Team

Chris founded Edgewater Capital in 1998. He has more than 25 years of experience in private equity, with more than two decades devoted exclusively to the acquisition, development and divestiture of middle-market specialty industrials and life sciences companies. He has led and closed several of Edgewater’s investments and has served on the Boards and as Chairman of the Board of dozens of middle-market companies. Chris has extensive experience and expertise in closing complex and difficult carve outs and “first institutional equity” buyouts, and in driving strategy and growth from the Board level. Prior to Edgewater, he was an attorney in the M&A department of Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts, where he closed more than $2 billion in domestic and international acquisition, leveraged acquisition and debt-financing transactions, both for public and private companies. Prior to founding Edgewater, Chris worked in corporate law, finance and consulting in New York and Chicago. Chris has a BA in English and American Literature from Northwestern University and a JD from Fordham University School of Law.

Ryan serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Partner in addition to running the firm’s day to day activities. He oversees Edgewater’s portfolio management, as well as the firm's team, culture, and strategic initiatives. Ryan has over 20 years of experience in leveraged buyouts, M&A, and investment banking. He joined Edgewater in 2000 and has worked extensively on transaction origination, execution, portfolio management and managing the firm.  Prior to Edgewater, Ryan was an investment banker with NatCity Investments, Inc., the investment banking and brokerage subsidiary of National City Corporation. Ryan has a BS in Business Administration from Miami University and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Richard has over 40 years of experience in operations management, leveraged buyouts, entrepreneurship, management consulting, and sales. His responsibilities have included full company profit and loss, M&A, product development, and strategic planning in leadership positions at both domestic and international organizations. He has held various senior management and governance positions in manufacturing, distribution, and chemicals businesses. Richard joined Edgewater in 2003 as a member of our board of operating advisors and became a partner in 2004.

Richard earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from Ohio State University and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer (PE) in the state of Ohio.

Bob spends his time at Edgewater driving deal origination, transaction execution, and portfolio management. Prior to joining Edgewater in 2011 as an associate, he was an investment banker at Harris Williams & Co. and Candlewood Partners. While in investment banking, Bob completed a variety of corporate finance transactions, including M&A, leveraged financings, and other advisory services. Bob has served on the Boards of Edgewater portfolio companies Fiber Materials, FAR Chemical, TRITEC Performance Solutions, Callery, Pure Wafer, DanChem, and Haematologic Technologies. Bob has a BS in Corporate Finance from the University of Akron and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Pete is a Partner of the firm focused on sourcing, executing, and managing Edgewater’s investments. Pete is heavily involved in strategy development at Edgewater, as well as oversight of marketing and business development efforts. Pete has served on the Boards of Edgewater portfolio companies Naprotek, Iten Defense, Fiber Materials, FAR Chemical, ChemQuest, and Particle Dynamics. Previously, Pete was a vice president at Fidus Partners, where he spent six years focused on M&A across a variety of industries, including life sciences and specialty chemicals. Prior to Fidus, Pete was an investment banking analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets. Pete holds a BS in Economics and History from Vanderbilt University.

Brian leads Edgewater’s finance, accounting, compliance, HR and IT functions. His responsibilities include managing the firm’s accounting and tax requirements, investor relations, portfolio company financial oversight and financial and tax diligence on potential investments. Prior to joining Edgewater, Brian was a director in the transaction services practices of two international accounting firms for five years. Before that, he spent nine years in the assurance and transaction services practices of two “Big 4” accounting firms where his clients included Fortune 500 companies, privately held companies, and private equity firms focusing on the industrial products, chemicals, coatings, and information technology industries. Brian was also the CFO of an electronic health records company. Brian holds a BS in Accounting from Miami University.

Rakesh leads the Materials Outovation® practice at Edgewater Capital Partners. Rakesh spent 2 decades at Saint-Gobain ($50B multinational) serving in leadership roles in R&D, manufacturing, ventures, worldwide sales management, and in global general management – turning around an underperforming global engineered ceramics business. Rakesh has been a consultant for the C-suites of one of the largest primary metal companies; and for a mid-sized, fifth generation family held mining firm. Rakesh’s experiences emphasize growth by systematically looking “outside” the organization, a process he has trademarked as Materials Outovation®. Rakesh is a governance fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Rakesh served on the advisory board of the MIT Materials Processing Center. Rakesh holds a BTech in metallurgical engineering from IIT-Bombay and both MS and PhD degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT.

Chris works closely with the management teams of Edgewater portfolio companies as they establish and pursue their value creation plans. He also leads Edgewater’s Engineered Solutions practice, working with Edgewater’s deal team to identify and evaluate new opportunities for owner-operator partnerships and corporate carve-outs. Chris has worked in lower middle-market private equity since 2009 and joined Edgewater in 2019. Previously, he was an executive with Rohm & Haas (now DuPont) where he held a variety of commercial and operational roles in the industrial and electronics segments. Earlier in his career, Chris worked with the Boston Consulting Group and Lockheed Martin. Chris holds a BS in Management from Bucknell University and Master’s degrees in International Affairs (Georgetown University) and Engineering Systems/Logistics (MIT).

