Committee

Sloan is VP at Kanbrick, is a long‐term investment partnership that buys, builds, and grows great businesses for the long‐term. Sloan is located in Nashville and spent the previous 13 years of her career with Bank of America in various roles between Nashville and Charlotte. Most recently, Sloan was an SVP, Private Client Advisor with BofA’s Private Bank working with high-net-worth families and individuals, and prior to that worked in the Global Commercial Bank serving upper middle market companies between $50M to $2B in sales.

In leading Kanbrick Community efforts, Sloan focuses on building and growing Kanbrick's network of founders/CEOs/owners and bringing thoughtful content, programming, and opportunities for the Community to engage and connect. Sloan also leads business development for Kanbrick working closely with partners equally focused on helping CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders grow and build businesses for the long term.

Tyson Bickley counsels private equity firms and strategic partners in healthcare, manufacturing, distribution, business services, technology and other industries in a wide range of mergers, acquisitions, strategic corporate transactions and alternative business arrangements. Mr. Bickley's transactional experience includes the representation of publicly traded companies as well as private equity firms and their portfolio companies in complex mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and dispositions. Mr. Bickley also assists a variety of investors in growth equity and alternative investments in new and emerging companies.

Previously, Mr. Bickley served as Chief Development Officer at Contessa Health where he led successful development efforts for joint ventures with health systems and health plans to participate in bundled payment programs for home hospitalization and other patient-centered home-based care models.

Milt Capps covers business, capital formation, innovation, tech transfer, economic development and associated DEI/Equity issues via Venture Nashville, founded 2008. Earlier, he held journalistic, public affairs and other roles with Mergermarket, Vanderbilt University, United Press International, Charleston Evening Post, Manning Selvage & Lee, U.S. Air Force (Vietnam), and others.

Chris Cochran is the co-founder and CEO of FreightWise, marking his second successful company founded in the application tech space. FrieghtWise is highly regarded as a Nashville organic growth story and just finished the acquisition of Kuebix from Trimble (Nasdaq: TRMB). Chris expertly navigates the logistics and technology sectors, showcasing a stellar track record of success in shaping and leading innovative companies. He is an active alumnus of Vanderbilt's Owen School of Management and the Financial Chair of the Nashville Tech Council.

Matt Craine is a Principal at Upside Growth Partners. Founded in 2018, Upside is a private equity firm focused on building excellent business services, home services, healthcare, e-commerce, and technology companies. Previously, Matt spent eight years MSouth Equity Partners and Simpson Thacher as a principal investor and corporate lawyer.

Angela Crane-Jones CEO of NBIC excels at helping entrepreneurs accelerate the development and growth of their enterprise at the NBIC. Collectively, these client companies created 222 new jobs, generated over $70.2 million in sales, and witnessed a 48 percent total sales increase upon completion of the five year program. Angela current and/ or past clients include the owners of Slim + Husky’s, Grilled Cheeserie, Arch Angel Protective Service, Polk Construction and Landon Development.

Brian Cronin is a Principal at Brightstar. Brian helps lead Brightstar’s business development strategy.

Prior to joining Brightstar, Brian was a managing member of BPC Capital and led direct investments by family offices in operating companies. He was primarily responsible for business development and execution of value-creation plans for portfolio companies, including operational improvements and revenue growth strategies.

Previously, Brian co-founded Prosperity Construction, LLC, a civil site work construction company, in 2009. In 2018, Brian merged the company into a premier general construction company headquartered in the Southeast, active in 13 states.

Brian began his career as an analyst at SPB Partners in Las Vegas, a multi-family office, where he assisted with growth capital, restructuring, and management reorganization.

Brian has been a Young Presidents Organization (YPO) member since 2020, he currently serves as Education Chair for the Tennessee Southern Seven Chapter. Brian received his MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and his B.A. in History from Brigham Young University. He won a basketball gold medal in the 2009 Summer Deaflympics in Taiwan as a member of Team USA.

A serial entrepreneur, Silas Deane is currently serving as General Manager at Tyler Technologies, which recently acquired his start-up VendEngine. Silas has experience in technology, healthcare, government relations and communications -- and a passion for finding solutions to complex problems and creating/executing sustainable business models from them. Silas previously worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Evan Duby is the Founder and Managing Partner of GoEx Venture Capital, a Nashville-based $5MM pre-seedventure fund focused on backing US-based consumerproptech startups. Leveraging deep industry expertise and a proven track record, Evan has built GoEx to support the next wave of innovative companies that will shape the future of homeownership.

