FFL PARTNERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Vice Chair of the Teach for America Bay Area Board of Directors
Prior to joining FFL in 2003, Aaron Money was an investment professional at DB Capital, Deutsche Bank's principal investing arm, where he worked on both private equity and mezzanine debt investments in a variety of industries. Prior to that, he worked in investment banking at Chase Securities, Inc.
Aaron serves on the boards of Autism Learning Partners, Orthodontic Partners, and WellStreet Urgent Care. He formerly served on the boards of Benevis, Eyemart Express, C.H.I. Overhead Doors, Curo Financial Technologies, Midwest Dental, Milestone AV Technologies, Guardian Home Care, and Interactive Health.
Aaron is Vice Chair of the Teach for America Bay Area Board of Directors and formerly served on the Junior Achievement Bay Area Advisory Board. He received an A.B. in economics from Duke University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, daughter and two sons.
Alice Chau joined FFL in 2005. Previously, she was at United Commercial Bank ("UCBH") as First Vice President and Project Manager for enterprise-wide compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Prior to UCBH, Alice worked as Assistant Controller at H&Q Asia Pacific, an international private equity firm with over $1 billion of capital under management. Her responsibilities included all of the operational and financial aspects of the firm's funds. Previously, she was a Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where she served clients in the financial services sector. Alice graduated with honors from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Ashley Day, PhD, joined FFL in 2021. Ashley works closely with FFL's portfolio companies advising them on all aspects of talent management including recruiting, compensation, succession planning, retention, team building, and performance management. Prior to joining FFL, Ashley was Chief Talent Officer for an NYC-based mid-market private equity firm. In this role, Ashley was responsible for the overall strategy for human capital development and talent assessment across the portfolio and at the fund level. Earlier in her career, Ashley was a member of the leadership and succession practice at Russell Reynolds Associates in New York. At Russell Reynolds, Ashley worked on a range of leadership assessment, development, team effectiveness and succession planning assignments for senior executives. Ashley received her Ph.D. / Master of Psychology from the University of Adelaide, Australia.
Cas Schneller joined FFL in 2006. He is responsible for overall management of the firm and leads FFL's Tech-Enabled Services investment activities. Previously, he worked at GTCR, a Chicago-based private equity firm. Cas also worked at William Blair & Company as an analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions group and at Luxor Capital Group as an investment analyst. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in Finance and Business Economics and earned an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. Cas is on the board of Abacus, ALKU, Optomi Professional Services, and Velocity Global. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Accordion, Crisis Prevention Institute, ProService, and several other FFL portfolio companies.
Catherine Chen joined FFL in 2016. Previously, she worked at Goldman Sachs as an analyst in the Alternative Investments and Manager Selection group in New York, focused on private equity. During this time she worked on direct investments, secondary transactions, and new fund commitments across a variety of industries. Catherine graduated with distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University with a B.S. in Mathematical and Computational Science and an M.S. in Financial Mathematics.
Chris Harris joined FFL in 2008. He is responsible for overall management of the firm and leads FFL's Healthcare Services investment activities. Previously, he worked at Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. Prior to that, Chris worked at Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant and co-founded CampRegister.com, a SaaS business providing software solutions for registration based organizations. He graduated with distinction from Stanford University with a B.S. in Management Science & Engineering and earned an M.B.A from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was an Arjay Miller and a Siebel Scholar. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Autism Learning Partners, Community Medical Services, Eyemart Express, Johnson County Clin-Trials, One Senior Care, New Look Vision Group, Perlman Clinic, and U.S. Orthopedic Partners. He was previously on the board of Summit Behavioral Healthcare, EyeCare Partners, Strategic Investment Group, TriTech Software Systems, and Versant Health.
Chris also serves on the Board of RestoringVision, a global non-profit giving the gift of sight to over 15 million people around the world.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Senior Advisor
Chris Masto co-founded FFL in 1997 and, until 2017, he served as a Partner, member of the Investment Committee, and member of firm leadership. He transitioned to a Senior Advisor role in 2017. Prior to co-founding FFL, he worked as a management consultant with Bain & Company and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley & Co.
He currently serves on the board of directors of Resident Home (Co-Chair), Curo Financial Technologies (NYSE: CURO; Lead Independent Director), Katapult (NASDAQ: KPLT) and VolunteerMatch.org and is an Advisory Board Member of Valo Ventures. He was previously a Director of Tempur Sealy International (NYSE: TPX), TriTech Software Systems (Chairman), Enjoy Beer, and Milestone Audio Visual (Observer). Chris graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with an Sc.B. in Electrical Engineering, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Christine Chu joined FFL in 2008. Previously, she was an accounting supervisor and staff accountant at Financial Freedom Senior Funding, a reverse mortgage originator and servicer with total assets of over $1 billion. During this time, her responsibilities included all of the accounting aspects of loan origination, loan sold, and regulatory reporting. Christine graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.S. in Accounting.
