KINZIE CAPITAL PARTNERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Portfolio Operations
Brent Nichols is Director of Portfolio Operations at Kinzie Capital Partners, where he is primarily responsible for driving growth and value creation across Kinzie's portfolio of companies.
Prior to Kinzie, Brent spent over 20 years in leadership roles spanning product development, supply chain, operations and mergers and acquisitions. Brent held senior positions at various companies including Escalade Sports and Brunswick Corporation, where he helped guide operational efficiency, acquisition integration and carve-outs.
Brent earned his B.S. in Business from Iowa State University and his M.B.A. from DePaul University. He is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
In his free time, Brent enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, traveling with them throughout the world, coaching his kids' little league teams, playing ice hockey and snowmobiling.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner at CJM Ventures
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & Partner, Head of Portfolio Operations
- Founder and Managing Partner of Clarity Partners
David Namkung is Co-Founder, Partner and Head of Portfolio Operations at Kinzie Capital Partners, where he leads technology implementations and is responsible for assisting in the execution of value creation initiatives for Kinzie's portfolio companies. In addition, he oversees Kinzie's internal technology initiatives and supports various operational matters.
David is also a Founder and Managing Partner of Clarity Partners, a high growth management and technology consulting firm, where he shares responsibility for day-to-day operations, business development and service delivery. David's strong background as an entrepreneur and over 25 years of experience in financial services, technology consulting, systems implementation, human capital management and operations helps drive value for Kinzie's portfolio companies.
Prior to Clarity Partners, David was a Partner at Vector Strategic Services, where he successfully managed the development of enterprise systems for both Accenture and Deloitte & Touche. Before Vector, he was an options market-maker for Gargoyle Strategic Investments and served as a Senior Consultant at Accenture.
David is on the Board of Directors for The Council of Korean Americans and Hanul Family Alliance, where he served as the President, in addition to several private company boards including ShapeLog and Colony Display. He is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. In 2017, David was featured by Chicago United in their Business Leaders of Color publication.
David graduated with honors from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Industrial Management and in Economics. He is an avid golfer, hockey player and former professional blackjack player.
Davis DeKorte is an Associate at Kinzie Capital Partners, where he supports deal evaluation and execution as well as portfolio company management. He currently serves as a Board Observer for Kinzie's portfolio company, GT Golf.
Previously, Davis worked as an Investment Banking Associate at Stout, a global investment bank and advisory firm. There, he performed extensive financial valuation analysis and supported senior bankers throughout the entire transaction process.
Davis earned his B.A. in Finance with a minor in Entrepreneurship from Lake Forest College and currently serves on the school's Alumni Council. He is a member of the Ambassador's Council for First Tee of Greater Chicago and is a Hiring Partner and Mentor for the Special Operators Transition Foundation (SOTF), an organization that transitions military veterans into business roles.
Davis is passionate about sports and enjoys playing hockey and golf in his free time.
Job Titles:
- Innovation Leader at Amazon Web Services
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Finance and Operations
Katie Stanton is Vice President of Finance and Operations at Kinzie Capital Partners where she is responsible for overseeing all finance and accounting activities, including compliance, financial reporting, management company operations and fund administration.
Prior to joining Kinzie, Katie served as Vice President of Finance at Erie Street Growth Partners in Chicago where she managed the firm's day to day finance and accounting operations. Before Erie Street, she was a Financial Control Manager at Citadel. Katie began her career at KPMG US and spent eight years in the audit practice, most recently serving as a Senior Manager.
Katie earned her B.S. in Accounting and Master of Accounting from The University of Kansas. She is a Certified Public Accountant. In her free time, Katie enjoys cooking, traveling and spending time with her family and their beloved Boston Terrier, Dexter.
Job Titles:
- Independent Director at Gibraltar Industries
Job Titles:
- CEO & Director at Halo Branded Solutions
Marisa Garcia is a Senior Analyst at Kinzie Capital Partners, where she provides support across the firm's investor relations and investment activities including financial modeling, industry analysis and portfolio support. In addition, she manages Kinzie's undergraduate internship program.
