Aea Investors

Named Chairman and President at AEA's founding in 1968 and led the New York investment team.

John Garcia is Chairman of AEA Investors and a Partner, having joined the firm in 1999 to lead its then-new European operations from London; he later served as President (2002), CEO (2006), and became Chairman in 2012, and helped establish AEA's Private Debt Funds and Small Business Funds. Before AEA, he held senior roles at Credit Suisse First Boston, including global head of the chemicals group, and was previously a managing director at Schroder Wertheim and held industrial positions at Atlantic Richfield. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of Kent, an M.A. and Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School.

Named Chairman of AEA in 1989.

Named Chairman of AEA in 1998.

Dan Fernholz is Head of Quantitative Modeling & Analysis and a Managing Director at AEA Investors, working within the firm's Middle Market Private Equity group. He has been with AEA for four years.

Derek Darves-Bornoz is Head of Data Science and Managing Director on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he builds the firm's internal data analytics capabilities to support the investment process and portfolio companies. Before AEA, he was Co-Head of Data Science at Millennium Management, working on alternative data sources related to the health care and consumer sectors. He holds a B.A. from Reed College and a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, both in sociology.

James Ho is a Partner on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he concentrates on Building Products & Services and Commercial & Field Services investments. Before joining AEA in 2001, he worked as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company in Chicago, advising private equity and corporate clients on acquisitions and post-merger integration. He holds a B.A. in economics and mathematical methods in the social sciences from Northwestern University.

Justin de La Chapelle is a Partner on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he focuses on the firm's investments in Building Products & Services, Distribution & Logistics, and Commercial & Field Services. Before AEA, he worked at Brera Capital Partners and at Banc of America Securities in its mergers and acquisitions and leveraged acquisition finance groups. He holds a B.A. in English Literature and mathematics from Georgetown University.

Martin Eltrich is a Partner on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he focuses on the Commercial & Field Services sector. Before AEA, he worked as an investment banker covering consumer products at Greenhill & Co., which he joined at its founding in 1996, and previously at Morgan Stanley. He holds a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Rahul Goyal is a Partner on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team and became Head of Strategic Relationships in 2021, focusing on the firm's industrials investments and managing intermediary, lender, corporate, and sponsor relationships. Before AEA, he worked as a strategy consultant at Bain & Co. in Chicago, advising corporate and private equity clients across industries. He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from Northwestern University.

Ramzi Gedeon is a Partner on AEA Investors' Middle Market Private Equity team, focusing on European investments in the Industrial Technology / Advanced Materials and Commercial & Field Services sectors. Before AEA, he spent 18 years as a partner at TPG Capital in London, completing investments across retail and consumer, industrials, building materials, technology, and telecom in multiple markets, and began his career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch in New York. He holds a B.A. in economics from Cambridge University and an M.A. in international and development economics from Yale University.

Felix Braun is a Principal on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he works on European investments across sectors including Industrial Technology/Advanced Materials, Building Products & Services, Distribution & Logistics, and Commercial & Field Services. Before AEA, he worked in Morgan Stanley's investment banking group in Sydney on M&A and financing for utility and industrial companies. He holds a Diplom-Kaufmann from the University of Mannheim and an M.B.A. from ESSEC Business School.

Marco Francescon is a Principal on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he works on investment opportunities in Europe, mainly in the industrial technology and advanced materials sectors. He previously worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley in London and Sydney, covering client coverage and M&A execution. He holds a B.A. with honors in philosophy, politics and economics and an MSc in African studies, both from Oxford University.

Nick Alers is a Principal on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he works on investments across Industrial Technology / Advanced Materials, Building Products & Services, Distribution & Logistics, and Commercial & Field Services. Before AEA, he worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley in New York, covering M&A and financings for transportation and logistics companies. He holds a B.A. in economics from Yale University, where he graduated with honors.

Thomas Donley is a Principal on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he focuses on the Building Products & Services, Distribution and Logistics, and Commercial & Field Services sectors. Before joining AEA, he worked at Bain & Company on private equity diligence and corporate transformation projects. He holds a B.S.E. from Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering.

Adam Goetsch is an Operating Partner and Head of e-Commerce on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he works with portfolio companies to improve their e-Commerce customer experiences and operating performance. Before AEA, he co-founded and served as managing partner of Inflection Shift Consulting, an e-Commerce consulting firm, and previously spent 14 years at Amazon.com in roles including general manager of its Lawn & Garden, Home & Furniture, and Automotive Parts & Service categories. He began his career at Ernst & Young and holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Alex Bales is a Vice President on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he works on investment opportunities in the Industrial Technology and Advanced Materials sectors. Before AEA, he worked in the Consumer & Retail group at Lazard Frères & Co. in New York, focusing on mergers and acquisitions. He earned a B.S. in business administration and a B.A. in mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ben Craine is a Business Development Associate on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team. He previously held a Business Development Associate role at AGC Partners in Boston. He holds a B.A. in International Political Economy from Colorado College.

