Experience

Mr. Leeds has over 25 years of experience investing in private equity transactions in the Knowledge Industries. Prior to co-founding Leeds Equity, Mr. Leeds spent seven years specializing in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance at Lazard Freres & Co.  Prior to Lazard, Mr. Leeds served as a law clerk to the Hon. William J. Brennan, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Leeds also worked in the corporate department of the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York after graduating from law school.

Partner Companies

Current: CeriFi, engage2learn, Exterro, Fusion Education Group, INTO University Partnerships, LRN and Simplify Compliance
Prior: amplifire, BARBRI, Datamark, Endeavor Schools, Evanta Ventures, Miller Heiman, Real Page and SeatonCorp

Education

Harvard Law School  | J.D., Magna Cum Laude
Oxford University  | Marshall Scholar
Yale University  | B.A. in History, Summa Cum Laude

Experience

Jacques has over 27 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Leeds Equity in 2009, Jacques spent over 9 years with The Carlyle Group where he worked as a Principal in the firm's U.S. Buyout team. During his tenure at Carlyle, Jacques was an integral member of the team which founded the firm's Global Communications and Media Group. Prior to joining Carlyle, Jacques was an investment banker in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Salomon Smith Barney.

Partner Companies

Current: Anthology, Archer Review, Archive360, CeriFi, e.Republic, Exterro, Genius, LRN, OffSec and TalentNeuron

Prior: amplifire, BARBRI, Campus Management, Edcentric, Ex Libris Group and Evanta Ventures

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | B.S. in Finance with a concentration in Accounting, Summa Cum Laude 

Experience

Scott has over 23 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Leeds Equity in 2010, Scott worked at DLJ Merchant Banking Partners as a Principal and Quad-C Management as an Associate. He started his career as an investment banker in the Leveraged Finance Group at Bank of America.

Partner Companies

Current: 95% Group, Big Blue Marble Academy, Crucial Learning, eLuma, engage2learn, Fusion Education Group, Learnosity, OptionMetrics, Prosci, Scaled Agile, Simplify Compliance and TouchMath.

Prior: Endeavor Schools, Evanta Ventures, Fulcrum Financial Data, LePort Schools, Nobel Learning Communities and Project Management Academy

Education

University of Chicago Graduate School of Business | M.B.A., highest distinction

University of North Carolina | B.A. in Economics, high honors

Experience

Susan has over 25 years of experience in investment banking, private equity and education leadership.  Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Susan was Chief Operating Officer at 2U, Inc., where she oversaw all product and service delivery operations.  She was a founding team member of ThinkEquity Partners, where she led the education banking vertical, and later led investments in education platforms in the sector across the U.S. and Latin America.  Susan served as President of Executive Development at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, which designs and delivers executive leadership programs for Fortune 500 companies.  While at UNC, Susan also led the creation and growth of the school's ground-breaking online MBA program, MBA@UNC.  Susan began her career as an investment banker at Wachovia Bank and Merrill Lynch.  

Education

University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School  l M.B.A.
Julian H. Robertson / Tiger Fellow, Dean's Scholar

Duke University  l B.A. in Public Policy Studies
Benjamin N. Duke Leadership Scholar and National Merit Finalist

Experience

Elizabeth has over 15 years of investment experience across the capital structure from equity to senior and mezzanine debt.  Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Elizabeth was a General Partner at New Markets Venture Partners where she spent nearly a decade investing in early and growth stage companies in K12, higher education and workforce development.  Prior to joining New Markets, Elizabeth was a Senior Associate at The Gladstone Companies where she focused on control equity and mezzanine debt investments.  Elizabeth began her career as an Account Executive with M&T Bank's Commercial & Industrial Middle Market Lending Group.

Education

Columbia Business School | M.B.A.

