Erik Scott Joins Palladium as Vice President

Palladium welcomes Erik Scott who has joined as vice president. Previously, he was a principal at FdG Associates where he focused on business services and other investment opportunities. Before joining FdG, Mr. Scott was a principal at Parthenon Capital where he was involved in investments in the business and healthcare services, manufacturing and distribution industries. He began his career at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. and also worked at Allied Capital making mezzanine investments. Mr. Scott earned a B.A. in Economics with a concentration in Spanish from Vanderbilt University, and an M.B.A. from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.

Marcos A. Rodriguez

Mr. Rodriguez founded Palladium Equity Partners in 1997 and serves as managing member. Prior to forming Palladium, Mr. Rodriguez was a partner of Joseph Littlejohn & Levy (JLL), a prominent buyout firm which he joined in 1989. Before launching his private equity career, he worked in operations for General Electric Company in the U.S., Mexico and France and graduated from GE’s Manufacturing Management Program. Mr. Rodriguez serves on the Board of Directors of Palladium portfolio companies Taco Bueno, Wise Foods, Inc. and ABRA Auto Body & Glass. Mr. Rodriguez serves as Chairman of the Board of The Robert Toigo Foundation, board member of the New America Alliance, and member of the Board of Trustees of NewYork-Presbyterian, the University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and an M.A. in International Studies from the Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania.

David Perez

Mr. Perez joined Palladium in 2003 and serves as a Managing Director. Previously, he held senior private equity positions at General Atlantic Partners, Atlas Venture and Chase Capital Partners. Mr. Perez started his career as an investment banker with James D. Wolfensohn, Inc., where he specialized in providing mergers and acquisitions advice to a select group of multinational corporations.

Mr. Perez serves on the Board of Directors of Palladium portfolio companies Aconcagua Holdings, American Gilsonite, Capital Contractors, DolEx, Jordan Healthcare, Prince Minerals, Regional Management and Herald National Bank. Mr. Perez serves as the Chair of the Board of the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is the President of the Board of Directors of Ballet Hispánico.

Mr. Perez earned a B.S./M.S. degree from the Dresden University of Technology, a Master’s of Engineering from Cornell University and a Master’s of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

Alex Ventosa

Mr. Ventosa joined Palladium in 2004 and serves as managing director. Previously, he was a managing director and member of the board of BBVA Securities in New York. Mr. Ventosa was responsible for the equity units in New York and London, LatAm research, and for the local brokerage houses in Latin America - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela - owned by parent company BBVA. Prior to BBVA Securities, Mr. Ventosa was the International Department director of BBV Interactivos, the largest brokerage house in Spain. Mr. Ventosa serves on the Board of Directors of Palladium portfolio companies Cannella, Celeritas, Sahale, Taco Bueno, Todobebe and Wise Foods. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce as Director, U.S. Hispanic Business Development. Mr. Ventosa earned a B.A. from Richmond College (London) in Business Administration.

Luis Zaldivar

Mr. Zaldivar joined Palladium in 2004 as vice president, and now serves as managing director. He previously worked with Palladium on a consulting basis sourcing and evaluating U.S. Hispanic food and media deals. Mr. Zaldivar is a former vice president of corporate development and strategic investments at Univision. Prior to Univision, he worked for Lehman Brothers as an associate in the mergers and acquisitions group and for Accenture’s strategic services consulting practice as a senior consultant. Mr. Zaldivar earned a B.S. in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Eugenie Cesar-Fabian, Esq.

Ms. Cesar-Fabian joined Palladium Equity Partners as general counsel and chief compliance officer in 2011. Previously, she served as counsel at Bingham McCutchen LLP, where she advised and represented various financial services firms and executives. Ms. Cesar-Fabian began her career at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, LLP. She has served on the board of Artsgenesis, Inc. and as an adjunct professor of law at St. John’s University School of Law. Ms. Cesar-Fabian received a B.A. from New York University and a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law.

Daniel Ilundain

Mr. Ilundain joined Palladium in 2005 as vice president. Prior to Palladium, he was an investment manager in BBVA Proyectos Empresariales, the private equity division of BBVA. Previously, he was an associate in the corporate finance and business development areas in the venture capital division of BBVA. Mr. Ilundain is a CFA and earned a B.S. in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Pública de Navarra (Spain), a B.S in Engineering from Staffordshire University (UK) and a Master in Finance from HTI Business School (Spain).

Erik A. Scott

Mr. Scott joined Palladium in 2005 as vice president, and now serves as managing director. Previously, he was a principal at FdG Associates where he focused on business services and other investment opportunities. Before joining FdG, Mr. Scott was a principal at Parthenon Capital where he was involved in investments in the business and healthcare services, manufacturing and distribution industries. He began his career at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. and also worked at Allied Capital making mezzanine investments. Mr. Scott earned a B.A. in Economics with a concentration in Spanish from Vanderbilt University, and an M.B.A. from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.

Kevin L. Reymond

Mr. Reymond joined Palladium in 2000 as chief financial officer. Previously, he was the CEO of Hibernia Communications, LLC, a Palladium portfolio company in the AM radio industry. He is a former senior vice president and chief financial officer of Viacom Broadcast Group and Viacom Interactive Media. Prior to Viacom, Mr. Reymond worked for two years at Group W as the vice president of acquisitions analysis. Mr. Reymond began his career at Price Waterhouse where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions and clients in the media and entertainment industry. Mr. Reymond earned a B.S. in Accounting from Villanova and is a C.P.A.

