm’s investments in several other companies, of which he is also board member and observer, including RxBenefits (a pharmacy benefits optimizer), Vatica Health (a risk adjustment and quality of care provider) and Quantum Health (a company that helps consumers navigate the healthcare industry).
Before he joined Great Hill Partners in 2013, Craig was an Associate at Frontenac Company. He began his career as an Analyst at J.P. Morgan and later, a derivatives trader at DRW Trading Group. He earned a BA from Duke University in economics and psychology and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is a CFA charterholder, and also sits on the Board of Advisors at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
“At Great Hill, I’ve had the unique opportunity to partner with and learn from the founders and leaders of innovative companies that are disrupting the healthcare industry. Working with companies at the growth phase is incredibly rewarding, as it gives us the opportunity to support them at a critical point in their trajectories as we strive to further scale their capabilities and offerings.”—Craig Byrnes
Firm: FTV Capital
Title: Partner
Kyle Griswold is a partner at FTV Capital where he leads investments across the firm’s three sector focus areas: financial services, payments and transaction processing, and enterprise technology. His current portfolio companies include Edgewater Markets, Egress, Paddle, ReliaQuest, True Potential, VikingCloud and Vortx. Select successful exits for Kyle include APEX Fund Services, Aspire Financial Services, CardConnect, Cashstar, Centaur, ETF Securities, Fleet One, IndexIQ, RapidRatings, ReliaQuest, Strata Fund Solutions, Swan Global Investments, True Potential, Velocity Shares and WorldFirst. Since joining FTV in 2007, Kyle has led or been a part of the deal team for 24 transactions, deployed over $900 million in capital and been involved in 17 successful exits. He has a deep understanding of business models, market opportunities and challenges, and regulatory frameworks, allowing him to provide strategic insight and operational know-how to management teams. Kyle has been instrumental in guiding companies through exit planning and execution, leading to strong returns. Prior to FTV, he was an Investment Banking Associate with Berkshire Capital Securities. He received a BA in economics and mathematics from Trinity College and is a CFA charterholder. He also sits on the Trinity College Board of Fellows.
“It’s been an incredible privilege to work with and empower so many visionary founders and entrepreneurs who are disrupting the financial services and enterprise technology landscape. I’m honored to be recognized by GrowthCap as a Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investor, alongside such an impressive group of investors.”—Kyle Griswold
Firm: Spectrum Equity
Title: Managing Director
John joined Spectrum Equity in 2009 as an Associate. Now a Managing Director, John has completed a wide range of growth investments, ranging from minority investments to full buyouts. He has been most active in the education technology, consumer internet, online marketplace, and SMB software sectors. John worked on Spectrum’s investments in Ancestry (acquired by Blackstone), ExamSoft (acquired by Turnitin), Finalsite (acquired by Bridge Growth Partners), GoodRx (IPO) and Grubhub (IPO). He currently works with DataCamp, Headspace Health, Jimdo, Kajabi, Otter.ai, Presence, Prezi, Teachers Pay Teachers, and WIN Reality
John graduated from Georgetown University with a BA in political economy. He began his career as an Analyst within Credit Suisse’s media and telecommunications group in New York City.
“Spectrum Equity is a leading growth equity firm with an established record of partnering with entrepreneurs to help them accelerate growth and scale their internet-enabled software and information services companies. For the past 13 years, I have been fortunate to work alongside world-class entrepreneurs and founders who lead companies that are defining the categories in which they operate, and I look forward to continuing to play a strategic role in helping them achieve their growth ambitions.”—John Connolly
Firm: Insight Partners
Title: Managing Director
Thomas Krane is a Managing Director at Insight Partners and has been with the firm since 2012, when he joined as an Analyst. As an investor, his focus areas include cybersecurity, DevOps, IT automation and application software. Thomas also works closely with IGNITE—Insight’s innovation program that delivers Innovation Briefings, Innovation Roundtable Services and Growth Advisory Board opportunities to global IT leaders—leveraging his experiences on the investment team to drive thought leadership for Insight’s network of Global2000 CIOs, CISOs and technology leaders.
Thomas has spearheaded 30+ new standalone investments for Insight, many of which were opportunities that he sourced during his first few years as an Analyst at the firm. Five of his investments have gone on to realize an IPO (Tenable, JFrog, Darktrace, 1stdibs, SentinelOne) and four have had successful strategic exits (Thycotic, Nearpod, Cylance, QASymphony).
Thomas studied astrophysics at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and earned his Master’s degree in four years.
“Looking back on my ten years at Insight, I cannot imagine a better firm to have started my career. Even as a junior Analyst, Insight empowered me with a great deal of autonomy to learn and grow as an investor through experience. Today I’m continuously humbled by the opportunity to work alongside the incredible founders and entrepreneurs that pour their lives into building the technology that powers our modern world.”—Thomas Krane
Firm: TCV
Title: General Partner
Amol Helekar is a General Partner with TCV and has been with the firm since 2009. Amol focuses his investments in software, fintech and tech-enabled services. Amol has invested in industry-leading companies such as AxiomSL, Clio, Built Technologies, Payoneer (NASDAQ: PAYO), OneSource Virtual, Razorpay, Trulioo, and Evisort, deploying over a billion dollars in these portfolio companies. He also currently serves as a board director for Clio, Evisort, and Trulioo.
Prior to joining TCV, Amol spent several years at McKinsey & Company where he advised on climate tech and energy strategy. Amol received his MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated with a B.A. in economics from Stanford University.
