New platform combines M&A, insurance, capital markets, and real estate advisory
April 22, 2026|John McNulty
Greenleaf Capital Partners has formed Centered Partners, a firm providing M&A, capital markets, insurance brokerage, and commercial real estate services to middle-market clients.
Centered Partners, headquartered in St. Louis, has specific expertise in HVAC and residential services, manufacturing and distribution, construction and specialty trades, and financial services. Clients include business owners, private equity sponsors, and financial institutions seeking coordinated advisory across multiple disciplines.
Funding for the new effort was sourced through an initial capital raise from a group of St. Louis-based investors, including entrepreneurs and operators with experience in middle-market businesses. Centered Partners plans to expand through acquisitions, partnerships, and team growth.
Chip Smith
“We built Centered Partners to be the firm we always wished existed as operators—one that understands how insurance, real estate, capital, and strategic transactions all connect inside a real business,” said Chip Smith, chief executive officer of Centered Partners and co-founder of Greenleaf Capital Partners. “We’re also planning to build this for decades, not a quick flip.”
Greenleaf Capital launches, acquires, and builds businesses across service-oriented sectors. The firm provides capital and operational oversight to its portfolio companies, which operate in areas such as business services and field services. The firm scales its businesses through organic growth and acquisitions, often with a focus on operational improvements and long-term value creation.
“We’ve capitalized Centered Partners to grow—both organically and by partnering with aligned firms and professionals who share our long-term, client-first approach,” concluded Mr. Smith. “If you believe in putting clients at the center and building something that lasts, we want to talk.”
Greenleaf has acquired, launched and exited multiple platform companies and currently manages four businesses, including ARCO Heating & Cooling, a Missouri-based distributor of manufactured housing components such as skirting systems, entry doors, replacement windows, and HVAC units. ARCO also provides HVAC servicing and installation services to the manufactured housing and residential home sectors; and R&R Sanitation, a provider and servicer of portable restrooms and roll-off dumpsters throughout eastern Missouri.
Greenleaf Capital was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in St. Louis.
