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Stephen Davis is the Managing Partner at Banneker Partners and has been an active investor in technology companies since 2000. Prior to Banneker, Mr. Davis co-founded Vista Equity Partners, was a Vice President at Credit Suisse First Boston and practiced mergers and acquisitions and securities law in New York with Debevoise & Plimpton and Kirkland & Ellis.
Mr. Davis has sat on the boards of numerous software companies including IQMS, Genesys, and Ancestry.com, and currently sits on the board of each of Banneker’s portfolio companies. Mr. Davis is also on the Board of Trustees of Carleton College, and formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Glide Foundation and the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, California.
Mr. Davis graduated from Carleton College and has a JD and MBA from Columbia University. He and his wife Jill Cowan have three children.
Duncan Gills is a Partner at Banneker Partners and has more than a decade of experience investing in enterprise software companies across stages (venture, growth, buyout) and sectors (infrastructure, application).
Mr. Gills began his software investment career in private equity at Thoma Bravo, focused on infrastructure software. Immediately prior to joining Banneker, he spent nearly six years at Battery Ventures, partnering with founders building leading SaaS platforms in a variety of vertical markets (including healthcare). At Battery, he sat on the boards of ClearCare and Curve Dental, was a board observer of Mews, and involved in the firm's Redox and Honeybook investments.
Mr. Gills began his post-secondary education at the US Merchant Marine Academy and holds a B.S. in management from Boston College. He grew up in Boulder, CO and shares time across both office locations.
Kenneth Frank is a Partner at Banneker Partners and has spent more than 30 years in the technology industry at both large, multinational corporations and privately-backed firms. Mr. Frank most recently served as CEO of Turning Technologies. Prior to that he held multiple portfolio executive roles at Vista Equity Partners including the founding CEO of Kibo Commerce and the COO of Aptean. Mr. Frank was President, Solutions and Marketing and a member of the executive committee (reporting directly to the CEO) at Alcatel-Lucent prior to Vista. In addition, Mr. Frank is currently an Independent Board Member of American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT).
Mr. Frank's career began at AT&T Bell Laboratories as an MTS and subsequently transitioned to expanding roles at BellSouth Telecommunications and Kleiner-Perkins backed Broadband Office/Masergy. Mr. Frank holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California, an M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University and an MBA from Emory University (Beta Gamma Sigma). He resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and has two sons and a daughter.
Matt McDonald is a Partner at Banneker Partners and has spent the past decade in technology operations and investing. Previously, Mr. McDonald was a Principal of Corporate Development at Square, Inc. Prior, he spent 8 years in software-focused Private Equity, including time as a Director at CVC Capital Partners, and approximately 7 years at Vista Equity Partners in a variety of investing and operating roles, including time spent as Director of Strategy at portfolio Company, Misys. Prior to joining Vista in 2008, he spent 2005-2008 as a Product Design Engineer at Apple. He holds seven patents.
Mr. McDonald holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University and an M.S. in Engineering Management with Honors from Santa Clara University. He lives in Portland, OR with his wife and two sons, and shares time across both office locations.
Darryl Lewis is an Operating Partner at Banneker Partners, focusing on driving operational excellence and value creation. Mr. Lewis was previously the Chief Technology Officer at STATS, a Vista Equity Partners portfolio company. Prior to STATS, he was the Managing Director of Product & Technology for Vista Equity Partners, where he led technology due diligence and portfolio-wide value creation, collaborating closely with management teams to implement best practices across Vista’s entire portfolio of companies, including Websense, Tibco, Mitratech, Lanyon, DealerSocket, ACTIVE Network, Omnitracs, Newscycle (now Naviga), Aptean, Greenway, Social Solutions, and STATS.
Mr. Lewis started his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a software engineer, and spent the bulk of his career at Microsoft where he was a development lead on Excel, a program management leader on Encarta and MSN, the lead for a Microsoft cable television joint venture, and a member of the founding team for the Xbox. Mr. Lewis holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin. He resides in Seattle with his wife and three sons.
Harjot Sachdeva is an Operating Partner at Banneker Partners. Harjot focuses on operational excellence to drive value. Previously, Mr. Sachdeva was an operations executive with K1 Investment Management, where he worked on improving performance of portfolio companies through close collaboration with their management teams. Before that, he served as the Chief Customer Officer at a HCM software company – Vibe Inc. Prior, Mr. Sachdeva worked at Vista Equity Partners, where he implemented best practices at portfolio companies including Relias Learning, Lanyon, Misys, Websense and ACTIVE Network. Mr. Sachdeva honed his software operations skills while working at JDA/i2 Technologies for 16 years.
