KOHLBERG - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of Kohlberg 's Investment Committee
Mr. Wahla is a member of Kohlberg's Investment Committee and is responsible for leading the execution and monitoring of certain new and existing Kohlberg investments. Mr. Wahla joined Kohlberg in 2006 and was named Partner in 2014.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Wahla was with Lazard Frères & Co. He is a member of the board of directors of CIBT; MarketCast; Nellson; and Spire Orthopedic Partners.
Mr. Wahla received a B.A. from Northwestern University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Head of Credit and Capital Markets
Mr. Scheer joined Kohlberg in 2017 and leads the Firm's credit investing platform.
Prior to joining Kohlberg, Mr. Scheer was a Portfolio Manager at LStar Capital, an affiliate of Lone Star Funds, for over five years focused on credit opportunities and special situations. Prior to that, he was with CIT Group, Inc. in its Problem Loan Management group, focused on restructurings and credit opportunities. Mr. Scheer started his career at Société Générale in the investment banking analyst program.
Mr. Scheer received a B.Sc. from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.
Mr. Forrey joined Kohlberg in 2019 and was named a Managing Director in 2022.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Forrey was with Snow Phipps Group. Prior to that, he was with Centerview Partners. He is a member of the board of directors of Cadence, DecoPac, PCI Pharma Services; Nelipak and Trinity Life Sciences.
Mr. Forrey received a B.A. from Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Legal Operations
Ms. Belcastro joined Kohlberg in 2013 and was named a Compliance Associate in 2016, having previously served in an administrative capacity.
Ms. Belcastro received a B.S. from Skidmore College.
Ms. Chang joined Kohlberg in 2022.
Ms. Chang received a M.Sc. in Sustainability Management from Columbia University and a B.A. from Princeton University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Office Manager
Ms. Maser joined Kohlberg in 2022.
Prior to joining the Firm, she was an Executive Assistant at First Reserve Corporation.
She holds a BT in Agriculture from SUNY Cobleskill.
Ms. Stern joined Kohlberg in 2018.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Stern was a tax accountant at Viking Global Investors LP. Prior to that, she worked at Ernst & Young LLP as a Senior Tax Accountant in the Asset Management practice.
Ms. Stern received a B.S. in Accounting and Masters in Taxation from SUNY Albany and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Job Titles:
- an IT Operating Executive
- IT Operating Executive
Mr. Simone joined Kohlberg as an IT Operating Executive in 2021. He is responsible for conducting portfolio company diligence and supporting management teams on strategic IT related initiatives.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Simone founded Delphi Partners Advisory, an IT and Digital advisory firm focused on serving the Private Equity industry. Prior to Delphi Partners Advisory, he spent 8 years as Chief Information and Business Transformation Officer at The Nature's Bounty Company. Prior to The Nature's Bounty Company, Mr. Simone held a variety of roles, both domestic and international, at Procter and Gamble.
Mr. Simone received a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy.
Job Titles:
- Member of Kohlberg 's Investment Committee
- Partner, Business Development
Mr. Bonanno is a member of Kohlberg's Investment Committee and is responsible for identifying, originating and qualifying new investment opportunities. Mr. Bonanno joined Kohlberg in 2009 and was named a Partner in 2016.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Bonanno was a Vice President of Business Development for the New York based Buyouts team of American Capital. Prior to that, he was with General Electric's private equity investment arm. He is a member of the board of directors for Orthopaedic & Neurosurgery Specialists.
Mr. Bonanno received a B.A. from Connecticut College and an M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.
Job Titles:
- Director, Investor Relations
Mr. Jaidev joined Kohlberg in 2023.
Prior to joining Kohlberg, Mr. Jaidev was a Director at BlackRock, responsible for fundraising and investor relations within BlackRock's private markets business.
Mr. Jaidev received a B.A. in History and Economics from Northwestern University.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of Kohlberg 's Investment Committee
Mr. Mao is a member of Kohlberg's Investment Committee and is responsible for leading the execution and monitoring of certain new and existing Kohlberg investments. Mr. Mao joined Kohlberg in 2002 and was named a Partner in 2010.
Mr. Mao was previously with Ewing Management Group, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Credit Suisse First Boston. He is a member of the board of directors of AWP Safety, ENTrust, GPRS, Senneca, and USIC.
Mr. Mao received an A.B. from Harvard College.
Mr. Yu joined Kohlberg in 2015 and was named a Managing Director in 2022.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Yu was in the Financial Sponsors Group at Deutsche Bank. He is a member of the board of directors of CIBT; Myers EPS; and Parts Authority.
Mr. Yu received a B.A. from Cornell University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Talent
Ms. Delaney joined Kohlberg in 2020 and was named a Managing Director in 2022. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Delaney was Manager of Human Capital at Advent International. Prior to that, she worked in Executive Search and Assessment at Russell Reynolds and as Recruiter at Morgan Stanley.
