The team at Taro Capital Partners brings together successful CEOs, entrepreneurs, operators, and investors. Our experience leading and growing small businesses will ensure your company is in the right hands.
Matthew Walsh – Founder
Taro Capital Partners’ Principal, Matthew Walsh, possesses a multidisciplinary background of personal and professional experience that will make him a highly qualified small business operator. Raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Matthew’s first work experience began at the age of fourteen in his family’s small business, where his mother and father continue to design and fabricate custom exhibits for museums and universities after more than 45 years. For the past two decades, Matthew has worked in virtually every role at the company in part-time and full-time positions, from carpenter and welder to CNC-router operator, as well as client facing front-office roles in sales and business development.
Matthew attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was a Division 1 ice hockey player and Honor’s Graduate. Commissioned as an infantry officer in the United States Army, he served meritoriously for six years before exiting as a Ranger-qualified Infantry Captain. During his service, Matthew was responsible for leading infantry units ranging from a 46-soldier platoon to a 200-soldier headquarters company. His last assignment was with Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), where he deployed to the Middle East with the nation’s most elite Special Mission Units to destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Additional deployments included Thailand, Philippines, and South Korea.
Upon completing his military service, Matthew directed the winning political campaign of Massachusetts State Senator John Cronin, a first-time candidate and fellow West Point alumnus and combat veteran. As the campaign manager, he successfully built a cohesive team of over 100 members in under six months, and managed the daily operations of the candidate, full-time staff, interns, advisors, community leaders, and grassroots volunteers.
Most recently, Matthew worked as a summer associate with Riviera Capital Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm focused on search fund investments. During his tenure with Riviera, Matthew was able to immerse himself in the search fund model with an experienced investment team. Working alongside General Partner and mentor Adam Borcz, Matthew assisted with investment due diligence, financial modeling, and in-depth industry analyses.
Matthew graduated from The Wharton School of Business, where he earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance. While attending Wharton, Matthew received the Perlman Fellowship, awarded to second year students pursuing entrepreneurship immediately after graduation.
Investing Partners
-
Mr. Borcz is a General Partner at Riviera Capital. Prior to joining Riviera Capital, he completed his own self-funded search where he successfully acquired Delta Group Holdings, Inc. (“Delta”), owner of one of the largest commercial furniture installation companies in the mid-Atlantic region. Under his leadership as President/CEO, Delta has grown EBITDA over 80% and returned over 10x his initial investment. He remains the Chairman of Delta.
Previously, Mr. Borcz worked in a variety of roles at Severn Partners, a Private Equity firm focused on distressed acquisitions. He then worked as an Operating Partner on several transactions including the turnaround and leading the ERP transition of the sports apparel company Fanzz, based in Salt Lake City.
Prior to this, Mr. Borcz worked for the publicly traded energy company, United States Enrichment Corporation (NYSE: LEU), the United States’ sole uranium enrichment company providing nuclear fuel to commercial power plants. Before that, he served for seven years as a Nuclear Submarine Officer, which included deployments to the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Mr. Borcz earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated with Merit, and was also a Division I Lacrosse player and 2x All American. Additionally, he earned his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and a Master’s of Science in Engineering from the Catholic University of America.
He is very active with various Naval Academy boards and programs including the Board of Trustees for the Naval Academy Foundation, Athletic & Scholarship Program, a Member of Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District Service Academy Nomination Panel, and co-Founder of the Naval Academy Lacrosse Brotherhood.
-
Andrew is a Principal at Riviera Capital. Prior to joining Riviera Capital, he developed and led the healthcare investment vertical at the private equity arm of a US-based single-family office. In that role, Andrew identified over $250 million of proprietary investment opportunities, recruited world-class directors and operating partners, and oversaw the transaction process of multiple platform companies.
Previously, Andrew worked as an M&A advisor at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he executed financial and operational due diligence for private equity and corporate clients from both buy-side and sell-side perspectives. He organized cross-functional diligence workstreams and regularly led meetings with target company executives to form an opinion on company performance that influenced his clients’ analyses and negotiations. Andrew began his career in public accounting at Deloitte, at which he audited the alternative investment portfolios of publicly traded companies in the insurance industry.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, a Master of Science in Accountancy from Wake Forest University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. At Harvard, he was an active member of the Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA) club and helped plan the HBS ETA annual conferences.
-
Aaron works in Trilogy’s office in Bellevue, Washington. He serves on the boards of Fraxion Software, Facilities Survey (FSI), Risk Mitigation Consulting (RMC), Clariti Software, Icon, Gastro Centers of Maryland, and Ennoble Care, and previously served on the board of Crown Health. Prior to Trilogy, Aaron was a product manager at Amazon, a consultant with McKinsey & Co., and an Army infantry officer. Aaron earned a BA from Whitman College, a JD from the University of Washington School of Law, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Palmer Scholar.