Managing partner of a growth capital investment firm focusing on the beverage industry. Nashville Native, Belmont undergraduate and obtaining his MBA from Lipscomb University, Garrett has deep roots to Nashville. His experience includes debt financing, M&A transactions, and investment podcast co-host called The Cap Table.

Chris Ferrell is the co-founder and CEO of Endeavor Business Media, one of the largest B2B media and marketing firms in the United States. Endeavor built market leading audiences through a series of 26 transactions during the last seven years. Today the company operates 98 media brands and more than 50 conferences and trade shows. Endeavor Business Intelligence, the company's market research firm conducts research for some of the leading companies in the US. Previously Ferrell was the CEO of SouthComm, a local niche media publishing company.

Shan Foster is a dynamic and influential leader, widely recognized for his transformative work in fostering healthy solutions to diversity issues. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Fostering Healthy Solutions, LLC, he spearheads initiatives that tackle diversity challenges through education, training, and execution. Shan's multifaceted experience spans various sectors, including entertainment, financial services, technology, media, environmental services, and law enforcement.

Mr. Gibbs is a Managing Partner at Altitude Ventures.  Prior to this role, he identified and managed early-stage equity investments at Clayton Associates.  Mr. Gibbs serves on numerous for-profit and not-for-profit boards.  Before joining Clayton Associates, he served as an aide to President George W. Bush at The White House. Mr. Gibbs recently received the Governor Winfield Dunn Award for philanthropic leadership.  He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University.

Jessica Ginsberg is a Managing Director at LFM Capital, a manufacturing-focused lower middle market private equity firm based in Nashville, where she leads business development, including deal sourcing and firm marketing efforts. Prior to joining LFM, Jessica held various roles in private equity, banking and investment management. Jessica graduated from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business with a BSBA in Finance and Accounting.

Paul Goldman is the Founder and CEO of Muserk, a Nashville-based music administration platform that ensures global royalty accuracy for music rights holders. A four-time Inc. 5000 honoree, he is also the founder of Blue Matter, Muserk's patented AI technology that powers precise, scalable rights management and royalty collection. With over 30 years in the industry, Paul is dedicated to innovating solutions that meet the evolving needs of music and media.

Bob’s practice focuses on commercial finance transactions, representing both borrowers and lenders in a variety of industry sectors, including without limitation commercial real estate, healthcare, and employee stock ownership plans. In connection with the foregoing, Bob has extensive experience with syndications and participations, private equity acquisitions, and mezzanine loans and other subordinate debt vehicles. Though his practice focuses primarily on front-end commercial finance transactions, Bob also has extensive pre-bankruptcy special asset experience.

Chaitanya, a tech innovator and entrepreneur, thrives in AI and spatial computing. From early Oculus VR contributions to selling assets to Unity Technologies pre-NYSE debut, he's scaled ventures. He serves as a G20 Summit US senator with Discovery Channel features, and Voted as Top 25 people in Tech by Entrepreneur Magazine.

Blake Hogan previously served as a Marine Officer and now the CEO of Bunker Labs, a national nonprofit organization, helping veterans and military spouses start and grow businesses. Hogan oversees the strategic vision, operations, and partnerships of 40 chapters across the country, serving more than 4,000 veteran entrepreneurs annually. He has two exits under his belt and is personally looking to acquire small businesses in TN.

Grant Jackson joined Council Capital is 2009 and is the first Managing Partner. He is focused entirely on private equity investing in the healthcare services and healthcare IT sectors since 2001. Prior to joining Council, Grant worked with The Aurora Funds and First Analysis Corporation. Grant is currently on the board of OccMD/AMC, Advanced Care Partners, Alivia Analytics and Inner Circle Autism Network.

M. Eric Johnson is the Bruce D. Henderson Professor at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. His teaching and research focus on digital strategies and the impact of information technology on the extended enterprise. In addition to his academic research, Johnson has consulted with global companies such as Accenture, Hewlett-Packard, Nike, Oracle, and Philips Healthcare.

