Dealmakers' Forum

As Director, Middle Market Specialty Finance, Doug manages KeyBank’s nationwide ESOP banking practice, providing employee-owned companies with commercial financing, wealth management and employer solutions. Doug has over 30 years of experience as a financial manager in commercial banking, investment banking and private industry, and specializes in lending to companies transitioning to employee ownership. Prior to joining KeyBank in 2004, Doug initially developed his knowledge of ESOPs while serving as the CFO of a die-cast die manufacturer, a partial ESOP company located in the Midwest. He continued his ESOP involvement as a Vice President with Goelzer Investment Banking, performing ESOP valuations, feasibility studies and other corporate advisory services. While at Goelzer, he received the American Institute of CPA’s Accredited in Business Valuation designation (ABV). Doug graduated cum laude with a BA degree from DePauw University, and an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He is a member of The ESOP Association, The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and currently serves as a commissioner on the Colorado Governor’s Employee Ownership Commission.

Prior to joining Revelstoke, Mr. Oliver served as an Associate at Ares Management, L.P. in Los Angeles, where he was a member of the Private Quity Group.  While at Ares, Mr. Oliver focusd on the evaluation and execution of platform and add-on acquisitions in addition to the execution of operational and stratgic initiatives at portfolio companies across a variety of sectors including healthcare and business services.  Mr. Oliver was previously an Analyst at Jefferies in New York City, where he was part of the Global Healthcare Investment Banking team advising both private equity and straegic clients on mergers and acquisitions across several healthcare services sectors, including:  physical therapy, ophthalmology, urgent care, dental and veterinary services.  Mr. Oliver serves on the board of directors of Upstream Rehabilitation, Rarebreed Veterinary Partners, and Empire Portfolio Group.

Jacob is responsible for managing the sale process from bid through closing and serves as a trusted advisor for Woodbridge’s clients. Prior to joining Woodbridge, Jacob spent 12 years at Goldman Sachs in Asia, most recently as Executive Director, heading Execution Services in Taiwan. His team covered more than 500 institutional clients globally. He moved to Taiwan from Goldman Sachs in Tokyo where he spent 9 years in execution in the Japanese market. Jacob holds a Masters Degree in Asian Studies & International Finance from the Johns Hopkins University – Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, as well as a Bachelors in Asian Studies & Economics from The John Hopkins University. Jacob is fluent in Japanese and speaks basic Mandarin.

As a leader in the firm’s information technology consulting practice, Scott Petree assists companies with various assessments of security controls including data privacy, PCI compliance, and IT infrastructure. With more than 17 years of experience, Scott advises clients on information systems audits, forensic technology, and enterprise risk mitigation in the financial institutions, healthcare, automotive, manufacturing, and government sectors.

Scott is often asked to present on security-related topics for webinars and conferences. Recently, he spoke to the MICPA on new trends in technology and to the GFOA on COSO and its implications. Scott has led Plante Moran webinars on cybersecurity concerns and fraud prevention. In addition, Scott is a member of the AICPA, the MICPA, the ISACA-Detroit chapter, and the ACFE. His certifications include Certified Information Systems Auditor, Qualified Security Assessor, Certified Fraud Examiner, and CPA. Scott holds a B.A. in mathematics from Grand Valley State University and a BBA in accounting information systems from Eastern Michigan University.

Nicholas Sly serves as the Bank’s regional economist and its representative in the states of Colorado, Wyoming and in northern New Mexico. Mr. Sly works closely with the Branch’s board of directors and is responsible for briefing the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on economic conditions in the Denver branch’s region.

Prior to joining the Bank in 2015 Mr. Sly was associate professor of economics at the University of Oregon. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in mathematics and economics and earned his PhD in economics from Michigan State University.

Lisa is a seasoned technology executive with +30 years of industry experience spanning the roles of operator, investor, and entrepreneur. At Zenefits she was responsible for Product Management, UX/Design, Strategy, and Program Management. She re-architected the product platform and evangelized a product vision that successfully differentiated the company as an HCM provider with a single tech stack powering dual GTM motions for the sub-1000 employee market. Lisa’s expertise is in Product Management, Strategy, and Digital Transformation.