Prior to joining the team, Marisa was an intern with Kinzie through Northwestern University's Chicago Field Studies program. She currently serves on the Young Professionals Board of HFS Chicago Scholars, an organization that serves economically disadvantaged Chicago high school students.
Marisa earned her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Business and Legal Studies from Northwestern University. At Northwestern, she was a QuestBridge Scholar and served as Director of Development on the Executive Board of A&O Productions, a student-led entertainment organization.
Marisa is passionate about outdoor activities and in her free time enjoys running, swimming and traveling.
Michael Eisinger is a Principal at Kinzie Capital Partners, where he is responsible for deal evaluation and execution, deal origination and portfolio company management.
Michael brings more than ten years of private equity experience to his role at Kinzie. Prior to joining the team, Michael was a Director at Parallel49 Equity where he served as a key member of the investment team and as a member and observer to several portfolio company Boards of Directors. Before Parallel49, he was a Senior Analyst on the investment team at Arbor Investments where he completed several acquisitions, divestitures and recapitalizations, and was involved in overseeing active portfolio company investments. Michael also spent time in the investment banking group at Stout, where he worked on a variety of M&A transactions.
Michael currently serves on the Board of Directors for Kinzie portfolio company GT Golf. Michael earned his B.A. in Financial Management and Economics from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received his M.B.A. with concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, graduating with high honors as an Amy and Richard F. Wallman Scholar.
Residing in the Northern suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two children, Michael enjoys spending time with his family and friends, exercising, outdoor activities and cooking.
Michael Reyes is the Executive Assistant to the Founder and Managing Partner. He provides critical administrative support for and maintains the efficiency and effectiveness of the Office of the CEO.
For almost 30 years, Michael has worked alongside CEOs and senior leaders at some of the most recognizable global and national organizations. Most recently, he was the EA and Executive Business Partner to the Regional Managing Principal at Gensler. Prior to that, he was EA to the CEO and Board Liaison at Feeding America.
Michael currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at Strawdog Theatre Company and is an active member of the Chicago theatre community. He has worked on dozens of theatrical productions with multiple companies as a stage manager, actor, singer and volunteer.
Michael earned his B.A. in Theatre with a minor in Public Relations from the University of Toledo, graduating with honors.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Named Principal
- Principal and Member of the Investment Committee
Michael Sullivan is a Principal and Member of the Investment Committee at Kinzie Capital Partners, where he is responsible sourcing, evaluating and executing investments.
Michael has over 15 years of experience in investment management, corporate finance, treasury and management consulting. Prior to joining Kinzie, Michael led his own consulting practice focused on operational process improvements and served as an Assistant Vice President of Investments & Treasury at CNA Insurance. He also held positions at Northern Trust, JP Morgan Chase & Co and Accenture.
Michael currently serves on the Board of Directors for Kinzie portfolio companies Colony Display and Chelsea Lighting. He is also Co-President of the Young Professionals Board for HFS Chicago Scholars, an organization that helps underserved Chicago high school students achieve success. Michael graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in Finance and earned his M.B.A. at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a CFA charter holder and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago.
Michael and his wife live in the western suburbs with their three children. He is a motorcycle enthusiast who enjoys doing his own maintenance in the summer months, cheering on the Irish in the fall, and skating with his kids in the winter.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor
- General Counsel, Senior Legal Advisor
- Member of the Ambassador's Board of the Chicago Children 's Choir
Nada Litwin serves as General Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor for Kinzie Capital Partners, where she manages general legal affairs, corporate governance and compliance matters.*
Currently the Managing Partner of Litwin Law, LLC, Nada has over 16 years of legal experience in private equity, securities, mergers and acquisitions, fund formation and general corporate law.
Previously, Nada was a Partner in the Corporate, Securities and Investment Management group at Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP, where she focused on mergers and acquisitions, securities, private equity, venture capital, fund formation and contract negotiation. Prior, Nada spent almost six years at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in the Corporate and Securities group, where she worked on complex public and private mergers and acquisitions and securities matters.
Nada received a B.B.A. with high distinction from the University of Michigan Business School and graduated magna cum laude with a J.D. from The University of Michigan Law School where she was selected to the Order of the Coif. Nada is a licensed member of the Illinois Bar.