Claire Huang joined FFL in 2007. Previously, she worked at Carmel Partners, Inc. as a Fund Accountant where she was responsible for the accounting and reporting for the real estate investment funds. She graduated with B.S. in Accounting from California State University, East Bay.
David Crussell joined FFL in 2007. He concentrates his efforts on assisting portfolio companies with operational and technical initiatives and by taking on interim management roles.
Before joining FFL in 2007, David served as Chief Operating Officer for SumTotal Systems, a provider in enterprise software to enable human capital management within large global corporations. David was responsible for business growth and profitability and worked directly with many larger Fortune 500 companies.
Prior to SumTotal, David held general management positions at ADAC Laboratories and engineering leadership roles within GE Medical Systems. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of WellStreet Urgent Care.
David Eckert is an experienced, global technology and operations executive who has led technology and operations functions and transformations worldwide in financial services, manufacturing, and hospitality. He currently resides in the Bay Area, but has lived and operated across the globe, including Japan, Singapore, South Korea, London, New York, and the Netherlands.
He has served on numerous mutual fund boards and currently serves on the board of The Healdsburg School as the Treasurer. David has a business degree in finance from UW-Madison.
Geoff Evans joined FFL in 2009. Previously, he worked as a Senior Associate at The Parthenon Group, a strategy consulting firm. During this time he provided strategic due diligence services for private equity firms, and advised corporations across a range of industries on general strategy, mergers and acquisitions, pricing, and turnaround execution. Geoff currently serves on the Board of Directors of Laurel Solutions, Anova, and Ovarro, and he was previously on the Board of Directors of Bacharach, Enjoy Beer Holdings, and Strategic Investment Group. Geoff graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Mathematical and Computational Science.
Geoffrey Freeman joined FFL in 2016 and advises FFL portfolio companies on revenue growth initiatives including sales, marketing, customer retention, recruiting, media optimization and site selection. Previous to FFL, Geoffrey spent over 10 years as an executive with Benevis where he was responsible for creating and managing its analytics, marketing and award-winning customer contact center and public relations functions. Prior to that he managed a product line for Sybase and began his career in corporate finance with retail-focused software companies.
Geoffrey is a member of the Board of Directors of Orthodontic Partners and previously served on the board of Midwest Dental. He graduated magna cum laude from the Terry College of Business (University of Georgia). Geoffrey co-founded and served on the board of the Benevis Foundation, which promoted research, education and outreach to improve oral healthcare access across the United States.
Greg Long joined FFL in 2006. Previously, he worked as a Senior Associate at The Parthenon Group, a strategy consulting firm. During this time he provided strategic due diligence services for private equity firms, and advised corporations across a range of industries on general strategy, acquisitions, pricing and branding. Greg graduated from Stanford University, receiving a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Laurel Solutions, Anova, and Ovarro. Greg was previously a Director of Bachrach, American Advisors Group, C.H.I. Overhead Doors, and Icynene. Greg was also previously a member of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area.
Heather Gartin joined FFL in 2017. Previously, she worked as an associate at L Catterton focusing on the consumer space. Prior to that, she was an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions group at Morgan Stanley in New York. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Autism Learning Partners, Community Medical Services, and Perlman Clinic. Previously, she served on the Board of Midwest Dental. Heather graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a B.S. in Finance & Accounting and earned an M.B.A from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Henry Ho joined FFL in 2023. Previously, he worked at Morgan Stanley as an investment banking analyst in the Financial Sponsors Group in San Francisco, and prior to that he was a growth equity and investment banking analyst at The Raine Group in New York. Henry graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Data Science and a B.A. in Economics.
Hoa Luu joined FFL in 2008. Previously, she worked at Thomas Weisel Partners, as Controller in the Private Equity Group, overseeing the accounting and finance functions of the fund of funds and healthcare fund programs. Prior to that, Hoa was Accounting Manager at a Silicon Valley startup, Currenex, Inc. Previously, she was Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP serving clients in in the investment advisory sector. Hoa graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration from the Walter A. Haas School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Operating Partner - Human Capital
- Operating Partner / Finance
Jack Scott joined FFL in 2010. Jack works closely with FFL's portfolio companies advising them on all aspects of talent management including recruiting, compensation, succession planning, retention, team building, and performance management. Prior to joining FFL, Jack spent 20 years as an executive search consultant recruiting senior executives in multiple industries. Most recently, he was a Managing Partner with Heidrick and Struggles where he ran the San Francisco office and managed two of the firms' top ten client relationships on a global basis. Earlier in his career he was a Partner with Korn/Ferry International in San Francisco and worked for Price Waterhouse in New York. Jack earned a Masters degree in Accounting from Northeastern University and a BA from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. Jack previously served on the Board of Directors of EyeCare Partners, Church's Chicken, ProService, and Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Jake Lavan joined FFL in 2022. Previously, he worked at Cain Brothers as an investment banking analyst in San Francisco. During this time, he focused on the execution of mergers and acquisitions across all verticals of healthcare. Jake graduated from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas with a B.B.A. in Finance.