Lee is managing partner of Smart Business Network Inc., a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Aspire deal-making conference throughout the U.S. He plays a key role in establishing corporate policies and developing long-term strategy and growth plans. Previously, he founded and chaired the Growth Group at national law firm Arter & Hadden LLP (now Tucker, Ellis & West), which focused on working with middle-market and high-growth technology companies. 

A seasoned corporate attorney with more than 30 years of experience, Howard Lamar helps clients navigate significant corporate events, including mergers and acquisitions, various types of corporate finance transactions and corporate governance issues, including challenges from activist shareholders. He works with boards of directors, senior management of public and private companies, entrepreneurs, family offices, and early-stage growth companies.

Howard’s practice includes:

Corporate Governance – Counseling companies on a variety of corporate and securities matters, including boards of directors on governance, public company disclosure matters, strategic analysis, special committees and activist shareholders.
Mergers & Acquisitions – Advising on equity and asset acquisitions, mergers and other business combinations, including transactions involving publicly traded companies, restructuring transactions, workout transactions involving financially distressed or bankrupt providers, and sell-side dispositions of businesses and carveouts.
Corporate Finance – Assisting issuers and underwriters in debt and equity transactions, including initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, and Rule 144A and institutional private placements.
Prior to attending law school, Howard spent three years with Bank of America (formerly, and during the time he was there, NCNB) where he was a corporate lending officer in NCNB’s Corporate and International Banking Group.

Wanda Lyle is recently retired President of UBS Business Solutions US, the corporate service company for UBS Americas Wealth Management, Investment Banking and Asset Management businesses. She also served as the Managing Director and the General Manager of the UBS Business Solutions Center in Nashville, Tennessee. She was responsible for overseeing the Service Company and Business Solution Center's operating model and associated service delivery. She led and managed oversight for functions including Information Technology, Operations, Human Resources, Finance, Legal and Risk.

High energy entrepreneur and executive with over 10 years’ experience and professional success in software product design and development; architecture and construction; brand building and project management; entrepreneurial mentoring; public speaking; marketing and sales; team building and administrative management skills; and enterprise growth.

Nico Marin leads development and investment strategies for Sorelle Capital and Sorelle Hospitality. Focused on the nexus of hospitality and real estate, Sorelle partners with developers and operating businesses to drive growth in both real estate assets and consumer-facing brands. Based in Nashville and Las Vegas, Sorelle targets high-potential opportunities in the F&B, hotel, CPG, sports-related assets, and mixed-use developments as Co-GPs.

Rick is the Chief Revenue Officer for Corner to Corner. He is responsible for overseeing and optimizing all revenue-generating activities within Corner to Corner. Rick has over 20 years of corporate experience in operations, logistics, supply chain management and non-profit management including transportation and leading nonprofit activities across multiple countries.

He has expertise in global transportation networks across multiple countries as he has led the rollout of networks in the U.S., Philippines, U.K., and Japan.

Rick has been involved in education in Middle Tennessee through his nonprofit leadership by giving his time to education related organizations through his board service.

Bill McCleskey serves as Founder and CEO at Mitech Partners, LLC - a tech company based in Nashville, Tennessee that helps IT Consultants and Tech Sales Professionals earn money on business telecom/cable services like internet, phone and TV service by providing a white label platform to sell these services to end users.

Under Bill's leadership in year one, Mitech Partners attracted over 300 clients like Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Suites, NES, Oregon Army National Guard and Goodwill of Alabama. Recently, Mitech made it’s first acquisition of a prominent IT company to expand it’s brand and services in Georgia.

Meet Danielle McGee Gibson, a distinguished small business advocate, entrepreneur and professor. Formerly a healthcare executive specializing in provider contracting for Medicare and Medicaid managed care, Danielle transitioned to full-time entrepreneurship. Renowned for founding Black Business Boom, she empowers Black-owned businesses through training and mentorship.

With an MBA and over 15 years of experience, Danielle has earned awards for entrepreneurship, leadership and social media influence. Her visionary leadership extends to Boomin University and Black Owned Nashville, demonstrating her commitment to fostering business growth.

As a certified digital marketer, Danielle's workshops and coaching sessions empower entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses.

