Gridiron Capital has promoted Chris King, Doug Rosenstein, and Brad Skaf to managing director. Messrs. King, Rosenstein, and Skaf all joined Gridiron immediately following business school as senior associates in 2015 and 2016 and are active at the firm with new investment opportunities, due diligence, and value creation at portfolio companies.
“We are excited to recognize Chris, Doug, and Brad’s development and their contributions to Gridiron over the years,” said Tom Burger, a co-founder and managing partner at Gridiron. “We look forward to having them as more senior members of the Gridiron team and to working with each of them to continue to drive performance for our investors. Chris, Doug, and Brad will help Gridiron continue to partner with great companies and build and deliver value for all our partners.”
Prior to joining Gridiron, Mr. King was an associate at Vestar Capital Partners and an analyst at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. He has his undergraduate degree in finance and international business from Georgetown University and his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. King currently serves on the boards of Erie Home, GSM Outdoors, M&D Distributors, and Royal Paper.
Prior to joining Gridiron, Mr. Rosenstein was an associate at Sterling Partners and worked as an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He has his undergraduate degree in business from Indiana University and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Mr. Rosenstein currently serves on the boards of Class Valuation, Colibri Group, Esquire Deposition Solutions, Travel Nurse Across America, and Vistage Worldwide.
Prior to joining Gridiron, Mr. Skaf served as a research analyst at an equity fund, and an analyst at Lazard Freres. He has his undergraduate degree in economics and mathematics from Columbia University and his MBA from Stanford University. Mr. Skaf currently serves on the boards of AML RightSource, Cubii, Jacent Strategic Merchandising, Legacy Service Partners, and The Service Companies.
“Gridiron continues to invest in all aspects of the firm but foremost in the people that help drive our success,” said Kevin Jackson, a managing partner at Gridiron. “We love having Chris, Doug, and Brad on our team and are excited to recognize their outstanding achievements and cultural leadership. They have collectively taken on increasing levels of responsibility within the organization and have earned the respect of our management team partners through their dedication and teamwork. I am confident they will continue to exemplify our Winning Together culture and inspire others at Gridiron through their examples.”
Last month, Gridiron closed its fifth fund, Gridiron Capital Fund V LP, with $2.1 billion of capital. The new fund exceeded its target of $1.8 billion and is markedly higher than the firm’s earlier fund which closed in December 2020 with $1.35 billion of capital.
Like its earlier funds, Gridiron V makes control equity investments in North America-based branded consumer, business-to-business and business-to-consumer services, and niche industrial businesses that have enterprise values between $150 million and $600 million and EBITDA from $10 million to $60+ million.
Gridiron’s new fund is already 40% deployed across 4 platforms – including 16 add-on investments – as follows: Legacy Service Partners, a Tampa-headquartered provider of residential heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning, plumbing, and electrical services (January 2023); Esquire Deposition Solutions, an Atlanta-headquartered provider of remote and in-person court reporting, video, and interpreting services for law firms, insurance companies, and corporate legal departments (January 2023); and Magneto & Diesel, a Houston-area headquartered distributor and remanufacturer of aftermarket parts for diesel engines (September 2022); Vistage Worldwide, a San Diego-headquartered provider of CEO coaching and peer advisory services to small and midsize businesses (July 2022).
© 2023 Private Equity Professional | November 17, 2023
