New Canaan, Connecticut-based Gridiron Capital, has promoted Kirk Wawrzyniak to vice president.
Mr. Wawrzyniak joined Gridiron in 2019 as an associate and in 2022 was promoted to senior associate. Prior to joining Gridiron, he was an analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities in the firm’s consumer and retail group. Mr. Wawrzyniak has his undergraduate degree in finance from Michigan State University.
“We are delighted to celebrate Kirk’s accomplishments and contributions to Gridiron,” said Tom Burger, a co-founder and a managing partner at Gridiron. “Kirk has taken on increasing levels of responsibility over his years at the firm and has continued to excel. He has displayed a true commitment to creating value through his dedication to achieving high performance at his portfolio companies as well as developing our Associate team.”
At Gridiron, Mr. Wawrzyniak is active sourcing new investments, conducting due diligence, and working with the firm’s portfolio companies including Leaf Home, an Ohio-based residential products provider (2016); Erie Home, an Ohio-based residential roofing products and services provider (2021); Esquire Deposition Solutions, a Georgia-based provider of on-site and remote court reporting, video, and interpreting services (2022); and GarageCo, a Connecticut-based provider of residential and commercial garage door services (2024). In March, Gridiron announced three acquisitions by GarageCo with the buys of Maine-based P.D.Q. Door Company, Virginia-based Apple Door Systems, and Kentucky-based Cunningham Door & Window.
“Kirk has continued to grow his expertise and skillset since joining Gridiron, promoting our culture of getting better every day,” said Kevin Jackson, a managing partner at Gridiron. “We value Kirk’s leadership and look forward to his continued success at Gridiron.”
Gridiron invests in manufacturing, service, and specialty consumer companies with enterprise values from $75 million to $600 million and EBITDA from $10 million to $60 million. Sectors of interest include branded consumer, business-to-business and business-to-consumer services, and niche industrial.
Gridiron is investing out of its fifth fund which closed above target in October 2023 with $2.1 billion of capital. Fund V is the largest fund the firm has ever raised and is markedly higher than the firm’s fourth fund which closed in December 2020 with $1.35 billion of capital.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | April 17, 2024
