BOURNE PARTNERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Founder
As Founder and CEO, Banks Bourne oversees all business operations and direct investment opportunities at Bourne Partners. He and the firm have been party to more than $10 billion of transactions in the pharmaceutical ("pharma"), pharma services and consumer healthcare sectors. Most recently Banks, the Bourne Team and other partners co-founded Covis Pharma S.à.r.l. in 2011, successfully helping build and eventually divest the majority of assets in 2015 for $1.2 billion. In late 2015, the firm established Phoenix Therapeutics, Inc., a joint venture with The Carlyle Group. Banks is also the founder of Tanner Pharma Group, a pharma services company dedicated to providing managed access, commercialization and clinical trials services to patients and partners in more than 100 countries.
For over 20 years, Bourne Partners has transacted with nearly all major pharmaceutical and specialty pharmaceuticals companies around the world, including Banks' initial investment in King Pharmaceuticals in the late 1990's. This investment introduced Banks to the pharmaceutical world and jumpstarted his interest in the healthcare sector. Since then, he has invested in more than 200 private companies / assets since 2000.
Prior to founding Bourne Partners, Banks held the position of Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for TITAN Technology Partners and worked in the investment banking field for Wachovia Securities, Inc. He received a B.A. degree in Business Management (Magna Cum Laude) from North Carolina State University and an M.B.A. from Wake Forest University. He is a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and endowed the Wake Forest University School of Business "Professorship in Investments and Portfolio Management".
While Banks has derived great satisfaction by offering focused advisory services to, and investing in pharma, healthcare, and consumer-oriented companies that need strategic and operational insights; he is even more gratified by knowing that his work has helped companies to improve the health and well-being of patients across the world.
Banks was YPO's 2020 Global Impact Award Regional Finalist for his philanthropic endeavors alongside Tanner Pharma Group and Novartis, delivering lifesaving cancer treatments to patients in third world countries.
In addition to his passion for golf, Banks enjoys traveling to new and interesting destinations and spending time with his wife and children. He also actively supports the Levine Children's Hospital and Levine Cancer Institute, both part of Atrium Health (formerly known as Carolinas HealthCare System). He is co-founder of the Russell Guerin Melanoma Research Fund at Atrium Health. Banks is passionate about providing healthcare and specifically pharmaceuticals to less fortunate patients, as demonstrated by supporting The Bourne Foundation, The Max Foundation, Partners in Health and other non-profit organizations.
Bonnie Vallone began her career at Bourne Partners as an accounting assistant in January 2017, later moving into the main Controller position in April 2017. Bonnie is responsible for all accounting activities including Accounts Receivables, Accounts Payables, Payroll, and Budgets. Bonnie works closely with several outside firms regarding tax returns, audits, and healthcare benefits, as well as executes on capital calls and distributions from the firm's investment banking initiatives.
Prior to Bourne Partners, Bonnie worked at The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Dunlop Tire Company where she served in various roles including Accounting Analyst, Manager of Corporate Plant Accounting, and Plant Controller at several tire plants. Bonnie retired from Goodyear/Dunlop in July, 2014 after 28 years of service.
Bonnie received a B.B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Niagara University (summa cum laude). She also received an A.A.S. degree from Niagara County Community College with a concentration in Math and Science.
Outside of Bourne, Bonnie is an avid crocheter. In December 2017, she enlisted the help of 3 neighbors to make 42 red hats for the annual "Little Hats, Big Hearts" program sponsored by the American Heart Association. Every February the organization distributes the hats to newborns at local hospitals to inspire parents to live heart healthy lives and inspire their children to do the same. Bonnie's goal for next year is to supply 100 hats!
Bonnie and her husband, Tom, are natives of Lewiston and Buffalo, NY and moved to Sun City Carolina Lakes, SC in 2015. Together they have 4 children and 5 grandchildren. They also have two cats, Max and Erma. They enjoy canasta, cribbage, and trying out new restaurants with their neighbors.
Bret Ploucha joined Bourne Partners in 2021 and supports the firm's direct investment activities within Bourne Partners Strategic Capital where his primary responsibilities include deal execution, ongoing business development with the firm's portfolio companies and quantitative investment analysis.
Prior to joining Bourne Partners, Bret was an Investment Banking Associate in the Diversified Industrials & Services group at Piper Sandler in Charlotte, NC where he was involved in a full range of investment banking activities, with a primary focus on M&A advisory and private equity-backed transactions. Prior to Piper Sandler, Bret was an Associate Equity Research Analyst covering the Electrical Equipment/Multi-Industry and Industrial Distribution sectors for Stifel Financial in New York, NY where he advised institutional investors on public equity investing within the broader Industrials sector.
