CASCADE PARTNERS - Key Persons
Arjun Murthy brings nearly 15 years of investment banking, corporate finance and operational experience to Cascade Partners. His background includes leading M&A and capital raising transactions across a range of industries in sectors such as packaging, aerospace, industrials, consumer products and retail. He has extensive experience in all aspects of deal execution and management, including sell-side, buy-side and capital raising engagements for private and public middle-market companies.
Transactions Murthy has led or advised include: TriMas' acquisition of RSA Engineered Products from Merit Capital Partners and Cornerstone Capital Holdings; the sale of Precision Aero to H-D Advanced Manufacturing; the sale of Sur-Seal to Capital Partners; TriMas' acquisition of Rapak from Liquibox; the recapitalization of TCC Wireless; the sale of KL Outdoor to New Water Capital; the sale of Virginia Tile to Harris Equity Partners; and the sale of Acute Care Pharmaceuticals to PNC Riverarch.
Prior to joining Cascade, Murthy was the Senior Manager of Corporate Development for TriMas Corporation (NASDAQ:TRS), an $800 million diversified global manufacturer and provider of products primarily in the consumer, aerospace and industrial end markets. He was responsible for managing corporate development, M&A, divestitures, capital investment and commercial planning projects, and TriMas' acquisition pipeline and strategy. Previously, Murthy was a senior associate and, then, director at leading regional investment banking and lending institutions.
After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, Murthy received his Master of Business Administration with concentrations in Corporate Strategy and Finance from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He maintains his Series 79 and 63 licenses with FINRA.
In his spare time, Murthy loves to spend time with his wife, Olivia, and son, Jackson; wrestling with his golden doodle, Theo; and playing golf whenever possible (but continues to be awfully bad). Additionally, he enjoys traveling, Michigan State sports and live music.
Job Titles:
- MANAGING DIRECTOR
- Chairman of Kinsale Company
Daniel Walsh brings more than 20 years of middle-market financial advisory, private equity investing and operational experience to Cascade Partners. He has extensive experience in M&A and capital raising, and has participated in more than 50 capital markets' transactions as an advisor and principal investor. As a Managing Director with Cascade, Walsh supports the firms' investment banking engagements and principal investing activities.
Walsh also serves as Chairman of Kinsale Company, a private-based holding company of industrial manufacturing and distribution corporations. His career has included work in a variety of end-markets including construction products, metals, software, transportation, chemicals and general industrials. Walsh has advised and worked with such companies as Dover Corporation, Mitsui & Co, Contech Engineered Solutions, Ryder Integrated Logistics and General Cable, among many others.
Leveraging extensive experience in financial and corporate investing, Walsh is a valuable asset for mature industrial companies looking for growth, M&As or other strategic events or transitions. His broad areas of expertise include strategic planning and execution, corporate development, business planning, financial executive leadership, capital raising, buy-side and sell-side advising, private equity and acquisition integration.
Walsh graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Masters in Finance, from Xavier University with an MBA and attended Hillsdale College where he studied Liberal Arts.
David Thomas has almost 25 years of investment experience in the technology sector. His career spans 14 years on Wall Street, where he became one of its first software and IT services analysts in the early 1980s. He has managed a $25 million hedge fund, acted as CEO of a start-up software company and has run four investment funds. Thomas' unique background as an analyst, advisor and entrepreneur in both the public and private markets offers uncommon insight into the investment process.
Thomas began his Wall Street career at Hambrecht Quist in 1983 as an associate analyst covering the software and IT services industries. He was involved in a variety of IPOs, including Informix, SHL Systemhouse and Paychex, among others. His coverage universe included but wasn't limited to Oracle, Microsoft, Sybase, EDS, Computer Sciences, Ashton-Tate, Lotus, CA, Cognos, Business Objects, Shared Medical Systems and HBO Company. He was also the first Wall Street technology analyst to publish a software and services industry index covering the price movements of the component stocks and their earnings. Thomas was also a member of the H&Q research team that published Wall Street's first hospital information systems industry investment report. Following Hambrecht Quist, he worked at First Albany-META Technology Research which is now part of Gartner Group.
Prior to joining Hambrecht Quist in 1983, Thomas was an intern in the equity research department of Prudential Bache Securities. While there, he spear-headed the conversion of the entire analytical department from pencil and paper ledgers to the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet technology.
In 1993, between his buy side roles on Wall Street, David joined the sell side at O'Connor and Associates in Chicago (a division of Swiss Bank Corp. at the time). He managed a hedge fund consisting of the firm's own capital, focusing on investments in the technology arena. He also directed the firm's equity options trading team (then the world's largest) with the mandate of successfully marrying the volatility inherent in fundamental event-driven research information with the Black-Scholes Options Pricing Model to enhance capital returns.
From 2003 until joining Seneca, Thomas served as a member of Endurance Ventures, LLC. Endurance is the manager of two traditional venture capital funds with total assets of over $60 million and two sole-purpose investment funds totaling almost $5 million. His duties included evaluating, researching and assessing market opportunities for existing portfolio companies. In addition, he assisted with acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic initiatives. One significant example includes advising NWP Services Corp., a portfolio company, in the sale of its software division to Accenture, and closing a $30 million outsourcing contract between Accenture and the selling company.
