People

Founder and Managing Partner

Gerry Cardinale

Gerry Cardinale is the Founder and Managing Partner of RedBird Capital Partners.

Gerry founded RedBird in 2014 as a distinctive growth equity investment firm with in-house business building capabilities for entrepreneurs and founders. RedBird’s business building ethos was a natural extension of Gerry’s 20+ year career at Goldman Sachs where he was a Partner of the firm and a senior leader of the Merchant Bank’s private equity investing business, which managed over $100 billion of private capital across equity, debt, real estate and infrastructure investment strategies. Gerry served on the Merchant Bank’s Investment Committee as well as the firm’s Partnership Committee.

During his tenure at Goldman Sachs, Gerry worked with entrepreneurs and family business owners to build several successful multi-billion-dollar platform companies, including the Yankees Entertainment & Sports (“YES”) Network, the #1 Regional Sports Network in the United States; Legends Hospitality, a premium ticketing, concessions and merchandising services company which was created in partnership with the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys; and Suddenlink Communications, which was one of the largest American cable companies at the time it was acquired by Altice.

Central to Gerry’s investment philosophy has always been hands-on, senior-level involvement in the portfolio in partnership with the founders and entrepreneurs behind his investments. To that end, in addition to his broad CIO portfolio-level and firm responsibilities at RedBird, he is personally active with a number of portfolio companies including the YES Network, Fenway Sports Group, Skydance Media, Compass Data Centers, The SpringHill Company, Wasserman Media Group and the XFL. Gerry also oversees the Firm’s value creation teams, covering Portfolio Management, Financing, Management Compensation and Monetization. And finally, he is active in ensuring that the Firm upholds its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion within the Firm as well as the investment portfolio.

Philanthropically, Gerry is a Trustee of the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City and leads one of the multi-state Selection Committees that awards Rhodes Scholarships each year.

Gerry holds an Honors BA from Harvard University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and an M.Phil in Politics and Political Theory from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Partner

Hunter Carpenter

Hunter Carpenter is a Partner of the Firm and helps lead the Dallas office as well as the Firm’s Energy, Energy Solutions and Industrials investments.

In his current role, Hunter leads all sourcing, execution, company building and monetization initiatives across the Firm’s legacy energy and energy solutions portfolio. Hunter is responsible for investments in Aethon United, Aethon III, Black Mountain South Texas I, CapturePoint, CapturePoint Solutions, FireBird Energy, Four Corners Petroleum, Lambda Energy Resources, Lambda Carbon Solutions, Majority Strategies, Permian Production Partners and Tally Energy Services.

Prior to joining RedBird, Hunter was a Managing Director at The Stephens Group, the family office for one of America’s longest-tenured private equity investors. During his time at The Stephens Group, Hunter oversaw many of the firm’s Energy and Industrials investments. He also played a critical role in establishing the firm’s standalone private equity business. Hunter began his career as an investment banker at Stephens Inc.

Philanthropically, Hunter serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee for The University of Mississippi’s endowment and is a board member of the University’s private foundation.

Hunter holds both B.A. and M.A. degrees in Accounting from The University of Mississippi, as well as a J.D. from The University of Mississippi Law School.

Partner

Andy Gordon

Andy Gordon is a Partner of the Firm and leads the Firm’s Los Angeles office as well as its Technology, Media & Telecom (“TMT”) investment vertical and its Capital Markets activities.

In his current role, Andy is responsible for RedBird’s West Coast business and established the Firm’s Los Angeles office in 2021. In addition, Andy helps lead the Firm’s Capital Markets initiatives, supporting RedBird’s existing investment portfolio as well as strategic opportunities for new investments. Within the portfolio, Andy helped source the Firm’s investment in Skydance Media with the Ellison family and plays an active leadership role in Wasserman Media Group as well as RedBall Acquisition Corp.’s merger with SeatGeek.

Prior to joining RedBird, Andy had a distinguished 35-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he was most recently the global chairman of Investment Banking Services, head of the Investment Bank’s West Region, global head of media and telecommunications for the Technology, Media and Telecom Group, and co-head of the One Goldman Sachs family office initiative in the Americas. He advised some of the most prominent industry leaders in Media, Entertainment and Telecommunications, including Disney, AT&T, Liberty Global, Live Nation, IAC/Expedia, Activision, and was the first leader to build and unify the West Region, which now spans three offices generating over $3 billion in revenue.

Philanthropically, Andy is the founding Chairman of the Sierra Canyon School, an early kindergarten through grade 12 college preparatory school in Los Angeles. He serves as a Trustee Emeritus for Wesleyan University and is the Co-Chairman Emeritus and Trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Andy holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a general course degree from the London School of Economics.

