Motivations to seek a capital partner are many: stakeholders desire liquidity, management seeks capital to accelerate organic growth initiatives, strategic add-ons require acquisition funding, etc. In all cases, our first objective is to listen. Stakeholders often have unique personal and business objectives. In most cases, capital is merely one piece of the puzzle. Elan works creatively to find wholistic solutions.
Our investments are structured as true partnerships with aligned incentives. After defining aspirational end-goals, we work backwards to formulate a plan of action that sets expectations and serves as a roadmap. Communication is key, and from the very beginning, Elan facilitates dialog in a transparent, direct way. We do what we say we will do.
Lower middle market businesses can often benefit from technology that until recently was costly. Elan adopts technology to automate processes, measure progress, increase efficiency and support growth. We believe that managements’ access to real-time, readily accessible data is a critical component of organizational growth and essential for scale in today’s competitive markets.
Three decades of collective experience in finance and investing has instilled process discipline that we apply internally at our firm and with our partners. Optimizing processes in key functional areas of a business creates a culture of discipline and accountability. As Jim Collins noted in Good to Great, “When you blend a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get a magical alchemy resulting in superior performance.”
We collaboratively work with our partners to develop growth plans and tactically execute. Enlisting the help of Elan’s Operating Partners contributes value-added operational resources along with domain and functional expertise. While not actively involved in day-to-day operations, we serve our partners as a sounding board, connection facilitator and mentor.
Our singular focus is the success of our partnerships. We roll up our sleeves, work hard, and while we don’t take ourselves too seriously, we do what it takes to win.
Craig is the Founder and Managing Partner of Elan Growth Partners. With more than 24 years of finance, direct investing and management experience, Craig leads all elements of the Elan investment process and sets the Firm’s strategic direction.
Prior to Elan, Craig spent 16 years as one of two partners at Solis Capital Partners, a lower middle-market boutique private equity firm which deployed more than $122 million through two funds, co-investments, and stand-alone opportunities. Craig continues as a Partner and Manager of Solis Capital Partners II, LP, and will do so until the fund is fully realized.
Before becoming a private equity investor, Craig spent nearly seven years in New York. A majority of this time was spent in the Investment Banking Department of Goldman Sachs, where Craig managed more than $8.5 billion in financings. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Craig was at the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and Bear Stearns where he completed transactions valued at more than $1.6 billion.
Craig holds an MBA degree in finance from Yale University, and a BA degree in history, with studies in pre-medical curriculum, from UCLA.
Active in local business organizations, Craig is a member and former Chapter Chair of YPO San Diego and a member of the Private Equity Council of the San Diego Chapter of ACG. Volunteer and charitable pursuits include Guide Dogs for the Blind, the American Heart Association, and Teen Volunteers in Action.
Max is a Partner at Elan Growth Partners and brings more than 7 years of private equity, corporate development and investment banking experience. He is responsible for identifying, evaluating and executing investment opportunities, as well as supporting portfolio company investments.
Prior to Elan, Max worked with Craig at Solis Capital Partners where he sourced and evaluated investment opportunities, performed due diligence, coordinated critical elements of the investment execution process, raised debt and co-investment equity capital, structured management equity incentive participation, and supported other strategic initiatives within the portfolio.
Prior to working in private equity, Max was the Vice President of Investments at The Ensign Group (NASDAQ: ENSG)—a billion-dollar strategic acquirer of healthcare businesses—where he led the underwriting process on more than $350 million of accretive acquisitions. Before joining The Ensign Group, Max was an Investment Banking Analyst at William Blair & Company in San Francisco, where he worked on M&A transactions in the consumer and retail space. He began his career at Ernst & Young in Silicon Valley providing assurance services to Google, Palantir Technologies and Intuitive Surgical.
Max earned a Master of Accountancy degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Brigham Young University. He is an active member of the Orange County Chapter of ACG, is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of California (inactive) and is a volunteer leader in the youth organization of his church.
Zach is a Principal at Elan Growth Partners and brings more than 7 years of private equity, corporate development and corporate finance experience. He is responsible for identifying, evaluating and executing investment opportunities, as well as supporting portfolio company investments.
Prior to Elan, Zach worked at NextWorld Evergreen a consumer focused growth equity fund where he sourced and evaluated investment opportunities, performed due diligence, worked on internal portfolio capital and debt raises, and supported other strategic initiatives within the portfolio.
Prior to working in Private Equity, Zach was the Corporate Business Development Manager at Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE) – a multi-billion dollar global strategic in the consumer goods category – where he worked on $250 million of accretive acquisitions and divestitures. Before his Corporate Development role, Zach worked on the brand side role for Helen of Troy including FP&A roles for OXO and Hydro Flask. He began his career with Tektronix in Portland in a divisional finance role.
Zach holds an MBA degree in finance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Willamette University.
Thad is a food and beverage entrepreneur who has founded, co-founded and operated several businesses including Homegrown Meats, a branded grass-fed beef jerky company, Homegrown Cattle Company, a grass-fed cattle business, Rimel’s-Zenbu, a restaurant located in North San Diego County, California, and E and H Foods, an organic grass-fed meat company. Thad is currently an advisor to the board of several food and beverage businesses.
Mr. Benshoof began his career at Nestlé USA where he served as a regional sales executive. After his tenure with Nestlé USA, Thad launched his first company, GTD Inc., a food marketing business where he continues to serve as Executive Chairman. After establishing GTD Inc., Thad co-founded the Homegrown Cattle Company, which today distributes organic, GAP-rated beef products nationally through Whole Foods and other natural grocers. Recognizing the growing market for meat snacks, Mr. Benshoof then co-founded Homegrown Meats, which sells grass-fed beef jerky and protein snacks nationally through Whole Foods and other natural grocers.
