GUIDEPOST GROWTH MANAGEMENT COMPANY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
- Senior Associate
AJ focuses on identifying and analyzing compelling investment opportunities within the application software and data services sectors. Previously, AJ worked in investment banking with Alantra and AGC Partners where he advised emerging technology and media companies through M&A and capital raise transactions.
AJ earned a B.A. in Economics alongside a minor in English from Wesleyan University. He also captained the varsity baseball team where he was named to the All-Academic Team.
Originally from the Boston area, AJ enjoys golf, downhill skiing, hiking in Vermont, and all things Boston sports.
Barbara Adachi is a proven business leader in professional services with expertise in human capital strategy and in the healthcare and insurance industries. She has provided key leadership to organizations as they reassess the future of work and talent strategies. Prior to her retirement in 2013, Barbara was the chief executive and National Managing Partner for Deloitte Consulting's Human Capital Consulting Practice. Currently, Barbara serves on several boards including VSP Global (Vision Service Plan), Atlas and is the President and Board Chair of the International Women's Forum, Northern California where she is leading the organization's transformation.
Barbara graduated from the University of California with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and for fun enjoys international travel, fly fishing, fashion, and entertaining.
Job Titles:
- Analyst
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Calvin focuses on identifying and analyzing compelling investment opportunities within the infrastructure software and tech-enabled services sectors.
Calvin earned a B.S. in Economics with a double concentration in Finance and Business Analytics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Originally from New York, Calvin enjoys golfing, running, and watching movies. In addition, he loves the experience of trying new cuisines, watching Formula One, and reading.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health
Chris Butler currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, one of the nation's largest non-profit behavioral health organizations providing services, insight, and leadership in the evolving field of behavioral healthcare. Previously, Chris was the Chairman of the Board at Clarity Software Solutions, a SaaS-based healthcare IT company that provides health plans with technology to drive member engagement through multimodal communications. He also was the Chairman of the Board of NaviNet and served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at Independence Blue Cross (IBC). Chris retired from IBC in July 2010 after a career spanning 35 years in the health insurance industry with three different Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. Chris graduated with a B.A. from Saint Francis University.
Job Titles:
- General Partner
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Chris co-leads the firm's investing efforts in the application software and data services sectors.
Previously, Chris was with Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based growth-focused private equity firm. He began his career in investment banking at Citigroup in New York, where he focused in the consumer products and retail sectors. Chris earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame.
He previously served on the United Way Private Equity / Venture Capital Leadership Council and currently serves as a board member at Land's Sake Farm, a nonprofit corporation that supports environmental education programs, food donation programs, and land management.
As a native New Yorker and avid Yankees, Knicks, Giants, and Rangers sports fan, Chris has learned how to safely (but rarely successfully) root for the away team in Boston.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Colby focuses on identifying and analyzing compelling investment opportunities within the application software and data services sectors. Previously, Colby worked in investment banking with AGC Partners where he advised emerging software and technology companies through M&A and capital raise transactions.
Colby earned a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College, where he was a member of the varsity baseball team.
Colby is originally from Bow, New Hampshire, and is a passionate fan of all Boston sports. He currently resides in Boston and enjoys skiing, golfing, and traveling.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
- Operations Manager
Debbie's work spans across many functions at Guidepost including but not limited to, investor relations, marketing, and recruiting. She previously spent five years at Kodiak Venture Partners supporting two Managing Partners and the Vice President of Finance & Operations. Prior to working in private equity, she spent over ten years supporting various roles at IONA Technologies, which was eventually acquired by Progress Software.
Debbie earned a B.A. in Psychology, cum laude, from Tufts University.
An avid dancer, Debbie has been performing on and off throughout her life; perhaps you've seen her at Shea Stadium, Fenway Park, or the TD Garden.
Job Titles:
- Visionary Senior Executive
Deborah Grant (Deb) is a visionary senior executive and one of the country's foremost experts in diversity. Deb was GE's first-ever black female corporate officer and she's currently the President and CEO of Corporate Playbookâ˘, a company that provides leaders with strategic direction to elevate diversity, inclusion, philanthropy, and culture in the workplace.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
- Senior Advisor
Doug co-founded Guidepost Growth Equity and is a Senior Advisor. Previously, Doug was Managing Director and Co-Head of Advent International's North American Investment Group, and had prior operating roles at Teradyne, and Alcan Aluminum's venture capital arm.