Partner

Robert Klein

Robert Klein is the President of the Firm.

In his current role, Robert oversees the non-investment operations of the Firm, including Capital Partnerships, Finance and Legal & Compliance. Since joining RedBird in 2017, Robert has helped drive AUM growth from $1 billion to $5 billion and diversified RedBird’s LP base to include global blue-chip pension plans, endowments, insurance companies, asset managers and family offices. He has also built internal teams to further support and institutionalize the Firm’s operating infrastructure.

In addition to his Firm responsibilities, Robert is also involved in select Financial Services investments, including Main Street Advisors, Grafine Partners and Vida Capital. In this capacity, he advises on product creation, business building and capital advisory.

Prior to joining RedBird, Robert worked for ten years at JPMorgan most recently as Global Head of the Alternative Investments Group — a hedge fund, private equity/credit and real estate platform with over $80 billion in assets under supervision. During his tenure at JPMorgan, Robert was also President of J.P. Morgan Alternative Asset Management, a $13 billion hedge fund solutions provider that served both institutional and retail investors globally. He also served on the Private Bank’s Global Investment Review Committee, the Private Equity Portfolio Advisory Committee, the firm’s Commercial Real Estate Council, the Investment Management Americas Operating Committee, and the Private Bank Investment Team.

Philanthropically, Robert is a member of the Cornell University ILR Finance Council and has been a board member of Make a Wish Foundation of New York. He is also a Friend of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music.

Robert holds a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from NYU-Stern School of Business.

Partner

Andrew Lauck

Andrew Lauck is a Partner of the Firm and helps lead the Dallas office as well as the Firm’s Consumer investment business.

In his current role, Andrew is responsible for the Firm’s investments in Equipment Share, Main Event, RedBird QSR, Jet Linx, Blade Urban Air Mobility and BETA Technologies. Andrew oversaw the Firm’s opportunistic investments during the height of COVID-19 pandemic in both Main Event and Jet Linx, both of which have since seen robust recoveries consistent with the investment underwriting.

Andrew’s investing activities include high growth platforms where technology and advancement are driving key market differentiation, such as Equipment Share’s SaaS based solution for the retail equipment rental business and the evolution of urban mobility and electric aviation in Blade and BETA, respectively. Andrew is also actively involved in the management of the Firm’s investments in Vida Capital, Aethon United, FireBird Energy and Lambda Energy. In addition to his active investment responsibilities, Andrew co-leads the Portfolio Monitoring Team, responsible for overseeing the performance of RedBird’s 35 portfolio companies. Andrew also helps lead the Firm’s junior investment professional recruiting and development.

Prior to joining RedBird, Andrew was a Vice President of BDT & Company LLC, where he focused on Consumer investments for three years. Prior to BDT, Andrew was an Associate at Flexpoint Ford, LLC. He began his career at Goldman Sachs in both the firm’s Investment Banking and Merchant Banking Divisions.

Philanthropically, Andrew is a Board Member of Vogel Alcove and the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association in Dallas and he is the former Chairman and a current member of Indiana University’s Investment Banking Network Advisory Council.

Andrew holds a B.S. in Finance and International Business, with distinction and honors, from Indiana University.

Partner

Nicole Musicco

Nicole Musicco is a Partner of the Firm and leads the Toronto office as well as the Firm’s Impact and Diversity investment initiatives and businesses development activities in Canada.

In her current role, Nicole is responsible for the Firm’s impact investment initiatives, partnering with families and institutions that are focused on creating positive social and environmental impact while achieving competitive, risk-adjusted returns. This includes working with entrepreneurs who are disrupting gender and racial barriers in their respective fields to accelerate growth in their businesses by offering them investment resources, business building skills, and access to RedBird’s global network. Nicole is also responsible for the Firm’s business development activities in Canada, sourcing deal flow across our core sectors and building RedBird’s Canada presence across leading institutions, family offices and entrepreneurs.

Prior to joining RedBird, Nicole had a distinguished 20 -year career in a broad range of global senior leadership roles at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (“OTPP”), one of the largest global investors with over $255 billion in assets under management, and most recently at Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (“IMCO”), a pension asset management firm with $70 billion in assets under management. During her tenure at OTPP, Nicole served as a Managing Director in Teachers’ Private Capital; Regional Managing Director in Hong Kong; and Senior Managing Director in the Public Equities group. At IMCO, Nicole was a Senior Managing Director in IMCO Private Markets, responsible for Private Equity, Real Estate and Infrastructure.

Nicole currently serves on the Boards of Enthusiast Gaming (NASDAQ: EGLX) and Playmaker (TSXV: PMKR). Philanthropically, Nicole is a Director of Youth Employment Services (“YES”) in Toronto, and a member of the Investment Committee of Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation.

