Advisory Board

Jeff Hammes
Kirkland & Ellis

Jeff Hammes is the former Chairman of Kirkland & Ellis, a leading international law firm. Jeff served in the Chairman role since 2010. He also was a founding partner of K&E’s San Francisco, Palo Alto, Houston and Hong Kong offices, and led the transformation of Kirkland’s New York and London offices. Jeff now serves on the advisory boards of the Wisconsin University School of Business and the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.


Dan Helle
CIVC Partners

Dan Helle is a former partner and management leader of CIVC Partners. Dan joined CIVC in 1989, and led its growth as a national middle market leader in private equity. Dan has substantial experience in the financial services industry, and has served on the boards of many companies in that sector. Prior to CIVC, he worked at Citicorp Leveraged Capital and Continental Bank.


Lanny Martin
Platte River Equity

Lanny Martin is the founder of Platte River Equity. Prior to forming Platte River, Lanny was Chairman and CEO of Titanium Metals Corporation. Lanny was formerly the managing partner of Kirkland & Ellis, one of the world’s foremost private equity law firms.


Sal Paolantonio
ESPN

Sal Paolantonio has been a national ESPN correspondent since 1995. He has won 6 Emmys and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. Previously, Sal was a national and international correspondent at the Philadelphia Inquirer.


Richard Porter
Kirkland & Ellis

Richard Porter is a corporate and private equity partner at Kirkland & Ellis. He has a wide ranging practice that focuses primarily on private equity. Mr. Porter has served as Counselor to Vice President Quayle, Special Assistant to President Bush and Executive Secretary of the Domestic Policy Council.


Robert GradyRobert Grady
Summit Partners

Robert Grady is an Advisory Partner at Summit Partners. Prior to joining Summit Partners, Mr. Grady was a Partner at Gryphon Investors. Previously, Robert was a Partner at the Carlyle Group and a Deputy Assistant to President George H.W. Bush.


Steve TomlinsonSteve Tomlinson
Kirkland & Ellis

Steve Tomlinson is a partner with Kirkland & Ellis with a practice focused on business transactions in the real estate and hospitality industries. His clients include real estate private equity sponsors, sovereign and other non-U.S. investors and real estate operating companies that are engaged in a wide variety of real estate transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures, fund formations and investments.


Roy WhitneyRoy Whitney
HKW

Roy Whitney has over 50 years of experience investing in lower middle market companies. Roy has had a successful and distinguished career in private equity. He joined HKW in 1971 and led the firm into the world of private equity. Roy was President, CEO and Chairman of HKW. He also serves as an advisor to Access Venture Partners.


Liz BrimmerLiz Brimmer
Brimmer Communications

Liz Brimmer is the founding partner and owner of Brimmer Communications, a Wyoming public relations and public affairs firm. She worked as communications director and chief of staff for former Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas.


Kent NobleKent Noble
University of Wyoming

Kent Noble is an award-winning professor at the University of Wyoming. Kent was appointed by former Governor Matt Mead to the Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics in 2018, and he was reappointed in 2021 by Governor Mark Gordon. He currently serves on the board of directors for the John P. Ellbogen Foundation, the NASBA Center for the Public Trust, and the Better Business Bureau Foundation of Northern Colorado and Wyoming.


Ron SantellaRon Santella
RDJ Associates

Ron Santella has over thirty-eight years of experience in the financial markets, with a proven track record of success in managing relative value strategies. Mr. Santella’s experience also includes CEO of a market leading electronic execution firm; highlighted by a successful liquidity event. Most recently, Mr. Santella founded Teramo Advisors, an advisory firm with a focus on providing defensive equity strategies to wealth managers, HNW clients and institutions.

Middle Market Co-Investment Leader