The partners of Mangrove have 40+ years of private equity experience and forty-nine years of operating experience. The principals have invested over $400 million of equity over an aggregate of seven funds with strong results.
Glenn Oken, Managing Director
Prior to co-founding Mangrove, Glenn was the most tenured partner at Florida Capital Partners, having been instrumental in building FCP into one of the most successful small deal funds in the nation. During his eighteen years at FCP, Glenn became well known for his candid and effective "win/win" partnering with company owners, managers, and their advisors. Glenn is a firm believer in the importance of both reactive efforts, considering opportunities that come to him from regular communication with his valued relationships with intermediaries and advisors, and proactive efforts in industries of interest, often facilitated by a relationship with a leading manager from within that industry.
Glenn worked in the southeastern headquarters of L.F. Rothschild and at NCNB National Bank early in his career. Glenn holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia.
Glenn's primary focus at Mangrove is originating deal opportunities and qualifying acquisition candidates. He also assists Mangrove portfolio companies with corporate development issues and is a member of Mangrove's Investment Committee.
Hunter Reichert, Managing Director
Prior to co-founding Mangrove, Hunter was a founding partner of Harren Equity Partners. Previous to HEP, Hunter spent six years with Charlottesville, Virginia-based Quad-C, Inc. He began his career at RFE Investment Partners, a $200 million venture capital partnership located in New Canaan, CT. Hunter received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with Honors from Hamilton College and a Masters in Business Administration from The Darden School at the University of Virginia.
Hunter leads Mangrove's transaction execution team. In addition, he contributes to both Mangrove's deal sourcing efforts and to portfolio company operating initiatives. Hunter is a member of Mangrove's Investment Committee.
Prior to co-founding Mangrove, Matt was a partner and Managing Director at Florida Capital Partners. Matt joined FCP in 2001 as the firm's first operating partner. During his five years at FCP, Matt served on FCP's investment committee and participated in the evaluation, negotiation, and closing of multiple platform and add-on investments. Matt has worked with all of the portfolio companies in FCP V and VI to create value in a number of ways, including operational re-engineering, recruiting management talent, rationalizing vendors, managing working capital, implementing pricing strategies, enhancing the sales function, and installing financial controls and systems.
Before joining FCP, Matt held several key operating positions in small to medium sized companies, including as manager of North American operations for Melitta KG (a $2BB German family-owned company), and as the senior product manager for an AMF related company. Matt spent seven years consulting with Booz-Allen & Hamilton and a small engineering consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Matt holds a Bachelors Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, a Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech, and a Masters in Business Administration from The Darden School at the University of Virginia.
Matt leads Mangrove's portfolio management and value creation efforts and is a member of Mangroves' Investment Committee.
Roger Bates, Operating Partner
Roger has over twenty-two years of professional operating experience, twelve of which have been as an operational consultant to small and mid-sized companies. Roger is an advocate of "extreme performance," and has successfully partnered with several management teams to energize their workforce, develop a culture of data driven continuous improvement, reduce waste, improve quality, and accelerate profitable growth. Mr. Bates founded a performance management consulting practice in 1993 after an extensive career in Quality/Manufacturing Engineering, and Engineering Management for Defense/Aerospace and Tier 1 Automotive suppliers. Roger has a solid record of successfully integrating the quality and performance management tools used by larger companies into small companies and organizations without destroying their entrepreneurial spirit. Roger holds a Mechanical Engineering Degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Matt recruited Roger to our predecessor fund in 2002 where Roger built considerable value for the firm and many of its portfolio partners. Matt and Roger first worked together at Melitta in 1996 and re-engineered its coffee filter manufacturing operation. Together, they increased productivity by 62% in a 12-month period.
Barry Korthuis, Operating Partner
Barry started his career as a CPA at Deloitte & Touche, and was a member of the Microsoft audit team. As a public accountant, Barry consulted with several high growth companies, helping them build and enhance systems, policies, and procedures. Barry left public accounting and entered the industry in 1993, and served as the Midwest Region Director of Finance and Administration for AmeriServe during their aggressive growth through acquisition; expanding from a $1.5 billion to an $8.5 billion revenue foodservice distributor.
Matt recruited Barry to our predecessor fund in 2004 as an accounting/finance information systems consultant to the firm's portfolio companies. Barry has successfully implemented valuable improvements in several of the portfolio companies’ accounting and information management systems. Barry previously worked with Matt at Pacific Bag where he solidified the company's financial systems and ultimately became a co-president and shareholder of the company.
Barry holds a degree in Business/Accounting from the University of Washington, and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Kyle Wright
Kyle works closely with Glenn in sourcing and vetting attractive companies and industries in which to invest. While a student, Kyle’s work experience included a stint in Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, and teaching experience in China. Kyle graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S and a B.A. from The University of Tampa. Kyle also studied in Ireland, Scotland, China, and Italy.
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Kristen Bistany, Office Manager
Kristen leads the back office functions at Mangrove. Prior to joining Mangrove, Kristen worked in client services with Brown Brothers Harriman and Merrill Lynch. Kristen received a Bachelors Degree in Finance from The University of Central Florida.
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