Nicole is a graduate with distinction from the H.B.A. and M.B.A. programs at the Richard Ivey School of Business, Western University, and a graduate of the Bachelor of Science Kinesiology program at Western University in Canada.

Partner

Alec Scheiner

Alec Scheiner is a Partner of the Firm and leads its Sports and Media investment business.

In his current role, Alec helps oversee the Firm’s investments in Fenway Sports Group, OneTeam Partners, and RedBird FC (comprised of Toulouse FC, the Rajasthan Royals and Zelus Analytics) and is actively involved in the Firm’s investments in Dream11, The SpringHill Company, Collector’s Universe and RedBall Acquisition Corp.

Alec has led OneTeam’s remarkable growth trajectory, resulting in 10x its original earnings in two years and has helped architect the company’s partnerships with Electronic Arts, Dapper Labs, Fanatics Trading CardCo and DraftKings. Under Alec’s stewardship, Toulouse Football Club has been the highest performing Ligue 2 team, and in less than a year Fenway Sports Group has added another Top 4 US league with the acquisition of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition, the Firm’s publicly traded RedBall Acquisition Corp has reached an agreement to merge with SeatGeek, an innovative mobile technology-based ticketing platform that is a leader in both the primary and secondary ticketing markets.

Prior to joining RedBird, Alec had a successful 12-year operating career in sports. From 2012 to 2016, Alec was President of the Cleveland Browns, and under his leadership the team set sales records for season tickets, club seats, suites and corporate partnerships. The team increased its gate revenue by almost 20% during this period and had the second-fastest-growing corporate partnership revenue in the NFL.

Alec joined the Browns after spending eight years with the Dallas Cowboys, initially as General Counsel and then as the first non-ownership Senior Vice President. While at the Dallas Cowboys, Alec helped design the sales strategy for the $1.2 billion AT&T Stadium and was instrumental in structuring and negotiating the public and private financing of the stadium during the Financial Crisis. He was also the point person for the Cowboys on the creation of Legends Hospitality in partnership with the New York Yankees and Goldman Sachs. In this capacity, Alec served on the company’s Board of Directors, was the Cowboys’ representative on its three-person executive committee and helped develop the Legends Premium Sales model.

Alec holds a B.S.F.S. in International Economics and Latin American Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School.

Partner

Dan Swift

Dan Swift is a Partner of the Firm and focuses on Portfolio Monitoring and Capital Markets activities.

In his current role, Dan oversees RedBird’s Portfolio Monitoring Team, which manages the Firm’s portfolio positions across the lifecycle of each investment. This team, which includes senior professionals across all functions of the Firm, works directly with deal teams and portfolio company management to achieve the investment outcomes that we underwrite. The PMT process encompasses quarterly financial reporting, strategic and operational reviews, and sector-specific analysis, all geared toward ensuring that we execute on our investment thesis, adapt to ever-changing market conditions, and maximize the value of our investments over time. Dan is also actively involved in all Capital Markets activity across the portfolio which ranges from SPAC issuance and subsequent business combinations to refinancing and recapitalization transactions.

Prior to joining RedBird, Dan had a successful 22-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he was a Partner of the firm and led the Corporate Finance practice and co-led the Technology, Media & Telecom group of Goldman in Asia. He was a founding member of Goldman’s Beijing office, and also lived in Hong Kong and Singapore, spending 17 years in Asia. During his tenure, Dan advised Goldman’s largest clients in Asia and led deal teams across Greater China, Korea, India and Southeast Asia. He was a member of the firm’s Capital Committee and Commitments Committee, supervising all aspects of Corporate Finance and M&A execution. Dan also served on the Listing Committee of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, guiding key policy reforms for the Hong Kong capital markets.

Philanthropically, Dan is a trustee of the Asian Cultural Council in New York City and the International Advisory Council of Washington University in St. Louis.

Dan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Washington University and an M.B.A. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Partner

Mike Zabik

Mike Zabik is a Partner of the Firm and leads its Financial Services investment business.

In his current role, Mike leads all sourcing, execution, company building and monetization initiatives across the FIG portfolio. Since 2014, the Firm has invested over $700 million in Financial Services investments across six investments and completed 12 add-on acquisitions. Mike is responsible for the Firm’s investments in Aquarian Holdings, Vida Capital, Main Street Advisors and Grafine Partners, and is actively involved in OneTeam Partners, Skydance Media and Zenith Shipping. Mike also previously led RedBird’s investment in Constellation Affiliated Partners, an MGA platform, sold to Truist in July 2021.

In addition to his active investment responsibilities, Mike leads the Portfolio Financing Team, which has structured the portfolio company financings across 35 platform investments and over 80 add-on acquisitions.

