VANTEDGE PARTNERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the VantEdge Team
- Office Manager
Amy Christie is the Office Manager at VantEdge Partners. Prior to joining VantEdge, Amy spent 2.5 years working at Jeremiah Program, a national nonprofit headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. At Jeremiah Program, Amy most recently worked as the HR Generalist, and prior she was the Executive Assistant to the President & CEO. Amy also has experience at both Target Corporation and Wells Fargo. She holds a BS degree in Marketing with a minor in Business Administration from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Job Titles:
- Member of the VantEdge Team
- Vice President of Portfolio Improvement
Fritz Krause is Vice President of Portfolio Improvement at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on enhancing the value of existing investments in the multi-location consumer service businesses. Prior to joining VantEdge, Fritz spent 3 years as a Management Consultant at Accenture where he partnered with CFOs to deliver work across their business transformation, strategic cost reduction, and enterprise performance improvement agendas. Prior to Accenture, he worked in various finance roles at 7-Eleven and Ferrellgas Partners. Fritz holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance with a minor in Economics from The University of Kansas, and has earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is an active member of the Kansas City CFA society.
Job Titles:
- Member of the VantEdge Team
- Senior Associate
Isaac Oberlin is a Senior Associate at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on middle market private equity investments. Prior to joining VantEdge, Isaac spent a year in Washington, D.C. at Houlihan Lokey in their Industrials Group and 2 years in Chicago at Piper Sandler in their Restructuring and Special Situations Group. Through his time at Houlihan Lokey and Piper Sandler, Isaac has worked on a variety of sell-side M&A and buy-side advisory engagements. Isaac also serves in the U.S. Army Reserves. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, and a BBA in Finance and Economics from The University of Iowa.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Jay Matlack is a Managing Director at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on middle market private equity investments. Prior to joining VantEdge, Jay spent 3 years as a Senior Director of Retention and Workforce Solutions with the Wyandotte Economic Development Council where he focused on building relationships to help spur job creation, capital investment, business retention, workforce development, and county-wide marketing. Prior to the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, he spent 3 years as a Workforce Development Coordinator with the Kansas City Community College and 2 years as an Analyst for a Denver based investment firm called Wunderlich. Jay holds an MBA from the University of Denver and a BS degree in Marketing from the University of Tulsa. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Kansas City Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and is an active volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City.
Job Titles:
- Accounting Manager
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Jennifer Barnes is the accounting manager at VantEdge Partners. Prior to joining VantEdge, Jennifer spent 1.5 years working in the tax department at Compass Minerals. She previously spent 4 years at JMW & Associates where she worked as a manager providing family and business tax compliance services. Prior to that, she worked as a senior associate at KPMG in the corporate tax practice. Jennifer is a licensed CPA in Kansas and Missouri. She holds a BS and MS in accounting from the University of Kansas.
Job Titles:
- Analyst
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Lilly Concannon is an Analyst at VantEdge Partners, where she focuses on middle market private equity investments. Lilly holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. While attending school, Lilly interned at VantEdge, BMG Advisors, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and Traders Insurance Company.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Luke Muller is an Associate at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on middle market private equity investments. Prior to joining VantEdge, Luke was an Investment Banking Analyst at NCP in Des Moines. He also has experience at American Equity Life Insurance Company. Luke holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Finance from the University of Northern Iowa, and has earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Job Titles:
- Controller
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Meghan Whitefield is the controller at VantEdge Partners. Prior to joining VantEdge, Meghan spent 7 years at JMW & Associates where she worked as a manager providing family and business tax compliance services. Previously, she worked as an associate at KPMG in the international tax practice and corporate tax practice. Meghan is a licensed CPA in Kansas and Missouri and a graduate from Oklahoma State University with a BS and MS degree in accounting and a minor in finance.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Managing Director
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Paul Edgerley is a Managing Director and co-founder of VantEdge Partners, a private investment family office group focused on building partnerships with extraordinary management teams to grow excellent businesses. He previously served as a Principal and Managing Director at Bain Capital from 1988 until his retirement in January 2016. During his time at Bain Capital, Mr. Edgerley played a senior leadership role in the firm, co-leading the private equity business, overseeing the firm's expansion into Asia, and serving as the co-head of the firm's investment committee. Since his retirement, he continues to serve as a Senior Advisor to Bain Capital.
Paul currently serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Boston Celtics since 2002, the Kansas City Royals and Atalanta BC Italian Serie A.
Paul serves as the Chairman of SIPPRA, a bi-partisan commission of the Federal Government, and Chair of the Board of Year Up. He also serves on the Dean's Advisory Board at Harvard Business School, the Harvard Global Advisory Committee, the Board of Massachusetts General Hospital, the Board of OneGoal, the Board of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation and the board of the Aspen Art Museum. Historically he served on the Executive Committee of the Trust Board of Kansas State University, Children's Hospital Trust Board, the Board of New Profit, Inc., the US Board of Right to Play and was Co-chair of the Harvard University Capital Campaign and Co-Chair of the Harvard Campaign for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Prior to joining Bain Capital, Paul spent five years at Bain & Company where he worked as a Consultant and Manager in the healthcare, information services, retail and automobile industries. Previously, he was a certified public accountant working at Peat Marwick, Mitchell & Company. Paul was awarded an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Kansas State University.
