Accel-KKR

David Cusimano is a Managing Director at Accel-KKR, which he first joined in 2008 while at Harvard Business School and rejoined full-time after graduating in 2009. Before Accel-KKR, he worked as a Private Equity Associate at GenSpring Family Office and as an Analyst at Wachovia Securities focused on the technology and technology-enabled services sectors. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Banking and Finance from the University of Alabama.

Park Durrett is a Managing Director at Accel-KKR. He previously was a Principal at The CapStreet Group, a lower middle market private equity firm, where he worked on direct investments across energy, industrial, infrastructure, and technology sectors, and earlier worked with Technology Crossover Ventures and 3i Group on late stage growth equity investments in information technology companies. He began his career in the technology investment banking group at Robertson Stephens & Company, and holds an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. from Cornell University.

Patrick Fallon is Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer, and Head of Investor Relations at Accel-KKR. He previously served as Partner and COO at Gryphon Investors, and before that worked in investment banking at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Credit Suisse, where he led technology banking teams. He holds an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, and is an inactive CPA.

Phil Cunningham is a Managing Director at Accel-KKR, focused on the firm's emerging growth companies efforts. He was previously CEO of Advicent Solutions, a SaaS provider for the financial services industry, and earlier held senior roles at Vista Consulting Group (the operating arm of Vista Equity Partners), Sum Total Systems, Fidelity Investments, and Automatic Data Processing. He holds a bachelor's degree from Rockhurst University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza School of Business.

Tom Barnds co-founded Accel-KKR in 2000 and serves as Co-Managing Partner. Before that, he was a Managing Director at Nassau Capital, where he led growth equity investments and buyouts across technology, energy, media, and healthcare, and earlier held roles at McGaw and in the M&A group at Alex. Brown & Sons. He holds an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an A.B. from Princeton University.

Annie Asrari is an Operating Principal at Accel-KKR. She previously served as Chief Product Officer at Castellan, where she developed its product strategy and product management practice, and continued as VP of Product Management at Riskonnect following its acquisition of Castellan. Earlier, she spent seven years at Everbridge working on product strategy and integrating acquisitions, and held product management roles at other technology companies.

Brooks Robinson is a Principal on the Operating Team at Accel-KKR, where he works with enterprise software companies on value creation and Rule of 40 progression. He previously served as a fractional Operating Partner for private equity investors and spent over 20 years as an executive—including Co-founder, CEO, President, CRO, and CMO—at PE-backed companies in B2B SaaS, eCommerce enablement, and IT applications. As a co-founder of multiple technology companies, he helped grow annual revenue from $0 to $110 million in four years and to over $400 million after ten years, reaching a $1.2 billion enterprise value following a NASDAQ IPO.

Céline Felan is an Operating Principal at Accel-KKR. Before joining the firm, she held technology-sector roles overseeing strategy and organization-wide initiatives across Europe and the US, with experience launching products, optimizing business processes, and building operational excellence functions. She has led more than 40 acquisitions (add-ons and carve-outs) from sourcing through first-year integration and has managed exit preparation processes for multiple sale events. She holds a Bachelor in Business Economics and an MBA from the University of Amsterdam.

John Crowell joined Accel-KKR in 2015 and serves as a Principal at the firm. He previously worked at a North American multi-family office on buyouts and growth capital investments in software and tech-enabled services businesses in Latin America, and earlier was a consultant at Bayshore Consulting working with clients in the payment processing industry. He earned a B.S. in International Business from Biola University.

Neil Kimber is an Operating Principal at Accel-KKR and a board member at PropLogix. He has more than 30 years of experience in the design, development, and implementation of large-scale enterprise software systems, along with experience building R&D organizations.

Neil Patel is an Operating Principal at Accel-KKR, where he works with growth-stage businesses and their management and investment teams on areas including strategy, go-to-market acceleration, M&A integration, and organizational design. He has over 20 years of experience across engineering operations, management consulting, start-ups and scale-ups, and investing. His background includes roles at McKinsey and an education at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Sam DeKoven heads Accel-KKR's Debt Capital Markets. He was previously a Vice President at TPG in San Francisco, where he managed debt capital markets activity for the firm's Growth & Rise fund groups, and earlier worked at Credit Suisse in Leveraged Finance Originations & Restructuring and at Deutsche Bank in Emerging Markets Special Situations. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Vanderbilt University.

Sheilja Patel is an Operating Principal at Accel-KKR, working as a private equity value creation operating partner with a focus on digital transformation and data strategy. She has experience across the technology, consumer and retail, media, and business services sectors, working with B2B and B2C businesses ranging from small and medium enterprises to FTSE 100 organizations. Her work spans value creation levers including pricing, go-to-market models, product strategy, organizational design, cost reduction, post-merger integration, and carve-outs, and she has held operational and P&L roles.