Prior to joining RedBird, Mike was a Vice President at Ares Management LLC for four years, and before that was an Associate at Kelso & Company. Mike began his career at Deutsche Bank in the firm’s Leveraged Finance and Private Debt businesses.

Philanthropically, Mike is a member of Indiana University’s Investment Banking Network Advisory Council.

Mike holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from Indiana University.

Chief Operating Partner

Mark Dowley

Mark Dowley is the Chief Operating Partner of the Firm.

Prior to joining RedBird, Mark was the Chief Strategy Officer of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, a diversified entity with portfolio companies in media, entertainment, consumer products, gaming, biotech, defense and technology.

Prior to MacAndrews & Forbes, Mark was a partner at Endeavor, responsible for overseeing the agency’s corporate marketing, commercial, digital and new business efforts. Prior to Endeavor, Mark was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Interpublic Sports and Entertainment Group, where he oversaw multiple divisions, including Octagon, Octagon Motorsports, Initiative Media, PMK/BNC, Rogers & Cowens and GM EventWorks. Mark was also vice chairman of McCann-Erickson WorldGroup. In his various roles, Mark has created and managed sponsorship and media transactions with professional and amateur sports leagues, global artists, musicians and athletes, including NBA, Premier League, MLB, NFL, Live Nation, The Rolling Stones, Jay Z, the Grateful Dead and LeBron James.

In 2008, Mark founded Art & Science (“A&S”) to provide strategic marketing, communications, creative services and sponsorship portfolio management to a global set of Fortune 500 companies. A&S, via its Artists in Residence program, creates proprietary marketing solutions in partnership with companies to help increase market share, drive revenue and enhance business results. In 2021, RedBird acquired A&S to be a strategic growth partner for RedBird portfolio companies.

Philanthropically, Mark has been actively involved in raising support for COVID relief. He produced two documentaries, including “Sparks in the Darkness“ and the “Surge at Mt. Sinai” as well as the music series “Pay it Forward for Small Business.” Together with Bobby Shriver and Bono, Mark is the co-creator of Product (RED), a global AIDS/HIV relief organization, which has raised more than $700 million from global consumers.

Mark currently sits on the boards of the Child Mind Institute, the world’s leading childhood mental health clinical research organization, and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team. He is also on the board of Pharrell Williams and Virgil Abloh’s Black Ambition, which is dedicated to providing business grants to young BIPOC entrepreneurs.

Mark holds a B.A. from The College of Wooster where he currently sits on the Board of Trustees.

Operating Partner

Brent Stehlik

Brent Stehlik is an Operating Partner of the Firm and as well as the President of OneTeam Partners.

In his current role at OneTeam Partners, Brent is responsible for the day-to-day activity of the business and growth of the commercial licenses and marketing opportunities. Brent helped lead the company to a $200 million run-rate EBITDA in its third year, nearly a 5x increase from initial EBITDA and an IRR of over 100%. Under his leadership, the company has added licenses with brands such as Bally’s, Dapper Labs, Sorare, Mythical Games and signed long-term extensions that included significant increases with EA and Sony, among others. During his tenure as President, the company has also added Player Association relationships with the MLSPA, USWNTPA, NWLSPA and WNBA. Brent also spends time on other RedBird sports investments, including the commercial aspects of RedBird FC.

Prior to joining RedBird, Brent had a successful 20-year career across various leading sports organizations. Most recently, Brent was Executive Vice President & Chief Revenue Officer of the Cleveland Browns, where he oversaw all aspects of revenue generation for the franchise, including ticket sales and retention, operations, suite and premium sales, corporate partnership sales and activation, concessions, merchandise and special events.

Prior to joining the Browns, Brent was Senior Vice President of business operations for the San Diego Padres, where he managed all aspects of revenue generation and marketing. Brent has held additional roles at the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Brent holds a B.A. in Sports Business from the University of Mount Union.

Chief Financial Officer

David Grochow

David Grochow is the Chief Financial Officer of the Firm.

In his current role, David is responsible for all financial activities for the firm, including accounting and investor reporting operations, risk management and tax planning. In addition, David is the Chief Financial Officer of RedBall Acquisition Corp, the Firm’s Special Purpose Acquisition Company (“SPAC”) focused on sports and media businesses.

Prior to joining RedBird, David was the Chief Financial Officer at Irving Place Capital for eight years. Prior to Irving Place Capital, David worked for six years as Controller in the Private Equity Group at The Blackstone Group. David also spent time with Geller & Co. and Arthur Andersen as a Senior Accountant.

David holds a B.B.A. degree from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer

Michael Chiaravalloti

Michael Chiaravalloti is the Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of the Firm.

In his current role, Michael is responsible for all regulatory relationships, compliance and legal activity for the Firm.