“Growing up, I’d help out my family members with their bootstrapped furniture business. I saw firsthand the types of challenges that small businesses face without easy-to-access financial services such as working capital financing and seamless payment acceptance. This experience spurred my interest in investing in companies like Trulioo, Payoneer, Clio, and Razorpay that are aiming to improve financial services and tech for both SMBs and consumers around the world.”—Amol Helekar
Firm: Five Elms Capital
Title: Partner
Joe is a Partner at Five Elms Capital, a leading growth equity firm that invests in fast-growing, B2B software businesses globally. He joined Five Elms in 2010 and over the last 12 years has been involved in close to 20 investments across a wide range of software verticals. As a member of the investment committee, Joe draws from his prior experience investing in public and private markets across the US and Asia to support founder-owned SaaS businesses to accelerate growth and further cement their role as industry leaders. Joe currently serves on the boards of eight Five Elms portfolio companies: FMX, IntelligenceBank, Karbon, Skedda, Userlane, Crelate, GoReact, and Vajro.
Prior to joining Five Elms, Joe worked as an investor with Jayhawk Capital. Joe holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arbuckle Leadership Fellow, and a B.S. in finance from the University of Kansas.
“At Five Elms, we’ve spent the last 16 years building a firm that supports founders in turning great products into great businesses. We have a simple playbook: great products plus remarkable people drive amazing outcomes. I am incredibly fortunate to work alongside so many talented, driven and humble founders as we work together to scale category-defining software platforms globally.”—Joe Onofrio
Firm: PSG
Title: Managing Director
Since joining PSG in 2016, Bill has led investments in middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies with a focus on helping them navigate and capitalize on transformational growth. Bill focuses on adding value to the portfolio companies he works with by supporting recruiting efforts to build talented teams and driving growth through assistance with go-to-market initiatives and product development acceleration. Throughout his time at PSG, Bill has worked on more than 10 platform investments and over 20 add-on acquisitions. He is currently on the boards of 2ndWave Software, DoseSpot, LegitScript, MentorcliQ, Stylitics and Tribute Technology.
Before joining PSG, Bill was a Vice President at General Catalyst Partners, where he focused on investments in the software and technology-enabled service sectors. Prior to his growth investing career, Bill worked at Cowen in its investment banking division in New York. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College.
“At PSG, we know that the most critical component of every growth-stage SaaS business is its people—and building relationships with those employees and management team members across our portfolio is the best part of my role here. Software and technology companies are in a position to really advance the world, and I couldn’t be more excited about the management teams I’ve met who are driving this change.”—Bill Skarinka
Firm: Vista Equity Partners
Title: Managing Director
Adrian Alonso is a Managing Director in Vista Equity Partners’ Flagship fund, where he leads investments in large-cap, high growth enterprise software companies. Since joining Vista in 2009, Adrian has played a leading role in some of the firm’s most historic transactions and established himself as a trusted partner to founders throughout the entirety of their Vista journey. As a member of Vista’s Private Equity Management Committee, Adrian also advises on the overall strategy of the firm’s private equity platform.
Adrian led the firm’s investments in and currently serves on the boards of Advanced, CentralSquare, EagleView, iCIMS, Mindbody and Pluralsight. He has also been involved in the firm’s investments in Aptean, Omnitracs, Sovos Compliance, Reliance Jio and TransFirst. Most recently, Adrian led Vista’s investment in Avalara. Prior to joining Vista, Adrian worked in the TMT investment banking group of Goldman, Sachs & Co.
“It’s a privilege to work with visionary founders who have already taken their businesses to great heights and partner with them to achieve further growth at scale. These are the next-generation software companies that will transform the global enterprise and advance our digital world. I’m honored to help unlock opportunities with them to capitalize on their full potential.”—Adrian Alonso
Firm: Francisco Partners
Title: Partner
Justin Chen is a Partner at Francisco Partners. Based in San Francisco, he joined the firm in 2016. This year, Justin led FP’s carveout of bSwift from CVS Health and co-led the firm’s acquisition of Watson Health assets from IBM to create a standalone health tech company, Merative. He was also a key team member of FP’s award-winning sale of Capsule Technologies (a 233% gross IRR and an 11.9x gross MOIC) to Royal Philips. Justin currently serves on the boards of bswift, Merative, Office Ally, QGenda, and TS Imagine. He previously served on the boards of Capsule, HealthcareSource, NMI, and Verifone.
“It is a unique privilege to build and scale leading technology companies and work with such driven, entrepreneurial executives. At Francisco Partners, I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside talented professionals and nurture productive long-term relationships with our team and network of seasoned operators. Across FP, we embrace a culture of collaboration with a true partnership mentality.”—Justin Chen
Firm: Insight Partners
Title: Managing Director
David Spiro is a Managing Director at Insight Partners and joined the firm in 2013. At Insight, he focuses on investments in both high growth and mature software businesses and is responsible for executing transactions and assisting in portfolio management post-close. David is also actively involved in Insight’s training, mentorship, and recruiting programs.
David graduated summa cum laude from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. David remains involved in the Penn community as a guest lecturer for MGMT 264 – Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Management, and as judge for the Penn Wharton Startup Challenge.
