Z Capital Group has named Jerome “Jerry” Pender as a new Operating Partner. Mr. Pender has over 30 years of experience in technology and will be advising the firm on digital and cybersecurity matters. Additionally, he will be working with Z Capital’s portfolio companies on information technology analysis and support as well as performing due diligence on new investments.
“I am thrilled to welcome Jerry to the Z Capital team. He brings extensive experience in technology, cybersecurity, financial services and management, and we are confident that his expertise will provide significant value to our firm and portfolio companies,” said James Zenni, President and Chief Executive Officer of Z Capital. “In today’s business environment, as we continue to look for innovative ways to support the growth of our portfolio and deliver differentiated returns to our investors, it is a top priority to ensure that robust security protections and diligence procedures are in place.”
Prior to joining Z Capital, Mr. Pender served as Chief Information Officer and Executive Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since September 2012. In this role, he was responsible for all aspects of IT in the FBI globally and managed a budget of $1.2 billion. From 2003 to 2012, he was the Deputy Assistant Director and Chief Information Officer for the Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the FBI which provided cloud services to over 1,000,000 federal, state and local law enforcement officers in 18,000 agencies throughout the country as well as over 100,000 retail sales locations.
Mr. Pender started his career in the United States Air Force where he rose to the rank of Captain. He also spent twelve years at UBS where he served in various roles, most recently as Executive Director and Global Head of Fixed Income, Treasury Products and Global Service Delivery. Mr. Pender has a BS in Computer Science from the United States Air Force Academy and an MS in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to join the Z Capital team and I look forward to working with the firm’s portfolio companies and their management teams,” said Mr. Pender. “I am eager to put my 30 years of experience in technology to work to support Z Capital in developing enhanced IT infrastructure and cybersecurity measures and identify innovative trends in technology to best position the firm for the future.”
Z Capital makes control investments in middle-market distressed companies, operational turnarounds and special situations. The firm targets companies with an enterprise value of less than $1 billion or EBITDA of less than $100 million. Sectors of interest include consumer products, steel and steel processors, agricultural, gaming, leisure, real estate, manufacturing, specialty services and automotive. The firm has approximately $2.3 billion of capital under management. Z Capital is based in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest and has additional offices in New York and Zurich (www.zcap.net).
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-18-15
