Genstar Capital has promoted Katie Solomon to Managing Director, Talent Management; Melissa Dickerson, to CFO and Managing Director, Operations; and Ben Marshall, to Principal.
“I am very proud that Genstar has successfully navigated the journey from a small, founder-run middle market firm to an industry-focused institutional partnership with an outstanding group of individuals, a differentiated investment strategy, and an exceptionally healthy and successful culture,” said Jean-Pierre Conte, Chairman and Managing Director. “Each of these professionals has a distinct and important role within the firm and helped us identify strong investment opportunities, attract great talent to Genstar, build our portfolio companies, and our firm for the long term. Katie, Melissa, and Ben share our passion and commitment for Genstar, and we are very privileged to have leaders like them.”
Ms. Solomon joined Genstar in 2011 and works with the firm’s portfolio companies to help drive growth through the identification and acquisition of talent. She also manages Genstar’s recruiting relationships. Prior to joining the firm in 2011, she was Vice President, Human Capital and Investor Relations at Vector Capital. Previously, she worked in executive search at Russell Reynolds and before that led the marketing team at Harvard Business School Career Services and directed the investment banking recruiting department at Robertson Stephens. She began her career as a Consultant with Bain & Company. Ms. Solomon has her undergraduate and MBA degrees from Stanford.
“For the past six years, Katie has been instrumental in raising the bar around talent management across our portfolio — mining our executive network, building out leadership teams, and assessing executives – and has successfully led our own internal Genstar recruiting efforts,” said J. Ryan Clark, President and Managing Director.
Ms. Dickerson joined Genstar in 2004 and as the Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, Operations, is responsible for finance and accounting, regulatory compliance, risk management, technology and administration. Prior to joining Genstar, she was the Controller of American Industrial Partners. Earlier in her career, Ms. Dickerson worked at Deloitte as a Senior Accountant focused on businesses in the financial services industry. She has her undergraduate degree from Vassar College and her MBA degree from the University of California Berkeley.
Mr. Marshall helps to identify, evaluate and execute acquisition and investment opportunities. He originally joined Genstar in 2010 as an Associate and re-joined the firm in 2014 after receiving his MBA degree from Harvard. He began his career as an investment banking analyst at Peter J. Solomon and has an undergraduate degree from Duke.
“These promotions represent the outstanding contributions Katie, Melissa, and Ben have made in the ongoing growth of our firm. We recognize the value they bring to Genstar and welcome them to their new roles,” added Mr. Clark.
Genstar, which had a final close in August 2015 of its seventh fund with $2 billion in commitments, invests from $50 million to $400 million in middle-market companies that have enterprise values from $50 million to $1 billion and EBITDAs greater than $15 million. The firm targets investments in the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries. Genstar was founded in 1988 and is based in San Francisco (www.gencap.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | March 15, 2017