Ms. Delaney received a B.A. from Trinity College. Ms. Delaney has over 11 years of experience in human capital management and talent development at industry leading firms.
Ms. Burke joined Kohlberg in 2020.
Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Burke was in the Healthcare Group at Piper Sandler. Prior to that, she was with Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Ms. Burke received a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Accounting from Wake Forest University.
Ms. Kang joined Kohlberg in 2022.
Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Kang was in the Direct Lending Group at Carlyle. Prior to that, she was with Blackstone Credit.
Ms. Kang received a B.S. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Job Titles:
- Office Manager
- Receptionist
Ms. Capobianco joined Kohlberg in 2023.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Capobianco was an Office Manager at a Wealth Management Firm. Prior to that, she worked at J.F. Lehman & Co. as an Executive Assistant and Receptionist.
Ms. Capobianco received an A.A.S. in Advertising and Marketing Communications from The Fashion Institute of Technology.
Mr. Dale joined Kohlberg in 2021.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Dale was with CD&R. Prior to that, he was with Centerview Partners.
Mr. Dale received a B.A. from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Mr. McKinney joined Kohlberg in 2018 and was named a Vice President in 2022.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. McKinney was in the Industrials Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He is a member of the board of directors of Alacrity and DecoPac.
Mr. McKinney received a B.S. from Boston College.
Job Titles:
- Senior Infrastructure Engineer
Mr. Zale joined Kohlberg in 2021.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Zale was Senior Client Services Engineer and Client Services Team Lead at Richard Fleischman and Associates (RFA). At RFA, he was a dedicated field resource to Kohlberg & Company, delivering IT services and managing Cybersecurity projects as a contractor.
Mr. Zale received a B.S in Computer Science from Siena College.
Ms. Molloy joined Kohlberg in 1994.
Prior to joining the Firm, she was a middle school Social Studies teacher.
Ms. Molloy received a B.A. from SUNY Cortland in Elementary Education, NY State dual certification with a concentration in History, K-12.
Mr. Gilson joined Kohlberg in 2022.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Gilson was a Manager in the Asset Management Assurance practice at PwC.
Mr. Gilson received a B.S. degree in Accounting, with a concentration in Finance, from Binghamton University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of Kohlberg 's Investment Committee
Mr. Anderson is a member of Kohlberg's Investment Committee and is responsible for leading the execution and monitoring of certain new and existing Kohlberg investments. Mr. Anderson joined Kohlberg in 1998 and was named a Partner in 2005.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Anderson was with Warburg Dillon Read L.L.C. He is a member of the board of directors for Cadence; K2-MDV; PCI Pharma Services; Spinal Elements and Trinity Life Sciences.
Mr. Anderson received a B.A. from Princeton University.
Mr. Hale has been affiliated with Kohlberg since 2019 and was named an Operating Partner in 2021. He is currently Chairman and CEO of Senneca and Chairman of Myers EPS. He is responsible for investment thesis development, company diligence and portfolio company operations management in the Industrial sector.
Prior to his affiliation with Kohlberg, Mr. Hale served as President & CEO of Hayward Industries; President & CEO of Brooks Instrument; and EVP of Victaulic Company. Earlier in his career, he held various senior-level executive positions with Emerson Electric.
Mr. Hale received an a Sc. B. from Brown University; an M.S. from University of California, Berkeley; and an M.B.A. from Rutgers Graduate School of Management.
Daniel S. Gewanter - Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Legal Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Compliance Officer
- General Counsel
Mr. Gewanter joined Kohlberg in 2018.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Gewanter was General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Whippoorwill Associates, Inc. Prior to that, he worked in the Legal and Compliance Department at Credit Suisse and as a lawyer at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler, LLP.
Mr. Gewanter received a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and a B.A. from Brandeis University.
Job Titles:
- Director, Structured Equity
Mr. Slutsky joined Kohlberg in 2022 and focuses on structured equity investments.
Prior to joining Kohlberg, Mr. Slutsky was with Harvest Partners in the Structured Capital Fund. Prior to that, he was with Kelso & Company evaluating private equity buyouts. Mr. Slutsky started his career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Mr. Slutsky received a B.S. from Brown University.
Ms. Palermo joined Kohlberg in 2021.
Prior to joining the Firm, she was an Executive Assistant at ProAmpac. Prior to ProAmpac, she held positions as Visual Manager and Executive Assistant at The Jones Group.
Ms. Palermo studied Voice and Opera at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, SUNY.
Job Titles:
- Member of Kohlberg 's Investment Committee
- Partner, Credit & Structured Equity
Mr. Bilmes is a member of Kohlberg's Investment Committee and Credit Committee and is responsible for leading the execution and monitoring of certain new and existing Kohlberg investments in Credit and Structured Equity. Mr. Bilmes joined Kohlberg in 2022.
