CUSTOM CONTENT JUNE 28, 2021 LEADERS OF INFLUENCE : Private Equity, Investors & Advisors ITH THE UNIQUE AND UNCHARTED SCENARIOS THAT WE ALL FACED OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, GROWING businesses in the market for private equity have had to face a whole new landscape. The economic climate forced Wprivate equity investors and advisors play in terms of the business world overall has perhaps never been more important. For this issue, we’ve reviewed the careers of many of the most notable private equity related professionals in the region and have selected some of the very best to be showcased here. Divided into two alphabetically listed groups (Private Equity Investors their careers and specialties. Congratulations to each of the outstanding professionals who made this list and thank you for your contributions to the local business community’s success. 70 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL – CUSTOM CONTENT JUNE 28, 2021 LEADERS OF INFLUENCE: PRIVATE EQUITY & INVESTORS ANTHONY BERKUS CLAY BRYAN NISHITA CUMMINGS STEVE DAVIS Managing Director Managing Director, Financial Sponsors Coverage Lead Managing Partner, Co-Head of Growth Equity, Managing Director and Head of the Beauty Duff & Phelps, A Kroll LLC Business FocalPoint Partners, LLC and Co-Portfolio Manager & Personal Care Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P. Intrepid Investment Bankers nthony Berkus is managing director lay Bryan is a managing director and in the Transaction Advisory Services Financial Sponsors Group lead at Focal- ishita Cummings is a managing partner, teve Davis is a managing director and Apractice of Duff & Phelps. He started his CPoint Partners, a middle market invest- co-head of growth equity, and co-portfo- head of the Beauty & Personal Care 20-year career in public accounting at PwC ment bank headquartered in Los Angeles, Nlio manager for Kayne Anderson Capital Spractice at Intrepid Investment Bankers. and for the last 16 years has been focused with branch ofces in Chicago, New York, Advisors’ growth private equity activities. He is a co-founder of Intrepid and has more exclusively on nancial and accounting due and Shanghai. FocalPoint has a long history She has played a leading role in building a than 25 years of mergers and acquisitions diligence. Since joining Duff & Phelps in of delivering top quality founder-owned team of 20 people with a focus on diversity experience. Davis established the Beauty & 2011, Berkus has been a valued advisor to businesses to the private equity market with the team being over 50% female or Personal Care practice, uniquely combining private equity clients, growth investors, and with EBITDA consistently ranging from minority. This team of professionals has middle-market M&A expertise with a dedi- strategic buyers. With deep experience in $10-50 million. Bryan has approximately invested together in nearly 40 software com- cated focus on the beauty and personal care software, media and consumer industries, 21 years of investment banking experience panies, with Cummings being responsible industry, and has since built the practice Anthony serves his clients by drawing from in private equity coverage, debt and equity for 30 platform investments and 17 exits, into one of the leading advisors to the sector a broad range of technical and business capital markets, M&A, special situations, across four funds and ve co-investment in the country. He is widely regarded as a knowledge to solve complex nancial dil- and both in- and out-of-court restructurings, vehicles. She is responsible for playing a leading authority in the category of Beauty igence matters. While also working with providing solutions to investors ranging in pro-active leadership role in rening the & Personal Care M&A and is one of most established private equity funds and corpo- size from middle market to large cap public team’s proprietary sourcing strategy over active investment bankers in the industry. rations, Berkus has been an advisor to sev- company transactions. He has represented time, including the expansion into Canada, He has a deep understanding of trends and eral private equity funds while they were in clients across a range of industries and has identifying investment themes, developing value-drivers across the sector, maintains their earlier stages and continues to advise advised entrepreneurs, private equity funds, actionable new investment opportunities, ongoing dialogue with the acquirer and them as these clients have grown their and other asset managers throughout his deal execution and driving enterprise value investor universe, and has a proven track funds sizes to nearly $1 billion in committed career. He has worked at both bulge bracket creation within existing portfolio compa- record of helping clients sell to global strate- capital