Mount Holyoke College | B.A. in Politics, with Honors 

Experience

Annie has an extensive background in accounting, financial reporting, treasury, performance analysis, and compliance in support of private equity funds.  Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Ms. Shick was the CFO for Z Capital Group, a leading global investment firm across complementary private equity and credit investment businesses.  Ms. Shick spent over 6 years at Riverstone Holdings LLC, a global asset management firm that invests in the energy, power, and infrastructure sectors.  At Riverstone, Ms. Shick performed several roles including most recently serving as Director of Fund Accounting.  Ms. Shick previously served in numerous investment accounting roles at JP Morgan, General Motors Asset Management, and LS Power Equity Advisors / Edge Principal Advisors.  Earlier in her career, she was a Senior Associate in the Asset Management Practice at KPMG LLP in New York. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Illinois.

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign | M.S. in Accountancy

National Cheng Kung University | B.S. in Accountancy

Experience

Eric has over 18 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Leeds Equity in 2011, Eric worked at Arsenal Capital Partners as a Senior Associate and Lightyear Capital as an Associate. He started his career at Credit Suisse First Boston as an Analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group.

Partner Companies

Current: 95% Group, Crucial Learning, CeriFi, eLuma, engage2learn and TouchMath.

Prior: amplifire, BARBRI and Edcentric

Education

Stanford University Graduate School of Business | M.B.A.

University of Notre Dame | B.B.A. in Finance and Economics, Magna Cum Laude

Experience

Chris has over 15 years of private equity and investment banking experience.  Prior to joining Leeds Equity in 2008, Chris worked in both London and New York for Greenhill & Co. as an Analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group.

Partner Companies

Current: Archer Review, Big Blue Marble Academy, INTO University Partnerships, Prosci, Scaled Agile, Simplify Compliance and TalentNeuron

Prior: Endeavor Schools, LePort Schools, Nobel Learning Communities, Project Management Academy and SeatonCorp

Education

University of St. Andrews | BSc in Mathematics, First Class Honours 

Experience

Kevin has over 12 years of private and investment banking experience. Kevin joined Leeds Equity in 2010 as an Associate and previously was an investment banking Analyst at Harris Williams & Co. in the Richmond, VA office.

Partner Companies

Current: Archive360, Exterro, OffSec and LRN

Prior: Amplifire, BARBRI and Edcentric

Education

Olin Business School - Washington University in St. Louis | B.S.B.A. in Finance and International Business

Experience

David has over 12 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Leeds Equity in 2011, David worked at ICV Partners as an Associate and was a GOTV Organizer with the Ohio Campaign for Change. David began his career at Lehman Brothers, where he was an investment banker in the Global Consumer / Retail Group. 

Partner Companies

Current: Anthology, e.Republic, Fusion Education Group, Genius, Learnosity and OptionMetrics

Prior: Campus Management, Evanta Ventures, Ex Libris and Fulcrum Financial Data

Education

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania | M.B.A.

Morehouse College | B.A. in Business Administration, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude

Experience

Prior to joining Leeds, Kara was the Head of Investor Relations for Greenoaks Capital Partners, a leading growth equity investor in internet companies globally. Prior to Greenoaks, she was a Managing Director at Third Point where she drove strategy and execution of Investor Relations, Marketing, and Communications for nearly a decade. Previously, McCrossan was a part of the private equity team at Park Hill Group. Kara began her career at Goldman Sachs as a member of the Structured Credit team within the investment banking division.

Education

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business | Finance and Accounting with a minor in English, Cum Laude

Experience

Emily has over 8 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Leeds Equity in 2024, Emily was a Vice President at The Carlyle Group, where she worked on private equity transactions across various industries including business services, consumer, and media.  Prior to The Carlyle Group, she was an Associate at Centerview Capital.  Emily began her career at Morgan Stanley, where she was an investment banking Analyst.  

Partner Companies

Current: engage2learn, e.Republic, Genius, Learnosity, OffSec and Prosci

Education

Dartmouth College | A.B. in Economics, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Harvard Business School | M.B.A. with Distinction

Experience

Jack has over 6 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Leeds Equity in 2021, Jack was an Associate at PWP Growth Equity. Previously, Jack was an Analyst at Brookwood Associates.

