Investment Team
Jeff Bicksler
CFO and Director
MBA Class of 2013
Prior to pursuing his MBA at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, Jeff was a Senior Associate within the Mergers and Acquisitions practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. While with PwC, he helped create and implement tax efficient structuring, strategic acquisition, and exit strategy alternatives for acquisitions, debt placements, and recapitalizations for both private equity and strategic clients. Jeff also performed due diligence for buy and sell side clients in a variety of transaction structures in the financial services, manufacturing, technology, retail, and distribution industries focusing on the tax and financial accounting implications of acquisitions, dispositions, and mergers. Jeff holds a Master of Accountancy and B.B.A. from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. He is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
Jon Cummings
Managing Director
MBA Class of 2012
Prior to pursuing his MBA at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, Jon was a Senior Development Analyst at The JBG Companies; a Washington, D.C. based Real Estate Private Equity Fund with $4.7 BN equity under management. At JBG, he was responsible for the management of mixed-use commercial real estate development projects through the phases of acquisition, design, permitting, financing, construction and disposition. Representative delivered or under-construction projects include: a 625-key dual brand Marriott hotel; two LEED Certified Class A office buildings; and a three-phase residential land development. Prior to joining the firm in 2007, Jon was a Portfolio Analyst in the Real Estate and Rediscount Commercial Lending Group at CapitalSource Finance, where he managed hard money and mezzanine credit facilities. He holds a B.A. in Government from Georgetown University and was a three-year starter for the football team. In the Summer of 2011, Jon interned at Morgan Stanley in their Real Estate Investment Banking Group in New York, and he will Westbrook Partners in New York following graduation.
John Fiscella
Managing Director
MBA Class of 2012
Prior to pursuing his MBA at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, John was an Associate within the investment banking division of Citigroup. Over the course of five years, he gained significant buyout and capital markets transaction experience having worked in both Financial Sponsors Coverage and Equity Capital Markets. John holds a B.A. from the Brown University, with a concentration in Business Economics. He also completed the General Course study abroad program at the London School of Economics. He interned this summer at PIMCO in the Account Management Group, and will return to Newport Beach to join them following graduation.
Geordy Johnson
Director
MBA Class of 2013
Prior to pursuing his MBA at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, Geordy was a Principal at Johnson Management, LLC. His responsibilities included managing portfolio companies, equity and fixed income securities, and external private equity fund investments. Prior to joining Johnson Management in 2008, he worked for the Black Creek Group in Denver, CO and Mexico City. While at Black Creek, he underwrote potential single and multi-family developments in Mexico. He assisted in raising a $400MM fund from institutional investors for residential development in Mexico. Prior to joining Black Creek, Geordy was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Industrial Growth Group at Wachovia Securities. In this role, he created valuation models, evaluated financing and acquisition opportunities, participated in raising both private and public equity, and performed market analysis. Additionally, he held an internship at Allen & Company, LLC. Geordy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English from Washington & Lee University.
Jayson Punwani
Managing Director
MBA Class of 2012
Prior to pursuing his MBA at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, Jayson was at the Office of Technology Development at UNC. There, he developed and executed commercialization and licensing strategies for new and existing life science technologies. He has over a decade of experience as a research scientist, working on problems as diverse as cardiovascular diseases and gene regulatory networks. He has authored over 10 peer-reviewed publications and was awarded an NIH post-doctoral fellowship. Jayson holds a B.S. from The College of New Jersey in Biology with a minor in Chemistry, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Utah where he was an NIH pre-doctoral research fellow. This summer, Jayson is interning with Pappas Ventures, a life science venture capital firm with more than $350 million in capital under management.
Sagar Rathie
Director
MBA Class of 2013
Prior to pursuing his MBA at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, Sagar was at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals in their Leadership Development Program. There, he developed sourcing strategies for their commercial, research & development, and manufacturing organizations. He has considerable experience evaluating small biotechnology firms for pipeline development and investment opportunities. Sagar holds a B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Biomedical Engineering, with a minor in Chemistry, and a M.S. in Engineering Management from Duke University.
Daniel Ward
CEO and Managing Director
MBA Class of 2012
Daniel is a second year student in the MBA program at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Previously, Daniel was employed at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey as an Analyst in the Corporate and Investment Banking division where he spent time in both the Financial Institutions and Diversified client coverage groups. Daniel’s previous experience includes working as a Summer Intern for McGuire Woods Capital Group in Charlotte. He earned a B.A., in Economics from Washington & Lee University. This summer, Daniel is working in the investment banking division of Banc of America Merrill Lynch in New York.