and over $3 billion in assets under and boutique investment banks, structuring nies. Cummings has also advised a number gic acquirers and value-added private equity management. and executing complex transactions both in of portfolio companies through successful groups. the U.S. and internationally. exit processes. BEN DUNBAR ADAM FEIT LLOYD GREIF JERI J. HARMAN Managing Partner Managing Director, Head of Financial Sponsors, President & CEO Founder & Chairman Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Healthcare and Life Sciences Greif & Co. Avante Capital Partners Investment Management MUFG Union Bank loyd Greif is at the top of his game in his eri Harman was recently named chair- en Dunbar was an investor before he dam Feit is managing director and head eld, which is M&A deal-making. A man of the board of NN Inc., a publicly could legally drive a car. At thirteen of nancial sponsors, healthcare and Lveteran investment banker, 2021 marks Jtraded diversied industrials company. Byears old, he worked six days a week, Alife sciences for MUFG Union Bank’s his 40th anniversary in the eld and next She was also named one of the most inu- earning and saving money as a Little League Commercial Banking group. He has 20 year marks the 30th anniversary of the ential women in mid-market M&A by umpire. By the time he was fteen, he’d years of experience covering and advising investment bank he founded and leads, Mergers and Acquisitions magazine in 2021, amassed a kid fortune of $15,000. His stock- clients, underwriting and structuring deals, Greif & Co., a middle-market investment a designation she has received every year broker grandfather encouraged him to invest and building and leading teams across global bank that engineers merger & acquisition since 2016. Avante Capital Partners has the savings. Where the average nancial corporate and investment banking, commer- transactions between $50 million and $2 invested more than $400 million in lower advisor sits somewhere between 51-55 years billion in enterprise value, as well as equity middle-market businesses across the U.S. old, Dunbar (29 years old) has looked to was responsible for forming the Financial and debt nancings in excess of $10 million, to date, and total AUM is now over $840 shake up the industry since he graduat- Sponsors coverage model in 2017, the Spe- exclusively for entrepreneurially owned million. Harman’s company makes debt ed college in 2014. His practice includes cialized Industries coverage model in 2020, and operated growth companies. Greif is and equity investments of $5 million to $35 releasing podcasts discussing what’s going and also served as the market president for a zealot for his clients, always putting their million to lower middle-market businesses on in nancial markets and teaching more the Los Angeles region. Feit currently leads interests rst, religiously avoiding conicts to nance buyouts, minority recaps, acqui- complex nancial topics outside of his daily the strategic efforts to provide nancing of interest, and working diligently for the sitions, and growth. She has more than 30 client advice. Similar to a stock, he doesn’t for private equity sponsors across the Unit- equally-driven entrepreneurs he represents. years of nancing and M&A experience. look at where his clients are today but ed States supporting leveraged buyouts, His extreme work ethic is legendary, going Prior to Avante, Harman founded and led where they are going to be and will invest recapitalizations, and add-ons. The Sponsor back to the days when he worked midnight the LA ofces for American Capital Ltd. time now to help them get there. Finance group is a relatively new area of to nine at Ralphs Grocery Co. to pay his and Allied Capital Inc. focus for the bank. Feit was charged with way through school at UCLA and USC, spearheading the group at inception and working full-time while attending college setting its strategic vision. In the four years full-time. since inception, Feit and his team have more than tripled their revenue. 72 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL – CUSTOM CONTENT JUNE 28, 2021 LEADERS OF INFLUENCE: PRIVATE EQUITY & INVESTORS JEREMY HOLLAND TODD KALTMAN NATHAN LOCKE MICHAEL METZGER Managing Partner, Origination Managing Director, Transaction Opinions Managing Partner, Co-Head of Growth Equity, Media & Tech Investment Banker The Riverside Company Duff & Phelps, a Kroll Company and Co-Portfolio Manager Drake Star Partners Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P. eremy Holland is a managing partner odd Kaltman is a managing director in ichael Metzger is a partner at Drake at The Riverside Company, leading the Duff & Phelps’ Transaction Opinions athan Locke is a managing partner, Star Partners, a global media / tech JOrigination team across the various Tpractice. He brings to the