Bret received his B.S.B.A with concentrations in Macroeconomics & Monetary Policy from the Haslam School of Business at the University of Tennessee. Outside of work, Bret is a passionate golfer and enjoys all things sports, the North Carolina mountains, cooking, breweries, and spending time with his dog, Buster.
Job Titles:
- Senior Analyst
- in 2022 As an Analyst
Brett Martin joined Bourne Partners in 2022 as an Analyst and provides deal execution support for the firm's investment banking and private equity transactions. Brett previously worked as a High-Yield Credit Analyst with Barings, where he provided analysis for both the investing and underwriting of USHY credit and leverage loans. His work experience also includes M&A transaction experience and military service in the US Army Reserves.
Brett received an M.S.F. from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and previously attended The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, where he studied Finance, Economics, and Data Analytics, graduating magna cum laude and qualifying as a Distinguished Military Graduate.
Outside of work, Brett enjoys boating and spending time around the coast, traveling, and exploring Charlotte with his wife and dog.
Calli Lewis joined Bourne Partners in the fall of 2016. She oversees all of the administrative and organizational functions of the Executive and Senior Management teams in order to maintain all systems and tools essential to the company's success. She manages the firms marketing initiatives and works alongside the Research and Business Development teams to share branded content that effectively communicates the value of Bourne Partners. In addition, Calli also serves as the lead coordinator for company hosted and attended events which encompasses budgeting, direction, planning and execution.
Prior to joining Bourne Partners, Calli served as the Customer Service Manager for a national marketing and insurance agency based in Charlotte, NC.
Calli received a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.
Outside of work Calli enjoys spending time with her animals, friends and family. She is an avid concert and restaurant-goer, and some of her favorite hobbies include yoga, backpacking/camping, cooking and gardening.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Analyst With
Carson Riley started as an analyst with Bourne Partners in 2018. During his time with the firm, he has provided execution support on various M&A transactions.
Prior to joining the team, Carson received a B.S. in Economics & Finance from Centre College and an M.S. in Finance from Vanderbilt University.
Outside of work, Carson enjoys playing golf, traveling, running, weight lifting, and visiting new craft breweries in Charlotte.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- General Counsel
As Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at Bourne Partners, Chris Inklebarger oversees the firm's operations and strategy execution. He also spends time evaluating investment opportunities and working on select management consulting assignments. Chris heads up all of the firm's administrative and operational units, including; legal, marketing, accounting, IT, HR, the office fantasy football league, and the office NCAA Tournament pool. Chris also serves as the Chief Compliance Officer and AMLCO for Bourne Partners Securities, the firm's registered broker dealer. He has held various positions and roles within Bourne Partners and its affiliated companies throughout his career with the firm, joining the team full-time after working as a summer associate during business school.
Chris received his B.S. from the University of Tennessee and earned a J.D. and an M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and the Haslam College of Business. As everyone likes to point out in meetings, he is a licensed attorney and the butt of various jokes. Prior to joining Bourne Partners, Chris worked with the Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox, the Charlotte Knights (unfortunately not as a player).
Outside of Bourne Partners, Chris is a self-taught illustrator with the ability to draw a particularly convincing Peppa Pig. In addition, Chris enjoys golfing (mostly poorly), cooking (not too poorly), and occasionally hunting and skiing (both poorly). When he's not telling people around the firm what to do, Chris is often being told what to do by his wife, Bridget, and their two daughters, Ella Jean and Laine. He also actively supports the Beyond Limits Program at the Harris YMCA, Urban Promise, and the University of Tennessee.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Private Equity Coverage & Origination
- Member of the Moore County Reading Buddies
Xan Smith is responsible for Bourne Partners' business development activities with a focus on M&A, capital raise, licensing and partnering opportunities within the firm's pharmaceutical, pharma and healthcare services, and consumer health-focused investment banking advisory practice.
Xan Smith began his career in Corporate Banking at Wachovia Securities. Prior to Bourne Partners, he worked in Investment Banking at First Union Capital Markets where he was responsible for corporate finance solutions for select industry and Fortune 1000 clients. Most recently, he served as a Director of Scale Finance LLC where he provided capital and strategic advisory solutions for companies in high growth sectors. His professional experience also includes extensive involvement in real estate development, both with large scale master planned community developer, Crescent Resources, LLC/Morgan Stanley Real Estate, and as a principal/owner of The Fulton Group LLC.
Xan received a B.A. in English and a Minor in Business from Wake Forest University (cum laude) and spent an academic year abroad at The University of St. Andrews, Scotland, where he was a member of the University golf team. He also received an M.B.A. degree from Wake Forest University with a concentration in Finance.
Outside of Bourne, Xan is a member of the Moore County Reading Buddies tutoring program and enjoys golf, biking, skiing and travel, and spending time with his wife and daughter and son twins.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- in 2022 As an Associate
Jake Curtis joined Bourne Partners in 2022 as an Associate and provides transaction execution support on a variety of M&A transactions across the Pharma Services sector.