Thad holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business from San Diego State University. He is a Board Member of the Rob Machado Foundation and a Board Member of Naturally San Diego.
Dr. Lin is a seasoned international business executive with a demonstrated track record of organically growing businesses, systematically enhancing operations and adeptly executing strategic M&A transactions. Working with organizations ranging in size from start-up to half-billion-dollar international enterprises, Dr. Lin drives change and improvement by engaging, training and empowering team members, establishing disciplined processes and instituting a culture of excellence. Dr. Lin is widely regarded as a strategic thinker that provides thought leadership for the creation, development and execution of mission-critical global initiatives.
Most recently, Dr. Lin was the Chief Operating Officer at AXT Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI), a global supplier of substrates and critical raw materials to the semiconductor industry. Prior to AXT Inc., Dr. Lin was the Chief Executive Officer of General Photonics, a California-based developer, manufacturer and pioneer of polarization and timing management instruments and modules utilized in fiber-optic applications. Before leading General Photonics, Dr. Lin was the Corporate Vice President & General Manager of the Asia Pacific Region at Newport Corporation (NASDAQ: NEWP/MKSI), a global manufacturer of optical (photonics) components, subsystems, instruments and equipment. Dr. Lin began his career as an engineer, developing technologies for various VC-backed photonics startups and as a consultant to blue-chip firms.
Originally from Taiwan, Dr. Lin is fluent in English and Mandarin, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics from the City University of New York, with Post-Doctoral Research at Princeton University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Chun-Yuan University in Taiwan.
Phil is a serial entrepreneur who currently owns businesses in three different segments: restaurant, beverage import/export, and boutique fitness.
Mr. Palumbo is the President and Owner of Project M Worldwide, L.P., an owner-operator of 10 franchised McDonald's in San Diego County, employing more than 400 employees. Phil has been a McDonald's franchisee for more than 25 years, obtaining his first franchise at the age of 24. He was recently the marketing Co-Op President of all 113 McDonald's restaurants in San Diego County. He is a former member of the Regional Leadership Committee, the state Political Action Committee and the Division Technology Team.
In addition to Project M Worldwide, L.P., Mr. Palumbo owns a Mexican craft beer brand, Manos de Calaca (MDC), which he imports and sells domestically across California and sells in Mexico.
Mr. Palumbo is also the Co-founder and owner of BODYROK, a boutique, franchised fitness concept based out of San Francisco, California that offers a hybrid form of Pilates, with studios in California, New York, Illinois, and additional studios coming soon to Europe and the Netherlands. The workout is done on a proprietary machine, similar to a reformer, that is designed, developed and made exclusively by BODYROK.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Phil attended the University of San Diego and San Diego State University studying Psychology and Political Science.
Mr. Palumbo is currently an active member of both the Napa Valley Reserve and the San Diego Chapter of the Young President's Organization (YPO).
Brian is a highly-capable, disciplined and accomplished senior business leader. Mr. Pierson possesses a honed ability to build and manage high-performing teams and has a diverse set of technical capabilities that have been refined during his private-sector career, service in the armed forces and formal education.
Most recently, Mr. Pierson was the VP and General Manager of the MRO and Government Business Groups for Erickson Incorporated, a $300M aviation services business. Prior to Erickson, Brian was the Chief Operating Officer at HireRight, a $350M SaaS-based business and the largest, privately-held employment background screener in the country. Before joining HireRight, Mr. Pierson was the Senior VP of Operations for FEI Company, a $500M leading manufacturer of electron microscopes. Brian’s private-sector career began at Applied Materials, where he spent 12 years rising through the ranks to become a senior executive and lead the manufacturing of capital semiconductor equipment, a $10 billion business for Applied Materials.
In addition to Mr. Pierson’s private-sector experience, he also served in the United States Army for 11 years, achieving the rank of major in the Corps of Engineers.
During each step of his career, Brian has demonstrated his ability to bring world-class teams together to accomplish challenging tasks, build businesses and create value.
Brian received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Master of Science degree in Applied Mathematics and Operations Research from the Naval Post Graduate School, and as an executive Mr. Pierson also completed a course on Finance and Accounting for Non-financial Executives at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Jorge is the President and Founder of Sorokin & Associates, an international business management and manufacturing consulting firm, whose past and present clients include Big Four accounting firms, renowned investment banks, international management consultancy firms, Fortune 500 executives and private equity firms. Jorge and his team at Sorokin & Associates have improved the bottom line for more than 50 companies in the following industry segments: consumer goods, ophthalmic, biotech, pharmaceutical, medical devices, furniture, office products, textile & apparel, polymers, food and beverage, telecommunications, automotive, and construction.
As a General Electric-trained operations executive, Mr. Sorokin is experienced in assessments, performance improvement, operational turnarounds, change and crisis management, supply chain, and Lean/Six Sigma implementations in both mid-sized and small organizations, worldwide.
Prior to founding Sorokin & Associates, Jorge led the operational turnaround and sale of American Optical, a manufacturer and distributor of ophthalmic glass and plastic lenses, to an international strategic buyer, Sola International (subsequently acquired by Carl Zeiss in 2005). Additionally, Jorge has been a member of the executive team at several start-up companies, acting as Vice President of Finance and Operations.
Originally from Mexico City, Mr. Sorokin is fluent in English, Spanish and Hebrew, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering, both from the University of Texas at Austin.
Jorge has been a member of the San Diego Chapter of ACG, the Institute of the Americas, and the Board of Trustees for Temple Solel, Encinitas, CA.
1090 Center Drive
Park City, UT 84098
29222 Rancho Viejo Road, Suite 122B
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
760.309.9436
