Purchasing in a Pandemic: A look at current M&A trends - Part 3

Mr. Kothari draws on nearly twenty-five of experience as an investor, a financial advisor, and an entrepreneur.  Mr. Kothari is a founder and Managing Director of Cascade Partners, a private investment and investment banking firm where he assists companies with mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and other corporate finance activities.  In addition, Cascade Partners makes are variety of control and non-control investment in companies in the business service, high value manufacturing, technology, and healthcare sectors.  Mr. Kothari continues to manage Seneca Health Partners, a healthcare venture capital fund that he co-founded.   Prior to forming Cascade Partners, Mr. Kothari was a co-founder of Seneca Partners, Inc., a similar investment banking and private investment firm where he completed nearly 40 transactions or investments.  

Mr. Kothari is an active member of a variety of trade and community organizations, including past service on boards of TiE Detroit, Michigan Venture Capital Association and the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest and former Councilperson for the Village of Wolverine Lake, Michigan and was honored as one of Crain’s Detroit Business’s 40 Under 40 honorees.  Mr. Kothari is a Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer auxiliary of the United States Air Force, in which he has served for over 35 years. He currently serves as the Commander of Michigan Wing for Civil Air Patrol. Additionally, Mr. Kothari is Professor as the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and served as an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Notre Dame at the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies for nearly 12 years. Mr. Kothari, a Chartered Financial Analyst, earned both a Bachelors of Arts and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.  He currently holds the Series 7, 79, 24, and 28 licenses from FINRA. 

Heather leads Huron Capital’s business development and investment sourcing activities.  She has 20 years of experience originating, structuring, and executing debt and equity transactions in the middle market.  Prior to joining Huron, Heather was responsible for all West Coast new business development for SPP Capital Partners, a NY-based investment bank. She also served as Vice President and Team Leader of Middle Market Banking at Comerica Bank in San Francisco and has also held roles at CIT Sponsor Finance and Madison Capital Funding LLC where she focused on originating and structuring leverage finance products for private equity clients.

Heather serves as Board Member of the Detroit Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), is the Founder and past Chair of the ACG Detroit Women’s Forum, and was co-chair of the 2019 ACG Great Lakes Capital Connection conference.  Heather is also board member and advisor of Friendship Beverage, a Minneapolis-based beverage company.

She received a B.A. from Cornell University.

Lesley is a senior manager in Plante Moran’s transaction advisory services group. Lesley helps clients with buy-side and sell-side due diligence engagements. Her clients are mostly middle-market, private equity-owned organizations and their portfolio companies. Lesley’s clients appreciate that she communicates the process and findings every step of the way. She always enjoys learning about the organic growth of a business. It’s exciting for Lesley when her clients are eager to be a part of that.

Lesley received a B.A. in accounting from Ferris State University. She is involved with the Association for Corporate Growth and Living Arts Detroit, where she serves as the treasurer and chair of the finance committee. Her favorite place to visit when she is not working is her cottage in mid-Michigan. Lesley tries to get there as much as she can with her husband, Dade, and stepsons, Braden and Landen, and their two dogs, Rocky and Dori.

Clayton is a Senior Vice President for PNC Business Credit where he focuses on financing LBO's, dividend recapitalizations, ESOPs, high growth, turn-around's and cyclical businesses seeking flexibility and durability. He has spent nearly 16 years in Banking and finance but has also gained considerable experience serving as Vice Chairman of the Board for Waseyabek Development Company (a tribally owned economic diversification company) and as Managing Director for DWH, LLC a boutique Financial Advisory firm focused on M&A growth and succession strategies as well as turnaround and restructuring strategies. Clayton earned his bachelors of science in Accounting from Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business and his MBA from Wayne State University’s Mike Illitch School of Business.