Prior to joining RedBird, Michael had a distinguished 15-year career at J.P. Morgan, most recently as a Managing Director and Head of the Global Funds Structuring team within the J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Alternative Investments Group. The platform had $100 billion in client capital invested across the private equity, hedge funds and real assets at the time of his departure. As part of his activities at J.P. Morgan, Michael served as a director of J.P. Morgan Private Investments Inc., a registered investment advisor, and a member of the Private Equity Advisory Council and Private Investments Council. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Michael was an Associate in the Corporate Department at Proskauer Rose LLP.

Michael holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law.

Managing Director

Kevin LaForce

Kevin is a Managing Director at the Firm and helps lead its Sports and Media investment business.

In his current role, Kevin is actively involved in all aspects of strategic planning and business implementation for the XFL. Kevin has led several key areas including developing the League’s media strategy and running a market process for live game distribution rights, driving key commercial and fan engagement priorities including the League’s approach to legalized sports betting and interactive gaming and engaging the National Football League (“NFL”) on opportunities to enhance the sport of football. In addition to his active role with the XFL, Kevin has leveraged his expertise and relationships across the media and sports marketplace to support business development efforts across the Firm’s sports and media portfolio, including the Rajasthan Royals, Skydance, SeatGeek and YES.

Prior to joining RedBird, Kevin had an notable 14-year career at the National Football League (“NFL”), where he most recently served as the Senior Vice President of Media Strategy and Business Development. Kevin also established and led the NFL’s strategic investment entity, 32 Equity LLC, serving as Vice President from 2013 to 2021.

During his tenure at the NFL, Kevin led the League’s media strategy and business development efforts, focusing on partnerships representing over 70% of the NFL’s annual revenue. Under Kevin’s leadership, the NFL negotiated the most favorable live game distribution contract in the League’s history, valued at over $110 billion. Kevin also grew 32 Equity into a market-leading strategic investment platform. 32 Equity’s most transformative transaction was the 2015 spin-off of the League’s premium hospitality business, On Location Experiences (“OLE”) in partnership with RedBird. OLE grew to become one of the world’s leading independent premium event and hospitality platform increasing its revenue from $20 million at inception to over $550 million upon its sale to Endeavor in 2020.

Kevin holds a B.A. in English and Government from Lehigh University and a M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Head of Capital Partnerships

Colleen Quilty

Colleen Quilty is the Head of Capital Partnerships of the Firm.

In her current role, Colleen is responsible for all existing and prospective Limited Partner relationships. As part of her responsibilities, Colleen oversees fund formation, new and ongoing diligence requests, fund communication and reporting, and manages client relationships. In addition, Colleen is involved in the Firm’s ongoing efforts and commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Prior to RedBird, Colleen was a senior member of the Business Development team at Lone Star, an $85 billion real estate, equity, credit fund. While at Lone Star, Colleen focused on the firm’s marketing and fundraising efforts, as well as managing investor relations. She focused primarily on North American LPs including consultants and public pension plan clients. Prior to Lone Star, Colleen was a Relationship Manager in the Marketing and Investor Relations Group at Och-Ziff Capital Management. Before joining Och-Ziff, Colleen was a Relationship Manager at UBS Wealth Management. Colleen began her career at J.P. Morgan Private Bank as an investor and advisor to families and institutionally sized private accounts.

Philanthropically, Colleen is involved with the Junior League of New York City, an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

Colleen holds a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University.

Principal

Tyler Alexander

Tyler Alexander is a Principal of the Firm and focuses on TMT investments.

In his current role, Tyler is actively involved in the investments in Compass Datacenters, TierPoint and Next Tier Connect. He was also involved with N3, which was exited in 2020. Collectively, these companies have closed 15+ add-on acquisitions, while also executing over $6 billion of debt and equity financing transactions to support continued growth across the technology landscape. In addition, Tyler works closely on Capital Markets activity for the existing portfolio and leads the Firm’s Management Compensation Team.

Prior to joining RedBird, Tyler was an Associate at MidOcean Partners, a New York-based private equity firm focused on consumer and business services. Prior to MidOcean, Tyler began his career at Rothschild & Co. in the firm’s global advisory restructuring group. At Rothschild, Tyler specialized in special situations, debt advisory, and in-court and out-of-court restructuring transactions related to the financial crisis.

Tyler holds a B.A. in History with distinction from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar.

Principal

Alexander Blankfein

Alex Blankfein is a Principal of the Firm and focuses on Consumer and Financial Services investments.

In his current role, Alex is actively involved in the Firm’s investments in Aquarian Holdings and Jet Linx, both of which he holds a board seat on, as well as in EquipmentShare and TierPoint. Alex also helps lead the Firm’s Associate Recruiting efforts.