Lisa was the VP, Corporate Strategy at Workday (NASD: WDAY), a $5.1B (2021) global cloud/SaaS HCM enterprise software provider. She joined Workday through the acquisition of GridCraft where she was the Co-founder/CEO. GridCraft was a venture-backed startup and the acquisition was pivotal to Workday’s expansion into financial applications. At Citrix (NASD: CTXS), a $3.2B (2021) Cloud computing technology provider, Lisa had P&L responsibility their flagship GoToMyPC SaaS business. She was the VP/GM for this highly profitable subscription business and successfully accelerated the business by expanding into new international markets and verticals. Prior to Citrix, she was a GP at Vista Ventures, a $80M majority women owned VC fund focused on early-stage tech.

Lisa was one of the first North American employees at SAP (NYSE: SAP), a €27.8B (2021) global enterprise software provider. She spent 9 years on the operational side, including Consulting, Sales, Product and Strategy, and 5 years on the VC side as the SVP, SAP Ventures, the corporate VC arm of SAP with $380M under management. SAP Ventures did direct investments in the US, Europe and India and were LP’s in European and Asian funds. In this role she was a Board Observer at many companies. It was also during this time that she relocated to SAP HQ in Germany. The fund performance was top tier for corporate venture and subsequently led to the creation of Sapphire Ventures, currently with ~$4B under management.

Ross is a Senior Vice President in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group with CAC Specialty. In this role, he advises private equity and strategic/corporate clients in M&A transactions. He works with the team’s product specialists and Claims/Analytics team to assess the adequacy of coverage, quantify the impact of insurance expense, and accruals to the financial statements and review contracts to ensure compliance.

Prior to joining CAC Specialty, Ross spent 2 ½ years at JLT Specialty as a Vice President in its U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions Group until shortly after its ultimate sale to Marsh with similar responsibilities that he currently has at CAC Specialty.  Previously, Ross spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as a Vice President in its Corporate Insurance and Advisory Services Group.  While at Goldman, Ross advised, diligence and procured various insurance programs across a variety of industries including real estate, golf courses, casinos, construction, private equity, infrastructure and oil & gas in the U.S., Caribbean, Europe and Asia.  He also managed Pearl Street Insurance Company, the firm’s captive insurer, and liaised with Credit and Operational Risk teams to create and document “Basel” insurance programs used as a risk mitigant for operational capital relief.

Ross has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from Texas A&M University, a Master of Business Administration from Texas Christian University and has his Associate in Risk Management (ARM) certification.

Travis leads the operations efforts for Lion Equity, including carve out execution, integration support, strategic planning, and overall management of portfolio company performance.  Prior to joining Lion Equity, Travis was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company in their Denver office, supporting Fortune 100 clients in the Global Energy and Materials space.  Travis focused on the intersection of operations and strategy, including leading frontline lean manufacturing transformations and developing cutting-edge digital and advanced analytics solutions  Before McKinsey, Travis was a Submarine Warfare and Special Operations Officer with the U.S. Navy, serving as a nuclear engineer, diver, and combat strategy officer.  Travis earned his MBA from UC Berkeley and his MA in Economics from Northwestern University. He is a 2014 Pat Tillman Scholar and an
avid Team Rubicon and Habitat for Humanity volunteer.

Jason Werner focuses his practice on assisting clients with complex entity formations, structuring, acquisitions, and dispositions.  His experience includes both buy-side and sell-side M & A, private equity and general corporate counseling. 

He counsels clients through all aspects of their businesses, ranging from day-to-day contract and other corporate needs to the successful completion of material transactions.

Prior to joining in 2012, Jason began his legal career at a firm in New York.  In addition to his legal background, Jason has experience in the financial industry, having worked at ELX Futures, L.P., a derivatives exchange in New York City.  Jason serves on various Firm committees, including the Firm’s recruiting committee. 

Chris Picardi began his career at KeyBank in 2011 and currently serves as a Senior Vice President and Sales Leader in the Colorado Commercial banking group where he focuses on M&A transactions. Prior to KeyBank, Chris was an Institutional Sales Associate for D.A. Davidson’s Equity Capital Markets Division.

Chris graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance and Real Estate and earned a Masters of Business Administration degree with a focus on Finance from the University of Colorado Denver.  Chris is a Board Member and serves on the Executive Committee of the Young Americans Center for Financial Education, a non-profit whose mission is to teach young people about finances, economics and business, enabling them to become financially literate and ensure long-term stability for themselves and their families.

Chris was named as a Top 40 under 40 Business Professional in 2020 by the Denver Business Journal, and in 2022 Chris was named as Top 25 Young Professional- GenXYZ by Colorado Business Magazine. Chris also enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children.