Prior to joining the team, Jake was a Senior Analyst at Crosstree Capital Partners where he worked in the Pharma Services group. Jake began his career with Bourne Partners when he joined the firm as an intern in 2019. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a B.S. in Finance.
Outside of work, Jake enjoys spending his time surfing, playing and coaching volleyball, cooking, and visiting restaurants and breweries around Charlotte with friends.
Job Titles:
- Senior Managing Director, Head of Investment Banking
Jeremy has over 20 years of healthcare-focused M&A and private equity experience. He has been with Bourne Partners since 2006 and is part of the of the core leadership team at the firm. Jeremy currently serves as a Senior Managing Director, overseeing the broker dealer and all Investment Banking activities.
Prior to Bourne Partners, Jeremy was a founding member and Managing Director at Madison Keats, a life sciences strategy and consulting firm. Jeremy began his career at VentureWorx, an Internet incubator. He is a graduate of Georgetown University where he earned a bachelor of arts in Economics.
Outside of work, Jeremy is active in the community. He is a member of Leadership Charlotte and an avid supporter of a few personally important charitable foundations. In addition, he remains very active with Georgetown and is President of the local alumni club. Jeremy is a native of North Carolina and currently lives in the same neighborhood in south Charlotte where he grew up. He is married to his wife, Jessica, and they have three young children, with whom he is happy to spend most of his free time.
Job Titles:
- Strategic Capital Analyst
Jon Chait joined Bourne Partners in the spring of 2023 as a Strategic Capital Analyst. At Bourne, he supports the firm's direct investment activities within Bourne Partners Strategic Capital.
Prior to joining Bourne, Jon worked at FTI Consulting in Dallas, TX, where he worked on various projects related to corporate restructuring and transaction advisory. Jon received his BBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University.
During his spare time, Jon enjoys playing golf, rock climbing, and deep-sea fishing in his hometown of Jupiter, FL.
Job Titles:
- Strategic Capital Associate
Kush Patel joined Bourne Partners in early 2021 as part of the investment banking team and moved to the strategic capital team in 2023. Kush has M&A and capital markets deal experience working for domestic and international clients across different industries including healthcare, industrials, cybersecurity, and TMT. Kush previously worked at MD Global Partners and has previous consulting experience with CoreLogic in Florida, and Capgemini in Bangalore, India.
Kush received a BTech degree in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Patna (IIT Patna) and a Master of Management Studies degree from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
Outside of work Kush enjoys playing cricket, soccer, running, and traveling. He is fluent in English, Hindi, and Gujarati.
Leo Franques started as an analyst with Bourne Partners in 2023 and provides support in the firm's M&A efforts in a variety of capacities including deal execution, analysis, and business development. Prior to joining Bourne Partners, Leo was a Credit Intern at Crestline Investors, a private credit fund in Fort Worth, TX where he conducted diligence for several deals that closed during his time there.
Outside of Bourne Partners, Leo enjoys spending time with friends and family outdoors.
Luke Habecker joined Bourne Partners in early 2022 as an Analyst. At Bourne, he provides deal execution support for the investment banking team and occupies various roles across the entirety of the M&A process.
Prior to Bourne, Luke worked at Davidson Capital Advisors and Odyssey Specialized Logistics. He received a B.S.B.A in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Outside of work Luke enjoys surfing, running, weightlifting, riding motorcycles, and exploring new cultures.
Minor Hinson - CEO, Chief Investment Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer
- Senior Managing Director
Since starting at Bourne Partners in 2011, Minor Hinson has been responsible for direct investment activities and has been very involved in both the Phoenix Therapeutics, Inc. joint venture with The Carlyle Group, as well as with the creation, management, and asset disposition of Covis Pharma S.à.r.l ("Covis"). Minor also served on the Board of Covis from inception to exit.
Over the course of his career, Minor has been involved in financial transactions totaling over $10 billion, including venture investing, private equity, mezzanine and senior debt, project finance debt and equity, cross boarder preferred stock issuances, sell-side and buy-side M&A transactions (both large cap and middle market) and other corporate finance advisory assignments. Minor has also served on the Board of Directors for a number of companies over his career.
Minor began his business career in 1984 in Corporate Banking at NCNB/NationsBank/Bank of America and became a Senior Relationship Manager in the Baltimore/Washington loan production office before deciding to attend business school in 1990. After an M.B.A. internship in corporate finance at The Coca Cola Company in Atlanta, Minor accepted a position as an Associate at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Company in Charlotte. Minor left Bowles Hollowell to co-found The McMillan Group with former U.S. Congressman Alex McMillan. The McMillan Group was a corporate finance, investment, and government lobby organization. Minor also worked as a Managing Principal at Piedmont Venture Partners.
