The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) market is the primary engine driving employment and economic growth in our country, and Private Equity is becoming a bigger and bigger part of this market. Annual middle-market deal value surpassed $400 billion in 2018 per PitchBook. As the SME market evolves, so has the Private Equity money chasing these companies. Whether you are an owner-operator of a private business that is looking to sell or take some “chips” off the table, an executive considering a management opportunity with a private equity owned business, or looking to partner with a private equity investor to acquire a business, there are many variables to consider. And there are different private equity structures and types of providers that you need to be aware of, each bringing unique skills and resources to the table.
Join fellow CEOs for this fascinating event, with a panel designed to illustrate what the different Private Equity groups look like, what the different groups can bring to the transaction, what levels of control each may seek, what contributions they are expecting from their minority or majority equity partners and management teams going forward, and how to work together in building to an even greater exit down the road.
We will convene at historic Old Parkland, home to many of the top PE firms, exclusive family offices and other power players in Big D’s quiet-money world of finance and private investments. We'll have a private reception in Cypress Growth Capital’s office, Suite 100, before moving promptly at 6:00 to the "Pig Room" for a panel discussion. Please plan to be at Cypress Growth Capital’s office before 6:00 as we will have a guide to take us to the famous “Pig Room”.
SCHEDULE:
5:00 - 6:00 pm Mingling & Cocktails
6:00 - 7:00 pm Panelist Discussion
If you are a CEO and would like to see if you qualify to attend this event, register online.
MODERATOR BIO:
Larry King CPA, CGMA currently serves as the CFO, COO, and Chief Compliance Officer, and on the Advisory Board, at WhamTech, Inc., a privately-held distributed data virtualization platform solutions company in Dallas, TX., and serves on the Board of nDivision, Inc (NDVN), and on the Advisory Board of BlockQAI, LLC. He is a proven and effective strategic leader and business builder with over 30 years of middle market leadership experience. He founded and grew KBA Group, LLP into the largest Dallas based CPA firm with over 135 professionals, 9 Partners and a diversified menu of services and led the firm’s organic and strategic acquisition growth. He then led the firm through a merger into a large national CPA firm, where he served as the Dallas office Managing Partner and then transitioned to the South Region Leader of their Transaction Services Group before retiring from the firm in mid-2015. He has extensive experience with assisting clients with business strategy, financial reporting, including going public transactions, and mergers and acquisitions from both the buy side and sell side.
Larry has served on multiple for profit and not for profit boards throughout his career and is a Past President and current Advisory Council member of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) DFW Board of Directors. He also has directly interfaced with many Boards of Directors of private and public companies in his role as a client service Partner in public accounting. He was recognized for the TSCPA Lone Star Pathfinder Award in 2000. Larry is also an alumnus of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce Leadership Dallas Class of 2011.
Larry is a graduate of Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts with a BS in Accounting and Operations Research where he graduated Beta Gamma. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant with both local and National accounting firm experience. He is a member of CEO Trust, the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance (IECG), and Business Navigators Directors Group.
PANELIST BIOS:
Scott Colvert serves as a Partner of Trinity Hunt and is a member of the Fund’s Investment Committee. Scott is primarily responsible for deal sourcing and business development, as well as portfolio company monitoring. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Lone Star Fasteners and has also served on the board of Rotorcraft Services Group. With over 25 years of experience in private equity, Scott manages Trinity Hunt’s industry thematic deal sourcing process and serves as the firm’s primary interface with buy-side advisors and investment banks. He also participates in evaluating new investments in the industrial growth and business services sectors.
Scott joined Trinity Hunt’s predecessor, Hunt Capital, as a partner in 1999. His previous experience includes seven years with Banc of America Capital Investors in Dallas, in the Corporate Finance Consulting Group at Arthur Andersen, and as the Controller of Hi-Tech Products, Inc.
Scott holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Baylor University and an M.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin. In addition, Scott is a Certified Public Accountant. He currently serves on Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business Advisory Board and Endowment Investment Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Pine Cove Christian Camps. His hobbies include watching and playing sports with his three boys, running and Toastmasters. He and his wife are active volunteers in their church.
Andy Foskey is a Managing Partner with Transitional Capital Partner’s. He works with portfolio companies on strategy, management team development, business building, problem solving and acquisitions. He is also responsible for identifying new TCP investments and investor relations. Prior to joining Transition Capital Partners, Andy was a Managing Director for several funds and family offices including a subsidiary of Credit Suisse, Hunt Private Equity Group and J.B. Poindexter & Co. Prior to that, Andy was the Chief Financial Officer of a private equity backed consolidator in the equipment rental industry and a Director of Corporate Finance for Comerica Bank. Over his career Andy has invested in numerous middle market companies, managed corporate affairs as a CFO, and advised on many successful M&A transactions.
Andy earned a B.A. from Michigan State University, an M.B.A. from Wayne State University, holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute. Andy currently serves on the Board of Directors for TriCon Logistics, Postup, Hospice Source, Hayes Software Systems, and Highstreet IT Services.
Vik Thaper is a Partner at Cypress Growth Capital. He has 17 years of experience spanning venture capital, private equity and information technology consulting. Vik’s responsibilities span all aspects of the investment lifecycle including identifying promising potential companies, conducting due diligence and providing ongoing support to portfolio companies especially with sales and business development initiatives.
Prior to joining the Cypress team in 2012, Vik served as a venture capitalist for a $200M investment fund sponsored by the State of Texas. In that role, Vik was responsible for identifying, qualifying and mentoring prospective portfolio companies. Vik also worked with a private equity firm, Lone Star New Markets. He spent the first decade of his career working in the information technology field as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Vik is also very active in the Texas entrepreneur community, currently serving on the Board of Directors of TeXchange, TiE Dallas, the Southwest Venture Forum and the University of Texas – Dallas Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University and an undergraduate degree from University of Texas at Dallas.