“At Insight, we invest in leading software companies and provide unparalleled support to our portfolio through the good times and the tough times. I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with world-class management teams at our portfolio companies and colleagues at Insight as we collectively strive to make a positive impact.”—David Spiro
Firm: FTV Capital
Title: Partner
Robert Anderson is a Partner at FTV Capital where he leads investments in financial technology and payments, with a number of recent investments at the intersection of software, payments and embedded finance. At FTV, Rob has been actively involved in nearly 20 investments, totaling over $1.2 billion in capital deployed. Rob’s current investments and board seats include Derivative Path, Docupace, EBANX, LoanPro, Neon One, Plate IQ, SingleOps, Solid, Tango Card, Vagaro and Xplor. His representative exits and IPOs include Cashstar (acquired by Blackhawk Network), Enfusion (NYSE: ENFN), InvestCloud (recapitalized by Motive Partners and Clearlake Capital) and VPay (acquired by Optum/UnitedHealth Group). Prior to joining FTV in 2010, Rob was an Investment Banking Associate within the financial institutions group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and capital raising transactions for fintech and payments companies. Rob received an A.B. in economics and a certificate of finance from Princeton University.
“At FTV, we strive to be a supportive and collaborative partner to management teams, doing everything we can to help them accelerate growth and generate great outcomes. As the pace of change across fintech and payments only speeds up, it’s become that much more imperative to employ great discipline and skill in choosing the best companies to partner with. It’s very rewarding to once again be recognized by GrowthCap as part of this year’s 40 Under 40 list.”—Rob Anderson
Firm: Vista Equity Partners
Title: Managing Director
Ryan Atlas joined Vista Equity Partners (Vista) in 2012 and is a member of the private equity Foundation team where he oversees investments in middle-market, high growth software companies. Ryan has been a prolific dealmaker, having sourced and led some of Vista’s most successful investments. Ryan currently sits on the boards of AlertMedia, Critical Start, ESO Solutions, Granicus, LogicMonitor, Menlo Security, TigerConnect and Tribute Technology. He was also formerly on the boards of or actively involved with the firm’s investments in Allocate (acquired by RLDatix), Autotask (merged with Datto and acquired by Kaseya), Bullhorn (acquired by Insight Partners), Main Street Hub (acquired by GoDaddy), Relias Learning (acquired by Bertelsmann), Return Path (acquired by Validity) and Wrike (acquired by Citrix). Additionally, Ryan sits on the Vista Foundation Funds’ Investment Committee where he helps evaluate potential deals for the Foundation strategy.
Vista’s Foundation strategy, along with the Firm’s other private equity strategies, has been rigorously active. Over the past 12 months, Vista’s Foundation strategy saw 6 platform investments (Assent, BetterCloud, Critical Start, FLASH, StarRez and TigerConnect) and 22 add-ons, deploying over $1.6 billion.
Prior to joining Vista, Ryan worked at JMI Equity where he focused on growth and buyout investments of software and technology-enabled businesses.
“It’s an honor to work alongside a team at Vista that shares an unrelenting focus on founder and executive relationships. Leaders of today’s mission-critical software businesses demand a partner that shares their vision as they look to scale to new heights, and holds the talent, experience and passion for innovation to help them get there.”—Ryan Atlas
Firm: Monomoy Capital Partners
Title: Partner
Jaime Forsyth is a Partner and Head of the Investment Team at Monomoy Capital Partners. Jaime serves or has served on the board of directors for 14 of Monomoy’s platform investments, six of which were as Board Chair. In addition to her deal execution responsibilities, Jaime manages the Investment Team and is actively involved in the firm’s internal continuous improvement initiatives. She is responsible for founding and leading the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion efforts.
Jaime leads deal execution from sourcing through exit. She joined Monomoy as an Analyst on the Investment Team in 2008. Prior to joining Monomoy, Jaime was an Analyst in the leveraged finance group at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. Jaime received her B.S. in commerce from the University of Virginia, with concentrations in finance and accounting and a minor in Italian.
“I’m honored to be recognized by GrowthCap alongside so many talented investors. The success stories of my career to date would not have been possible without the industry-leading management teams with whom we partner and the exceptionally talented investors and operators here at Monomoy. At Monomoy, we believe in fostering homegrown talent and a culture of continuous improvement. Since joining Monomoy in 2008, I have been encouraged to grow as an investor and leader. Empowering young, diverse talent to pursue a career in investing and challenging them to succeed is a passion of mine. I’m proud to be part of a firm that demands both excellence and humility from all levels of the team.”—Jaime Forsyth
Firm: JMI Equity
Title: General Partner
Suken joined JMI In 2012 and has been investing in and helping build leading software companies for a decade. He is a General Partner at JMI Equity, focusing on software businesses. He is currently a board director of ButterflyMX, HackerRank, Huntress, Lytics, and SOCi, and Whistic and a board observer at Code42 and Seismic Software. His investment experience includes prior investments in Adaptive Insights (Acquired by Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY), Arena (Acquired by PTC, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTC), Avecto (Acquired by Bomgar), and Internet Brands (Acquired by KKR). As a General Partner of JMI Equity, Suken leads both minority and majority investments in enterprise software companies. He collaborates with management teams to define and achieve market-leading growth strategies.
Prior to joining JMI, Suken worked at Hellman & Friedman, Google, and Morgan Stanley. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, with a Bachelor of Arts in computer science and a BS in business administration. He received an MBA from Harvard Business School.
“Being able to collaborate with enterprise software companies at all stages of growth is extremely rewarding. I am fortunate to be included among this exceptional group of investors.”—Suken Vakil
Firm: TCV
Title: Partner
Matt Robinson joined TCV in 2011, and is a Partner co-leading TCV’s infrastructure software investing efforts. Matt has deployed over $700M into companies including Aviatrix, Cradlepoint, Devo, OneTrust, Silver Peak, Vectra, and Venafi.