David's career has also included raising the seed funding for a start-up software company in 1998 and serving as its CEO. He was also hired personally by Larry Ellison and Jeff Walker (CFO) to work at Oracle to help launch the company's first applications software solutions in 1990 and 1991.
David attended Brown University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He is an avid golfer and scuba diver and lives with his wife and two children in Dexter, Michigan.
Emerson Fisher is a Vice President at Cascade Partners and brings nearly 10 years of experience in investment banking, corporate finance, accounting and entrepreneurship.
Most recently, Fisher was a partner at Connection Builders, an industry-leading professional services training and development firm. Prior to that, he served as a Senior Associate at Cascade Partners, working closely with senior leadership and clients to support the execution of transactions for the firm.
Fisher also worked at Zurich Insurance Group, where he gained first-hand experience in a variety of corporate finance and accounting roles.
Emerson graduated magna cum laude from Kalamazoo College with a BA in Economics and Mathematics. He currently holds a Series 79 license from FINRA.
Eric Green is a Managing Director. Whether advising clients on strategic corporate finance initiatives or leading organizations, Eric has used his experience as an investor, operator, and advisor to drive results.
Eric has built a distinguished reputation based on his foundational experience as a Navy Lieutenant Commander, serving in both the Pacific and European theaters of operation for over seven years, and later as an investment banker and corporate executive.
His entrepreneurial mindset and desire to build organizations led Eric to partner with fellow entrepreneurs to found Vineyard Capital Group, a venture capital fund focused on the power of data and analytics in the healthcare and retail industries. In this role, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of reach | influence, a company serving the grocery and food distribution industries. After the sale of reach | influence, Eric leveraged these experiences with growth companies serving as the Chief Commercial Officer of OneRail, a last-mile delivery solution for goods transportation serving B2B and B2C businesses, and Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Chain.io, a supply chain data integration company.
Eric is dedicated to supporting the community by helping young people succeed through volunteer work with local youth organizations. One is Racquet Up Detroit, a program offering intensive, holistic, long-term youth development. He also volunteers with the Guardsman, dedicated to making life-changing differences in the lives of at-risk youth. Eric exercises his competitive nature by playing sports of all kinds, including tennis, squash, and golf.
Eric Green earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the United States Naval Academy, a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Virginia, and an MBA in Finance from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Jon Doehr - Managing Director
Job Titles:
- MANAGING DIRECTOR
- Vice President of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation
Jon Doehr brings more than 25 years of corporate finance experience as an investment banker and corporate development advisor. His expertise includes providing sell-side and buy-side advisory services (including management buyouts), strategic alternatives analysis, and fairness opinion and valuation engagements for publicly and privately held entities.
Doehr joined Cascade Partners from Walnut Lake Advisors, where he was a managing partner. There, he was responsible for providing strategic and financial advisory services to companies seeking to maximize value. His specialties ranged from M&A advisory services to valuations and capital structure advisory.
Before launching Walnut Lake Advisors, Doehr opened the Minneapolis office for Auctus Capital and served as a managing director in the capital markets group. Prior to joining Auctus, Doehr was a managing director with BlackTorch Capital, served as a director in the Financial Services Investment Banking Group at KPMG Corporate Finance, led the mergers and acquisitions group at Manchester Companies and gained additional investment banking experience at Greene, Holcomb & Fisher.
Prior to starting his investment banking career, Doehr worked at Coopers & Lybrand and Michigan National Bank.
Jon Doehr serves as Vice President of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation. He enjoys running and cycling, skiing with his wife and daughter, attending live theater and playing with his dogs. He holds an MBA degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA degree from Colby College.
Matthew Miller is a managing director at Cascade Partners. He has over 30 years of advisory and corporate experience in finance, M&As and business development, including buy- and sell-side work for privately held and public middle market companies. Prior to joining the Cascade Team in 2023, he was a managing partner at BlueWater Partners and led the investment banking practice.
Before working at BlueWater Partners, Miller held various business development positions with several privately and publicly held middle market companies, including Prairie Group, Illinova Energy Partners and Leggett & Platt.
Matthew Miller earned his BGS from the University of Michigan and MBA in finance from Loyola University of Chicago. He holds the Series 63 and Series 79 securities licenses and is currently an active member of the Association for Corporate Growth.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Financial Analyst
- Founder
- MANAGING DIRECTOR
Rajesh Kothari is the founder and managing director of Cascade Partners. Drawing on nearly 30 years of experience as an investor, a financial advisor and an entrepreneur, he helps lead divestitures, recapitalizations, acquisitions and other strategic transactions for partners in the healthcare, industrials, business services and technology sectors. Furthermore, he has co-managed multiple private equity funds and dozens of investments ranging from early stage to buy-out in thehealthcare, automotive, technology and other industrial companies.