Steve Siwinski is an Operating Principal and Global Portfolio Finance Leader at Accel-KKR. He has over a decade of private equity operating partner experience with in-house roles at Accel-KKR, High Road Capital, and Marlin Equity, along with project-based work for Milestone Partners, Monomoy Capital, and Pier Six Capital. His background includes a divisional CFO role at Hain Celestial, multiple interim CFO and board roles at portfolio companies, and earlier positions in corporate finance, consulting, and Big Four public accounting, spanning industries such as technology, SaaS, consumer products, manufacturing, logistics, media, ecommerce, and healthcare.

Tucker Moon is an Operating Principal at Accel-KKR, where he works with B2B technology businesses across a range of business models. His focus areas include value creation, revenue growth, profit and EBITDA improvement, competitive strategy, corporate carveouts, due diligence, and operational transformation.

Weston Ahlswede is a Principal in the Strategic Capital group at Accel-KKR. He previously worked as a Senior Analyst at Relational Investors, a public equities fund, where he sourced investments and managed portfolio company engagements in the energy and technology sectors. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and holds the CFA designation.

Managing Partner at Baleon Capital who helped shape the firm's collaborative, strategy-driven investment approach alongside Jon Kaiden.

Aleha Amjad is an Analyst at Accel-KKR who previously interned with the firm for two summers, focusing on its growth equity opportunities. She holds a B.S.E. in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University.

Andrew Fluevog is an Operating Senior Associate at Accel-KKR, where he works with software portfolio companies on go-to-market, customer success, M&A, and strategic initiatives, and supports diligence on new platform investments. He previously held roles in structural engineering and consulting.

Annabelle Burke is an Associate at Accel-KKR. Before joining the firm, she was a summer analyst in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Jefferies. She earned a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Bernardo Arrospide is an Operating Vice President at Accel-KKR, focusing on the Latin America and Iberia region. He previously co-founded and led 4Vets, a supply chain and procurement software company for the veterinary pharmaceutical industry in Brazil, and served as Chief of Staff to the CEO of The Medicines Company, where he directed the firm's Latin America expansion. He began his career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in New York and London, and holds an MBA from the Wharton School and an AB in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Chad Bureau is a Senior Operating Associate at Accel-KKR. Before joining full-time, he completed two summer internships with the Accel-KKR Consulting Group focused on research and analysis for portfolio company go-to-market strategy. He holds dual B.Sc. degrees in Corporate Finance and Business Management from Clemson University, where he was part of the Clemson Honors College.

Chan Chang is a Senior Associate at Accel-KKR. He previously worked as an Analyst in the Diversified Industries Group at J.P. Morgan in New York, where he worked on M&A and capital raising projects across sectors including aerospace and defense, autos, business services, capital goods, chemicals, metals and mining, and transportation. He earned M.S. and B.S. degrees in Accountancy from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Dalyn Bellingham is a Vice President at Accel-KKR. Before joining the firm, Bellingham worked as an Analyst in the Technology M&A Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, handling M&A and financing transactions across enterprise software, internet, semiconductors, and tech-enabled services. Bellingham earned a B.S. in Finance, magna cum laude, from Brigham Young University.

Daniel Cho is an Associate at Accel-KKR. He previously worked as an Associate at Roark Capital in Atlanta, evaluating multi-unit franchise and business services investments, and before that as an Analyst at Bank of America in New York, where he worked on M&A transactions across various industries. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the NYU Stern School of Business.

Eric Armagost is a Vice President at Accel-KKR. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Technology Group at William Blair in Chicago, where he handled mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, and corporate strategy engagements for clients in enterprise software and tech-enabled services. He earned a B.A. in Business Economics from Brown University.

Gaurav Doshi is a Senior Associate at Accel-KKR in the London office, working on buyout and growth equity investments across Europe. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Technology Group at William Blair in London and San Francisco, handling M&A transactions and capital raises for middle market software companies. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

George Baughan is a Senior Associate at Accel-KKR. Before joining the firm, he worked as a summer analyst in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Barclays, working on capital raising and strategic advisory, and he has supported Accel-KKR portfolio companies including GPS Insight and Blue Mountain. He holds a B.A. in Public Policy and International Affairs from Princeton University.

Jack Connelly is an Associate at Accel-KKR. Before joining the firm, he worked as an Associate in the Large Capital Private Equity segment at AlphaSights, a knowledge search firm, where he supported clients with early-stage industry research and M&A due diligence. He earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan.

