INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY
IMPACT INVESTING
We believe by identifying talented asset management teams at a critical inflection point in their firm’s life cycle and partnering with investors to take a meaningful equity stake, we will generate superior, asymmetrical risk-adjusted returns for our investors. Our impact approach has created meaningful jobs in a dynamic growth sector.
Our Team
Nile is a consensus-driven organization where each professional’s unique experience base contributes to the overall strategy. The team consists primarily of operating executives with deep expertise in the asset management industry. The team works to support the operating initiatives of the portfolio companies' management teams with capabilities and resources typically unavailable to small and mid-sized asset management firms. Nile’s highly collaborative group of operating professionals, most who have worked together for more than a decade, have a unique combination of leadership positions, portfolio management, risk management, sales, marketing and strategy expertise, industry relationships and transaction experience to help management teams build great businesses.
MELVIN LINDSEY, CFA
Founder and Managing Partner
Mel Lindsey, CFA is the Founder and Managing Partner of Nile Capital Group and serves on the boards of Nile’s portfolio holding companies: ABS Global Investments, Welton Investment Partners
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LLC, Strategic Global Advisors LLC, Denali Advisors LLC, Convergence Investment Partners LLC, Kvasir Technologies, and Wilshire Lane Capital LLC. Prior to founding Nile, Mel co-managed Julius Bär Investment Management (JBIM) as Managing Director of Global Distribution. During his tenure at JBIM, assets under management grew from $800 million to a peak of $78 billion, ultimately resulting in an IPO and listing on the NYSE in 2009. He was also Managing Director and portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management and a Vice President at Shearson Lehman Brothers. Mel holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and received his MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. Mel also attended IMD Global Leadership Program in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is a member of the Los Angeles Society of Financial Analysts. Mel serves on the Board of Trustees and the Investment Committee for the California Community Foundation, California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), the UCLA Foundation Board, UCLA Anderson School of Management Board of Advisors, and Saint John’s Health Center Foundation.
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RICHARD PELL
Co-Founder and Partner
Richard Pell is Co-Founder and Director of Research and Acquisition at Nile Capital Group. From 1995 to 2013, Richard served as Chairman,
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment
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Officer of Artio Global Investors/JBIM. From 1990 to 1995, he was Head of Global Fixed Income at Bankers Trust Company. From 1988 to 1990, Richard was Head of Corporate Bonds and Mortgage Backed Securities at Mitchell Hutchins. Richard is on the Board of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, a prison education charity. Richard received his BA in History from University of California, Berkeley and his MBA in Finance from New York University.
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HIEN GERBEREUX
Co-Founder and Partner
Hien Gerbereux is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Investor Relations and Sales Marketing Strategy at Nile Capital Group. Hien is a 24-year veteran of the asset management
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industry. Prior to joining Nile, she was a manager on the North American Institutional distribution team at Investec Asset Management, and responsible for landing key accounts in the western region. From 2001 to 2012, Hien was an Associate Director of Institutional Investments at Artio Global Investors/JBIM, where she assisted in raising $25 billion in assets. From 1997 to 2001, she was with Prime Performance, as a senior account manager. She started her career with Great West Life & Annuity as a marketing associate. Hien received her BA in International Business & Marketing from University of Colorado.
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PRASAD NANISETTY, PHD
Partner, Director of Quantitative Analysis & Risk Management
Prasad Nanisetty is Director of Risk Management at Nile Capital Group. Prasad is a 37-year veteran of the asset management industry. He was most
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recently the Executive Director, Risk Management at Indus Capital, a long/short equity fund. Previously, he was the Head of Risk Management at Artio Global Investors/JBIM, which he joined in 2004. Before joining Artio, Prasad was a Senior Vice President for Quantitative Analysis and Risk Management at Jennison Associates. His professional experience also includes three years as a Managing Director for Quantitative Analysis and Risk Management at Prudential Investments; three years as Director of Risk Management for Nomura Securities International; and, a year as a Senior Associate at Smith Breeden Associates. Before joining Smith Breeden. Prasad was an Assistant Professor of Finance at Indiana University in Bloomington. Prasad received his Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Michigan, a Master of Science in Statistics and Operations Research from Bowling Green University and a Bachelor of Statistics in Mathematics and Statistics from Indian Statistical Institute.
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BRETT GALLAGHER
Co-Founder and Operating Partner
Brett Gallagher is Operating Partner at Nile Capital Group. Brett is a 35-year veteran of the asset management industry serving as Deputy CIO at Artio Global Investors/JBIM, Head of Investment
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Management for JP Morgan Singapore and Head of Global Equity for Bankers Trust International Private Bank before joining Nile. During his tenure, assets under management at all these organizations expanded dramatically. Brett’s responsibilities included the development of asset management and research processes, global asset allocation strategies and economic analysis. Brett began his career as an analyst with Irwin Management Company where he was responsible for the selection and evaluation of external managers and for financial oversight of Venture Capital investments. He has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business News, been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, and was a guest lecturer at Yale University. Brett received his BA in Economics from the University of Virginia and his MBA from The Darden Graduate School of Business. Brett serves on the University of Virginia Alumni Association Board of Managers.
