OUR TEAM
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Prior to founding Blue Marlin Partners, Peter oversaw and directed investments for the family office of the founder of America Online for ten years, where he was responsible for all financial management and direct investments. In this position he also served as the liaison and trusted advisor for other family offices and high net worth individuals seeking to co-invest. Peter also served as Investment Committee Chairman, Longstreet Partners, Advisor, The Edgewater Funds and numerous boards of directors. Subsequently, Peter was CEO of Platformix and, CEO the American Society of Landscape Architects. Peter received his B.S. in Communications from Marquette University.
Peter Kirsch
Founder, Managing Partner
David Williams
Partner
David Williams was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Merkle, Inc. He acquired Merkle in 1988. Today, Merkle has more than 11,000 employees in locations in the United States, Europe and Asia, and is one of the largest marketing services companies in the world. Under David’s leadership, Merkle sustained double-digit annual growth for over 30 years. David is the author of the book, Connected CRM: Implementing a Data-Driven, Customer-Centric Business Strategy. Mr. Williams is now CEO of MRE Capital and Chairman of Quality Brands International, a Blue Marlin Company.
Scott Brickman
Partner
Scott Brickman is the retired Chairman and CEO of the Brickman Group, the nation’s largest landscape services company which under his leadership grew from a handful of regional branches to 170 branches throughout the country employing over 12,000 associates. Mr. Brickman is the Chairman of LandCare and RDR Holdings, both Blue Marlin Companies. Active in philanthropy with a focus on poverty, homelessness and education, Mr. Brickman sits on the board of Catholic Charities, The Don Bosco Cristo Rey School, Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, and is a member of Venture Philanthropy Partners.
Christian Delzell
Prior to joining Blue Marlin Partners, Christian spent 19 years in the financial services industry working for and with RIAs doing manager due diligence, asset class allocation, and performance analysis for high net worth individuals/families and institutional investors. Most recently, Christian spent 4 years managing a team of analysts at a global bank performing financial reporting on general partners for institutional private equity investors spanning all sectors and geographies. He received his B.S. in Economics with Finance Applications and M.B.A from Southern Methodist University.
Duncan Bowden
Prior to joining Blue Marlin Partners, Duncan was an Investment Associate at Liberty Hall Capital Partners, a lower middle market buyout firm in South Carolina. Duncan was involved in all aspects of the investment process and spent time on various strategic initiatives across the firm’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining Liberty Hall, Duncan worked in the Leveraged Finance group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Duncan received his B.S. in Finance from Wake Forest University.
Becca Shane
Becca is a licensed CPA and also a CGMA (Chartered Global Management Accountant). Previously, she held the position of Controller for Capitol Hill Group, a private investment firm focusing on real estate, technology, healthcare, biotech, art, entertainment and asset management. There, she led the preparation of accounting records for several portfolio companies including: developing annual budgets and tracking performance, overseeing the monthly close, projecting and managing cash flows, tax compliance and developing ad hoc reporting as necessary. Her previous experiences include, Fund Accounting Manager at The Carlyle Group and Fund Controller at Perseus LLC. She holds a BSBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of the AICPA Leadership Academy and volunteers on the AICPA International Qualifications Appraisal Board and the GWSCPA Women's Leadership Committee.
Chris Swarbrick
Prior to Blue Marlin, Chris was an Investment Associate at Blackstreet Capital, a lower middle market distressed buyout firm in Maryland. Chris led investment processes from diligence to close and was heavily involved in post-merger integrations, valuations, investor relations, and other portfolio responsibilities. Prior to Blackstreet, Chris was a Corporate Finance and Restructuring Consultant in Chicago.
Chris received his B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and his M.B.A. with Honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Finance, Accounting, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management. At Booth, Chris was a Co-Chair of the Private Equity Group and the 2022 recipient of the Madison Dearborn Partners Private Equity Award and the Dean's Prize for Building the Booth Brand. Chris is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honors society.
Peter Thompson
Prior to Blue Marlin, Peter was Chairman of Lazard Frères & Co. Midwest Advisory, where he advised public and private companies and financial sponsors on a range of strategic issues. As one of the world’s preeminent financial advisory firms, Lazard operates from 43 cities across 27 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Central and South America. Peter continues to serve as a Senior Advisor at strategic consulting firm, Teneo.
From 2009-2015 Peter served as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Perkins Investment Management, a $22 billion manager of public equities renowned for its defensive approach to investing. In 2013, Perkins became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Janus Capital Group, now Janus Henderson Investors (NYSE: JHG). From 1994-2007, Peter was Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of Chicago-based Ariel Investments.
Peter earned an MBA from The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a BA from Providence College.
Becca Shaddox
Becca is joining Blue Marlin after a fulfilling career supporting and leading strategic initiatives in technology at the Fortune 1 Retailer, spending significant time working with startups and early-stage companies in their journey to commercialize, grow and acquire new customers. Becca spent 17 years as an internal corporate consultant covering strategic initiatives, executive leadership, portfolio management, mergers, acquisitions, and integrations during her tenure at Walmart. Post Walmart, Becca shifted her focus to entrepreneurship and innovation commercialization where she curated connections and relationships between the startup world and Enterprises to solve global business problems.
Becca graduated from the University of Arkansas with a major in Business Information Systems & Analytics. In addition to her role at Blue Marlin, she supports a wide range of companies as a strategic advisor, board member, mentor, and partner. She will support Blue Marlin from the Northwest Arkansas Region.