Minor returned to Bank of America in 2002 to join the Strategic Investment function that managed strategic investments across the bank's business lines, a function he eventually managed. He was then recruited to manage Corporate Development for the bank's Global Treasury Services ($4 billion in profit). In 2007, Minor decided to join Christofferson Robb & Company (New York and London) to raise capital and work on the initial London project team of the firm's offshore wind farm (Thanet Offshore Wind Limited) which it acquired in distress when the project was in the planning stage. After all the construction contracts were finalized, the project was sold to a private equity firm in 2008 and become the world's largest off-shore windfarm post completion in 2011.
Minor received a B.A. in Economics from Davidson College in 1984, as well as an M.B.A. (honor society) in 1992 from The Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC Chapel Hill.
Outside of Bourne Partners, Minor currently serves on the boards of Pacific Coast Bancshares (a privately owned, California-based correspondent bank) and on the Board of the N.C. Zoo Society. Minor has also previously been involved with a number of other eleemosynary institutions and efforts including being appointed as Deacon and Stephen Minister at First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. Minor lives with his wife Tiffany and two children (Minor and Sara Frances) in Charlotte and enjoys golf, tennis, working out (yoga, running, general fitness) and has been known to play lacrosse every now and then.
Morgan Kennedy joined the Family Office and Strategic Capital teams at Bourne Partners in 2023 where her primary responsibilities include partnership accounting, financial reporting, cash management and bill payment. Prior to joining Bourne Partners, Morgan was a Tax Manager in the Asset Wealth Management Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP where she worked with a variety of private equity, venture capital, fund of fund and credit clients. Morgan is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Massachusetts.
Outside of work, Morgan enjoys traveling, playing tennis, and trying new restaurants, and she has recently taken up golf.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- in 2021 As an Analyst
Nick Triantafyllides joined Bourne Partners in 2021 as an Analyst and was promoted to Associate in 2023, he provides deal execution support for the firm's investment banking transactions.
Prior to joining Bourne Partners, Nick was a Corporate Advisory Analyst for IHS Markit's Global Markets Intelligence division in Raleigh, NC where he provided capital markets analysis and shareholder surveillance services for investor relations teams of publicly traded technology, media, and telecommunications companies.
Nick received his B.S. in Business Administration with a Concentration in Finance from Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University. Outside of the office, Nick enjoys teaching himself to write code, trying new restaurants and breweries, and hanging out with friends.
Job Titles:
- Senior Analyst
- in 2023 As an Analyst
Oliver White joined Bourne Partners in 2023 as an Analyst and provides deal execution support for the firm's investment banking transactions. Prior to joining the firm, Oliver worked for specialist pharmaceutical services provider Tanner Pharma Group (a Bourne Partners portfolio company). On behalf of pharmaceutical company clients, Oliver was responsible for delivering Managed Access Programs which facilitate global access to innovative rare disease and oncology drugs for patients in countries where they are not yet commercially available.
Oliver holds a M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Durham, England. During his studies, Oliver gained industry R&D experience with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and completed his Master's research placement at Université Grenoble-Alpes, France exploring membrane protein drug targets.
Outside of the office, Oliver enjoys playing tennis, exploring the Blue Ridge mountains, and traveling home to visit friends and family in England.
Robert Stanley joined Bourne Partners in 2010 as part of the healthcare investment banking team. He is responsible for supporting the firm's M&A assignments and private equity investments. He works directly with some of the firm's portfolio companies, helping with ongoing business development and deal execution.
Prior to Bourne Partners, Robert was an Analyst at BB&T Capital Markets in the Structured Finance investment banking group where he helped provide derivatives and securitization solutions for the firm's clients.
Outside of work, Robert enjoys golf, tennis, and hanging out at local breweries or the Whitewater Center. He is also involved with the Friendship Gardens and Hands On Charlotte organizations.
Todd Bokus joined Bourne Partners as an Analyst in 2007. Throughout his tenure with the firm, he has worked across all facets of its business activities. Currently he is responsible for sourcing and executing the firm's investment banking initiatives within its Pharma Services practice. Todd received a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a Minor in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Outside of work Todd enjoys spending time with his wife, Leah, and their daughter, Andie.
Van Pittman started as an Analyst with Bourne Partners in 2021 and was promoted to Associate in 2023. Van supports the firm's M&A efforts in a variety of capacities including deal execution, analysis, and outreach.
Prior to joining Bourne Partners, Van was a Credit Analyst at Elm Park Capital Management, a private credit fund in Dallas where he conducted diligence for a number of deals that closed during his time there. Prior to Elm Park, he interned at Ecosystem Investment Partners, a private equity fund focused on the wetland mitigation space.
Outside of Bourne Partners, Van enjoys both working on and volunteering for various conservation efforts. In addition, he enjoys big game and bird hunting as well as fishing in his hometown of Tampa, Florida.