Prior to joining RedBird, Alex was a Senior Associate at The Carlyle Group, focusing on growth and middle-market buyout opportunities and portfolio companies across the healthcare, services and industrials sectors. Prior to Carlyle, Alex was a consultant at Bain & Company, where he was engaged in market, financial, and operational diligence for both private equity and corporate clients.

Alex holds both a B.A. in History and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.

Head Of Entrepreneur & Family Office ("EFO") Partnerships

Elizabeth Browne

Elizabeth Browne is the Head of Entrepreneur and Family Office Partnerships of the Firm.

In her current role, Elizabeth works with families and business founders to create bespoke relationships across transaction sourcing, company building, capital and co-investments. Elizabeth pairs RedBird’s curated, global network of families and entrepreneurs, who map to domain expertise in our core sectors, with the Firm’s investment teams to enhance proprietary deal sourcing, drive strategic co-investment opportunities and create more integrated diligence and investment platform partnerships.

Prior to joining RedBird, Elizabeth was a senior member of the investment team and helped oversee external relationships for DNS Capital, a prominent Midwest family office. As part of her responsibilities, she served as a board member or observer in six portfolio companies across the fintech, consumer retail, specialty ingredients and hospitality sectors. Prior to joining DNS Capital in 2015, Elizabeth was an Associate in the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs in Chicago.

Philanthropically, Elizabeth is a member of the Midwest Steering Committee for the Women’s Association of Venture & Equity (WAVE), the Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), and The Chicago Network.

Elizabeth holds a B.A with Great Distinction from McGill University and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Principal

Niraj Shah

Niraj Shah is a Principal of the Firm and focuses on Sports and Media investments.

In his current role, Niraj is actively involved in each of the firm’s Sports and Media investments to date, representing over $1.6 billion of equity deployed, including investments in Dream11, Fenway Sports Group, the Rajasthan Royals, The SpringHill Company, Toulouse Football Club, Wasserman Media Group and the YES Network. Niraj also plays a central role in the oversight of the XFL, RedBall Acquisition Corp. and Skydance Media, as well as RedBird’s exited investment in On Location Experiences with the NFL.

Prior to joining RedBird, Niraj was an Associate of Apax Partners, a global private equity firm, where he evaluated investments within the Media and Business Services industries. Niraj began his career as an Analyst in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, where he advised a variety of clients within the Consumer Retail Group on mergers and acquisitions, activism defense, equity and debt financings and leveraged buyouts.

Philanthropically, Niraj is a mentor with The Opportunity Network, an organization whose mission is to provide students from low income and underrepresented backgrounds in the NYC area with hands-on college prep and career education services.

Niraj holds a B.S. in Finance and Marketing with honors from The Ohio State University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Vice President

David Dingman

David Dingman is a Vice President of the Firm.

Prior to joining RedBird, David was the Managing Director of Shipston Group Limited, a private equity firm focused on both international and domestic investments across a wide range of industries, including automotive, biotech, real estate, and fintech. During his 13 years at Shipston Group Limited, David was instrumental in the transformation of several of the Company’s investments into global businesses, many of which were built as platform buy-and-builds. David also directed the reorganization and prioritization of investments with the focus on the monetization of legacy investments through both private and public market transactions. David was a member of Shipston’s Investment Committee, supervising all aspects of the corporate finance and M&A execution.

Among his many investments, David led Shipton’s roll up and integration of multiple high-precision machining companies and low-pressure aluminum casting suppliers to create Mobex Global. Mobex Global is a fully integrated globally trusted partner to the automotive, heavy-duty, construction, agriculture, and industrial markets, and is at the forefront of the evolving mobility industry. In addition, David positioned the IPOs of both China Maple Leaf Educational Systems and Genscript Biotech Corp, solving complicated jurisdictional and governance issues resulting in successful exits. Maple Leaf was the largest private boarding school system in China and Genscript Biotech Corp was a leading Hong Kong gene and cell therapy provider with a current market cap of $37 Billion HK.

In his current role at RedBird, David is actively involved in the sourcing and due diligence process involved with new investment opportunities, as well as actively involved in the management and oversight of the Firm’s investments in Compass Datacenters, Main Event, and Aquarian Holdings.

Philanthropically, David is an Advisor Advocate for the OKU Foundation and serves on the Board of the Boston Winter Ball. David is also an advisor to the Michael and Elizabeth Dingman Foundation.

David received both his MBA and BA in History from Boston College.

Vice President

Steven Loh

Steven Loh is a Vice President of the firm and Chief Financial Officer of FireBird Energy.

In his current role at RedBird, Steven is actively involved in the management and oversight of the investments in Aethon United, FireBird Energy, Four Corners Petroleum, Lambda Energy Resources, Perdure Petroleum, and Tally Energy Services.

