2024 ACG NY Family Office and Limited Partner Series

Ben Gardier | Panelist
Managing Partner | Blue Creek Capital Partners
CEO | Linen Fresh Laundry Holdings

Ben Gardier is a finance and operations executive with more than 18 years of experience, and currently serves as the Managing Partner of Blue Creek Capital Partners and CEO of Linen Fresh Laundry Holdings (LFLH). LFLH is pursuing a roll-up of laundry businesses, which include laundromats and commercial laundry & linen services companies. Ben has a track record of consistent year-over-year revenue and earnings growth spanning more than five years within the laundry industry.

Prior to Blue Creek and LFLH, Ben was a partner at Professional Equity Management (PEM) for nine years, overseeing acquisitions, capital markets, investor relations, tax strategies, and financial reporting. Under Ben’s leadership, PEM generated annualized returns in excess of 37%. Prior to PEM, Ben held the CFO position at National Laser Institute (NLI), managing finance and operations for the largest medical aesthetics school in North America. Before NLI, Ben was a Partner at Bond & Greenleaf, a boutique M&A advisory and management consulting firm. 

Ben holds a Master’s of Taxation and a Bachelor’s in Accountancy, along with Lean Green Belt, Six Sigma Green Belt, and Artificial Intelligence Certifications.

Jonathan Saltzman | Panelist
Managing Partner
Torque Capital Group

Jonathan Saltzman is the Managing Partner of Torque Capital Group.  At Torque, Mr. Saltzman takes a lead role in the sourcing, structuring, and financing of investments and the management, strategy, and growth of its portfolio companies, all in niche manufacturing in and around automotive and transportation related markets.  Together with the firm’s investment team and operating partners, Mr. Saltzman takes a hands-on, operational approach to building value in Torque’s portfolio companies.

Before co-founding Torque, Mr. Saltzman was a senior investment professional focused on manufacturing investments at The Cypress Group, a New York-based private equity firm.

Prior to The Cypress Group, Mr. Saltzman sourced and led transactions at BG Strategic Advisors, a boutique investment bank focused on the supply chain sector, leveraging the supply chain and operations experience and network he developed while working as the corporate finance manager of the Amsterdam-based transportation, logistics, and shipping multinational TNT NV (“TNT”).

Before TNT, Mr. Saltzman worked in the financial institutions group in Salomon Brothers’ investment bank, where he advised on a broad array of capital markets and M&A transactions for banks, specialty lenders, asset managers, and insurers.  Mr. Saltzman began his career as a public auditor in Ernst & Young’s financial services group.

Mr. Saltzman is currently a director of Cablecraft Motion Controls (transportation related actuation devices), Netform (automotive powertrain components), Maval Industries (automotive steering remanufacturing), Spektrum (automotive braking products), and XLD (automotive braking components) and was a director of various Torque and Cypress Group portfolio companies, including in the aerospace, building products, and logistics sectors. 

Mr. Saltzman is a CPA and earned an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA and a BBA with highest distinction from Emory University.  Mr. Saltzman is active in a variety of industry organizations as well as local charitable organizations in Fairfield County, Connecticut where he resides with his wife and three children and enjoys tennis, mountain biking and travel.

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Torque Capital Group LLC is a private equity firm that brings the experience, the knowledge, and the operational resources of large-cap principal investing to lower middle-market manufacturing businesses, with particular expertise in the automotive sector.  The firm seeks special situations and growth opportunities, teaming with high-quality management to deliver the expertise and the tools needed to improve efficiency, expand markets, and maximize value. 

Clemente Micara-Sartori | Panelist
Senior Operating Partner
Graham Capital Investments / Graham Family Office

Clemente Micara-Sartori is involved in deal flow creation, deal review, due diligence, as well as development of new investment ideas for various entities affiliated with Graham Partners, Inc., including Graham Capital Investments (GCI). He is also involved in Graham’s Investment Theme Program. 

Prior to joining Graham, Clemente co-founded and operated BreadVentures, Inc., a regional manufacturer and distributor of high-quality bakery products sold primarily to foodservice companies, supermarkets, and specialty food stores. He is an entrepreneur who has owned and operated manufacturing businesses and has also had prior experience in investment banking, private equity and consulting. Clemente started his career at Chemical Bank (New York, NY) as an associate in a newly formed M&A/Investment Banking group. Subsequently, he joined Westfield Capital Corporation (Greenwich, CT), an LBO firm\Independent Sponsor focusing on lower Middle Market transactions.

Clemente earned his B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University and his M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. In 2013 he completed the MIT Sloan Advanced Certificate for Executives in Management, Innovation, and Technology (ACE). Clemente has also taken several courses to update his knowledge and renew his expertise, including courses in Accounting and Financial Analysis (American Management Association) and Corporate Restructuring and Private Equity-Venture Capital (Harvard Business School-Executive Education). He also holds a CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional) certification from APICS (2012) and a Lean Six Sigma certification from Villanova University (2013).

Clemente was born and raised in Rome, Italy and has resided in the United States since 1981. He speaks three languages fluently (English, Italian and Spanish), is an art collector and a lifelong learner. In his spare time Clemente also enjoys reading books, and studying International Relations and Foreign Affairs.

Kevin Meyers | Panelist
Managing Partner & Co-Founder
First Haven Capital / Turtle Creek Investment Advisors 

Kevin Meyers is the Managing Partner of First Haven Capital and Co-Founder of its affiliate Turtle Creek Investment Advisors. His responsibilities include sourcing and evaluating non-control investment opportunities and portfolio monitoring. Prior to founding First Haven and Turtle Creek, Mr. Meyers worked at Caxton-Iseman Capital (now “CI Capital”), a middle market private equity firm based in New York where he initiated, evaluated, and structured private equity transactions and participated in the monitoring and expansion of portfolio companies. Mr. Meyers started his career as an investment banker in the Financial Sponsors Group at Credit Suisse First Boston. In addition to his co-investment responsibilities, Mr. Meyers overseas First Haven’s broader third-party manager platform which allocates to a wide range of fund strategies through a bespoke asset allocation model. Mr. Meyers, has served in many current and former advisory roles including as a member of corporate boards, limited partner advisory committees, industry associations and charitable organizations. Mr. Meyers graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is originally from Dallas, Texas.