With more than three decades of growth equity investment experience, Doug has served on over 30 boards of private and public technology companies, across a range of industries.
Doug earned an M.B.A., with Distinction, from Harvard Business School, an A.B. from Dartmouth College, and a B.E. from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. Doug is a Trustee of Providence College, and Chairman of the Abigail Adams Institute at Harvard.
A native New Englander, Doug has worked and studied in Venezuela, Spain, and France, and has four sons with a combined height of 26 feet.
Elliot Katzman has more than 30 years of experience as an investor, founder, and executive, having built some of New England's most successful technology companies. He spent his investing career at Commonwealth Ventures and Kodiak Venture Partners, where he led investments and served on the boards of Acacia Communications (IPO), Echo Nest (Spotify), Vela Systems (Autodesk), Seniorlink, Onshape (PTC), Newforma, Spaceclaim (Ansys) Watchfire (IBM), Epicon (Nortel), and Cloudswitch (Verizon). He is currently a Senior Advisor at Magic Leap.
Before his investing career, Elliot was an operating executive, building four highly successful companies including Myteam.com (Active Network - IPO), SolidWorks, (Dassault Systems), Atria Software (IPO) and Epoch Systems (EMC).
Elliot currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Salem State University, where he is a graduate. In addition, he is a former Trustee of St Johns Prep High School and Board of Fellows of Trinity College.
Job Titles:
- Analyst
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Esther focuses on identifying and analyzing compelling investment opportunities within the application software and data services sectors.
Gary Haroian has served on 15 publicly-held and private companies as a Director, Financial Expert, and Audit Committee Chairman. In addition to acting as Chair of Audit Committees in all but one assignment, Gary serves on the Board of Directors of Brightcove and was a member of the Board of Directors of Aspen Technology. Over the course of his career, Gary has been involved in many successful M&A outcomes and three initial public offerings.
Gary graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a B.A. in Economics and a B.B.A. in Accounting.
Job Titles:
- General Partner
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Gene co-leads Guidepost's investing efforts in the infrastructure software and tech-enabled services sectors.
Previously, Gene was a General Partner with Symmetric Capital, a Boston-based growth equity firm. He began his investing career at Summit Partners, where he focused on software and tech-enabled services.
Gene earned a B.A. cum laude in Economics from Amherst College, where he was a member of the varsity football and lacrosse teams. He also received his M.B.A from Harvard Business School. He remains active at both schools and his high school, Choate Rosemary Hall.
A Scranton, Pennsylvania native, Gene and his wife, daughter, and two sons now live less than a mile from The Green Monster.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
James McCann is an investor and/or board member for companies in the retail technology, food technology and consumer goods sectors, including Green Rabbit, Bowery, Datasembly, Takeoff Technologies, Flashfood, Grillo's Pickles, Fetch Rewards, Voicify, Deliv and Pensa Systems.
Before becoming an investor, James spent more than 20 years in the grocery industry. He was the CEO of several Tesco businesses in Europe and Asia, Carrefour France and latterly Ahold's $26 billion U.S. business.
In his spare time, he is a volunteer pilot for PALS, helping patients get to and from medical treatment centers. James is also a trustee at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
- Vice President
Joan focuses on originating, evaluating and managing growth equity investments in the application software and data services sectors.
Before joining Guidepost, Joan worked in the education technology sector on both the operations side and the investing side. She worked as the Finance Manager at Rize Education, a New York-based startup working to help colleges across the country expand their curricular offerings through hybrid classes. She then worked at GSV Ventures, a venture capital fund investing in tech entrepreneurs creating solutions in digital education and the skilling market.
Joan began her career at Morgan Stanley where she worked first in the Secured Lending Division and then the Media & Telecommunications Investment Banking Division.
Joan has an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Harvard College where she also played on the varsity soccer team.
As a washed-up former college athlete, Joan now works to relive her glory days through downhill skiing and running marathons.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Larry Dunivan has spent the majority of his career in Human Capital Management technology. He is the former CEO of Namely. Previously, Larry led Ceridian (CDAY) through an explosive period of growth as Chief Revenue Officer, leveraging SaaS technology, superior products, and a strong go-to-market approach which culminated in its successful IPO. Larry is passionate about the importance of authentic leadership, accountability for results, and effective sales strategies in making a difference. He currently serves on the boards of two Guidepost investments: Asurint and Mineral.