Prior to joining RedBird, Steven was the Director of Finance and Treasurer of RSP Permian, a publicly traded upstream company, where he managed a broad range of financial responsibilities including M&A, capital markets, credit facility, hedging and treasury.  Prior to RSP Permian, Steven worked at Aethon Energy, Lime Rock Resources and Deutsche Bank in a variety of energy finance-related roles.

Steven received a B.A. in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Classical Studies from Rice University, where he graduated Cum Laude.

Senior Associate

Dana Covo

Dana Covo is a Senior Associate of the firm.

In her current role, Dana works closely with Institutional and EFO partners to tailor investment solutions which help bring strategic capital partners to RedBird portfolio companies, develop co-investment opportunities and connect global family offices.

Prior to joining RedBird, Dana spent four years at the J.P. Morgan Private Bank. In her most recent role, she was an Investment Specialist in the Global Investment Opportunities group (GIO), a team that provides both long term and tactical multi-asset class investment ideas to the firm’s most active and sophisticated Individual and family office clients. Prior to GIO, Dana was part of the Global Investments Business Strategy team. In her role, she helped oversee the management of 700 global Investment advisors.

Dana received a B.A. with honors in English Literature from Emory University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Senior Associate

Alex Goheen

Alex Goheen is a Senior Associate of the firm.

Prior to joining RedBird, Alex was a Vice President at Pine Brook Partners, a New York based private equity firm that makes control investments in the energy and financial services sectors. At Pine Brook, Alex was responsible for deal sourcing, transaction execution, and portfolio oversight of the firm’s energy investments. Prior to Pine Brook, Alex was an Investment Banking Analyst at Evercore Partners where he advised on mergers and acquisitions, activism defense, equity and debt financings and leveraged buyouts across the energy and infrastructure sectors.

In his current role, Alex is actively involved in the management and oversight of the investments in Aethon United, FireBird Energy, Four Corners Petroleum, Lambda Energy Resources, Perdure Petroleum, and Tally Energy Services.

Alex received a B.B.A in Finance from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and was a member of the Portfolio Practicum Honors Program.

Senior Associate

Isaac Halyard

Isaac Halyard is a Senior Associate of the firm.

In his current role, Isaac is actively involved in the management and oversight of the investments in SpringHill Company, Fenway Sports Group, OneTeam Partners, RedBall Acquisition Corp., RedBird FC, Skydance Media, Wasserman Media Group and the YES Network. He also was involved with RedBird’s prior investment in On Location Experiences.

Isaac was previously an Analyst in the Investment Banking Division of The Goldman Sachs Group, where he advised a variety of clients within the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group on mergers and acquisitions, activism defense, equity and debt financings and leveraged buyouts.

Isaac received a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University.

Senior Associate

Katherine Kapnick

Katherine is a Senior Associate of the firm.

In her current role, Katherine is actively involved in the management and oversight of the investments in Compass Datacenters, Constellation Affiliated Partners and Grafine Partners.

Prior to joining RedBird, Katherine worked as COO and Co-Founder of Hill House Home, a direct-to-consumer home goods brand. Katherine started her career as an analyst at L Catterton, a global private equity firm, where she evaluated leveraged buyout and minority investment opportunities within the Consumer sector.

Katherine received a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia, with high honors. She received an M.B.A. from Yale School of Management.

Senior Associate

Dillon West

Dillon West is a Senior Associate of the firm.

In his current role, Dillon is actively involved in the management and oversight of the investments in Aethon United, Main Event, RedBird’s QSR Investment, and Skydance Media.

Dillon was previously an Investment Banking Analyst at Evercore Partners, where he advised on mergers and acquisitions as well as restructuring and recapitalization transactions.

Dillon received a B.B.A. in Finance from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.

Associate

Alex Balleza

Alex is an Associate of the firm.

Prior to joining RedBird, Alex was an Investment Banking Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, where he advised on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and debt and equity financings in the Financial Institutions space.

In his current role, Alex is actively involved with the investments in Aquarian Holdings and Credit Key.

Alex received a B.S. in Finance from Bentley University.

Associate

Jake Cohen

Jake is an Associate of the firm.

Previously, Jake was an Investment Banking Analyst at Evercore Partners, where he advised on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and debt and equity financings in the Transportation and Infrastructure sectors. He began his career at Stifel as an Investment Banking Analyst advising companies on M&A and equity financings in the Healthcare Group.

Jake received a B.A. in Political Science and History from the University of Pennsylvania.

Associate

Madyn Field

Madyn Field is an Associate of the firm.

In her current role, Madyn focuses on RedBird’s strategic Capital Partnerships. 