Kyle Kirsch
Prior to joining Blue Marlin, Kyle spent eight years with a tech-based, data, and analytics start up in the CPG & Retail space, most recently serving as their Director of Data Solutions. As one of the first employees he had the opportunity to help build a business at all operational and business development levels and was a key contributor to their exit in early 2022.
Omar Ibrahim
Prior to joining Blue Marlin, Omar was an Investment Banking Analyst at Deloitte Corporate Finance specializing in sell-side M&A. He was responsible for conducting extensive financial analysis, market research, and due diligence to provide valuable insights and recommendations to family-founder businesses seeking to execute strategic mergers and acquisitions within the industrials sector. Omar received his B.S. in Finance from Boston University.
Sidney Wanko
A recent graduate from the University of Virginia, Sidney holds a B.A. in Statistics with a concentration in biostatistics. Before joining Blue Marlin, she gained valuable experience as an events coordinator and research assistant at UVA's Contemplative Sciences Center. In addition, Sidney was an engaged member of various student-run organizations and agencies. In 2022, she applied her analytical skills and human-centered approach to make meaningful contributions to the research and development of a growing startup company.
Joe Barbour
Prior to joining Blue Marlin, Joe was an investment banker (Managing Director) with the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and ABN AMRO. While at BMO he provided strategic advice to corporate clients and private equity firms in the food and agribusiness sectors on acquisitions, divestitures and raising debt and equity capital in both the public and private markets. At ABN AMRO, Joe led ~ $1.5 billion in M&A transactions for middle market clients and private equity firms in the business services, consumer products, energy and a variety of manufacturing sectors. Joe received his B.S. in Economics with Financial Applications and M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.
Trent Humphries
Trent spent twenty-six years as a Manufacturer’s Representative in the semiconductor business representing Hughes Aircraft’s Semiconductor Equipment Group and other multi-national companies in the Southwest territory. After building Benchmark Sales for over 20 of those years, he sold the company to the employees and carried his expertise into the Business Development Consulting and in 2009 entered the Private Equity world with Catapult Partners. Trent is also a Blue Marlin GP.
Ron Mayers
Prior to entering the family office community in 2015. Ron spent nearly 3 decades in investment banking, where he was a pioneer in the Canadian hedge fund industry in addition to building and heading the International Investment Banking subsidiaries of three Tier 1 Canadian financial institutions. Ron also served as Vice-Chairman of the investment banking subsidiary of the Groupe Desjardins, the largest financial cooperative in North America, and the fifth largest in the world. Ron holds a BA from Vanderbilt University, and a Juris Doctor, with Honors, from SMU’s School of Law.
Sheila Pyers
Sheila is a seasoned veteran in the financial services industry. She is the founder of a capital formation and investor relations firm she established in 2016. Specializing in outsourced capital formation, she has cultivated a network of over 300 institutional single family office relationships across North America. Sheila has a track record in origination and distribution of venture capital, private equity and credit funds, as well as private transactions, from firms such as Insight Partners, Antler and Ghost Tree. Prior to founding her firm, she was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley in the institutional equity division in sales and trading. Sheila holds a Master's degree in Public Health from George Washington University and a Bachelor's degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Tulane University.
Keeley Glasper
Keeley received her B.S. in Communications from Cal Poly Pomona with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Hospitality Management. Keeley started her career as a Wedding Coordinator and later became a Private Event Manager at Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm, specializing in social and corporate events of all sizes. There, she successfully managed teams of vendors and staff, ensuring flawless event execution. Her skills in communication, organization, attention to detail, and her ability to handle complex projects with a client-centric approach translate well into the fast-paced environment of private equity.
Derek Zajac
Prior to joining Blue Marlin Partners, Derek was an Associate at Orkila Capital, a growth equity firm in New York City. At Orkila, Derek executed multiple platform and add-on acquisitions within the Consumer, Entertainment, and TMT industries. He also collaborated directly with portfolio company executives to optimize financial and KPI reporting, explore new business opportunities, enhance operational excellence, and develop long-term strategic plans. Previously, Derek was a Senior Analyst at Raymond James & Associates within their Consumer & Retail Group in Chicago, where he advised on numerous M&A and capital raise transactions. Derek began his career at Aon Securities, the investment banking division of Aon plc.
Derek received his B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University and his M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Dan Moore
Dan has been a longtime advisor to Blue Marlin Partners and has over 35 years’ experience in managing companies, arranging financing transactions and negotiating business arrangements. Longstreet Partners, founded by Dan in 2001, was a private equity and investment banking firm focused on small to mid-sized enterprises. Over 15 years, Longstreet invested in or worked with over 30 different companies in many capacities. Dan has served as chairman and CEO of two publicly traded companies. Dan, a certified public accountant, began his career at Arthur Andersen & Co. in Washington D.C. in 1976 after receiving his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. Dan received his Bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College. Dan serves on the Board of Leadership Mission International, an educational organization for young women in Honduras.
Jeff Frient
Jeff has a long history in middle market investing, having been a private equity investor with the Edgewater Funds and an investment banker with William Blair & Company, for nearly 25 years. He has worked actively with family offices, high net worth investors, institutions, endowments and funds, as well as co-investors. Jeff has served on 15 company Boards of Directors, and has been Chairman of 4. Prior to graduate school, Jeff served worldwide in the U.S. Air Force as an F-16 pilot. Jeff received his B.S. in Computer Science from the United States Air Force Academy, graduating as a Distinguished Graduate, and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He currently serves on the Board of the Air Force Academy Foundation.