Mr. Sachdeva holds a B.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Delhi University, a M.S. in Industrial Engineering from University of Cincinnati, and an MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University. He resides in Dallas with his wife and twins.
Mark Shang is the Chief Financial Officer at Banneker Partners and is responsible for the firm's finance, accounting, compliance and administrative activities.
Mark was previously the CFO at Serent Capital, a middle market private equity firm. He was a member of the founding team and spent over eight years there overseeing finance and administrative activities, as the fund grew from 3 to 33 people and raised two funds. Immediately prior to joining Banneker, Mark led the Venture and Private Equity Group on the West Coast for Boston Private, a leading provider of wealth management, private banking and trust services.
Mark started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He was a Director in the Transaction Services Practice, leading due diligence engagements for private equity firms and strategic buyers. Prior to that he was a manager in the audit practice, focused on financial services.
Mark graduated from the University of Virginia and is a Chartered Financial Analyst and former CPA (inactive).
Terrance Bei is a Principal at Banneker Partners. At Banneker, Terrance focuses on evaluating investment opportunities and providing operational support to Banneker's portfolio companies. Previously, Terrance worked on investments in vertical software and tech-enabled services businesses at Serent Capital.
Prior to that he worked at McKinsey & Company serving global technology companies, healthcare organizations, and leading private equity firms across areas such as market due diligence, operations, growth strategy, and marketing & sales. Terrance holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Dartmouth College.
(415) 758-4682
tbei@bannekerpartners.com
Kyle Hufford is a Principal at Banneker Partners, he joined the firm in 2016. Kyle leads business development and works with founders/CEO's and intermediaries to source and evaluate new investment opportunities for the firm and for Banneker's portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Banneker, Kyle worked at Serent Capital Partners, a technology and services focused private equity firm and was previously in M&A advisory as an investment banker at Dinan & Company. Mr. Hufford has a B.S. in Business Management from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
(415) 758-4953
khufford@bannekerpartners.com
Hugh Kirkpatrick is a Principal at Banneker Partners. At Banneker, Hugh focuses on evaluating investment opportunities and providing operational support to Banneker's portfolio companies. Previously, Hugh worked at True Wind Capital and prior to that at Corinthian Capital.
During law school, Hugh was in the M&A practice at Debevoise & Plimpton, and he worked on technology policy as part of the National Economic Council at the White House. He also co-founded Smartlens, a medical technology company that developed a contact lens to diagnose and treat glaucoma. Previously, Hugh was in the Technology M&A group at Lazard Frères and in the Life Sciences practice at Charles River Associates.
Hugh graduated from Boston College, summa cum laude, with a B.S. in Management and he has a J.D. from Stanford Law School. Hugh is on the Advisory Board of the Pacific Northwest chapter of Playworks.
Erica Fischer-Colbrie is a Vice President at Banneker Partners. Erica focuses on portfolio company support, investment analysis and execution, and industry research. Erica was previously a Senior Associate at Luminate Capital Partners, where she covered horizontal and vertical enterprise software opportunities.
In addition to her time at Luminate, Erica was previously a member of the investment team at Spectrum Equity focused on B2B SaaS. She has also spent time in strategic finance roles at SMB and enterprise software companies. Erica graduated from Duke University with a B.S.E. in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Joseph Oberholtzer is a Vice President at Banneker Partners. Joseph focuses on investment analysis and execution, industry research and portfolio company support. Joseph was previously an Analyst at Vaquero Capital, an investment banking and advisory firm focused on the technology industry, where he was responsible for financial due diligence and transaction execution.
Prior to Vaquero, Joseph was a Consultant in the Corporate Finance & Restructuring practice at FTI Consulting. Joseph graduated from The University of Southern California, cum laude, with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Corporate Finance.
Athena holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler.
Lama is an Operating Director at Banneker Partners. At Banneker, Lama works with our portfolio companies to drive operational excellence, with a focus on product management.
In previous roles, Lama wore multiple functional hats, including product management, marketing, and strategy for a B2B travel technology company, product management for an e-commerce marketing technology company, and digital strategy for a container shipping company. She started her career as a management consultant, advising governmental and private entities. Lama has worked in several geographies, including the Middle East, France, and the United States.