George Vincent
Director
MBA Class of 2013
Prior to pursuing his MBA at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, George was an Associate at Xander Advisors, a New Delhi based, $1.8 BN private equity fund focused on real estate development and infrastructure investments throughout India. While at Xander, George was responsible for the project management of more than 2 million square feet of development, overseeing project design, financing, permitting, and construction. Prior to his work at Xander, George was an Associate at The JBG Companies; a Washington, D.C. based Real Estate Private Equity Fund with $4.7 BN equity under management. At JBG, he was responsible for the management of several mixed-use commercial real estate development projects through all phases of the development process. He holds a B.A. in History from The University Of Maryland.
Tia Davis
Associate
Class of 2013
Tia is a junior undergraduate at The University of North Carolina, where she is studying Public Relations and pursuing the Department of Economics’ Minor in Entrepreneurship. This past year, Tia worked as a Spring Investment Banking Intern at Goldman Sachs and a Prime Brokerage Summer Analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. During her 2011 Honors Semester Abroad in South Africa, she also served as a Research Intern for the City of Cape Town’s Department of Economic Development. This summer, Tia will return to J.P. Morgan as an Investment Banking Summer Analyst at their New York office.
Kyle Fitzgerald
Associate
BSBA Class of 2012
Kyle is a senior undergraduate at The University of North Carolina, where he is studying Economics and Business Administration at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. He interned as an analyst in both the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011 providing deal sourcing support at White Oak Partners in Raleigh. Kyle interned in the investment banking and capital markets division of Wells Fargo Securities during the summer and will join the financial sponsors group at Wells Fargo Securities in New York following graduation.
Lee Goehring
Associate
BSBA Class of 2013
Lee is a junior undergraduate at the University of North Carolina, where he is a Chancellor’s Carolina Scholar. Lee is studying Business Administration at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, and will graduate with concentrations in Corporate Finance and Entrepreneurship. This past summer, Lee interned with Knight Capital Group out of their London office. Lee is the Chief Executive Officer of the Carolina Challenge, the University’s premiere, student- run venture capital competition. He also has a background in community service, having founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization aimed at rebuilding after-school facilities and improving computer literacy in underprivileged communities.
Russell Martin
Associate
Class of 2012
Russell is a senior undergraduate at The University of North Carolina, where he is studying Economics and Philosophy. He interned as a Summer Analyst in the Securities division at Goldman Sachs in New York during the summer of 2010, where he rotated on the Municipal Trading, Cross Asset Sales and Prime Brokerage desks. Russell returned to Goldman Sachs for a second internship in 2011, where he rotated on the FX, Commodities, and Rates desks. Russell accepted an offer on the Commodities trading desk (J.Aron), and he will be joining their New York office following graduation.
Gregor MacLennan
Associate
Business Minor, Class of 2012
Gregor is a senior undergraduate at The University of North Carolina, where he is a British Morehead-Cain Scholar. He is a Political Science major and he is also pursuing minors in Latin and Business Administration at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. During the summer of 2010, Gregor interned with Nomura Asset Management in Singapore. During the Fall of 2010, he studied abroad at the University of Hong Kong. This summer, Gregor interned in the Real Estate and Lodging Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York City. He will start full-time within the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley in New York.
Jordan Meer
Associate
BSBA Class of 2013
Jordan is a junior undergraduate at the University of North Carolina, where he is a Morehead-Cain Scholar. Jordan is studying Business Administration at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, and he will graduate with dual concentrations in Investing and Corporate Finance. This past summer, Jordan worked at Fox Point Capital Management, a Tiger Cub long/short equity hedge fund headquartered in New York City. Prior to this summer, Jordan was a summer intern for both the Robin Hood Foundation and Trinity Wall Street in Manhattan. Jordan has a background in technology, entrepreneurship, and investing, having founded a technology start-up and managed a personal hedged investment portfolio.
Matt Miller
Associate
Business Minor, Class of 2012
Matt is a senior undergraduate at The University of North Carolina, where he is studying Economics and Chinese with a minor in Business Administration at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. As a Morehead-Cain Scholar, Matt spent eight weeks teaching English as Huaguang Girls’ School in Nanning, China during Summer 2009. During the summers of 2010 and 2011, Matt interned at Goldman Sachs (New York) in the Sales & Trading rotational program, and he has accepted an offer to join the Principal Funding & Investments desk in their Securities Division following graduation.
