Navigating the Pandemic: Independent Sponsors

Faraz joined Centerfield in 2001. He is responsible for investor relations, overseeing due diligence, structuring and negotiating transactions and portfolio management. Faraz is a member of the Partnership’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Centerfield, Faraz held sales and product development roles at Praxair and Rodel, where he was the lead researcher and developer of next generation consumables for the microelectronics industry and was awarded a patent. Faraz has been recognized as one of the “Forty under Forty” young leaders in Indianapolis, “Who’s Who in Finance” by the Indiana Business Journal and was the winner of Junior Achievement’s “Indy’s Best and Brightest” award.

Tom is a Partner and is responsible for originating, structuring and managing investments for Comvest’s direct lending strategy.

Prior to joining Comvest, Tom was a Senior Restructuring and Finance Consultant for a healthcare focused specialty finance firm. Tom also served over nine years at Goldman Sachs, starting as a Vice President and then as a Director in the Specialty Lending Group where he focused on healthcare investing. Previous experience includes healthcare finance roles at BNP Paribas and First Union.

Tom received a B.A. in accounting from Furman University.

Grant is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of NCK Capital (“NCK”). He is a seasoned investment professional with years of both deal and operating experience. Over the last few years, NCK has built a growing portfolio of 5 companies in many different industries including environmental services, post-secondary education, and building services.

Prior to founding NCK, Grant was the Florida Development Partner for The Lane Company, one of the largest multifamily management and development companies in the Southeast acquiring and developing between $1B and $2B of assets per year. In addition, Grant founded several companies and was profiled on CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. He was also the Director of Business Development at Isadra, an enterprise software company acquired by VertcialNet (NASDAQ: VERT), and began his career as an associate at Sterling Partners, a private equity firm with over $4B AUM.

Grant has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance from Georgetown University and a member of the Lone Star Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

Derek is involved in all phases of the investment process and portfolio management at Boyne. He has a deep understanding of the needs of owners and managers of mid-sized companies. He invests for the long-term and believes in maximizing value by focusing on business fundamentals. With over twenty years of private equity experience, Derek has significant experience in structuring and leading recapitalizations of privately held businesses, corporate divestitures and restructurings. His industry expertise includes financial services, business and consumer services, healthcare, building products, consumer products and aerospace.

Prior to founding Boyne, Derek began his career working with private equity and management consulting firms, including: Trivest Partners, HIG Capital Management, Continental Illinois Venture Corporation and Corporate Value Associates.

Derek received his AB from Dartmouth College and MBA from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.

Following eight years in sales and marketing for a different factoring company—where she developed her skills in negotiating and structuring tailored transactions—Lilies joined Accord in 2000. At Accord, Lilies is responsible for spearheading the company’s business development activities with particular emphasis on the private equity/M&A market place. Within this space, she has worked with countless independent sponsors, developed a deep understanding of this industry niche, and structured numerous transactions to the unique needs of these entrepreneurs. She was educated in Indonesia and Singapore before attending the University of Nebraska to study business.