Mr. Bilmes was previously a Managing Director at The Blackstone Group, where he was a member of the special situations investing group.
Mr. Bilmes received a B.S. from The University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Operations Adviser, CFO Services
Mr. Sweitzer has been affiliated with Kohlberg since 2020 and was named Operations Adviser, CFO Services in 2022. He is responsible for conducting company diligence and supporting the Office of the CFO of portfolio companies.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Sweitzer served as CFO of Champion Windows, Vice President at Development Specialists, Inc., where he held many interim CFO roles, and started his career at American Express.
Mr. Sweitzer received a B.S. in Accounting from Kent State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of Kohlberg 's Investment Committee
Mr. Wildstein is a member of Kohlberg's Investment Committee and is responsible for leading the execution and monitoring of certain new and existing Kohlberg investments. Mr. Wildstein joined Kohlberg in 1994 and became a Partner in 1999.
Job Titles:
- Director, Management Company
Ms. Meczkowska joined Kohlberg in 2021.
Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Meczkowska was part of the Financial Advisory Services practice at RSM US LLP.
Ms. Meczkowska received a BBA from Baruch College and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer
- Partner
Mr. Woodward joined Kohlberg in 1996, became a Partner and a member of the Investment Committee in 2001 and was named Chief Investment Officer in 2010. As the Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Woodward manages the Investment Committee approval process for new investments, including oversight of the Firm's due diligence efforts, coordination of the Firm's internal and external resources and close interaction with the transaction and monitoring teams.
Mr. Woodward is a member of the board of directors of Alacrity Solutions; AWP Safety; BluSky Restoration Contractors; Cadence; CIBT Global; DecoPac; EN Engineering; GPRS; K2-MDV; MarketCast; Meadows Behavioral Healthcare; Myers EPS; Nelipak; Nellson; OB Hospitalist Group; Parts Authority; PCI Pharma Services; Sara Lee® Frozen Bakery; Senneca; Spinal Elements; Spire Orthopedic Partners; Stanadyne Corporation; Trinity Life Sciences and U.S. Retirement & Benefit Partners.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Woodward was with James D. Wolfensohn Incorporated. Mr. Woodward received an A.B. from Harvard College.
Mr. Goddard joined Kohlberg in 2022.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Goddard was in the Consumer Retail Group at Goldman Sachs.
Mr. Goddard received an A.B. from Harvard College.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Business Development
- in 2021 As Vice President of Business Development
Mr. Kamford joined Kohlberg in 2021 as Vice President of Business Development. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Kamford was with the Financial Sponsors and Financial Institutions investment banking groups at Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Kamford received an A.B. from Bowdoin College and an M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Mr. Kohlberg co-founded Kohlberg in 1987 and remains a member of the Firm's Investment Committee. Mr. Kohlberg was named Chairman in 2007 and devotes the majority of his time to outside activities, which include investing and overseeing a portfolio of venture capital investments in media, tech, film production and non-profit initiatives.
He also serves as a Director of the New York Times Company. Prior to co-founding the Firm, Mr. Kohlberg was with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co.
He holds a B.A. from Golden Gate University and an M.B.A. from New York University.
Job Titles:
- an Operating Partner
- Operating Partner
Mr. Better joined Kohlberg as an Operating Partner in 2014. He is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nellson. He is responsible for investment thesis development, company diligence and portfolio company operations management in the Industrial and Consumer sectors.
Mr. Mackie joined Kohlberg in 2022.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Mackie was with Percheron Capital. Prior to that, he was with Barclays Investment Bank.
Mr. Mackie earned a B.A. in Mathematics with a second major in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of Kohlberg 's Investment Committee
Ms. Roberts is a member of Kohlberg's Investment Committee and is responsible for leading the execution and monitoring of certain new and existing Kohlberg investments. Ms. Roberts joined Kohlberg in 2011 and was named a Partner in 2019.
Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Roberts was with North Castle Partners LLC. Prior to that, she was with Berkshire Partners LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. She is a member of the board of directors for Decopac, K2-MDV, Myers EPS, and Senneca.
Ms. Roberts received a B.S.B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Ms. Manecky joined Kohlberg in 1993.
Prior to joining the Firm, she was an administrative assistant in the Marketing Department of the Beverages and Post Cereals divisions of Kraft Foods.
Ms. Manecky received an A.A.S. from Berkeley College.
Job Titles:
- Senior Founding Partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co
Job Titles:
- Partner, Head of Strategy & Investor Relations
Job Titles:
- Associate General Counsel
Job Titles:
- Associate, Investor Relations
Job Titles:
- Director, HR and Administration
Job Titles:
- Associate, Investor Relations
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Investor Services
Job Titles:
- Investor Relations Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate, Investor Relations
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Valuations and Fund Operations
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Sustainability
Job Titles:
- Controller, Management Company
Job Titles:
- Investor Relations Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Partner
Job Titles:
- Director, Portfolio Company Initiatives