Susan S. Lyons

Ms. Lyons joined Palladium at its inception in 1997 as controller and now serves as director. Since 1989, she has worked in the private equity industry in accounting, business management and controllership roles. From 1994 to 1997, she was with J.H. Whitney & Co. in their New York and Stamford, Connecticut offices where she held the position of controller since 1995. Ms. Lyons earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Sacred Heart University.

Justin R. Green

Mr. Green joined Palladium in 2004 as analyst, and now serves as vice president. Before joining Palladium, he worked as an analyst in the investment banking division of Citigroup’s Global Corporate and Investment Bank (formerly Salomon Smith Barney). Mr. Green earned a B.S. in Economics magna cum laude and an M.B.A. with honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Yue Guan

Ms. Guan joined Palladium in 2006 as analyst, and now serves as vice president. Previously, she worked as financial analyst in the financial institutions group of Morgan Stanley and the global securities services group of Goldman, Sachs & Co. Ms. Guan earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in East Asian Studies from the University of California, Marshall School of Business.

Luis Francisco Lora

Mr. Lora joined Palladium in 2006, and serves as vice president. He brings over 10 years of investment advisory and operating experience to the team. He was most recently a Director at UBS Investment Bank, covering clients in the Media and Communications sector. Before that, he spent four years at Bertelsmann, the global media and entertainment Company, where he had business development and strategic responsibilities across the company’s music, publishing, direct marketing and television divisions. He began his career at James D. Wolfensohn Incorporated, an investment banking and advisory firm servicing global clients across a broad range of industries. Mr. Lora earned his AB from Harvard University and has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Adam Shebitz

Mr. Shebitz joined Palladium in 2006 as analyst and now serves as vice president. Previously, he worked for the mergers & acquisitions group at Banc of America Securities where he advised on a variety of transactions. Mr. Shebitz earned a Master of Science focused on transitional economies at the London School of Economics and Political Science and graduated cum laude from Union College where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Rafael Ortiz

Mr. Ortiz joined Palladium in 2006 as associate and now serves as principal. Before joining Palladium he was an associate with Advent Morro Equity Partners where he invested in opportunities in healthcare services, business services and manufacturing. He began his career at Banco Popular de Puerto Rico where he was part of an internal M&A group executing principal investments and acquisitions of financial services companies in the U.S. and Latin America. Mr. Ortiz earned a BS from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Thomas A. Mastrobuoni

Mr. Mastrobuoni joined Palladium in 2007 as controller. Previously, he was a fund controller at ING Investment Management, a private equity firm with $4 billion under management in fund of funds, secondary and co-investment funds. Before that, he was a senior accountant at Yohalem Gillman & Company, LLP. Mr. Mastrobuoni earned a B.S. in Accountancy at Villanova University and is a CPA.

Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon

Mrs. Rodriguez Simon joined Palladium in 2007 as vice president. Previously, she was a vice president at Reliant Equity Investors where she was involved in deal generation, investment structuring, portfolio management, and investor relations. Before joining Reliant, Mrs. Rodriguez Simon was vice president at Equest Partners involved in early stage investments and interim portfolio executive management. She began her career in mergers & acquisitions at Salomon Brothers and at Banc of America Securities in mergers & acquisitions and merchant banking. Mrs. Rodriguez Simon earned a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Leon Brujis

Mr. Brujis joined Palladium in 2007 as analyst, and now serves as associate. Previously, he worked as an analyst for the mergers and acquisitions group at Lehman Brothers. Mr. Brujis earned a Masters of Science in Finance, Economics & Cost Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research (Magna Cum Laude) at The George Washington University.

Kenneth K. Salas

Mr. Salas joined Palladium in 2010 as analyst. Previously, he worked as an analyst for the financial institutions group at Barclays Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers). Mr. Salas earned a B.A. in Political Economy of Industrialized Societies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Oscar A. Benitez

Mr. Benitez joined Palladium in 2011 as analyst. He previously worked as an analyst for the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications group at J.P. Morgan. Mr. Benitez graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

Victor V. Veiga

Victor Veiga joined Palladium in 2011 as analyst. Previously, he worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as a Senior Investment Banking Analyst in the Middle Market Group, where he focused on a variety of transactions including M&A and debt and equity financings. Victor holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, and a minor in Computer Science from Florida International University.

Aldo Alvarez

Mr. Alvarez joined Palladium in 2007 as analyst. Previously, he worked as investment banking analyst in the Financial Sponsor Group at Banc of America Securities. He also spent time as a summer analyst in the Financial Sponsor Group at UBS. Mr. Alvarez holds a B.B.A. degree in Finance with a minor in Accounting, from the University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business.

Julie Chang

Ms. Chang joined Palladium in 2010 as vice president of investor relations. Previously, she was an associate with the Alternative Investments division of Credit Suisse, focusing on investor relations and fundraising. Prior to joining Credit Suisse she was an investment banking analyst with Merrill Lynch in the Corporate Finance group. Ms. Chang earned a BBA in Accounting from the Goizueta Business School of Emory University and is currently pursuing an MBA at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Amanda E. Rahner

Ms. Rahner joined Palladium in 2010 as senior accountant. Previously, she worked as a senior audit associate at KPMG, LLP within the Real Estate group. Ms. Rahner earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University at Albany School of Business and is a CPA.