Palladium Names New Partners

Alex Funk, Nancy Mitchell and Kate Lehman named Partner, Dale O’Connell promoted to Managing Director, Co-Head of Fundraising and Investor Relations

New York, New York, Sept. 13, 2023 — Palladium Equity Partners, LLC, a middle market private equity buyout firm with over $3 billion in assets under management, today announced it has promoted three of its senior professionals — Alexander J. Funk, Nancy A. Mitchell and Katherine A. Lehman — to Partner, effective January 1, 2024. In addition, Dale O’Connell has been named Managing Director, Co-Head of Fundraising and Investor Relations, effective immediately.

Marcos Rodriguez, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said, “As we look forward to Palladium’s next chapter of growth, following an active 18 months in which the firm made 19 platform or add-on investments, realized two investments, and launched our new Heritage strategy, we are thrilled to promote four leaders. Alex, Nancy, Kate and Dale are each talented professionals and accomplished leaders at Palladium who have earned the deep respect of their colleagues as well as our investors. We look forward to their ongoing contribution to the firm and their continued commitment to excellence and teamwork as we build for the future.”

• Alexander J. Funk joined Palladium in 2015. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Palladium portfolio companies EverDriven and Envoy Global, and has served on the Board of Directors of Second Nature Brands and Daniel’s Jewelers. Previously, Mr. Funk was Previously, Alex was a Senior Associate at ABRY Partners, where he invested across a range of industries, including business and information services, communications, and media. Before joining ABRY, Mr. Funk was an Investment Banking Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Mr. Funk graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Economics from The George Washington University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
•  Nancy Mitchell joined Palladium in 2021. She serves as Chief Administrative Officer of the firm. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Palladium portfolio company Envoy Global and Palladium Heritage portfolio company Southwest Strategies. Prior to joining Palladium, Ms. Mitchell was a partner at O’Melveny & Myers, an international law firm. Before that, she was a partner at Greenberg Traurig and spent two years in the leverage finance group at CIBC World Markets. She worked on numerous high-profile matters during her legal career, including representing the Governor of California in the PG&E case and Puerto Rico in its restructuring process. She also has extensive experience building strong and cohesive teams, offices and practice groups throughout her career. Ms. Mitchell earned a B.A. from Indiana University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.

• Katherine A. Lehman joined Palladium in 2022 as Partner, Palladium Heritage after serving as a consultant in 2021. Ms. Lehman, who leads the Palladium Heritage strategy, has been promoted to Partner of the Firm. Prior to Palladium, Ms. Lehman was a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Hilltop Private Capital, which she operated for six years as an Independent Sponsor. Before founding Hilltop, Ms. Lehman served as a Managing Director at Lincolnshire Management. She serves or has served on more than fifteen public, private and not-for-profit boards, including Southwest Strategies and Collision Auto Parts, portfolio companies of Palladium Heritage. Ms. Lehman earned a B.S. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School with honors.

• Dale O’Connell joined Palladium in 2015 and serves as Co-Head of Fundraising and Investor Relations. Prior to Palladium, Ms. O’Connell spent three years at the J.P. Morgan Private Bank, where she oversaw and advised on investment risk across asset classes for the firm’s most sophisticated high net worth clients. Prior to J.P. Morgan, she served as an Analyst on the Valuation and Business Modeling team in the Transaction Advisory Services group at EY. Ms. O’Connell graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in Economics.

About Palladium Equity Partners, LLC

Since its founding in 1997, Palladium has invested in more than 200 companies (39 platforms and 170+ add-ons). With over $3 billion in assets under management, the firm focuses primarily on control-buyout equity investments in the range of $50 million to $150 million in companies with $15 million to $75 million in EBITDA. Based in New York City, Palladium has particular expertise investing in the U.S. Hispanic market with a focus on founder/family-backed businesses, especially those in fragmented markets with prospects for accretive M&A.

For more information, visit www.palladiumequity.com

 

Contacts for Palladium Equity Partners:

Todd Fogarty / Jeffrey Taufield
todd.fogarty@kekstcnc.com or jeffrey.taufield@kekstcnc.com
212-521-4800