In addition to Matt’s investment portfolio, he is a leader and culture carrier. Matt has led TCV’s Associate training program, the build-out of TCV’s NYC office, and the firm’s giving program that raised over $200,000 for COVID relief programs. Additionally, Matt is proud to represent the LGBTQ+ community in growth equity.
Matt was previously an Analyst in the Global Healthcare Group at UBS in New York. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated with a B.S. in biochemistry with honors from Indiana University.
“TCV is a special place with a long history of backing some of the world’s most innovative technology companies that have impacted all our lives. I’m grateful to the firm, my colleagues, and all the entrepreneurs I’ve had the great fortune of working with and learning from in building my career here over the past decade. The energy and talent across the technology and investing landscapes inspire me to do more and be better every day.”—Matt Robinson
Firm: Centana Growth Partners
Title: Partner
Matthew Alfieri is a Partner at Centana Growth Partners, a growth equity firm dedicated to financial services and related enterprise software companies. He has been investing in the financial services and software space for well over a decade and has led 14 investments. Matthew’s investment experience at Centana includes Beacon, Eventus Systems, Sayari Labs, SpyCloud and Zesty.ai, where he serves as a board observer. Matthew plays a key role in working with the firm’s Advisory Board, and leads a number of firmwide initiatives, including recruiting and training new investment team members.
Prior to Centana, Matthew spent nine years at Goldman Sachs, working closely with many of the firm’s top leaders to evaluate investments relevant to the financial services industry. He led eight investments and served on the boards of six companies across fintech and enterprise software. He received a Bachelor of Arts in business administration in the Financial Analyst Honors Program from the University at Albany. In 2019, he was named one of Business Insider’s Rising Stars of Wall Street.
“At Centana, we invest in companies that bring true value to the financial services industry, leveraging the knowledge, connectivity and expertise of Centana Growth Partners and our broader network. I feel honored that I have the opportunity to work with phenomenal management teams and offer guidance and insights to help position them for long-term success.”—Matthew Alfieri
Firm: Ampersand Capital Partners
Title: Partner
Marina joined Ampersand in 2013 and helped open the firm’s European office in 2017. She has leveraged her scientific knowledge and 10 years of experience in private equity investing to lead over $150 million of investments in growing life science tools and services companies.
Marina has served on the boards of Vibalogics, GeneWerk, Protagen Protein Services, and Gyros PTI in addition to being a key deal team member on investments in Brammer Bio, Genewiz, Genoptix, and LakePharma. She works closely with portfolio company management teams to define and execute growth strategies, including significant facility buildouts, geographic expansions, new product developments and M&A.
Prior to joining Ampersand, Marina was an Associate Director in Healthcare Investment Banking at UBS. She holds a degree in biological chemistry and, after finishing college, Marina worked at biochemistry laboratories at Harvard Medical School.
“I am proud to be part of the Ampersand team and the decades of experience we bring in helping build middle market healthcare companies into market leaders. I believe our unique blend of skills and focused experience has proven valuable to our portfolio companies. It is an honor to partner with innovative founder-entrepreneurs in growing their companies and contributing to their success.”—Marina Pellón-Consunji.
Firm: Kayne Partners
Title: Managing Partner
Leon Chen is a Managing Partner of Kayne Anderson’s growth capital activities. He has played a leading role in building an organization of 17 professionals and seven operating partners. He is responsible for identifying investment themes and analyzing investment opportunities, managing existing portfolio companies, and providing strategic direction for the growth capital funds. Leon is a member of Kayne Partners Investment Committee, as well as a member of Kayne Anderson’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. His areas of investment focus include software and tech-enabled businesses across media and telecom, business services, supply chain & logistics, and healthcare. He has held board roles on 15 portfolio companies and has had successful exits to both financial sponsors including Vista Equity, HGGC, and BV Investment Partners, and strategics such as AT&T, Cisco, and Telus.
Leon graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison with a B.B.A in finance.
“It has been incredibly rewarding helping build Kayne Partners into the growth capital platform it is today. I’m excited to see how the next generation of growth-stage technology companies will evolve, and how we can continue to expand our strategy to remain a first-choice investment partner.”–Leon Chen
Firm: JMI Equity
Title: General Partner
Larry joined JMI in 2010 and focuses on investments in B2B software businesses. He is a General Partner and is responsible for sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities, as well as providing strategic and operational support to portfolio companies. Larry is currently a board director of Bloomerang, ChurnZero, Higher Logic, Incident IQ, RainFocus, and Raptor Technologies. He is also involved in the firm’s investments in Benevity and Level Access. His experience includes several other notable investments, such as automotiveMastermind (acquired by IHS Markit), DoubleVerify (acquired by Providence Equity Partners), and Schoology (acquired by PowerSchool).
Larry graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in economics. Prior to JMI, he began his career as an Analyst in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch & Co.
“At JMI Equity, we work closely with management teams to create a sustainable roadmap for long term growth and to solve bottlenecks along the way. It’s a privilege to collaborate and work alongside extraordinary founders, CEOs, and teams every day. I’m honored to be recognized by GrowthCap and to be named alongside so many highly respected investors.”—Larry Contrella
Firm: Arrowroot Capital
Title: Founding General Partner
Kareem is a Founding General Partner of Arrowroot Capital, a global growth equity firm based in Los Angeles and Miami. Now on Fund V ($500MM+ invested since inception in 2014) and its 28th platform investment (+27 add-ons), Arrowroot focuses exclusively on $10-50MM+ growth equity checks into enterprise software companies at an inflection point across North America, Europe, Australia, and Latin America. Most notably, Kareem led the firm’s investments in Parkhub (acquired by LLR Partners), Agilence (acquired by Cuadrilla Capital), FirstUp (acquired by Sumeru Equity Partners), and ICIX (acquired by TA and Thoma Bravo-backed Riskonnect), and was also instrumental in prior investments 4tell (acquired by Rubicon Tech Partners), Embotics (acquired by Snow), and Evergage (acquired by Salesforce). Kareem currently sits on the boards of Appvance, KeyedIn, ServiceAide, Sourcepoint, and Tulip. He graduated with a B.S. in finance and international business from USC and holds an MBA from The Wharton School and an M.A. from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. He began his career in TMT merchant banking (nka Drake Star Partners) and subsequently global buyout firm OpenGate Capital on the North and Latin America team, both in Los Angeles.