Nada is a member of the Ambassador's Board of the Chicago Children's Choir. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two kids and enjoys running, tennis and biking.
*Nada Litwin provides legal service through Litwin Kach LLP
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive at Norman Bobins Consulting LLC
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Announced As Senior Advisor
- Named Managing Director
- Senior Advisor and Member of the Investment Committee
Peter Schwab is a Senior Advisor and Member of the Investment Committee at Kinzie Capital Partners, where he is involved in investments and portfolio management. He also assists in the sourcing and execution of investments, providing value-added oversight to portfolio companies, implementing strategic plans and the development of the Kinzie team.
Peter has over 40 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, advising companies and building world-class teams. He began his career at Ernst & Young where he ultimately held the role of President of Ernst & Young Corporate Finance, LLC and was responsible for leading the organization nationally. In addition, Peter has held leadership roles at Piper Jaffray, where he served as Managing Director and a Group Head and was Senior Managing Director at Macquarie Capital.
Peter is on the Board of Directors for Kinzie portfolio companies Colony Display and Chelsea Lighting, where serves as Audit Chair. He is a well-known and respected leader as evidenced by his service on several private company and civic boards including the VMC Group, Thomas Instrument, the Lupus Foundation of America (past Chair) and Canine Companions for Independence. He is also an Advisory Board Member of the Jones School at Rice University. Peter has received several leadership awards, including the David Crosby Community Leadership Award from Piper Jaffray in 2015 and the National Research Leadership Award from the Lupus Foundation of America. He is a sought-out speaker and has been a guest lecturer at Rice University and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Peter received a B.A. in Economics and Russian from Rice University and earned a Master's in Accounting from the Jones School of Business at Rice University. In addition to his post-graduate education at Harvard University, Northwestern University and Duke Fuqua School of Business, Peter is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
He lives in Glenview, Illinois with his wife and loves the outdoors, sports and animals. In his downtime, Peter enjoys spending quality time with his family and rescue dog in the north woods.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Founder and Managing Partner at Clarity Partners
- Senior Advisor of Finance & Operations
Rodney (Rod) Zech is a Senior Advisor of Finance & Operations at Kinzie Capital Partners. In addition to supporting technology implementation and improvement efforts for Kinzie's portfolio companies, Rod advises on the finance and accounting functions for Kinzie and supports various legal and operational matters.
Rod is also a Founder and Managing Partner at Clarity Partners, a high growth management and technology consulting firm, where he is responsible for operations, finance and accounting, business development and service delivery.
Job Titles:
- Finance
- Operations Analyst
- Analyst, Finance & Operations
Ryan Haraldsen is a Finance and Operations Analyst at Kinzie Capital Partners, where he is responsible for various accounting, finance and investor relations activities, including cash flow forecasting, management company accounting, financial reporting and investor communications.
Prior to joining the team, Ryan was an Advisory Associate in the Financial Due Diligence group at KPMG in Chicago where he provided Quality of Earnings advisory services to corporate and private equity clients.
Ryan earned his B.S. in Accounting and Finance and his MBA in Financial Analysis and Accounting from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He is currently working towards his CPA.
Ryan enjoys playing and coaching hockey, cooking and spending time with his Swiss Shepard, Leo. Ryan currently serves as an Assistant coach on the St. Ignatius Varsity Maroon Boys Ice Hockey Team.
Ryan Myers is an Analyst at Kinzie Capital Partners, where he provides support across the firm's investment activities including financial modeling, industry analysis and portfolio support.
Prior to joining the team, Ryan was a Financial Analyst at Kinzie's portfolio company Colony Display and an Associate at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) in Dallas, Texas. He previously served as an intern at Kinzie while completing his undergraduate degree.
Ryan earned his B.S. in Economics with Financial Applications from Southern Methodist University and his M.S. in Finance from SMU Cox School of Business.