Prior to his career at Ceridian, Larry spent nearly 20 years in product development and product management where he built and launched a suite of talent management applications and a global HCM platform, having built both industry-specific and multi-national HR products. He has also twice served as a corporate CIO, which has allowed him to develop a uniquely rounded experience in the development, support, and delivery of software solutions.
Larry holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and a Masters of Management from the JL Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Job Titles:
- Analyst
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Liv focuses on identifying and analyzing compelling investment opportunities within the application software and data services sectors.
Liv earned a B.A. in Economics alongside a minor in Italian from Middlebury College. She also competed as a member of the varsity women's basketball team where she was named twice to the NESCAC All-Sportsmanship team.
Liv is originally from Chandler, Arizona and enjoys outdoor adventures, painting, and traveling.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Mark Fusco has served on several technology-focused companies as a Member of the Board of Directors, including Viewpoint and Black Duck Software. Mark's leadership and expertise in helping drive operational performance, product innovation and market leadership provides an incredible asset to those organizations in which he contributes.
Previously, Mark served as the Chief Executive Officer, President and a Member of the Board of Directors at Aspen Technology Inc. Mark served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Ajilon Consulting and was a Co-Founder and President of Software Quality Partners.
Prior to his business career, Mark was a professional ice hockey player and Member of the National Hockey League team the Hartford Whalers and was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey Team. Mark holds a B.A in Economics from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.
Michael Boustridge is a technology executive with deep expertise in the IT services and telecom industries. Michael has worked for leading companies including IBM, Hitachi Data Systems, EDS, British Telecom and was CEO of Ciber and is currently the Chairman of the Board at BP3 Global, a company focused on robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI+ML), intelligent document processing, application modernization, and support services, as well as specializes in enterprise user experience designs. Michael has served on a number Public and Private Boards and is involved with several non-profit organization, including XPRIZE, where Michael currently serves on the Board.
Mike Gaburo is the CEO of Igloo Software, a SaaS company focused on the digital workplace Mike was previously the CEO of Brightwell, an Atlanta-based financial technology company that provides cross-border remittance and financial services to more than 200K customers around the world. Prior to Brightwell, Mike was the COO of Paycor, a provider of cloud-based onboarding, applicant tracking, HR, payroll and timekeeping software, where revenue grew >4x during his tenure. Prior to Paycor, Mike served on its Board of Directors while at Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS), a Fortune 500 provider of global business services, where he also led one of its four operating divisions and directed Cintas's mergers and acquisitions effort.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
- Operating Partner
Nate leads Guidepost's Value Creation Group, which works across the portfolio and investment lifecycle to identify and catalyze growth opportunities through operational and strategic measures.
Prior to Guidepost, Nate was a Senior Operations Executive at Abry Partners, where he focused on enhancing portfolio company performance through operational improvement. Previously, Nate was the General Manager of Asset Based Product Performance at Wayfair Inc. and was a Senior Manager in Deloitte Consulting's Strategy and Operations practice, where he focused on M&A support and operational improvement. Nate is also an alumnus of GE's Junior Officer Leadership Program.
Nate earned an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.S. from the United States Military Academy.
Nate enjoys spending time with his son, as well as traveling, playing golf, and collecting wine.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & CEO of Mineral
Nathan Christensen is Co-Founder & CEO of Mineral (now part of Mitratech). Nathan is driving Mineral to transform the delivery of HR knowledge solutions and create unparalleled customer experiences for employers. He has been named a "Game Changer" in the HR field by Workforce magazine and was selected by the Portland Business Journal as a member of "Forty Under 40" class. Nathan's articles on management, human resources strategy, and public policy have appeared in publications such as The Washington Post, Fast Company, and Workforce. He's also been a featured speaker at numerous industry conferences and events.
Nathan holds degrees from Stanford University and The University of Chicago Law School.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Blueshift Nutrition
Paal Gisholt is the founder and CEO of Blueshift Nutrition. He was previously co-founder and CEO of SmartPak Equine, a leader in equine e-commerce using technology to create a compelling customer experience. Paal was named one of the country's "best bosses" by Winning Workplaces/Fortune Small Business. He was also named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Prior to starting SmartPak, Paal was a General Partner with Spray Venture Partners where he helped to raise its first fund and financed startup companies in the medical technology sector. Previously Paal was with private equity firm Advent International, where he worked in both its Industrial and Healthcare groups from 1989 to 1997. Paal started his career as a consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Paal holds a B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A., with distinction, from Harvard Business School.