James Shovers joined FFL in 2023. Previously, he worked at Winona Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm. Prior to that, he worked in investment banking at Baird in the Industrials group and at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in the Syndicated and Leveraged Finance group. James graduated from Wake Forest University with a B.S. in Finance and earned an M.B.A. from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Jonathan Xu joined FFL in 2023. Previously, he worked at Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant in Boston. During this time, he focused on strategic due diligence and value creation for private equity firms across different industries. Jonathan graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics.
Jonathon Bunt joined FFL in 2017. Previously, he was a General Manager and Product Leader at GuideSpark, Inc. an enterprise software-as-a-service technology company. Prior to that, Jonathon was Co-founder and CEO of byUs.com, a consumer services software company. Previously he was Founder and CEO of reBloom, a direct marketing consumer products company. Prior to business school, Jonathon was an Associate at Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. He started his career at Goldman Sachs as an Analyst in the Private Equity Group. Jonathon graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a B.S.E. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and earned an M.B.A with distinction from Harvard Business School. Jonathon currently serves on the Board of Directors for Abacus, ALKU, and Optomi Professional Services, and he previously served on the Board of Directors of Accordion, Interactive Health, Maestro, ProService, and Velocity Global.
Josh Yue joined FFL in 2023. Prior to joining FFL, he worked at Morgan Stanley in the healthcare investment banking division, during which he focused on various advisory and execution roles for mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and debt and equity financings across all verticals of healthcare. Before joining investment banking, Josh worked in the fixed income direct lending financing team in the corporate middle market vertical at Morgan Stanley. Josh graduated with honors from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Cellular, Molecular, & Developmental Biology.
Karen Winterhof joined FFL in 2015 and focuses on FFL's Healthcare Services investments. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Johnson County Clin-Trials, One Senior Care, New Look Vision Group, U.S. Orthopedic Partners, and Orthodontic Partners. She previously served on the board of Crisis Prevention Institute, EyeCare Partners, and Icynene-Lapolla. Prior to joining FFL, Karen worked as a senior associate at Highbridge Principal Strategies in the Specialty Loan Fund. Prior to that, she was an associate at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York. Karen received a B.S.E. in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University.
Konnor Rustad joined FFL in 2023. Previously, he worked at Lazard as an investment banking analyst in New York. During this time, he focused on separations, strategic capital raising, and other complex transactions across different industries. Konnor graduated with Honors from the NYU Stern School of Business with a B.S. in Business.
Lauren (Edwards) Graham joined FFL in 2023. Previously, she worked as a Principal at Housatonic Partners focusing on the business services space. Prior to that, she was a Senior Associate at Next World Evergreen, a growth equity firm focused on the consumer sector, and an Analyst at Barclays Capital in the capital markets group. Lauren graduated Princeton University with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Political Economy and earned an M.B.A from Harvard Business School.
Mark Laudy joined FFL in 2016. Mark works with FFL's portfolio companies on strategic planning and operational improvement initiatives. He also works closely with FFL's investment professionals in identifying and evaluating acquisition candidates. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of One Senior Care and U.S. Orthopedic Partners.
Prior to joining FFL, Mark spent 15 years as a management consultant, primarily serving private equity firms and their portfolio companies on matters of commercial due diligence, strategic planning and operational improvement. Most recently, Mark was a Managing Director of the Parthenon Group, where he ran the firm's San Francisco office and served on its Operating Committee. Earlier in his career, Mark was with the consulting firm McKinsey & Company in New York. Mark graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BA from Yale College and received a JD with distinction from Stanford Law School.
Job Titles:
- CEO of Laurel Solutions
- Operating Partner
- Technology Executive
Martin Carter is an experienced global industrial technology executive who has led businesses across a broad spectrum of industrial end markets, including automotive/transportation, machinery and equipment, aero/defense, marine, chemical, oil & gas and building systems.
Martin is the CEO of Laurel Solutions, and Chairman of the board for Anova and Ovarro.
Prior to joining FFL he was the head of Sensata Technologies Sensing Solutions business, a $900 million leading, global, multi business, multi-market sensor business, he led its transformation more than doubling revenues and developing leadership positions in the North American, Asian and European markets.
Prior to Sensata, Martin led Kaiser Aluminum's common alloy products business unit, and previously spent 17 years with Norsk Hydro across a range of roles, including Head of Corporate strategy and President of Hydro Aluminum North America and Norsk Hydro North America.