“Our unique structured equity strategy for “teenage” enterprise software cos. has never been more pertinent than in today’s challenging macroenvironment. It has taken nearly a decade to build out our global presence and illustrate to the market that there is another path for VC-backed B2B cos. to get to where they want to go and avoid selling too early. But most importantly, it is a privilege to work with some of the most exciting tech companies and management teams in the world.”—Kareem El Sawy
Firm: H.I.G. Growth
Title: Managing Director
Patrick is a Managing Director at H.I.G. Growth Partners and is based in the New York office. Patrick focuses on minority growth equity investments across tech-enabled consumer and software verticals. Patrick has over a decade of investing and advisory experience across a broad range of industries and business models including consumer subscription, digital media & gaming, Prop-Tech, online marketplaces, and vertical SaaS. Prior investment and board experience includes Clear, Orchard, Curbio, Convene, Talkspace, BigCommerce, and Cava.
Prior to joining H.I.G., Patrick was a Partner at Revolution Growth, a Washington, DC-based venture capital firm focused on minority growth equity investments in the technology sector. Patrick began his career at Morgan Stanley on the Technology Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets teams.
Patrick graduated from Brown University with a BA in commerce, organizations, and entrepreneurship. While at Brown, Patrick was a team captain on the varsity football team and earned Academic All-American honors.
“It’s truly a privilege to work with industry leading technology businesses and world-class executive teams building durable business enterprises. At H.I.G. Growth, we believe our partnership approach and domain experience, combined with the scale and broad capabilities of the H.I.G. Capital platform, allow us to provide unique impact. I am incredibly excited by H.I.G. Growth’s momentum and look forward to working alongside my investment team and portfolio company partners to continue to generate outstanding returns.”—Patrick Conroy
Firm: Mainsail Partners
Title: Partner
David joined Mainsail in 2012 and is responsible for originating, evaluating, and supporting new investments. David works closely with a number of portfolio companies. He currently serves on the boards of Apptega, Inspect Point, Boostlingo, Syncro and SourceScrub (recapitalized by Francisco Partners). He formerly served on the boards of Bio-Optronics (acquired by Advarra), FairWarning (acquired by Imprivata), and was previously a board observer of Zen Planner (acquired by Daxko).
Prior to joining Mainsail, David was an Investment Banker at Wells Fargo Securities. While at Wells Fargo Securities, David advised on a number of M&A transactions for leading public and private technology companies. David graduated from the University of Southern California, where he earned his bachelor’s degree from the Marshall School of Business.
“At Mainsail, I have been fortunate to partner with many experienced founders, CEOs and management teams of bootstrapped software companies and to support them in realizing their full potential. In my 10 years at Mainsail, we have been disciplined in our strategy of investing in growing, B2B software companies and helping them in their next phase of growth. It is a privilege to collaborate with the founders and management teams that I work with, and I’m honored to have been named to this list.”—David Farsai
Firm: Left Lane Capital
Title: Managing Partner
Jason Fiedler is a Managing Partner at Left Lane Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on investing in high-growth, high-retention internet and consumer technology businesses around the world. He helped to co-found the firm in 2019, led the build-out and continues to lead the refinement of the firm’s deal sourcing engine and co-manages the firm’s investment team. Jason brings a unique operator and investor lens to the e-commerce, digital health and consumable products sectors and has led investments in Talkiatry, Jackpocket, Blank Street, Tovala, and Project Solar.
Jason started his career at Insight Partners as an Analyst on the investment team. In 2013, he joined Uber as an early employee, where he launched three of Uber’s first 100 markets.
Jason graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he received a BA in economics and the Frederick H. Gloeckner Award in Entrepreneurship.
“I am grateful to work intimately with the founders we back, as sparring partners and confidants, while they shape their businesses to help better the lives of everyday people. Left Lane has invested in 60+ companies since its founding in 2019, and what seems to resonate most across our family of founders is the shared journey and experience of growing quickly in a short amount of time. We too are builders, facing our own growing pains and challenges along the way, and so this familiarity and empathy creates a lot of trust with entrepreneurs.”–Jason Fiedler
Firm: Guidepost Growth Equity
Title: General Partner
Chris joined Guidepost Growth Equity in 2015. At Guidepost, Chris focuses on investments in application software and data services. He is currently a board director or observer at Atheneum, Atlas Technology Solutions, dscout, Mineral, Tractive, and WP Engine, and formerly served as a board director or observer at Lucid (acquired by Cint), Spoonflower (acquired by Shutterfly), and Leapfrog (acquired by Dentsu). Prior to Guidepost, Chris was a Vice President at Great Hill Partners and an Analyst in Citigroup’s Consumer & Retail Investment Banking group. Chris earned a BA in economics from the University of Notre Dame.