Rainer Gawlick is a seasoned technology executive with extensive operating, strategy, and board experience. He has held executive sales and marketing positions at a broad range of technology companies including AspenTech, Lightship, SolidWorks, Sophos, Intralinks and most recently at Perfecto Mobile at which he served as President. Rainer brings deep experience with a broad set of business models and go-to-market approaches. Rainer started his career at McKinsey & Company.
Rainer is on the board at Proto Labs (NYSE: PRLB), where he chairs the compensation committee and is a member of the audit committee. He also serves on the boards of Chyronhego, Meltwater, and Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS).
Rainer earned his B.A. in Physics from The University of California at Berkeley and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from MIT.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
- Vice President
Steve focuses on originating, evaluating and managing growth equity investments in the infrastructure software and tech-enabled services sectors.
Steve earned a B.A. in Economics from Middlebury College, where he was a four-year member of the varsity lacrosse team. Steve is originally from Quincy, Massachusetts, and is a passionate fan of all Boston sports. He resides in Boston, and enjoys traveling, hiking, and downhill skiing.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
- Vice President
Taylor focuses on originating, evaluating and managing growth equity investments in the application software and data services sectors.
Before joining Guidepost, Taylor spent eight years in operating roles at digitally native and eCommerce companies. He was an early employee of Harry's, the men's grooming brand, where he held roles in Operations and Corporate Development. Then, Taylor co-founded Highfive Brands, which incubated, acquired, and operated brands on the Shopify platform.
Taylor began his career at The Parthenon Group (now EY-Parthenon), a management consulting firm, where he was a member of the private equity practice.
Taylor has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Economics from Duke University.
Job Titles:
- Controller
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
- Guidepost Team Members
Previously Tim was Assistant Controller at Nautic Partners. Previously, Tim was a Senior Accountant at Berkshire Partners and an Audit Senior at Deloitte in the Financial Services group.
Tim is a Certified Public Accountant and earned a B.S. in Accounting from Roger Williams University.
Of all the Guidepost team members, Tim lives the furthest distance from the office.
Job Titles:
- Technology Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director
Tom Heiser is a global technology Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director. He has extensive sales, marketing, and executive leadership experience and has been highly successful in developing and executing growth strategies - both organically and inorganically. He is known for his ability to grow companies - ranging from start-ups to complex multinational businesses.
Tom has served as Chairman/CEO of four private equity-backed companies. Before that, he spent thirty years of his career as an executive at EMC Corporation where he served in a range of roles including the President of RSA Security and the head of EMC Corporate Development where he led the acquisitions of 22 companies.
Tom sits on the Board of Directors for Intellum and is Chairperson of Ahead, a multi-billion dollar IT Consulting company helping customers with their Digital Transformation journey.
Tom earned his B.A. in Accounting Information Systems from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is currently a guest lecturer at Boston College and Babson College.
Job Titles:
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
- Senior Associate
Travis focuses on identifying and analyzing compelling investment opportunities within the infrastructure software and tech-enabled services sectors.
Travis earned a B.S. in Economics-Finance and a minor in Computer Information Systems in the Honors Program at Bentley University. He was also a four-year member of the Bentley football team.
Travis is originally from the Tampa, Florida area and is a passionate sports fan. In his free time he enjoys playing golf, traveling, and fishing.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Guidepost Team VCG Advisor
Most recently, Trista spent over six years at The Baupost Group where she managed two analyst assistant teams supporting the firm's Public Equity and Private/Real Estate investment groups. Prior to Baupost, Trista spent four years at North Run Capital serving as the Office Manager and Head of Human Resources. Prior to working in the financial industry, Trista spent over ten years in executive assistant, marketing and project management roles in the architectural industry.
Trista grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts where she studied classical guitar and music performance. She moved to Boston in 2000.
Job Titles:
- Financial Services Executive
Walter Dolhare is an experienced financial services executive with over 30 years' experience. In his more than 25 year career at Wells Fargo, he held various roles, rising to become co-head of Wells Fargo Corporate & Investment Banking, president of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, co-head of Wells Fargo International, and member of the Wells Fargo Management Committee.
Walter is the former US Vice Chair of the Global Financial Markets Association. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for ActiveViam.