Bhavika Gummadi is an Associate on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team. Before joining AEA, she worked as an investment banking analyst in Morgan Stanley's Global Industrials Group. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics from The Wharton School, concentrating in Finance and Statistics with a minor in Mathematics.

Charles (Chuck) Dougherty joined AEA Investors as an Operating Partner in 2023, where he works with portfolio companies on operating performance and growth initiatives. He previously served as President and CEO of Hardinge, Inc. (NASDAQ: HDNG), a machine tool systems supplier, and as President and CEO of American Science & Engineering Inc., with earlier leadership roles at Tyco Electronics Corporation and Motorola. He holds a B.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Villanova University, and attended the Northwestern Kellogg Executive Development Program.

Charlotte Emiel is an Associate on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team. Before AEA, she worked as a Manager at Strategy& in London and Amsterdam. She earned an MSc in Management from the London School of Economics, a Masters in Management from London Business School, and an MBA from INSEAD.

Christine Baker is an Associate on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team. Before joining AEA, she worked as an investment banking analyst in the Healthcare group at J.P. Morgan. She holds a BS in Applied Economics & Management with a concentration in Finance from Cornell University's Dyson School.

Christopher Brown is a Vice President on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he focuses on the Building Products & Services, Distribution & Logistics, and Commercial & Field Services sectors. Before joining AEA, he worked as an investment banking associate in the Technology, Media, and Telecom group at Goldman Sachs. He holds a B.A. in math and economics from Dartmouth College.

Cole Hattler is a Vice President on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he focuses on the Building Products & Services, Distribution & Logistics, and Commercial & Field Services sectors. Before AEA, he worked as an investment banking analyst in Credit Suisse's global industrials group. He earned a B.S.E. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Duke University, graduating cum laude.

Frank Herr is an Operating Partner on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he concentrates on the firm's industrial-sector portfolio companies and their value creation. Before joining AEA in 2014, he spent 11 years at Eaton Corp as general manager of its Hydraulics business in Greater China and its Power Distribution business in North Asia, and earlier served as Managing Director China for Arvin Meritor. He holds a B.S. in engineering mechanics from Tsinghua University, an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

Frederick (Freddie) Boscawen is an Associate on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team. He previously worked as a Consultant at EY-Parthenon. He holds a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University and an MSc in economics and finance from the London School of Economics.

Gabriele Giaroli is a Vice President in AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he focuses on investments in Industrial Technology / Advanced Materials, Building Products & Services, Distribution & Logistics, and Commercial & Field Services. Before AEA, he worked as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in San Francisco and Milan. He holds a B.A. in economics and computer science from Boston University and an M.B.A. from INSEAD.

George Harvey is a Vice President on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team. Before AEA, he worked as an investment banking analyst in Bank of America's Consumer & Retail group. He holds a B.A. in history with a math minor from Dartmouth College.

Jim Coleman is an Operating Partner on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team, where he works with portfolio companies on growth, operating performance, and digital transformation and technology initiatives. Before AEA, he spent over 30 years at Accenture as a senior managing director, most recently leading the firm's Chicago office and overseeing strategic client relationships and industry units in Consumer Goods & Retail and Chemicals & Utilities. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.

Leander Cortolezis is a Vice President on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team. Before joining AEA, he worked as a Consultant in the Private Equity group at Boston Consulting Group. He holds an M.Sc. in international management and a CEMS MIM from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Bocconi University.

Ram Capoor is an Associate on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity Team. Before joining AEA, he was an Associate at Parthenon Capital in Boston, focusing on healthcare and financial services. He holds a BSc in Finance and a BAS in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania through the Jerome Fisher M&T Program.

Ryan Glazer is a Senior Associate on AEA's Middle Market Private Equity team. Before AEA, he worked as a Senior Associate Consultant at Bain & Company in Toronto. He holds a B.A. & Sc. in economics and molecular biology from McGill University.

Shelie Gustafson is an Operating Partner, Talent on AEA Investors' Middle Market Private Equity team, where she works with portfolio company leadership on talent, organizational effectiveness, and operating performance, and leads AEA's Best Practice Council for portfolio CHROs. She previously served as Chief People Officer at Jacobs Solutions and held a leadership role at CH2M during its restructuring ahead of its acquisition by Jacobs. She holds a master's degree in organizational communication and a bachelor's degree in business administration, and holds NACD Board Director, SPHR, and GPHR certifications.