“I love working with owner-entrepreneurs of high growth, capital efficient, disruptive technology companies. At Guidepost, we focus on building trusted partnerships with our management teams by providing insight, experience, capital, and encouragement, as well as the functional, growth stage expertise of our Value Creation Group (“VCG”). Our VCG is comprised of former and current operators and entrepreneurs who have expertise in crucial functional areas that are often underdeveloped in growth stage companies and understand what it takes to build to $100M+ of revenue.”—Chris Cavanagh
Firm: Great Hill Partners
Title: Principal
Joe Germanese is a Principal at Great Hill Partners, where he has been responsible for originating, evaluating and managing investments in companies across the financial technology, business services and software sectors since 2011. Over the course of his private equity career, Joe has participated in 13 investments and nine exits.
Joe helped shepherd Great Hill’s investments in several companies for which he is now a board member, including Vanco (payment processing software) and Versapay (accounts receivable software). He also played an active role in the firm’s investments in NMI (payments processing platform), Chrome River (travel and expense management software provider), Affinipay (legal/professional services-focused payments company), Reward Gateway (employee engagement platform), Accelerated Payment Technologies (payments solutions company), and Freightquote (transportation management software for freight shipping).
Joe supported Great Hill’s exits from, and previously sat on the boards of, Confirmation.com (audit confirmation services provider acquired by Thomson Reuters), and PayChoice (payroll provider acquired by Sage North America). He led the merger of Great Hill portfolio company Vanco with Connexeo (education management and payments software provider).
Prior to joining Great Hill, Joe worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the healthcare investment banking group. He also briefly played professional soccer for the New England Revolution. He earned a BA from Duke University in economics.
“I am grateful to be a part of a firm that values cultivating long-term and meaningful relationships with entrepreneurs and management teams. Great Hill takes deep pride in seeking to help companies meet their full potentials, and I am proud to play a small role in the firm’s mission of supporting, empowering and growing innovative and disruptive businesses.”—Joe Germanese
Firm: TA Associates
Title: Director
Amara Suebsaeng is a Director in TA’s Boston office, where she focuses on investments in business, technology-enabled, information and other services companies in North America. As an active investor, Amara builds trusting relationships with management teams to drive value, including leveraging her deep sector expertise to source and execute strategic acquisitions. She currently serves on the boards of directors for LeadsOnline, OMNIA Partners, PurposeBuilt Brands, Stackline and TouchTunes, and formerly served on the board of Backstage, which was acquired by Cast & Crew.
Prior to joining TA as an Associate in 2010, Amara worked as an Analyst in the Investment Banking Division, Global Power & Utilities Group at Morgan Stanley. She also worked in the Product Management & Business Development Group at Logi Analytics. Amara holds an MBA, with Distinction, from Harvard Business School, and received a BA in economics, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, from Princeton University.
“At TA, we strive to help businesses reach their full potential through meaningful, long-term partnerships, enhanced by our strategic resources and customized approach. I am incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to support the growth and development of our portfolio companies and am consistently motivated by the management teams that have chosen to partner with TA.”—Amara Suebsaeng
Firm: Spectrum Equity
Title: Principal
Parag joined Spectrum Equity in 2012 as an Associate. Now a Principal, Parag is most active in enterprise software, cybersecurity, and financial technology. He has been involved in Spectrum’s investments in BATS Global Markets (acquired by CBOE), RainKing (acquired by DiscoverOrg/ZoomInfo), Verafin (acquired by Nasdaq), and Quantile (acquired by London Stock Exchange Group plc). He currently serves on the boards of Bitly, Digital Marketing Institute, Offensive Security, Origami Risk, and Our Family Wizard.
Parag graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in mathematics and economics. He began his career as an Analyst with J.P. Morgan’s Restructuring Group in New York City.
“Spectrum Equity’s nearly three-decade focus on internet-enabled software and information services companies has enabled us to invest in an incredibly dynamic category and partner with exceptional entrepreneurs and founders. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside these leaders as they build category-defining companies, create innovative products and produce real efficiencies for their customers at scale.”—Parag Khandelwal
Firm: TA Associates
Title: Director
Mike Libert is a Director in TA’s Boston office, where he focuses on investments in software companies throughout North America. He aims to drive value for TA’s portfolio companies through organic and inorganic strategies, offering more than ten years of cross-border experience as a software investor. Throughout his time at TA, Mike has led or co-sponsored investments in 14 software company platforms, closed transactions in 20 countries, and completed five public-to-private transactions. He has also originated or enabled more than 200 strategic add-on acquisitions for the portfolio companies he supports.
Mike currently sits on the boards of directors of Advantive, Appfire, Aptean, Fortra, Gamma Technologies, Idera, insightsoftware, Kofax, Lumivero, MRI Software, Netwrix, Precisely and Revalize. Mike previously worked at Bain & Company and Nintex, a former TA portfolio company. He received an AB degree from Harvard College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
“TA’s mission is rooted in creating market-leading franchises, enhancing their competitive advantage by providing deep industry expertise, and generating incremental value through recruiting, corporate strategy, and add-on M&A. I enjoy partnering with ambitious leadership teams who endeavor to build world class companies.”—Mike Libert
Firm: Alpine Investors
Title: Principal
Haley Beck is a Principal at Alpine Investors evaluating and executing investments in software and online companies. Haley also led Alpine’s expansion into behavioral health and hospitality tech companies. In her five-year tenure, she has been promoted multiple times, has closed more than thirty deals, and has become a leader at Alpine.