James Norwood serves as a Senior Advisor at Accel-KKR. He works with private equity firms and holds board director roles, with a focus on market, go-to-market, and product strategy. His experience spans product strategy, sales and marketing, mergers and acquisitions and integration, and personnel and budget management.

JJ Devine is a Senior Associate at Accel-KKR. Before joining the firm, he was an Associate at Inverness Graham Investments, where he evaluated, executed, and monitored buyout investments across industries including technology, tech-enabled services, and manufacturing. He earned a B.S. in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Northeastern University.

Katherine Ward is an Operating Associate at Accel-KKR, a middle-market private equity firm focused on B2B software companies. Her work covers value creation and due diligence across the firm's portfolio companies and prospective investments, with an emphasis on go-to-market improvement. She previously worked in McKinsey's Private Equity & Principal Investors practice, where she served private equity clients on due diligence and value creation projects in the software, healthcare, and transportation sectors.

Kris Shrestha is Operating Vice President, AI at Accel-KKR, where he works with portfolio companies on AI strategy, GenAI adoption, workflow automation, data architecture, AI governance, and AI-enabled product development. He has more than 15 years of experience building and scaling production AI systems in regulated sectors including financial services, aerospace, and defense. His prior work involved leading global applied AI and analytics teams delivering machine learning-based decision systems across commercial and defense programs.

Lily Bowman is an Analyst at Accel-KKR. She previously worked on the Capital Markets team at AlphaSights, a knowledge search firm, where she supported hedge fund and private equity clients with investment due diligence across various industries. She holds a B.S. in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University.

Martin Amesquita is an Associate at Accel-KKR. Before joining the firm, he worked as an Analyst in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Jefferies in San Francisco, where he worked on M&A and capital raising transactions across software, semiconductors, internet, and mobility. He holds a B.S.E. in Systems Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Bandurski is a Vice President at Accel-KKR. He previously worked as an Analyst in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Jefferies, where he worked on M&A and capital raising engagements for clients in software, internet, communications equipment, and semiconductors. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Sean Cole is a Senior Associate at Accel-KKR. He previously worked as an Account Executive at SourceScrub in San Francisco, where he supported private equity firms and investment banks with deal origination and sourcing. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce from the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG).

Shannon Wollner is Vice President of Executive Search at Accel-KKR. She has more than 20 years of experience recruiting C-suite and professional services talent for Fortune 500 and private equity companies.

Shivi Bhatnagar is an Associate at Accel-KKR. She previously worked as a Private Equity Associate at Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) in New York, evaluating middle market investments across business services, healthcare, and industrials, and before that was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Bank of America. She holds a B.S. in Business (Statistics) from NYU Stern.

Steve Mandell is a Vice President at Accel-KKR, where he focuses on growth investing in middle-market companies. His background includes experience at private equity and PE-backed firms.

Stone Godi is an investment professional at Accel-KKR with a background in the software industry. He holds a degree in statistics from Brigham Young University.

Ted Murray is Director of IT at Accel-KKR, where his responsibilities cover corporate infrastructure including servers, desktops, networks, and business applications. His background includes managing IT project implementations and working with systems such as ERP, manufacturing and distribution, HRIS, and data warehouse platforms, as well as Oracle and MS SQL databases. He holds an MBA in Information Systems.

Trent Schweizer works in private equity technology and AI value creation at Accel-KKR, where he supports technical and AI diligence across areas including software architecture, data readiness, cybersecurity, and cloud economics. His background includes operating and engineering roles at Tesla, SUSE, ConnectWise, and Novatech, along with founding software-enabled businesses such as three Minecraft server companies acquired in 2020 and the digital services company TidalFlash. His focus areas include product velocity, operating efficiency, and growth.

Tyler Buckingham is a Vice President at Accel-KKR, which he joined in 2016. Before that, he worked as an analyst in the technology investment banking group at BMO Capital Markets in San Francisco, handling M&A and financing transactions for software and semiconductor clients. He holds a B.A. in Economics & Mathematics from Middlebury College.

Vineet Dongre is an Analyst at Accel-KKR. He previously interned at Blue Cloud Ventures, a growth equity fund focused on enterprise software, and at Silversmith Capital Partners on its Healthcare IT & Services team. He holds a B.S.E. in Industrial & Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Vivek Murthy is an Associate at Accel-KKR, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has more than four years of experience in TMT banking and credit markets and holds a degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Manager at Bain & Company focused on private equity in software and healthcare sectors. Previously worked in investment banking at Lazard & Co and holds an INSEAD MBA.

Tim Armstrong is a Vice President at Accel-KKR working on the firm's growth capital investments. He was previously a Principal at Sageview Capital, where he sourced, evaluated, and executed growth equity investments in B2B software and technology-enabled services companies. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.