Brian leads Edgewater’s Life Science practice and is engaged with several portfolio companies in advisory roles spanning commercial, operational, and Board advisory. Brian has spent nearly three decades in the pharmaceutical services sector, developing and growing companies offering highly differentiated technologies and services. He is also the Founder and Managing Partner of Freedom Bioscience Partners, a consultancy firm focused on M&A and strategic business advisory to the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. Prior to launching Freedom, Brian served as CEO at Cambridge Major Laboratories, a global pharma contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on active pharmaceutical ingredients, solid state chemistry, and analytical services. Brian holds a BS in Chemistry from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Kirt Poss is an Executive Partner with Edgewater Capital Partners focused in the Life Science space.  Mr. Poss brings more than 25 years of executive healthcare leadership and business growth through M&A to Edgewater. Most recently, he served as CEO-US of ProtaGene, a leading provider of advanced analytics in biopharmaceutical and gene therapy platform development, which was acquired by private equity in 2021.  Previously, he founded and served as President and CEO of BioAnalytix, where he led the company from early commercial growth through M&A with Protagen Protein Services in 2019. Before founding BioAnalytix, Mr. Poss co-founded, ran and grew the biomarker imaging company VisEn Medical as President and CEO from early product development through worldwide commercialization and M&A with PerkinElmer in 2010. Earlier in his career, Mr. Poss worked in healthcare business strategy consulting with Kendall Strategies in Cambridge, MA, where he focused in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.  Before that he worked in scientific research at the Center for Molecular Imaging Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He is a co-author of several scientific publications and multiple patents in biomarker imaging and pharmaceutical development.

Sarita is a Principal on Edgewater’s investment team and focuses on all of the firm’s target industry verticals. She is responsible for identifying and developing key investment themes for new investment opportunities, transaction execution, and supporting the management teams of Edgewater’s portfolio through the development of strategic growth initiatives. Prior to joining Edgewater in 2019, Sarita was a vice president at a middle-market junior capital firm, where she was responsible for originating investment opportunities, investment execution and portfolio company oversight in a variety of industries. Before that, she was an investment banker focusing on the healthcare and technology verticals at several boutique firms in the Boston area. Sarita began her career within the assurance practice of a large multi-national accounting firm. Sarita has a BA from Boston College in Accounting and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Jason leads Edgewater’s business development function. Prior to joining Edgewater in 2019, Jason was an associate director at H.I.G. Capital, a lower middle-market private equity firm, where he was responsible for originating investment opportunities in the Industrials and Business Services sectors. Prior to H.I.G., he served as counsel and business development lead at a start-up financing platform that connected other start-up companies with early-stage investors. Earlier in his career, he worked at a large commercial litigation firm and the Major Crimes Division of the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office in Tampa, FL. Jason has a BS from Florida State University and a JD from the Stetson University College of Law.

Mack supports Edgewater's investment team, operating partners, and management teams as they seek to deploy capital and enhance portfolio companies through investment. He is responsible for deal execution, portfolio management, and sourcing. Previously, Mack worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group of KeyBanc Capital Markets. Mack has a BBA in Accounting and Finance from Ohio University.

James is primarily responsible for assisting the investment team, operating partners, and management teams in evaluating, underwriting, and monitoring new and existing investment opportunities. Previously, James was an investment banker at Capstone Headwaters, where he provided sell-side advisory services to clients across several industries in the lower-middle market. James holds a BA in Economics and Government from Wesleyan University.

J.R. is primarily responsible for assisting the investment team, operating partners, and management teams in evaluating, underwriting, and monitoring new and existing investment opportunities. Previously, J.R. was an Investment Banking Analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets in the Mergers & Acquisitions group where he worked on middle-market transactions across multiple industries. J.R. holds a BSBA with a specialization in Finance from The Ohio State University.

Kristen joined Edgewater in 2007 and is responsible for the administrative management of the firm. She has over 10 years of professional and financial management experience. Prior to Edgewater, Kristen served as head of human resources and as controller for Zoresco Equipment Co., Inc., a nationally recognized designer of transportation solutions. Kristen is currently a member of the Group of Aspiring Leaders (“GOAL”) at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, The Cleveland Society for Human Resource Management (“SHRM”) and the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association (“OCHA”). Kristen has an AAS in Applied Business from The University of Akron.

Carly supports Edgewater’s business development function. Previously, Carly worked as a supplier onboarding specialist at a financial process automation, procurement, and asset management services company, where she gained account management and sales experience. Carly holds a BA in Business Administration from Bluffton University.

Jennifer joined the Edgewater team in 2022 as an Executive Assistant supporting the business development team. She has 10 years of assistant experience in financial management. Prior to joining Edgewater, Jennifer worked at Quicken Loans as an Assistant, where she gained communication and organizational skills. Jennifer has a BA in Business Administration from John Carroll University.