Prior to joining RedBird, Madyn was a Client & Product Solutions Associate at Apollo Global Management. During her time at Apollo, she focused on the firm’s Opportunistic Credit products, including its event-driven credit hedge fund, dislocated liquid credit fund series and liquid credit separately managed accounts.  Prior to Apollo, Madyn was a Management Consulting Associate at L.E.K. Consulting. 

Madyn received a B.A. in Public Policy and a minor in Economics from Duke University. 

Associate

Michael Kaplan

Michael Kaplan is an Associate of the firm.

In his current role, Michael is actively involved with the investments in SpringHill Company, Fenway Sports Group, Grafine Partners, RedBall Acquisition Corp, Wasserman Media Group, the XFL and the YES Network.

Michael was previously an Investment Banking Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he advised on mergers and acquisitions, activism defense and leveraged buyouts.

Michael received a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University.

Associate

Kyle Law

Kyle Law is an Associate of the firm.

Kyle was previously an Associate at Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco based private equity firm, where he evaluated leveraged buyout, minority investment, and bankruptcy restructuring opportunities.

Prior to Golden Gate, Kyle was an Analyst in the Investment Banking Division of The Goldman Sachs Group, where he advised a variety of clients within the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group on mergers and acquisitions, activism defense, equity and debt financings, and leveraged buyouts.

Kyle received a B.S. in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Associate

Toby Lee

Toby Lee is an Associate of the firm.

In his current role, Toby is actively involved with the investments in Constellation Affiliated Partners, Majority Strategies, OneTeam Partners and Zenith Shipping.

Toby was previously an Investment Banking Analyst at Lazard Freres & Co., where he advised on mergers and acquisitions, activism defense, equity and debt financings and leveraged buyouts in the Technology Group.

Toby received a B.B.A. in Finance and Real Estate from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Associate

William Norcross

William Norcross is an Associate of the firm.

In his current role, William is actively involved with the investments in Main Event, Next Tier Connect, and RedBird’s QSR Investment.

William was previously an Associate in the Investment Banking Division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he advised a variety of clients within the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group on mergers and acquisitions, activism defense, equity and debt financings and leveraged buyouts.

William received a B.S. in Systems Engineering and a minor in Business from the University of Virginia.

Associate

Mary Nosa

Mary Nosa is an Associate of the firm.

In her current role, Mary is actively involved with the investments in Vida Capital and Constellation Affiliated Partners.

Mary was previously an Associate in the Investment Banking Division of The Goldman Sachs Group, where she advised a variety of financial services clients within the Structured Finance Group on mergers and acquisitions, debt financings, activism defense, and recapitalizations.

Mary received a B.A. in Computer Science from Columbia University

Associate

Dean Pacinelli

Dean Pacinelli is an Associate of the firm.

In his current role, Dean is actively involved with the investments in TierPoint and Zenith Shipping.

Dean was previously an Analyst at UBS Investment Bank where he worked in the Global Industries Group, focused on Industrial Technology and Tech-Enabled Services.

He received a B.S. in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University.

Associate

Gavin Springer

Gavin Springer is an Associate of the firm.

Prior to joining RedBird, Gavin was an Investment Banking Analyst at Guggenheim Securities, where he advised a variety of clients within the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group on mergers and acquisitions, activism defense, equity and debt financings and leveraged buyouts. While at Guggenheim, Gavin advised Acumen Solutions on its sale to Salesforce, Chef on its sale to Progress Software and Signifyd on its Series E growth equity financing.

Gavin received a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University.

Controller

Kimberly Raba

Kimberly Raba is the Controller of the firm.

Prior to joining RedBird, Kimberly was a Vice President of Finance at Benefit Street Partners.  Prior to BSP, Kimberly worked in a financial reporting capacity at CAN Capital.  She also spent time as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Kimberly received a B.B.A. degree from James Madison University, a M.S. degree in Professional Accounting from the Stillman School of Business, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Kimberly also serves as the New York City Advisory Chair to the SEC Professionals Group.

Finance Manager

Kellie Wiederhold

Kellie Wiederhold is a Finance Manager of the firm.

Prior to joining RedBird, Kellie spent five years at The Blackstone Group, most recently as an Assistant Vice President in the Infrastructure group. Prior to joining the Infrastructure team, Kellie held various finance roles across Blackstone’s Private Equity and Energy businesses. Kellie began her career at General Electric as an analyst in GE’s two-year Financial Management Program.

Kellie received a B.A. in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross.

Finance Associate

Paige Claire Mesher

Paige Claire is a Finance Associate of the firm.

Prior to joining RedBird, Paige Claire spent three years at PricewaterhouseCoopers working as an Assurance Senior Associate in the Banking and Capital Markets practice.

Paige Claire received a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from the College of Charleston and is a Certified Public Accountant.