Haley currently sits on the board of Radicle Health, a group of four industry-leading human services software companies. She plays a key role in M&A strategy at Alpine Software Group (ASG) (Alpine’s software platform), Actabl (ASG’s SaaS provider of hotel operations), Traject (ASG’s marketing SaaS company), and Ingenio (an Alpine portfolio company and online advice marketplace). Haley has also been involved in six credit raises and three exits. Prior to Alpine, Haley interned at Goldman Sachs and graduated with honors from Princeton University with a BSE in computer science.
“It’s inspiring to work with and learn from exceptional leaders who are building enduring, purpose-driven companies. I am proud and grateful to be part of this journey.”—Haley Beck
Firm: Silversmith Capital Partners
Title: Principal
Nikhil Marathe joined Silversmith Capital Partners in 2015 and is currently a Principal focused on investments across the firm’s two core verticals, healthcare IT & services and SaaS & information services. His investment experience at the firm includes Appfire, AMS, Centauri Health Solutions, LifeStance Health, MediQuant, Panalgo, Partners Surgical, Upperline Health and Within3. Prior to Silversmith, Nikhil was an Associate at TA Associates where he focused on growth equity investments in healthcare IT and services, and previously served as an Analyst at Evercore Partners in the Technology M&A group. He received a B.S., magna cum laude, in economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
“At Silversmith, we understand that simply providing capital is not unique, but our partnership approach is a meaningful differentiator to the founders we work with. I am honored to have the opportunity to work alongside and support the growth of exceptional entrepreneurs and companies across the healthcare ecosystem, all with the goal of driving down costs, optimizing care quality and maximizing patient satisfaction.”—Nikhil Marathe
Firm: OMERS Growth Equity
Title: Director
Lisa Conway joined OMERS Growth Equity in 2018. As a Director with the Growth Equity team, Lisa focuses on the development of investment themes, sourcing and executing on new opportunities and actively managing current investments. In 2020, Lisa was named one of Venture Capital Journal’s “40 Rising Stars under 40” in the global venture community.
Prior to joining OMERS, Lisa spent nearly a decade as an M&A Investment Banker, beginning her career at Genuity Capital Markets in Toronto and most recently advising on media & communications transactions at Blackstone and PJT Partners in New York. Lisa also spent time working in PJT Partners’ London office.
Lisa graduated with an HBA degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University, where she was a recipient of the Ivey Scholar Award. Lisa serves on the National Ballet School of Canada’s Foundation Board as well as on the school’s First Positions Patrons Committee. In addition to New York and London, Lisa has also lived in Switzerland and Hong Kong.
“It’s an honour to be recognized by GrowthCap, alongside so many other accomplished leaders in the growth equity space. At OMERS Growth Equity, we back companies that are driving innovation across the technology sector and our portfolio companies know that we are the right partner to support ambitious growth plans and amplify their missions. I’m incredibly fortunate to work with a team of inspiring investors and management teams, that are playing a leading role in shaping the future.”—Lisa Conway
Firm: Bregal Sagemount
Title: Principal
Jordan Walton joined Sagemount in 2017. At Sagemount, Jordan helps lead investments in companies across software and tech-enabled services. Prior to joining Sagemount, Jordan was an Analyst in the Technology Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Lazard Frères & Co. Jordan’s investment experience while at Sagemount includes DiscoverOrg, Critical Start, Buyers Edge Platform, SurePrep, PayArc, and BuildingLink. Jordan has been an Associate Board Member at Teach for American in New York City since 2018.
Jordan received a BS in finance from the Marriott School at Brigham Young University.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with an exceptional team of investors at Bregal Sagemount and remarkable founders and CEOs who trust us as their partners. At Bregal Sagemount, we strive to provide flexible capital and value creation solutions to address the unique needs of successful entrepreneurs. The opportunity to partner with talented, forward-thinking companies is an enormous privilege.”—Jordan Walton
Firm: PSG
Title: Principal
Chris joined PSG in 2015 and has since worked on over 15 platform investments and over 25 add-on acquisitions, building strong relationships with entrepreneurs and management teams along the way. He most notably supports PSG’s portfolio companies through capital structure initiatives, financial planning and analysis, acquisitions and executive recruitment. Chris currently serves on the boards of CENTRL (observer), DigitalEd, DoseSpot, Kenect, Searchspring, Skybox Security, Tentacle, Traliant and Vehlo. Prior to joining PSG, Chris worked at Providence Equity Partners on the Valuation and Strategic Analysis team. Chris earned a MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.S. in economics from Fairfield University.
“It is PSG’s belief that our most successful partnerships come from strong working relationships with our portfolio companies. We strive to serve as a true extension of their leadership teams. I am grateful for the opportunity to partner with software companies that are primed for growth and am excited to continue accelerating these partnerships through tailored business strategies that unlock new avenues for expansion and impact.”—Chris Andrews
Firm: Turn/River Capital
Title: Principal
Matt is a Principal at Turn/River Capital, a B2B investment firm made up of software operators and investors, that provides flexible capital alongside operational expertise in software go-to-market. Matt has led the firm’s investments in and serves on the boards of Tufin (NYSE: TUFN), Redwood Software, ActiveBatch, JSCAPE and ActiveState. Throughout his career at Turn/River, Matt also worked with Pathwire (sold to Thoma Bravo & Sinch), Huddle (sold to Ideagen) and Commio platforms. Prior to joining Turn/River, Matt graduated from Tufts University, and began his career at Goldman Sachs in New York.