Partner Companies

Current: 95% Group, LRN, Simplify Compliance and TouchMath.

Education

Emory University, Goizueta Business School | B.B.A. in Finance and Strategy
Columbia Business School | M.B.A.

Experience

Theo has over 4 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Leeds Equity in 2018, Theo was an Associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Rothschild and previously an Analyst at Dresner Partners.

Partner Companies

Current: Archer Review, Archive360, INTO University Partnerships, Exterro, and TalentNeuron

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | B.A. in Economics

Experience

Olivia joined Leeds Equity in 2021 as an Associate. Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Olivia worked at Raymond James as an Analyst in the Technology & Services group.

Partner Companies

Current: Archer Review, Engage2Learn, Genius, OptionMetrics and Fusion Education Group.

Education

Northeastern University | B.S. in Economics and Business Administration with a concentration in Finance

Experience

Will joined Leeds Equity in 2021 as an Associate. Prior to joining Leeds, Will worked at Canaccord Genuity as an Analyst in the Technology group. 

Partner Companies

Current: Anthology, Big Blue Marble Academy, CeriFi, e.Republic, Exterro & OffSec

Prior: Amplifire

Education

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania I B.S. in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Operations, Magna Cum Laude

Experience

Jon joined Leeds Equity in 2023 as an Associate. Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Jon worked at MTS Health Partners as an Analyst in the Healthcare Group.

Partner Companies

Current: eLuma, LRN, TalentNeuron and TouchMath.

Education

Emory University, Goizueta Business School | B.B.A. in Finance and Strategy

Experience

Tim joined Leeds Equity in 2024 as an Associate. Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Tim worked at Nomura as an Associate in the Technology Investment Banking Group.

Partner Companies

Current: 95 Percent Group, Crucial Learning and Learnosity

Education

Cornell University | B.A. in Economics

Experience

Nathan joined Leeds Equity in 2024 as an Associate. Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Nathan worked at Jefferies as an Analyst in the Technology & Telecom group and previously as an Analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Credit Research group.

Partner Companies

Current: Big Blue Marble Academy, Prosci and Scaled Agile.

Education

University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business | M.S. in Finance
California State University, Northridge, David Nazarian College of Business and Economics | B.S. in Finance

Experience

David joined Leeds Equity in 2024 as an Associate. Prior to joining Leeds Equity, David worked at Cain Brothers as an Analyst.

Partner Companies

Current: Archive360, Learnosity, OptionMetrics and Simplify Compliance

Education

Duke University | B.S. in Economics with a concentration in Finance

Experience

Danielle joined Leeds Equity in 2017, and is responsible for investor relations and business development.  Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Danielle worked in the Financial Services Group at Knowledgent, a leading provider of data and digital intelligence.  

Education

Salve Regina University | M.B.A.

Salve Regina University | B.A. in Marketing with a concentration in Business Administration

Experience

Chris has over 12 years of accounting and financial reporting experience in the asset management industry. Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Chris worked at Centre Lane Partners, LLC as an Accounting Manager covering several private equity vehicles. Earlier in his career, Chris was a Senior Associate in the Wealth & Asset Management practice at EY in New York. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York.

Education

University of Virginia | B.S. in Commerce

Experience

Meredith has over 7 years of tax accounting experience. Prior to joining Leeds Equity in 2022, Meredith worked at PwC in the Asset and Wealth Management group. She is a certified public accountant and a member of the AICPA.

Education

Baylor University | Masters of Taxation, B.B.A. in Accounting

Experience

Elle joined the accounting and finance team at Leeds Equity in 2018.  Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Elle worked in the accounting and finance department at Anbau Enterprises, a real estate development company.

Education

Fordham University | B.A. in Economics

Experience

Katie joined Leeds Equity in 2019 and is a member of the accounting and finance team. Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Katie worked at Deloitte in the Audit and Assurance department.

Education

University College Dublin | B. Comm