Born and raised in Nashville, TN, Andy has been in the insurance industry since 2017 and is responsible for Property & Casualty Due Diligence and Advisory Work. His experience includes helping businesses identify and mitigate specific exposures, improve existing policies and procedures, and work to reduce their total cost of risk. Clients and areas of expertise include businesses in Private Equity, Healthcare, Real Estate, and Manufacturing. Additionally, Andy specializes in supporting his clients by leveraging HUB’s Group Benefits Department and Private Client Unit. He holds a degree in Risk & Management and Insurance from the University of Georgia and is both a Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS) and a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC).

Andy attended the University of Georgia and received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a major in Risk Management & Insurance. He was a member of the UGA Insurance Society, as well as the UGA Professional Entertainment & Sports Association. Currently, he is involved with the Montgomery Bell Academy Young Alumni Board as well as the Nashville Downtown Partnership

Chris is a Partner at Shore Capital, a microcap private equity firm focused on partnering with companies that have between $1-10 million of EBITDA. Chris is responsible for sourcing, evaluating and enabling the growth of Shore healthcare investments. Chris is a Director for SENTA, Assembly Health, OMS360, Triumph, Great Lakes Dental Partners, Southern Orthodontic Partners, Empower Aesthetics and PartnerCare. He is a past Director of EyeSouth Partners.

Chris received a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University and an M.B.A., with distinction, from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Michael Nolan is the Development Director – Private Equity and Quality of Sales at Sales Xceleration. He is responsible for building relationships with private equity sponsors and helping their portfolio companies grow their topline performance to build value creation and accelerate performance. Michael and his team leverage a collective of 110 sales leaders with portfolio company experience to help their companies grow 32% in year 1, resulting in $1.7B in revenue growth. Their focus is to drive significant growth through strategy formulation, process development, and effective execution in pre-acquisition due diligence, value acceleration during the hold period, and value maximization to support successful exits.

Carter joined Petra in 2020 as Director of Business Development and focuses on growing the firm’s pipeline of investment opportunities. He is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with intermediaries, co-investing partners, business owners, and other sources of deal flow.

Prior to joining Petra, Carter was with Gemini Investors, a lower middle market private equity firm based in Wellesley, MA. During his tenure, Carter was responsible for deal origination, interacting closely with investment bankers and business brokers, and was exposed to investment opportunities spanning a variety of industries. Carter began his career in sales at Oracle.

Tatjana is an M&A partner at Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC and focuses on middle market acquisition and disposition transactions across a range of industries including healthcare, manufacturing, food and beverage, and technology. To date, Tatjana has advised clients in M&A transactions valued at over $20 billion in the aggregate. She is a frequent speaker on M&A topics and serves as a Chair of the American Bar Association’s “Private Target Deal Points Study,” which has been widely recognized as the gold standard for market metrics of key negotiated legal issues in M&A agreements.

Tom Peterson, Chief Marketing Officer with Chief Outsiders, specializes in pairing CEOs with fractional marketing and sales leaders to drive growth. Backed by 125+ seasoned executives with expertise across 70 industries, Chief Outsiders integrates seamlessly into leadership teams, delivering impactful results. Recognized by Inc. Magazine as a top firm, we help mid-sized companies accelerate growth through strategic, flexible engagements.

Suzanne has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services, professional services, and payments industry.

Suzanne is a marketing strategist leader with a proven track record of enhancing brand equity, revenue and market share. She champions growth by using an integrated approach to marketing and sales that produces profitable results. An innovative entrepreneur, Suzanne has created new lines of business, new processes, groundbreaking policies and procedures for profit as well as not for profit organizations. Inquisitive from birth, she believes in challenging herself and those around her and continually striving to be better.

Suzanne’s career started in financial services with a large regional bank in their management training program where she was exposed to the financial services world. Over her career, she has worked for many widely known firms both in Nashville and nationally such as AIG, Deutsche Bank, and Regions. She has been exposed to all sides of professional services through her career in managing client service teams, providing internal consulting and building teams to drive aggressive growth through mergers, acquisitions and organic client acquisition.

Drew Rodgers is a Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking at First Horizon Bank in Nashville, TN. Drew joined First Horizon (formerly known as First Tennessee Bank) as a Commercial Relationship Manager in April of 2010 and currently serves as a Team Leader in the Commercial Banking Department, serving companies in the Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky area with annual revenue greater than $30,000,000.

