Dealmakers Conversations

Franklin has led direct investments into private companies for the last 17 years, and has been in the finance industry for over 20 years. Prior to founding Essex Bay, Franklin was a Managing Director at Audax Private Equity, a leading middle market investment firm with over $9 billion of capital under management. At Audax, he led investments in the industrial, business services, healthcare and technology markets, among others, completing over 60 acquisitions. Representative investments include Aavid Thermalloy (sold to Boyd), Astrodyne TDI (sold to Tinicum), Gabriel Performance Products (sold to Huntsman), Northern Digital (sold to Roper) and Winchester Electronics (sold to Snow Phipps). In addition to leading investments for the bulk of his career at Audax, Franklin also was a member of the Business Development team, maintaining relationships with a variety of deal intermediaries.

Prior to Audax, Franklin was Interim CFO and VP of Corporate Development at Coast Crane Company, then an Audax portfolio company. Earlier, Franklin worked in investment banking in New York, London and Providence.

Jonathan Kasen is a Managing Member of Shaker Valley Capital Partners LLC (SVCP) and Co-Owner of Hilliards Chocolates. SVCP is an investment firm focused on small private middle market investments. Prior to SVCP, Jonathan was a Portfolio Manager at Fidelity Investments focused on the Energy and Industrials sectors.

Gordon Scott is Managing Member of Shaker Valley Capital Partners, LLC and Co-Owner of Hilliards Chocolates LLC. Prior to Shaker Valley, Gordon spent fifteen years with Fidelity Investments and managed approximately $10 billion of equity assets. Gordon lives in Newton, Massachusetts and hold a Bachelors and Masters degree from the University of Wisconsin.