2018 Private Equity Outlook

Mr. John S. Castle’s primary responsibilities are deal sourcing, deal execution, and post-acquisition portfolio oversight. Mr. Castle is and has been a board member of various companies owned by Branford, including TooJay’s Restaurant & Deli and Earthlite Massage Tables. Prior to joining Branford in 2002, he was a Director of Business Development at Airwave Wireless (an Idealab! Company, the leading Internet incubator in the early 2000’s). Prior to that, he was an Analyst, M&A at Dillon Read & Co. John received an A.B. from Harvard College, where he was a John Harvard Scholar (top annual academic achievement), a Cum Laude graduate, and started at running back on the varsity football team. He received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Manhattan Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and is the Co-Chairman of the Harvard Class of 1995 Fundraising Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Riverdale Country School in New York City.

Rafael Romero is a Principal at Emigrant Capital Corp., and is responsibility for the deal origination and execution. Prior to joining ECC, Mr. Romero was an Investment Professional at Prospect Capital Management, where he was responsible for originating, executing and managing private equity and debt investments in a variety of industries. Prior to joining Prospect, Mr. Romero was an Analyst at Rockwood Equity Partners, where he was responsible for transaction sourcing, analysis, due diligence and financing of lower-middle market industrial and service companies. He received a B.A. in Business Administration from Augustana College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Carlos is a Principal and Head of Business Development at Comvest, where he is responsible for identifying, originating, and qualifying new investment opportunities. Prior to joining Comvest, Carlos was an Associate Director at The Gores Group where he led origination for consumer, industrial, and special situations investments. Prior to The Gores Group, Carlos worked in private wealth management at Merrill Lynch. Carlos holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Fueled by an internal drive for success, Michael Poole has been at the helm of PCE for nearly two decades. His dedication has built a middle-market investment banking, valuation and advisory firm that is without peer.

During this time, Michael has been instrumental in cultivating PCE’s philosophy of teamwork, industry leadership, and client focus. He finds his greatest satisfaction in helping business owners identify unique and imaginative strategies to meet their goals. Michael understands the importance of putting his clients’ needs first, always recommending ideas and tactics that he himself would pursue.

Michael has nearly 30 years of M&A and corporate finance experience within the public and private sector, with an emphasis on the Building Products, Construction & Engineering, and Finance industries. Over the course of his career, he has personally handled more than $1 billion in transactions in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.