ACG Boston Announces Gus Phelps, Polen Capital, as Chapter President, Mike Alberts, Cohere Capital, as Chapter Vice President, and New Executive Director of ACG Boston, Emily Silva

BOSTON, MA – September 10, 2024 – ACG Boston, the Boston Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), has announced Gus Phelps, Private Capital Solutions Director, Polen Capital, as Advisory Board Chapter President, beginning September 2024. Gus takes over the presidency from Rudy Scarito, Founder & President, RS Finance & Consulting. The ACG Boston board has also announced Mike Alberts, Principal, Head of Business Development, Cohere Capital, as Chapter Vice President. In this position, Mike will work closely with Gus to help drive the mission and initiatives of the chapter.

“ACG Boston continues to build on our long history of strong Board leadership with Gus at the helm. His industry experience and commitment to ACG will be instrumental in the continued growth and engagement of the New England dealmaking community,” said Christy Dancause, former Executive Director, ACG Boston.

Outgoing President, Rudy Scarito will be recognized at ACG Boston’s upcoming Fall Kickoff event on September 10 at the Exchange Conference Center.

The ACG Boston board has also announced Emily Silva as the Chapter Executive Director, taking over the staff leadership role from Christy Dancause.  With 10 years under her belt at ACG Boston, most recently as Director of Events, Emily will partner with the Chapter Advisory Board to further the growth and innovation of the Boston chapter, working with the chapter staff team to execute best in class events and experiences for the Boston middle-market M&A community.  Christy Dancause will remain at ACG as full-time Regional CEO for the Northeast & Great Lakes regions, focusing on increased collaboration, coordination and communication among chapters, to help increase and streamline member and sponsor value.

ACG Boston serves over 550 New England members who are directly involved in middle-market M&A transactions – including private equity & family office investors, intermediaries, lenders and M&A service providers – and is dedicated to helping M&A professionals build and maintain trusted and productive relationships through membership and event opportunities.

Background – ACG Boston’s New Board Officers

Gus Phelps – Private Capital Solutions Director, Polen Capital
Gus is the Private Capital Solutions Director at Polen Capital responsible for originating and managing the firm’s private investments. Prior to joining Polen Capital in 2023, Gus was a Partner at Summit Partners and previously was a founding partner at Seacoast Partners. Gus received his B.A. from Trinity College and M.B.A. from Cornell University.

Mike Alberts – Principal, Cohere Capital
Mike is responsible for managing Cohere’s new investment development and evaluation initiatives for platforms and existing portfolio companies. He joined Cohere at its inception and has well over a decade of experience working with growth stage companies in multiple roles including transaction execution, operations, and business development.  

Prior to joining Cohere, Mike was Vice President of Operations at Shields Health Solutions where he focused on strategic growth, business development, and day-to-day operations serving the company’s health system customers. Prior to Shields, Mike was a Senior Associate at Gauge Capital where he focused on private equity investments in high growth, entrepreneur-owned companies in the healthcare and services sectors. 

Earlier in his career, Mike was an analyst at Houlihan Lokey and BB&T Capital Markets where he advised clients on mergers and acquisitions in the aerospace, defense, and government services sectors. Mike received his Bachelor of Arts degrees in Markets and Culture (Behavioral Economics) and English from Southern Methodist University.

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