Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company (HKW) has made an investment in Partners In Leadership, a provider of leadership training and management consulting services.
Partners In Leadership (PIL) was founded in 1989 by Roger Connors and Tom Smith. Customers of the company include many large pharmaceutical companies, almost half of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and nearly half of the Fortune 50 largest companies. PIL is headquartered north of San Diego in Temecula, CA, with additional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Manhattan, Milwaukee, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Seattle (www.ozprinciple.com).
Roger Connors will continue to lead the company as CEO and the company’s leadership team will remain the same. Co-founder Tom Smith is on sabbatical and will continue in an advisory role upon his return.
“This event is a new high mark for all who have been involved to this point in building this incredible company,” said Mr. Connors. “With a focus on solid fundamentals, financial expertise, and empowering management, HKW is an ideal partner to help us achieve our long-term vision of increasing the company’s already strong growth, reaching more organizations with our award-winning curriculum and methodology, and expanding our solutions suite to positively impact the lives of millions more people.”
Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company invests in companies with revenues between $20 million and $200 million and EBITDAs between $2 million and $20 million. Since 1982, HKW has completed 49 platform management buyouts of small middle-market companies throughout North America as well as 54 add-on acquisitions. The firm was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Indianapolis with an additional office in New York (www.hkwinc.com).
“This is a new and exciting chapter for our company,” said Mr. Smith. “We’ve created a strong reputation through the years for helping our clients produce improved results, and this investment will allow us to leverage our past successes into an even stronger future.”
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-22-15