Lama holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the American University of Beirut.
Kevin is an Associate at Banneker Partners. Based in Portland, Kevin focuses on evaluating investment opportunities and providing operational support to Banneker’s portfolio companies. Previously, Kevin interned at Vista Equity Partners as a Summer Analyst on the Private Equity team. Prior to Vista, Kevin interned at Adams Street Partners as a Summer Analyst on the Primary Investments team.
Kevin graduated from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce with a B.S. in Commerce, concentrating in finance. Kevin also holds a minor in entrepreneurship.
Ram is an Associate at Banneker Partners and is based in San Francisco. At Banneker, Ram focuses on evaluating investment opportunities and providing operational support to Banneker's portfolio companies.
Previously, Ram was an Associate at Financial Technology Partners, where he focused on M&A and capital raising for FinTech and software companies. Ram graduated from the University of Southern California, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in Business Finance from the Marshall School of Business.
Sam Bekker is an Associate at Banneker Partners. At Banneker, Sam focuses on evaluating investment opportunities and providing operational support to Banneker's portfolio companies. Previously, Sam worked in the Global Technology Investment Banking Group at Stifel.
Prior to Stifel, Sam worked at Mooreland Partners (acquired by Stifel) as an investment banking analyst. Sam holds a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics from UC Davis.
Colton Carnahan is an Associate at Banneker Partners. Colton focuses on identifying and evaluating investments, expanding Banneker’s relationship network of deal flow, and developing industry research.
Previously, Colton worked as a Junior Associate at Greater Sum Ventures, a private equity firm that invests in lower-middle market tech-enabled business service companies. Colton holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Tennessee.
Samantha is an Associate at Banneker Partners based in San Francisco. At Banneker, Samantha focuses on evaluating investment opportunities and providing operational support to Banneker’s portfolio companies. Previously, Samantha worked in middle market private equity at Audax Group.
Samantha graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Magna Cum Laude, with a B.A. in Political Science.
Paul Rudolph is an Associate at Banneker Partners. At Banneker, Paul focuses on evaluating investment opportunities and providing operational support to Banneker's portfolio companies. Previously, Paul worked in capital markets and corporate finance at SoFi.
Prior to that, Paul worked at JMP Group as an investment banking analyst in the Financial Services group. Paul holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Stanford University.
Daniel is an Associate at Banneker Partners based in Portland. At Banneker, Daniel focuses on investment analysis and execution, as well as providing operational support to Banneker’s portfolio companies. Previously, Daniel was a manager in the M&A Transaction Services practice at Deloitte where he served private equity clients in the software industry.
Prior to Deloitte, Daniel supported the development of accounting standards related to business combinations and income taxes at the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Daniel graduated from Seattle University, summa cum laude, with a B.A. Degree in Accounting and holds a Masters Degree in Assurance and Data Analytics from the University of Washington.
Zephone Lew is a Senior Analyst at Banneker Partners based in San Francisco. Zephone focuses on identifying and evaluating investment opportunities, building Banneker's network of relationships with category leaders, and developing industry research.
Previously, Zephone worked as an Analyst at K1 Investment Management. Zephone holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Chapman University.
Charlie is an Analyst at Banneker Partners. Working out of the San Francisco office, Charlie supports business development and deal sourcing activities at Banneker — engaging in research and identifying investment opportunities for the firm.
Most recently, Charlie worked in investor relations at L Capital, a technology-focused middle market private equity firm. Charlie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication and Public Affairs from Southern Methodist University.
Lilah is an Analyst at Banneker Partners based in Portland. At Banneker, Lilah focuses on evaluating investment opportunities and providing operational support to Banneker’s portfolio companies. Previously, Lilah interned in Boston at Cambridge Associates, as a Private Investment Summer Analyst in their Endowment and Foundation Practice.
Lilah recently graduated from The University of San Francisco, Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Economics, concentrating in finance. She gave the valedictorian commencement speech at the December 2022 College of Arts and Sciences ceremony.
Adrian van Schie is an advisor at Banneker Partners. Mr. van Schie was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis in New York focused on private equity transactions and a finance lawyer in the New Zealand firm of Buddle Findlay. Mr van Schie has an LLB (Hons) and BComm for the University of Otago in New Zealand and a Master of Law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Mr. van Schie sits on a number of for profit and charitable boards, including the University of Otago Alumni in America. Mr van Schie and his wife Alexandra Perce-van Schie live in New York City with their two sons.