2023 The State of Private Equity

Brian Little is a Managing Director in the Consumer M&A advisory practice for Kroll (f.k.a. Duff & Phelps) and is based in Los Angeles. Brian has over 20 years of experience advising middle-market clients on mergers and acquisitions and private placements of debt and equity. He has closed numerous transactions across the broader Consumer landscape, including Apparel, e-Commerce, Specialty Retail, Sporting Goods, Food & Beverage and Restaurants sectors.

Prior to joining Kroll, Brian served as a Managing Director at Imperial Capital where he led the firm’s Apparel practice. Brian has also held senior positions at US Bank, Union Bank and FocalPoint Partners.

Brian earned both his M.B.A. with an emphasis in Corporate Finance and his B.S. from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder and a FINRA-registered General Securities Principal with Series 7, 24, 63 and 79 licenses. Brian is a frequent lecturer on topics such as Valuation and Corporate Finance and is an Adjunct Professor of Finance and Business Economics at the University of Southern California.

Brian was recently recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of LA’s “Leaders of Influence” and “Most Influential Investment Bankers.”  He was also listed within the “40 in their 40s” publication, awarded to the top 40 professionals within the broader Accounting & Financial Services sector.

Leland is Co-Managing Partner of Endeavour, joining the firm in 2000, and opened the firm’s Los Angeles office in 2006. Over the years, Leland has worked with companies in transportation and logistics, business services, specialty retail, and the insurance and financial services industries. Leland currently serves on the boards of Berkeley Research Group, Impact Fulfillment Services, Visual Data Media Services, Dynamic Aerostructures, and M&M Thrift.

Prior to Endeavour, Leland was a member of Coopers & Lybrand’s consulting practice in San Francisco where he worked on corporate turnaround assignments and M&A diligence and integration projects.

Leland received an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an A.B. from University of California, Davis. In addition to his roles at Endeavour, Leland is on the board of the South Pasadena Education Foundation and is a member of the Pasadena chapter of YPO.  

Michael Kirton is a Partner at Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (“LGP”) focused on the middle market, and has been with the firm since joining as an Associate in 2007.

LGP is a leading private equity investment firm based in Los Angeles with over $70 billion of assets under management. The firm partners with experienced management teams and often with founders to invest in market-leading companies.

In his role, Michael helps source and evaluate investment opportunities and manage the firm’s portfolio companies in the business services, industrial and consumer verticals.

Prior to LGP, Michael worked in the investment banking division of Credit Suisse in its Los Angeles office.

Kort Schnabel is a Partner in the Ares Credit Group and serves as Co-Head for U.S. Direct Lending, serving on the U.S. Direct Lending Investment Committee. Additionally, he serves as Co-President of Ares Capital Corporation (Nasdaq: ARCC). He also serves on the Ares Sports, Media and Entertainment Investment Committee and acts as a co-lead for the strategy.

Prior to joining Ares in 2001, Mr. Schnabel was in the Corporate Development Group at Walker Digital Corporation, a business and technology research and development firm, where he was responsible for corporate finance, merger and acquisition and strategic planning activities. Previously, Mr. Schnabel was in the Corporate Finance Group at Morgan Stanley, where he performed financial analyses for mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and equity/debt offerings.

Mr. Schnabel holds a B.A., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania in Economics.

For more than 35 years, Michelle Taylor has been a recognized leader in the beauty industry as a board member, partner, and executive. Throughout her career, Ms. Taylor has been instrumental in leading brands to success, with an expertise in prestige cosmetics and overall brand building.

Michelle  has been an advisor to Gryphon Investors, San Francisco, in the Beauty Sector for the last 7 years. She provides strategic analyses and recommendations on target companies for acquisition and sits on the board of three beauty companies Gryphon has acquired during these years: Milani Cosmetics, RoC Skincare and REVISION Skincare.

Ms. Taylor is currently on the Board of Leaders at USC Marshall School of Business as well as the Gryphon Investors Executive Advisory. She formerly served on the Boards of Cosmetic Executive Women and Girls Inc. of Santa Barbara. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from UCLA and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.