-
Scott is based out of Trilogy’s office in Bellevue, Washington. He serves on the boards of Cerbo, Dragonfly Pond Works, EMT/STAT Analysis, and Radiation Detection Company, and he is a board observer for Castle Tire and DriveSafe. His previous board roles include Botanical Designs and Market Equipment. Previously, Scott was on the investing team of Trilogy Equity Partners, where he invested in early-stage software and telecom companies. Prior to Trilogy, Scott spent 11 years at Western Wireless Corporation in various roles, including Chief Financial Officer of Western Wireless International, which operated mobile networks in eleven countries.
Scott graduated from Whitman College and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. Scott is a native of Washington State and spends his free time fly fishing, hiking and enjoying the outdoors with his family.
-
Mitch is based out of Trilogy’s Bay Area office. He serves on the boards of Canyonlands Camps, Dynamic Growth Dental, and Falcon Critical Care Transport, and he is a board observer for BEX and Performio. Previously, he served on the board of Morningside Translations. From 1989 until 2008, Mitch was a Managing Director of Hellman & Friedman, the global private equity firm. In his role at H&F, he sourced new investments and oversaw portfolio companies, while sitting on numerous company boards. In addition, he oversaw the firm’s fundraising and client relations. Mitch worked closely with other Trilogy partners while representing H&F on the boards of Western Wireless and VoiceStream. Prior to Hellman & Friedman, Mitch was an Associate at Shearson Lehman Hutton. He graduated from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.After his retirement from H&F and before co-founding TSP, Mitch managed his family office, investing in a range of private companies, as well as being involved in many philanthropic activities. Some of his current roles include Chair of the Board of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company; Board Member and Chair of the Investment Committee for the Marin Community Foundation; Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco; and Board Member of Positive Coaching Alliance. Mitch lives in Marin County, California, enjoying the sunny California weather to hike, play golf, and drink wine (not always in that order).
-
Max is a Partner at Peterson Partners. Prior to joining Peterson Partners, Max worked as Chief of Staff at Flow Commerce. Prior to joining Flow, Max was the General Manager of China at The Aromatherapy Company, a New Zealand home goods company, based in Shanghai. Max began his career with The Royal Bank of Scotland in the International Banking division. Max received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. from Babson College.
-
Dan is a Partner at Peterson Partners. Prior to joining Peterson Partners, Dan was an Associate in the Transaction Services group of PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York. Dan received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. from Brigham Young University.
-
Kate is a Vice President at Peterson Partners. Prior to joining Peterson Partners, Kate worked as Financial Sponsor Coverage Officer at Ziegler, a specialty investment bank. Prior to joining Ziegler, Kate served as a Senior Associate at Lumere. Kate began her career at Raymond James in the Health Care Investment Banking division. Kate received a BSBA in Finance with a minor in Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis.
-
Shaun Rader joined M2O in 2019. He sources and executes new investments and collaborates with portfolio company management teams. Shaun serves on the boards of five search fund companies (Helpside, P&S Machining, Swoogo, AppWrap, and Nirvana UW). Prior to joining M2O, Shaun was a Managing Director at Sagard, an alternative asset management division of Power Corporation of Canada. At Sagard, Shaun screened, researched, and managed investments totaling $250 million of invested capital across 12 companies, primarily in the business services sector. In between stints at Sagard, Shaun served as a Partner in a related family office where he led an investment in a national network of veterinary practices and spent two years as CFO and board member of the company, now branded Lakefield Veterinary. Shaun started his career at Bain & Company where he advised private equity and corporate clients on investment decisions and growth strategy. Shaun earned a B.A. with distinction from the University of Virginia and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a Palmer Scholar.
-
Michael-Kevin (M-K) O’Connell joined M2O in 2009. He is responsible for sourcing and reviewing new investment opportunities as well as monitoring the performance of portfolio companies. M-K currently serves on the board of four search fund companies (Apex, Origo Commodities Management, ListEngage, and Veri-Tax) and two venture businesses (Camio and Recurve). M-K also promotes the traditional partnership approach to search fund investing through his work on the board of the Search Fund Alliance.
-
Nicholas (Nick) Qiu joined M2O in 2022. He works closely with search fund entrepreneurs throughout their search, acquisition, and operating phases.
Prior to joining M2O, Nick was a consultant at Bain & Company where he advised private equity and corporate clients on investment decisions, due diligence, and growth strategy. Nick started his career as an Army officer.