Martin has an engineering degree from Plymouth University (UK) and an MBA from IMC.
Patty Nykodym - CCO, CFO, Chief Compliance Officer
Job Titles:
- CCO
- Chief Compliance Officer
- Chief Financial Officer
Patty Nykodym joined FFL as Chief Financial Officer in 2008. Patty manages all aspects of FFL's accounting, tax, financial management, and reporting. She also serves as Chief Compliance Officer overseeing legal and regulatory compliance functions for the firm. Prior to FFL, she was at Deloitte & Touche LLP for over 20 years where she was responsible for professional services provided to financial services clients such as private equity, venture capital, hedge fund, fund of funds, investment advisors and broker dealer clients. She graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from Illinois State University. Patty is a member of the AICPA and California CPA Society (inactive).
Rajat Duggal joined FFL in 2000. Prior to joining FFL, he worked at Bain Capital, a Boston-based private equity firm, where his responsibilities included the identification, evaluation and execution of private equity investments. Rajat also worked in the Corporate Department of the law firm Kirkland & Ellis where he specialized in representing private equity clients. Rajat started his career as an Auditor at Deloitte & Touche where he earned his certification as a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).
Rajat currently serves on the Board of Directors of Community Medical Services, Eyemart Express, and New Look Vision Group. He was previously a Director of Summit Behavioral Healthcare, Church's Chicken, Benevis, GeoVera Insurance Group, JonesTrading, Transtar, Guardian Home Care, and Discovery Foods, and he was active in the firm's investments in Korn/Ferry, CapitalSource, Montpelier Re and Wilton Re. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Healthcare Private Equity Association for six years. Rajat graduated with Highest Distinction from Indiana University with a B.S. in Accounting and received a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Job Titles:
- Chairman Emeritus of Mattel
- Operating Partner
Bob Eckert is a consumer products industry veteran with more than 35 years of executive experience. He has held top leadership roles at two Fortune 500 companies, Mattel and Kraft Foods.
Bob is Chairman Emeritus of Mattel, Inc., the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of toys. He was Mattel's Chairman and CEO from 2000 to 2011, and he continued as Chairman through 2012. Under Bob's leadership, Mattel delivered strong growth, improved operating margins, and generated over $8.2 billion of cash flow.
Prior to Mattel, Bob was President and CEO of Kraft Foods, where he was responsible for overseeing all of Kraft's business units. Previously, Bob was President of Kraft's Oscar Mayer Foods division.
Bob currently serves on the Board of Directors of Levi Strauss & Co., Amgen, Inc., and Uber Technologies, Inc.
He is a member of the Eller College National Board of Advisors at the University of Arizona and the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management Global Advisory Board at Northwestern University. He also is a member of the World Presidents' Organization in Los Angeles and a trustee of the Haynes Foundation.
Bob received the School of American Ballet "Corporate Leadership Award" and the University of Arizona, Eller College "Lifetime Achievement Award." In 2002, Businessweek named him in its "Top Twenty-Five Managers of the Year" issue. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Rochester, Pepperdine University, and the University of Arizona. Bob received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Arizona and an M.B.A. in marketing and finance from Northwestern University.
Ryan Barman joined FFL in 2023. Previously, he worked at Synergy Advisors as an investment banking associate. During this time, he focused on the execution of mergers and acquisitions across all verticals of healthcare. Ryan graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science and earned an M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Siddharth Gupta joined FFL in 2020. Previously, he worked at Jefferies as an investment banking analyst in the Technology Group in San Francisco, and prior to that he was a Private Equity Analyst at Crane Street Capital in Woodside, CA. Siddharth graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Economics with Honors.
Tully Friedman has more than 45 years of experience in finance and 35 years as a private equity investor. Before forming FFL Partners LLC, he co-founded and served as one of two managing general partners of Hellman & Friedman. From 1984 through early 1997, Hellman & Friedman established private equity partnerships representing more than $2.5 billion and made substantial investments in 40 companies, including Levi Strauss & Co., Mattel Inc., Young & Rubicam, and Franklin Resources Inc. Previously, he was a managing director of Salomon Brothers Inc., where he founded the firm's West Coast corporate finance department and served on the firm's national corporate finance administrative committee. He has served as a director of numerous public corporations including CapitalSource, Levi Strauss & Co., Mattel Inc., McKesson Corporation, and the Clorox Company. He is vice chairman of the Telluride Foundation and a former chairman and current trustee of AEI. He graduated with an A.B., with great distinction, from Stanford University and received a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Vincent Song joined FFL in 2022. Previously, he worked at Morgan Stanley in the Financial Sponsors Group in San Francisco. During this time, he focused on leveraged buyouts and debt financings across different industries. Vincent graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Economics.