Leveraging Complementary Strengths
Leveraging Complementary Strengths
Leveraging Complementary Strengths
Our firm started in 2012 with a simple premise: leverage our friendship, complementary skills, and experience with a singular focus on partnering with differentiated industrial growth businesses.
The May River team takes great pride in its culture of partnership and collaboration – a characteristic rooted in the fundamental appreciation of the human element in business.
Investment Team
Chip Grace
Chip is a founding partner of May River Capital. Chip leads origination and development of executive relationships at May River and assists in the overall management of the firm, including the development of investment theses, origination of new investment opportunities, deal structuring, negotiations, transaction execution, and portfolio management.
Prior to co-founding May River, Chip was, from 2000 to 2011, a Principal and Managing Director at Wynnchurch Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm. While at Wynnchurch, Chip was involved in all facets of the investment process, and participated in numerous platform acquisitions within the industrial segment. Prior to joining Wynnchurch, Chip worked in leveraged finance and investment banking at GE Capital, Salomon Smith Barney, and A.G. Edwards & Sons.
Chip serves as a member of the board of trustees of Lake Forest Country Day School.
Chip earned a B.A. from Duke University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
MAY RIVER INVESTMENT INVOLVEMENT: Active across the portfolio for May River
Dan Barlow
Dan Barlow co-founded May River in 2012. He is responsible for developing investment theses, structuring, negotiating, and executing transactions, and leading foundational value creation within the portfolio. He is a member of the board of directors of several May River portfolio companies.
Prior to May River, Mr. Barlow was a Principal with Valor Equity Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, where he worked from 1998 to 2010. Mr. Barlow is an Eagle Scout and is active in his community through a range of charities focused on supporting veteran families, children’s healthcare, education, and after-school programs. Mr. Barlow was formerly a Captain with the 110th Fighter Wing, Michigan Air National Guard. He holds a B.E. from Vanderbilt University.
MAY RIVER INVESTMENT INVOLVEMENT: Industrial Flow Solutions; PaperTech; Unibloc Hygienic Technologies; RLE Technologies
Steve Griesemer
Steve is a founding partner of May River Capital. Steve co-leads portfolio management at May River and assists in the overall management of the firm, including the development of investment theses, origination of new investment opportunities, deal structuring, negotiations, transaction execution, and internal operations.
Prior to co-founding May River, Steve was a Partner at Baker McKenzie focused on mergers and acquisitions ranging from middle market U.S. transactions to multi-billion dollar, international transactions. Prior to his time at Baker McKenzie, Steve was an Associate with the law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman and a Vice President of Business Development and General Counsel for the Erlen Group, a holding company including limestone mining, industrial real estate, warehousing and other industrial businesses. At the Erlen Group, Steve handled new business development and operational matters, including union negotiations, refinancings, litigation management, and commercial negotiations.
Steve serves as a member of the board of directors of Metropolitan Family Services, Chicago’s legacy human services agency which reaches tens of thousands of families and individuals annually. He was previously a mentor with Link Unlimited, which provides educational college preparatory opportunities for economically disadvantaged high school students.
Steve earned a B.A. from Yale University with distinction and a J.D. from Notre Dame Law School where he was a White Scholar.
MAY RIVER INVESTMENT INVOLVEMENT: Advanced Material Processing; Automated Handling Solutions; Dickson; Boston Centerless
Pat St. John
Pat is responsible for the evaluation, due diligence, research, and financial analysis of new investment opportunities, as well as portfolio management.
Prior to joining May River, Pat was an Associate at TD Securities in the Industrials investment banking group where he advised packaging, tissue, building products, and consumer products companies in the United States and Canada.
Pat earned a B.S. from Boston College (with honors) and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
MAY RIVER INVESTMENT INVOLVEMENT: Unibloc Hygienic Technologies, Boston Centerless
Angela McCoy
Angela is responsible for the evaluation, due diligence, research, and financial analysis of new investment opportunities, as well as portfolio management.
Prior to joining May River, Angela was, from 2011 to 2020, a Senior Vice President in the Private Investments group at PSP Capital Partners, a Chicago-based family office. While at PSP, Angela was involved in all facets of the investment process and participated in numerous platform acquisitions across a variety of industries. Prior to joining PSP Capital in 2011, Angela was an Associate in the Leveraged Finance group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Angela currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Midwest Chapter of the Women’s Association of Venture and Equity (WAVE) and is a member of the Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN).
Angela earned a B.S. in Finance from Wake Forest University.
MAY RIVER INVESTMENT INVOLVEMENT: Automated Handling Solutions; PaperTech
Mitch Bardon
Mitch is primarily responsible for the origination and development of new investment opportunities, including developing relationships with industry executives, business owners and intermediaries. Mitch is also responsible for evaluation, due diligence, research, financial analysis and portfolio management.
Prior to joining May River, Mitch was a Director at BMO Capital Markets in the Industrials Investment Banking group where he led the group’s efforts in Flow Control and several niche manufacturing sectors. Prior to joining BMO, Mitch was a Vice President at Deutsche Bank in the Global Industrials Group. Mitch has advised on M&A, debt and equity transactions in excess of $20 billion across Diversified Industrials and Packaging verticals. Prior to investment banking, Mitch was a Manager focused on Operations, Strategy and Supply Chain at LafargeHolcim (f.k.a., Holcim).
Mitch earned a B.A. from Michigan State (with honors) and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
MAY RIVER INVESTMENT INVOLVEMENT: Active across the portfolio for May River