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TRACY L. LAWRENCE
Operating Member
Tracy L. Lawrence is the Founder and CEO of The Lawrence Advisory, a leadership consulting firm that advises clients on executive recruiting, organizational development, DEI strategy,
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and executive coaching. For the past two years in a row, The Lawrence Advisory has been named one of the Top Retained Executive Search Firms in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Lawrence also recently served as the first Executive-in-Residence at USC’s Marshall School of Business, advising faculty, administration, and students on issues of organizational development in today’s workplace. Previously, Lawrence led the Los Angeles Entertainment and Consumer industry practice at Russell Reynolds Associates, one of the world’s largest executive recruiting and assessment firms. There she handled senior-level management and board of director searches, and was a leader in the firm’s diversity recruiting practice. Unique among her peers, Lawrence is one of a select few human capital consultants with real-world senior level management experience. She is a veteran of the cable television industry, having served as General Manager of Fox Family Channel, and was previously Vice President of Affiliate Marketing at Nickelodeon. She has also held leadership roles at MTV Networks, Kraft, and Nestle. She was awarded the National Cable Television Association’s Vanguard Award for Young Leadership, in recognition of her contribution to the industry on a national level. In addition, she was appointed to the Aspen Institute’s Forum on Communications and Society. Lawrence holds a BA in Economics from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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R. RUDOLPH REINFRANK
Operating Member
R. Rudolph Reinfrank is the Managing General Partner of Riverford Partners, a strategic advisory and investment firm which acts as an investor,
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board member and strategic advisor to growth companies and companies in transition. Prior to founding Riverford, Mr. Reinfrank was a co-founder and a Managing General Partner of Clarity Partners, an $800 million private equity firm focused on media and communications, and a co-founder of Clarity China, L.P., a $220 million private equity partnership with investments in Greater China. Before Clarity, he was a co-founder and a Managing General Partner of Rader Reinfrank & Co., a private equity fund. His prior experience includes roles as an executive, investor, and advisor across a wide range of industries for the Roy E. Disney and Marvin Davis families. Mr. Reinfrank is a member of the Board of Directors of Apollo Investment Corporation, a publicly-traded financial services company (NASDAQ: AINV). He is the former Chairman of its Audit Committee (2013-2018) and is a member of its Audit, Nominating and Governance committees. Mr. Reinfrank is a Senior Advisor to BC Partners, an international investment company, a Senior Advisor to Grafine Partners (NYC), Pall Mall Capital, Ltd. (London), The K Fund/Andina Family Offices (LA) and Transnational Capital Corporation (NYC). Mr. Reinfrank meets the requirements of a Sarbanes-Oxley audit committee financial expert pursuant to item 407(d)(5)(ii) of Regulation S-K and is FINRA licensed for Series 7, 62 and 63. Mr. Reinfrank was previously a director of WebTV Networks (acquired by Microsoft), Trillium Digital Systems (acquired by Intel), Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT), Enterra Corporation (NYSE: EN), CRC-Evans Pipeline, Parker Drilling Company (NYSE: PKD), Kayne Anderson Acquisition Corp. (merged into NASDAQ: ALTM), Impremedia LLC, Base Entertainment LLC, Naylor LLC, Crescent Entertainment, LLC and Central Soya, Inc. Mr. Reinfrank earned his BA in Economics from Stanford and his MBA in Finance & Accounting from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
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JOSÉ E. FELICIANO
Advisory Board
José E. Feliciano is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Clearlake Capital Group, a leading private investment firm founded in 2006.
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In addition to Mr. Feliciano’s investing responsibilities, he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm, and serves on the board of directors of several Clearlake portfolio companies. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing long-term capital that can benefit from Clearlake’s operational improvement approach, O.P.S.® The firm’s core target sectors are software and technology-enabled services; industrials and energy; and consumer. Prior to co-founding Clearlake, he was a partner and member of the investment committee at Tennenbaum, a private investment firm focused on distressed and other special situations investments. Before joining Tennenbaum, he served as CFO of govWorks, Inc., a payments and other services provider to the public sector, where he managed the finance, corporate development and human resource functions. Mr. Feliciano began his career in the investment banking division at Goldman, Sachs & Co working in the M&A and corporate finance groups. He co-founded the SUPERCHARGED Initiative, a philanthropic grantmaking and impact investment organization, in 2014 with his wife, Kwanza Jones, which invests in both nonprofit and for-profit ventures that aim to make a lasting impact across education, entrepreneurship, equal opportunity and empowerment. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the Robert Toigo Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the career advancement and increased leadership of underrepresented talent. He is the 2019 recipient of SEO Alternative Investments’ Reginald F. Lewis Achievement Award. He graduated with high honors from Princeton University, with a BS in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and his MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
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MARX L. CAZENAVE, II
Advisory Board
Marx L. Cazenave, II has devoted his professional career to expanding business opportunities for minorities, women and start-up companies. He is
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the co-founder and former CEO of Progress Investment Management Company, a San Francisco-based manager of managers, focusing on emerging firms (small, minority and women-owned investment companies). Since its inception in 1990, Progress Investment Management has funded more than 125 emerging firms across a broad range of public security asset classes. Progress currently manages more than $8.8 billion in assets for some of the world’s largest public and corporate pension funds. After a management-led buyout, the company is 100% owned by its employees. Mr. Cazenave was appointed by President Carter to serve as Regional Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), and he also has served as Director of Business Development for the State of California and as a Principal Consultant to the State Assembly Office of Research. Today, he serves on advisory boards of Evolution Real Estate Partners, Vicente Capital Partners, the UCLA Anderson’s Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. In addition to serving as an advisor, he also volunteers at San Quentin State Prison and acts as a prostate cancer peer support counselor at University of California San Francisco Medical Center. Mr. Cazenave received the 8th Annual NY NASP Foundation Wall Street Hall of Fame Award in February 2006 and the NASP Travers Bell Award in 2011. In 2012 he was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Natural and Social Sciences by California State University, Los Angeles. And in November 2013, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the National Association of Investment Companies, an association representing the interests of minority-owned investment firms. He holds the Series 7 and 24 securities licenses with FINRA. Mr. Cazenave received his BA in political science from California State University, Los Angeles, and completed Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program for Smaller Companies.
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KARIN AEGERTER
Office Manager