Mr. Berenson co-founded Berenson Minella & Company in 1990, the predecessor firm to Berenson. Prior to founding Berenson, Mr. Berenson was, among other things, the head of Merrill Lynch’s M&A Group and co-founder and co-head of its Merchant Banking Group. Mr. Berenson joined White Weld & Co. in 1972, moving to the M&A Department of Merrill Lynch following its acquisition of White Weld in 1978.
Mr. Berenson served as a director of Epoch (NASDAQ: EPHC) from 2004 until its sale to TD Bank Group in 2013, Noble Energy (Nasdaq: NBL) from 2005 until its sale to Chevron (NYSE: CVX) in 2020, Patina Oil and Gas Corp from 2002 until its sale to Noble Energy (NASDAQ: NBL) in 2005. Mr. Berenson graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from Princeton University.
Mr. Ansari has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our inception in June 2021 and as our director since September 2021. Mr. Ansari is the President and Senior Managing Partner of Berenson. He leads Berenson’s principal investing business and has completed over 100 principal investments and investment banking transactions since joining the firm. Mr. Ansari joined Berenson in 1997 from Salomon Brothers, where he worked in mergers and acquisition advisory for major U.S. and Canadian corporations in the New York and Toronto offices. Mr. Ansari currently serves on the board of Skience LLC and BCP Light Holdings, LLC, and as a board observer for IntraPac International Corporation. Mr. Ansari received a Master of Philosophy Degree in Economics from Cambridge University and a B.S. in Economics and Business Finance from Brunel University, where he graduated with First Class Honors.
Mr. Hegazy has served as our Chief Financial Officer since our inception in June 2021. Mr. Hegazy is a Managing Director of Berenson focused on software and technology-enabled services. He has over 13 years of experience in investment banking, having worked on a variety of transactions, including buy side and sell side assignments, capital raises and restructurings, and private equity investing as a senior member of Berenson Capital. Mr. Hegazy currently serves on the board of Skience LLC. Mr. Hegazy graduated cum laude with a B.A. in finance and a minor in economics Finance from Pace University.
Mr. Ferenbach is a co-founder of Berkshire, a private equity investment firm that has managed nine funds representing over $16 billion of capital. Mr. Ferenbach is Chairman & co-founder of High Meadows Foundation and High Meadows Fund. He serves on a number of boards including the Environmental Defense Fund, the Advisory Board of Princeton Environmental Institute, Nassau Hall Society at Princeton University, The Wilderness Society and Climate Central.
Mr. Ferenbach served as Chairman of the Board of English, Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd., U.S. Can Corporation and Crown Castle International Corp. He also served as a director of other Berkshire portfolio companies. Mr. Ferenbach served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, received an A.B. from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mrs. Kapoor is the founder & CEO of Arya Technologies, a company that provides end-to-end technology solutions and consulting services to the U.S. federal government and the industry that supports it. Previously, Mrs. Kapoor led AT&T’s Global Public Sector organization, a $15 billion segment of AT&T that provides technology and communications solutions.
She also served as chairman and CEO of Accenture Federal Services, a wholly-owned $1.3 billion subsidiary of Accenture LLC, leading 2,500 members of its U.S. federal business. She has served on the board of directors of ComSovereign Holding Co. (Nasdaq: COMS) since November 2020.
Mrs. Kapoor earned her bachelor’s degree in information systems from the University of Maryland and her Master of Science in information systems from Johns Hopkins University, complemented by executive programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
Mr. Kasner is currently Vice Chairman of online search and content intelligence platform, Conductor Founders, Inc. Previously, Mr. Kasner was an executive with cloud-based talent acquisition software company, iCIMS, Inc. During Mr. Kasner’s tenure, iCIMS grew annual recurring revenue from $20 million to over $250 million while being named one of the Best Places to Work nationally. Mr. Kasner also serves as an Independent Board Member for Envisage Technologies, LLC. Mr. Kasner earned his bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from the University of Virginia and his JD from Harvard Law School.
Mr. Munda currently serves as the co-head of technology research at Berenberg Capital Markets and as the lead analyst covering global design software. Previously, he served in several other positions at Berenberg including as associate director and vice president of equity research and led vertical software investing at Matrix Capital Management. Mr. Munda has over 10 years of finance and equity research experience, specifically within the software industry. Mr. Munda earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and business from the University of Maribor, Slovenia and his masters degree in finance and investment from Nottingham University Business School.
Dr. Panton currently serves as the Chairman of Panton Equity Partners, LLC, a private family office which he founded in June 2012. Since May 2020, Dr. Panton has been the managing partner of Navigation Capital Partners SPAC Opportunity Partners, LLC, an investment firm focused on building a diversified portfolio of investments in SPACs. Prior to his role at Navigation Partners, Dr. Panton served as Vice President at Mellon Ventures, a $1.4 billion private equity firm, before purchasing the portfolio in a partnership with Larry Mock and Goldman Sachs and founding Navigation Capital. He has served on private and public boards of directors, including Brand Bank (sold to Renasant Bank), Track Utilities (sold to CIVC Partners), Exeter Finance (sold to Blackstone), SecureWorks (sold to Dell Technologies), Ameritech Facility Services and D&Z Media (NYSE: DNZ). Dr. Panton received his Doctorate in Management Studies from Oxford University, his J.D. from Harvard Law School, and his A.B. from Princeton University.
Mr. Priest is Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Epoch, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toronto Dominion Bank and an affiliate of TD Asset Management. He is a portfolio manager for Epoch’s global equity investment strategies and leads the Investment Policy Group, a forum for analyzing broader secular and cyclical trends that Epoch believes will influence investment opportunities. Prior to co-founding Epoch in 2004, Mr. Priest was a Co-Managing Partner and portfolio manager at Steinberg Priest & Sloane Capital Management, LLC for three years.
Before forming Steinberg Priest, he was a member of the Global Executive Committee of Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse Asset Management Americas and CEO and portfolio manager of its predecessor firm BEA Associates, which he co-founded in 1972. During his 30 year tenure at BEA and CSAM, he helped to develop the firm into a well-recognized investment manager with over $100 billion under management. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, is a former CPA and a graduate of Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Graduate School of Business.