Nick received a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
-
Lacey Wismer is the founder and Managing Partner of Hunter Search Capital. Previously, Lacey spent ten years managing private equity investments with an emphasis on search funds for Hunter Trust, during which time she made over 50 investments in the search fund space. Lacey is a Co-Founder of Women’s Search Network, a group formed to encourage more women to consider entrepreneurship through acquisition as a viable career path and to support female searchers and CEOs achieve the highest levels of success.
Prior to joining Hunter Trust in 2009, Lacey was a healthcare investment banker at Deutsche Bank with an emphasis on M&A in healthcare services. She was also a consultant for the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB). Before attending business school, Lacey worked in corporate sales and athlete management for a sports management firm.
Lacey received a B.A. with Honors from the University of Colorado in 1999 and an M.B.A. from the Stanford GSB in 2004. Lacey has held various board roles for non-profits, including currently as a Private Equity Committee Member for the Stanford Business School Trust Board and an ongoing Alumni Admissions Interviewer for Stanford University. She resides with her husband and their three children in Park City, Utah.
-
Billy Bennett is a Vice President of Hunter Search Capital and is focused on helping searchers and CEOs to be successful. Previously Billy spent 8 years with McKinsey & Company, based in the firm's Denver, San Francisco, Johannesburg, & Minneapolis offices. As an Associate Partner, he was a leader in the Tech, Media, & Telecom and Marketing & Sales practices, focused on business building and top-line acceleration for tech and tech-enabled companies - from startups to scaled disruptors.
Before attending business school, Billy worked in corporate strategy and brand development for The Walt Disney Company, driving strategic growth programs across all of the company's businesses.
Billy received a B.Sc. with Honors from Indiana University in 2009 and an M.B.A. from the Stanford GSB in 2016. He resides with his wife and son in Salt Lake City, Utah.
-
Matt’s career has spanned multiple fields including technology, management consulting, family offices, and private equity. He has led many transactions, as large as $250 million, and successfully raised capital for multiple investment opportunities. Matt has actively invested in search funds and their acquisitions since 2008. Prior to ETA Equity, he was an investor in 17 search funds which returned a 38% IRR and 4.8x MOIC.
Matt has volunteered as a high school basketball coach for over 10 years and recently helped lead the Yavneh Academy of Dallas to a Texas State Basketball Championship, the first state championship ever won by a Jewish high school.
Matt is an MBA graduate in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of Business, and he holds a BBA in Management Information Systems from The University of Texas at Austin.
-
Prior to ETA Equity, Mark was CEO of Staff One HR (acquired via Mark’s search fund) where he led the company through a period of substantial growth highlighted by achieving the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for four years in a row, and culminating in Staff One HR’s sale to its largest privately-held competitor, Oasis Outsourcing, in December 2017. Mark oversaw the Western half of the country for Oasis Outsourcing until its sale to Paychex for $1.3 billion in December 2018. Prior to his leadership experience in the HR industry, Mark worked as a consultant and investment banker.
Mark has published several articles and has spoken on numerous occasions across various media outlets, including Knowledge at Wharton, Sirius XM Business Radio, Inc. Magazine, Forbes, CBS Radio, and Dallas Business Journal.
Mark is an MBA graduate of the Wharton School of Business, and holds a BA in Economics from Fordham University. He has earned the SHRM-CP designation, is a Certified Predictive Index analyst, and is a graduate of the Stagen Integral Leadership Academy. Mark has been an active member of YPO since 2014.
-
Max is a Managing Partner and Co-founder of Nyx Partners. Prior to Nyx, Max worked at Permira, a $35B+ private equity firm, concentrating on the consumer sector. Previously, Max ran business development at Grability, a grocery software company, and was an associate at Burch Creative Capital, a consumer and technology focused family office. Max graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) and the Wharton School (M.B.A.).
-
Jason is a Managing Partner and Co-founder of Nyx Partners. Prior to Nyx, Jason worked as an investment analyst at Canyon Partners, a $20B+ multi-strategy hedge fund, where he focused on debt and equity investments in the healthcare sector. Jason is also a founding member of the HYPE education junior board, as well as a member of the Milken Young Leader’s Circle and the Reverse Rett junior board. Jason graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) and the Wharton School (M.B.A.).
-
Chalise Moore is an Analyst for Peterson Partners.
-
Lewis is an Analyst at Peterson Partners. Prior to joining Peterson Partners, Lewis supported the launch of a private equity fund in Waco, Texas where he helped manage all fund activities, including investor relations, investment due diligence & execution, and fund administration. He began his career with Aether Investment Partners in Denver where he was responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and monitoring investments across eight funds. Lewis earned his B.B.A. in Finance from Texas Christian University.