Kothari began his investment career as a money manager, most prominently for Masco Corporation. He later left Masco to co-found Cranbrook Capital Management, a $650 million money management firm. Here, he served as treasurer and director of international investing.
Prior to forming Cascade Partners in 2012, Kothari applied his passion and intellect to various investment positions. He co-founded Seneca Partners, Inc., an investment banking and private investment firm. While there, he helped form Seneca Health Partners, a healthcare private equity fund. Perviously, he was a director at Beringea, a boutique investment-banking and venture capital firm. During this time, he co-managed the firm's $70 million healthcare private equity fund, InvestCare Partners.
Kothari has also served as an investment officer for ProVen Private Equity, a venture capital affiliate of Beringea, in London, England.
Kothari's experience has been sought by various organizations to help guide and influence growth and development. He served on the Board of Directors of over a dozen businesses and organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Priority Health, Micro Machine LLC and Dynamic Computer Corporation.
Kothari is active in a variety of non-profit and charitable organizations. He served on the Boards of TiE Detroit, MI Venture Capital Association and as a council person for the Village of Wolverine Lake. He now serves on the Alternative Revenue Task Force for Leader Dogs for the Blind and as the Chairman of the CAP foundation. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at the University Michigan, Ross School of Business and, formerly, at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.
Rajesh Kothari, a Chartered Financial Analyst, earned both a B.A. and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. He currently holds Series 7, 79, 24, and 28 licenses from FINRA.
Ron Reed - Managing Director
Ron Reed draws on over 30 years of leadership experience as an investor, financial advisor and executive in the technology and business services industry. As a managing director at Cascade Partners, he leads equity investments, divestitures, recapitalizations, acquisitions and other strategic transactions for clients in the B2B technology, healthcare technology and business services sectors. He also managed several equity funds and dozens of investments from early stage, to buy-out, to industry roll-ups.
Before joining Cascade, Reed was the CEO of NWP. He led the country's leading provider of utility recover, utility payment, electronic payment and financial back-office services for over 5,000 properties in 44 states. During his time at NWP, he executed approximately $5 billion in financial transactions annually. Reed was a founding investor, advisor, corporate development leader and, ultimately, served as NWP's President & CEO. He drove the growth of the business through its sale to RealPage, Inc. (NASDAQ: RP) where he led their utility management business.
Prior to NWP, Reed was a managing director with Seneca Partners, Inc, an investment banking and private investment firm that was the predecessor to Cascade Partners. While at Seneca Partners, he acted as an advisor and board member for several mergers and sales for client engagements and portfolio companies.
Reed's career includes leadership and board roles at Endeavor Capital, Pennel Venture Partners, Greenhill & Co. SAVP, Adesso Solutions, Fullscope, Harbinger Corporation, Online Technologies, 7th Online, Compendia Bio, Biotronic NeuroNetwork, Michigan Venture Capital Association and the MSU Center for Venture and Private Equity. He is an Emeritus Member of the Eastern Michigan University Foundation Board where he served as Chairman and remains active on the finance committee.
Ron Reed earned a B.S. in Physics-Engineering from Eastern Michigan University. He holds a pilot's license with a seaplane rating and is an avid supporter of several non-profit organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Eastern Michigan Foundation and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.
Job Titles:
- MANAGING DIRECTOR
- in 2023 As a Managing Director
Ronald Miller joined Cascade Partners in 2023 as a managing director. Prior to joining Cascade, he was the founder and a managing partner of BlueWater Partners. He has more than 50 years of experience as an advisor, senior manager and shareholder of middle-market companies in a variety of industries.
Prior to founding BlueWater Partners in 2001, Miller was the President, CEO and shareholder of several privately held manufacturing and distribution companies with revenues under $100 million. He is currently a member of the Turnaround Management Association and a board member of two privately held companies.
Ronald Miller was formerly Vice Chairman of the Children's Advocacy Center and Child & Family Resource Council, Chairman of the Children's Law Center and of Champions for Children. He also served as a board member of Michigan's Children and the American Cancer Society.
Sarah Wilson is a vice president at Cascade Partners. She has over 20 years of experience in accounting and financial analysis, including modeling, inventory valuation and preparing and auditing financial statements. She focuses on the strategic and financial aspects of consulting and investment banking engagements. Her team focuses on closing strategic transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, financings and private investments.
Prior to joining Cascade Partners Partners in 2023, Wilson was an associate at BlueWater Partners where she provided financial analysis and execution support. She conducted industry research, created valuation presentations, assisted with identifying potential buyers and investors, and provided critical support to clients as they navigated through the due diligence process.
Before her time at BlueWater Partners, Wilson earned a B.A. in Accounting at Michigan State University, where she was a field hockey athlete. Earlier in her career, she held various positions at Alvarez & Marsal, Hilco Appraisal Services, ArcelorMittal and Ernst & Young.
Sarah Wilson currently serves on Board of Directors of the Varsity S Club at Michigan State University. When she is not traveling across the Midwest with her two boys for multiple sports, she is an active member of the Hearts of Gold philanthropy, engaging schools in local charity events.