He and his wife Sandy, have four grown children, and reside in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Paul Billington is the chief financial officer at VantEdge Partners. He previously spent 15 years as senior vice president of finance and treasurer of Russell Stover Candies and Whitman's Candies. Prior to that, he was the chief financial officer of two industry segment leading companies in professional equipment and medical software. Paul began his career as a manager with Arthur Anderson & Co. Paul has a BS in business administration from Kansas State University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the VantEdge Team
- Director of Portfolio Company FP & a and Improvement
Pete Fields is Director of Portfolio Company FP&A and Improvement at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on enhancing the value of existing investments in the multi-location consumer service businesses. Prior to joining VantEdge, Pete spent nearly 7 years as an investment professional at Great Range Capital, a private equity firm based in Kansas City. At Great Range Capital, Pete focused on sourcing, executing, and managing middle-market investments. Prior to Great Range Capital, he spent time at both LaSalle Capital Group in Chicago and at Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis. Pete holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from The University of Kansas.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Ralph Heist is a Director at VantEdge Partners, where he is responsible for investments in multi-location consumer service businesses including restaurants and other franchise businesses. Ralph focuses on enhancing the value of existing investments as well as originating new multi-location consumer service investments. Over the last 25+ years he has held senior positions in the financial services and healthcare industries building operation platforms driving value-added services. He holds an MBA and BS in business administration from Baker University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the VantEdge Team
- Principal
Rebecca Smid is a Principal at VantEdge Partners. Prior to joining VantEdge, Rebecca spent 1.5 years in St. Louis at one of VantEdge's portfolio companies, Vitaligent. She also spent 2 years at Greenbriar Equity Group in Rye, New York and 2 years in NYC at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the Global Industrials Group. She holds a BS in Business Administration from Indiana University.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Ricky Bellinger is an Associate at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on middle market private equity investments. Prior to joining VantEdge, Ricky spent two years as an Investment Banking Associate at J.P. Morgan in New York. At J.P. Morgan, Ricky worked on a variety of M&A, leveraged buyout, and debt and equity financing transactions in the diversified industrials space. He holds an MBA from Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Sam Bailey is an Associate at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on middle market private equity investments. Prior to joining VantEdge, Sam spent four years at Fidus Capital in Charlotte, NC. At Fidus Capital, Sam conducted underwriting diligence, transaction structuring, and deal execution for middle market debt and minority equity investment opportunities. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wake Forest University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the VantEdge Team
- Director of Portfolio Company Growth & Improvement
Stephen Blumhardt is Director of Portfolio Company Growth & Improvement at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on enhancing the value of existing investments in the industrial and home and commercial services businesses. Prior to joining VantEdge, Stephen spent 5 years in the consulting industry at Forvis, formerly BKD CPAs & Advisors. At Forvis, he led buy-side and sell-side transaction advisory engagements, providing financial due diligence assistance to private equity groups, strategic acquirers and individuals. Prior to Forvis, he spent time at both IVX Health and KPMG. Stephen holds a Masters of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Kansas.
Terry Matlack - Founder, Managing Director
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Managing Director
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Terry is a co-founder and Managing Director of VantEdge Partners. He currently serves on the board of directors of several VantEdge Partner portfolio companies including Allstar Construction, Enjet Aero, Kona Brewing Company of HI, Bluemont Group, and Luihn VantEdge Partners.
Prior to founding VantEdge Partners, he was a board member and managing director of Tortoise Capital Advisors, an investment company he co-founded with partners in 2002. Tortoise Capital managed NYSE-listed closed-end funds, open-end funds, private funds and separate accounts for institutional and individual investors primarily focused on the energy sector.
Prior to joining Tortoise Capital, he was a partner at Kansas City Equity Partners, a private equity firm based in Kansas City. From 1989 until 2001, Terry was involved as a board member and senior manager in the finance, operation and development of several companies in the telecommunications industry, including cable television, cellular telephone, landline telephone and the radio broadcast business. Upon sale of those companies, he was the President, and later CEO of Ameritel Pay Phone, Inc. (later named Evercom), a nationwide provider of telephone systems for correctional facilities.
Terry graduated with a degree in business administration from Kansas State University and holds both a master's in business administration and a juris doctorate from the University of Kansas. He is a member of the American Bar Association and Kansas Bar Association and earned his CFA designation (currently inactive). He serves on the U.S. Bank Kansas City Regional Market Board, the Executive Council of Kansas State University's College of Business, and the board of Children's Mercy Hospital.
He and his wife Cathy live in Leawood, Kansas and have three children and five grandchildren.
Job Titles:
- Member of the VantEdge Team
- Senior Associate
Tommy Trueblood is a Senior Associate at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on middle market private equity investments. Prior to joining VantEdge, Tommy spent a year in Atlanta at Croft & Bender and 2 years in Minneapolis at Piper Sandler in their Diversified Industrials & Services Group. Through his time at Croft & Bender and Piper Sandler, Tommy has worked on a variety of M&A, leveraged buyout, and debt equity transactions. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Job Titles:
- Member of the VantEdge Team
- Office Assistant
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the VantEdge Team
Trevor Lott is a Managing Director at VantEdge Partners, where he focuses on middle market private equity investments. Prior to joining VantEdge, Trevor spent nearly 4 years as an investment professional at Prospect Capital Management, a firm with $6 billion of assets in New York. At Prospect, Trevor focused on sourcing, executing, and managing private equity and debt investments. Prior to Prospect, he spent 5 years at BlackRock in New York. Trevor holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also obtained his BS in Finance and BAS in Biomedical Science.