Michael Bernstein has rejoined Baird Capital, the direct private investment arm of Robert W. Baird & Co., and will be a Partner in its US Private Equity group. Mr. Bernstein will focus on investment opportunities in the healthcare sector and will be based in Chicago.
Mr. Bernstein has nearly 30 years of operational and investment experience in the healthcare industry, including several executive management roles. He first joined Baird Capital in 2008 as an Executive-in-Residence, and was soon appointed President and CEO of Baird Capital portfolio company Medical Education Technologie (METI). During his time at METI, Mr. Bernstein helped improve business performance and negotiated the sale of the company to CAE, a provider of simulated education services. He then became President of CAE Healthcare, where he led the integration of METI, restructured the business and drove efficiency initiatives to improve profitability.
“We are very pleased to welcome Mike back to our team,” said Gordon Pan, Managing Partner of Baird Capital. “His proven ability to drive value in the companies he works with makes him an excellent addition to our healthcare platform.”
Mr. Bernstein’s prior executive experience includes serving as CEO of Leprechaun, an outsource data management business focused on Risk Adjustment data mining for Medicare HMOs. He also previously served as President and CEO of Innovative Health Strategies, President and COO of the former Cobalt Corporation and Executive Vice President of the University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation.
“Baird Capital’s healthcare platform benefits from a strong global network of experts,” said Mr. Bernstein. “I am excited to be back with Baird Capital in this new role and look forward to working with the healthcare team to identify the best investment opportunities for our portfolio.”
Baird Capital invests in lower middle-market companies in the manufactured products, healthcare and business services sectors. The firm invests from $15 million to $35 million in companies with enterprise values of $25 million to $125 million and EBITDAs greater than $5 million. Baird Capital was founded in 1989 and is based in Chicago (www.bairdcapital.com).
2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 6-5-14