“At Turn/River we organize ourselves, and our thinking, to look more like a software company than a traditional investment firm. This approach gives our investment team a unique lens on value, and provides us with a compelling framework to partner with the next generation of software companies. Our expert operators partner with management teams to drive structural, and process improvements across sales, marketing, customer success and recruiting functions. We are fortunate to work closely with such talented management teams day in and day out as we constantly seek to expand our go-to-market playbooks. As a result, we have been able to help our companies systematically increase revenue growth rates, while also driving gains in profitability.”—Matt Amico
Firm: Norwest
Title: Principal
As a Principal on Norwest’s Growth Equity team, Scott focuses on investments across a wide range of sectors at Norwest including retail, CPG, business services, software, and media. His current investments at Norwest include Babylist, Kendra Scott (recapitalized by Berkshire Partners), MAËLYS, and MTN OPS. Prior to rejoining Norwest, Scott led the finance and corporate development team at Belcampo Group, a vertically integrated, multi-channel food business. Previously, he was a Senior Analyst in the Healthy, Active & Sustainable Living group at Piper Jaffray where he evaluated strategic opportunities for high-growth consumer companies in the healthy and active lifestyle sector. Scott holds a bachelor of arts degree in business economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
“Norwest helps founders and management teams scale world class businesses. I’m thrilled that this award reflects the amazing investment and portfolio services teams at Norwest that make this mission possible. Partnering with inspiring business leaders is undoubtedly the most rewarding aspect of this job. I’m humbled to support category-leading consumer brands that create value and positively impact society.”—Scott Mitchell
Firm: Silversmith Capital Partners
Title: Vice President
Danielle joined Silversmith Capital Partners in 2020 as a Vice President and focuses on building lasting partnerships with exceptional entrepreneurs in the SaaS & information services sectors, with a particular interest in developer & IT tools, ESG, and EdTech. Danielle helped lead four of the firm’s new investments in 2022 including Higg, Gearset, GiveCampus, and Proven Optics, and she currently serves as a board member or board observer. Outside of investing, Danielle is passionate about working with organizations focused on fostering career growth for women in business and helping to positively impact her broader community. Prior to Silversmith, Danielle was a private equity investor at Vector Capital and an Investment Banking Analyst at Morgan Stanley. Danielle graduated from Brown University with a degree in history and received an MBA with second year honors from Harvard Business School.
“At Silversmith, we are passionate about partnering with entrepreneurs who have lived their customers’ pain points and are compelled to solve them through technology-driven solutions. The best part of my role as an investor is having the opportunity to partner with world-class founders who are building software products that their customers truly love.”—Danielle Waldman
Firm: Battery Ventures
Title: Vice President
Lauren Wedell is a Vice President at Battery Ventures, where she focuses on late-stage and buyout investments. In her four years at Battery, a global investment firm that has raised more than $13 billion since its inception nearly forty years ago, Lauren has developed a distinctive emphasis on infrastructure software, information services, and fintech, and has deployed more than $400M in capital (both equity and debt financing). Recognized as a skilled deal originator and a trusted advisor to CEOs, Lauren independently sourced two current Battery investments, cybersecurity firm DomainTools and raw-materials data platform ResourceWise (formerly Forest2Market), as well as eight add-on investments for existing Battery technology platforms. The DomainTools and ResourceWise deals resulted from thematic research that Lauren led; she reached out to hundreds of companies in search of the right investment in the commodity data-pricing market, for example, and brought two companies together to form ResourceWise without any outside advisers. Lauren, just 27, also worked closely with recent Battery exits Enviance (acquired by Cority) and Concurrent Real-Time (acquired by Spectris).
For three years, Lauren served on the Boston chapter board of the nonprofit Synergist Network, promoting career development for female and underrepresented minority investors. Lauren sat on the inaugural committee that designed the first Synergist Finance Fellowship, a mentoring program for college freshmen and sophomores.
Before joining Battery, Lauren was an Investment Banking Analyst within the technology group at William Blair. Lauren earned her BBA summa cum laude from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. While at Boston College, Lauren was a member of the Division I Varsity Women’s Ice Hockey team and the recipient of the highest undergraduate honor, the Finnegan Award.
“I have had the great privilege of working with and learning from experienced investors and entrepreneurs in my still-young career, people who have taught me a great deal about the importance of cultivating relationships and listening with intention. As I advance professionally, I look forward to continuing to give back to the investing community by fostering opportunity and growth potential for the next generation, particularly for women and underrepresented minorities.”—Lauren Wedell
Firm: Volition Capital
Title: Principal
Dave joined Volition Capital in 2010 as an Associate, re-joining the firm’s software and tech-enabled services team in 2018 after spending time as an LP at the Wolfson Group, and as a growth stage technology investor at Catalyst Investors. Over the course of Dave’s career, he has helped deploy over $100 million of capital in growth-stage technology businesses and over $200M of capital via LP commitments and co-investments. Dave began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Jefferies & Company and holds degrees from NYU’s Stern School of Business and MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
“As investors, we have the privilege of backing passionate entrepreneurs who work tirelessly to build great businesses. At Volition, we’ve been fortunate to partner with some of the best. We are dedicated to providing the teams we back with the resources and support they need to achieve their aspirations and we are thrilled to see them succeed.”—Dave Gordon
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Copyright: The GrowthCap’s Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors of 2022 publication is copyrighted material, produced and published by GrowthCap, LLC. For information pertaining to content permissions, please refer to GrowthCap’s award usage regulations.
Disclaimer: The data provided in this publication is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, endorsement, nor recommendation. GrowthCap believes the information in this publication to be accurate but does not verify its accuracy independently and does not warrant or guarantee that it is accurate or complete. GrowthCap has no obligation to provide any updates or changes to the information. No investment decisions should be made using this information.
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