Drew’s 21 year banking career has been focused on managing relationships with middle market businesses with complex credit and depository needs, including sponsor owned and rapidly growing businesses, and now leads a team of 4 of the best Commercial bankers in the Southeast.

Prior to beginning a career in banking, Drew attended Millsaps College in Jackson, MS where he earned his Masters of Business Administration (Concentration in Management) and received his undergraduate degree from Auburn University with a B.S.B.A in Management Information Systems.

Matthew began his professional life in the music industry in 2018, after graduation from Northern Arizona University. Over the past 6 years Matthew has successfully founded and scaled 3 different products under his holding company, Affinity Entertainment inc - JamJuice Inc, After Dark LLC, and Affinity Presents. Matthew's mission is to revolutionize the music industry through tech-based solutions and build a better tmrw for all of those who enjoy music.

Mr. Rousos is currently a founder of The Innovation Studio, a venture studio that starts, scales, and sells startup companies. Prior to that, he was the Director, Economic and New Venture Development, in the Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization. That group launches and supports new companies in which Vanderbilt holds equity resulting from a license or a direct investment.

Mr. Rousos is also an investor, an entrepreneur, and has served on a number of for-profit, non-profit, and trade association boards of directors.

Prior to that, Mr. Rousos served in senior level business and legal positions with large companies and startups and practiced law. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

James is passionate about a proactive, patient-centered approach to managing population health. With an entrepreneurial spirit and nearly 15 years of experience in the employee benefits industry, he is committed to significantly altering the future cost of healthcare. James’ leadership at Wellview is the culmination of his passion for helping patients better understand the clinical and financial value of preventive care and his track record of growing businesses successfully and strategically. In serving as CEO, James ensures execution of the company’s vision to provide innovative well-being solutions in a convenient and consumer-friendly way. Whether it’s our team or a client’s entire member population, James seeks to inspire and impact those around him. With this goal in mind, he believes that we all desire to impact others’ lives and to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Shalin Tejani, co-founder and CEO of Legacy Dental Group (LDG), is revolutionizing dentistry in East Tennessee. He focuses on doctor support, staff culture, patient care and has ambitiously grown LDG by acquiring six practices in four years, with another under contract. A serial entrepreneur, Shalin's background includes over $1.5 billion in commercial real estate financing, managing a significant e-commerce retailer, and co-founding a hospitality equity fund. He is passionate about building relationships and fostering growth. Shalin, married to Niti Tejani, enjoys family life with their three children in Chattanooga, TN.

Jeff Woody is an Executive Director and Market Team Lead in the Nashville office of J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Jeff directs a talented group of Bankers in providing sophisticated wealth management strategies to Tennessee’s most successful C-suite executives, entrepreneurs, business owners, families and institutions. His focus is on scaling the resources of an industry leader to a local level so that clients may fulfill their purposes and leave legacies for the next generation.

Jeff takes a partnership approach, and works diligently to deliver a boutique, customized feel across the balance sheet—banking, investing, borrowing, planning, cash management and other critical elements of wealth. He serves as a conduit to the intellectual strength of J.P. Morgan, removing obstacles and navigating the expanse of the firm to the Commercial Bank and additional lines of business. Jeff leads with a servant’s heart and shines a spotlight on his team, facilitating success for advisors and clients. His fierce loyalty to individuals, business leaders and the firm makes him an outstanding role model as the face of J.P. Morgan in the community.

Throughout his three-decade career, Jeff has become highly adept at anticipating change and navigating economic cycles. He began at Edward Jones and J.C. Bradford & Company before spending nearly 25 years at UBS Financial Services. In that time, Jeff rose from a Financial Advisor role to a Market Director responsible for leading client engagement in Middle Tennessee and Alabama. Now at J.P. Morgan, he is excited to be anchored in Nashville, playing a pivotal role in expanding the firm’s presence and name recognition.

Jeff earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Birmingham-Southern College while playing varsity basketball. He has been blessed with great mentors throughout his life, and has molded his leadership philosophy from the lessons he gleaned from their examples.

Nashville holds a special place in Jeff’s heart, and he loves to spend quality time with his wife, his family and their friends, exploring all the area has to offer.

Zap is on a mission to build the Nashville startup ecosystem. She educates local founders at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center about capital and capital raising. She is an angel investor and advisors to several tech startups and a supporter of dozens more.