In his free time, Ryan enjoys playing golf and pickleball, solving New York Times puzzles, reading and spending quality time with his family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Communication Director
- Manager of Office Operations
- Manager, Office Operations, Culture & Engagement
Sharon Lira Gomez is Manager of Office Operations, Culture and Engagement at Kinzie Capital Partners, where she is responsible for general office management and maintaining a supportive organizational culture. Sharon ensures a vibrant and efficient physical space and values-driven environment at Kinzie with a focus on cultivating team spirit, inclusion, collaboration and continuous learning. She also manages Kinzie's events and community engagement through charity partnerships, community dialogues and volunteer initiatives.
Prior to joining Kinzie, Sharon spent several rewarding years managing a household of five including her husband and three young boys. During this time, Sharon founded Sharon's CityBaby Concierge, managing all aspects of the business while remaining actively engaged in community activities. Sharon's earlier experience included working as a Senior Paralegal at Gilead Sciences, Inc. There, she was responsible for corresponding with the USPTO and all foreign patent offices and agents during prosecution of applications as well as the preparation of prosecution papers such as responses to office actions and information disclosure statements. She also worked for Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner.
Sharon currently serves as Communication Director on the Advisory Council for Commercial Park in Chicago. She is fluent in Tagalog (Filipino) and enjoys hot yoga, live music, traveling and cooking competitions with her husband.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner at Cavehill Capital LLC
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Managing Partner
- Honored With CMAA Duc Huang Founder
Suzanne Yoon is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on control investments in lower middle market companies in the manufactured products, business services and consumer industries. In 2017, Suzanne launched Kinzie as part of her long-standing vision to advance the use of technology and innovation to help companies unlock value. Kinzie's operational focus and advancement of technology leads to improved efficiency and new avenues for growth within Kinzie's diverse portfolio of companies. Suzanne serves as the Chair of the Investment and Executive Committees for Kinzie. In 2020, Kinzie was recognized by the Private Equity Women Investor Network as the North American Female Founded Firm of the Year.
Suzanne has over 25 years of experience investing in and advising middle market companies. Before founding Kinzie, she held senior roles at Versa Capital Management, CIT Group and LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO. She also held positions in the Special Assets Group and Restructuring Advisory at LaSalle Bank and Ernst and Young's Corporate Finance group, respectively.
A recognized leader in both the business and civic spheres, Yoon serves on several private company and civic boards. She currently serves as the Board Chair of Kinzie portfolio companies Colony Display, Chelsea Lighting, GT Golf Holdings and Arctic Industries. She is a current member and former Chair of the National Philanthropic Trust Board of Trustees, the largest independent donor advised fund manager in the world with approximately $37B under management, and is a member of the first-ever Women's Advisory Board for the Chicago Bears. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium, the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, The Economic Club of Chicago and the Chicago Public Library Foundation. Yoon is on the Steering Committee of the Women's Association of Venture & Equity (WAVE) and is active with the Private Equity Women's Investor Network (PEWIN). Additionally, she is a member of the Illinois Venture Capital Association and The Chicago Network.
Suzanne earned her B.A. in Economics from the University of Iowa and is an Executive Scholar of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Mergers & Acquisitions named Suzanne one of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023; The Wall Street Journal recognized her as a Top Female Deal Maker Shaping Private Equity's Present and Future in 2019 and Chicago United named her one of their Business Leaders of Color in 2021.
Suzanne lives in Chicago with her husband and three children and is an outdoor and sports enthusiast who enjoys golfing and fishing with her family.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Communications Specialist
Taylor Addington is a Marketing and Communications Specialist at Kinzie Capital Partners. Taylor helps manage all marketing and communication initiatives, and assists with various creative and operational needs at the firm.
Prior to Kinzie, Taylor was a Consultant at Clarity Partners, a technology consulting firm and Kinzie's strategic partner. At Clarity, she led all digital marketing initiatives and served as a project manager and business analyst for both internal and client projects. Previously, Taylor worked at Thompson Flanagan, a boutique insurance brokerage firm that specializes in serving private equity clients. As an Account Manager in their Benefits Group, she helped manage client accounts, software implementation and training, and marketing projects.
Taylor earned her B.A. in English from Luther College in Iowa. A Wisconsin native, she enjoys any and all winter activities. In her free time she loves to travel, write and spend as much time as possible outdoors.
Job Titles:
- President at Empire Cooler Service, LLC