Ballast Point Ventures

Ballast Point Ventures is a team of eleven dedicated professionals who possess a wealth of financial, investment and operating experience, including over a century of collective experience in the areas of venture capital, private equity, entrepreneurial management and investment banking.

Members of the team have built highly successful private and public companies and have invested in and advised over 100 private growth companies over the past 25 years. We work as a team, and the resources and network of the entire firm, and not just one investment professional, are available to our entrepreneur partners.

As one of the largest venture capital firms in the Southeast, the BPV team is uniquely positioned to forge long-term relationships with entrepreneurs to provide capital, experience and valuable relationships to companies experiencing rapid growth.

Whether exploiting an opportunity or confronting an unexpected challenge – and every business experiences both – we ensure that our entrepreneur partners take full advantage of our team’s experience and resources.

Drew Graham, Partner

Prior to co-founding Ballast Point Ventures in 2001, Drew spent six years at South Atlantic Venture Funds. Drew joined South Atlantic in 1995 and was a Principal and General Partner in South Atlantic Ventures Funds III and IV. He has invested in numerous private growth companies across several industries, including healthcare, software, business services, communications and consumer.

Drew began his private equity career with the Merchant Banking Division of Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. in New York and also worked as a management consultant at the Parthenon Group in Boston.

He graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, and from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration with an MBA, with Distinction.

Drew is the Managing Partner responsible for overseeing the operations of the firm.  In addition, he currently serves as Chairman of Watermark Medical Holdings (dba SleepMed) and serves on the board of Molecular MD and MeYou Health.  He previously served as Chairman of KBI BioPharma and kSep Holdings  and represented BPV at Innocutis, QOL Medical, Knology, Lifestyle Family Fitness and Optical Experts Manufacturing.  Drew also serves as Chairman of the Tampa General Hospital Foundation and as a member of the Board of Directors of Tampa General Hospital.  He also is a Director of the Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research through an appointment in 2016 by Florida Governor Rick Scott.

Paul Johan, Partner

Prior to co-founding Ballast Point Ventures in 2001, Paul spent four years in the Investment Banking Group of Raymond James & Associates. He served as a Vice President in the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Telecommunications Groups, where he was the senior banker responsible for the Telecommunications Equipment practice. Paul helped companies raise over $2 billion of debt and equity capital and advised clients in mergers and acquisitions transactions totaling over $1 billion.

Paul was previously an investment banker with Wachovia Securities and a founder of Hunter Capital’s Atlanta office where he was responsible for the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions business.

He graduated from Emory University with a bachelor’s degree, and from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia with an MBA.

Paul focuses on technology-enabled services companies, including companies in the communications and financial services industries.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Prepaid Technologies, Instawares Holding Company, Vazata, InsuranceZebra, and PDQ Southern Texas, and he represents BPV at HotSchedules.  Paul previously represented BPV at Tower Cloud, Florida Bank Group, Cbeyond Communications, Incomm Holdings, FSV Payment Systems, GHN-Online and Wave 7 Optics.

Matt Rice, Partner

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2004, Matt began his career in the Health Care Investment Banking Group of Raymond James Financial where he focused primarily on the specialty pharmaceutical, drug distribution and contract research organization sectors.  Matt also worked in the Strategic Alliances group at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research prior to rejoining BPV as a Vice President in 2008.

He graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration with an MBA.

Matt leads BPV’s health care practice and currently serves on the Board of Directors at MolecularMD, TissueTech, Y-Prime, MeYou Health, Theragen, Iconixx, IRIS, and previously represented BPV at Innocutis.  He also serves on the St. Joseph’s Hospitals Board of Directors (Baycare Health System).

Robert Faber, Partner

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2010, Robert worked for three years as an Associate for Wachovia Capital Partners, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based private equity fund affiliated with Wachovia Corporation.  While at Wachovia Capital Partners, now known as Pamlico Capital, Robert focused on investments in the media, communications, business services and energy sectors.  He also worked previously as an Analyst for two years in the Leveraged Finance Group of Wachovia Securities, also in Charlotte.

He graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree and from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth with an MBA.

Robert focuses on technology-enabled business service companies with a particular emphasis on software-as-a-service companies.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of PowerDMS, PowerChord and TicketBiscuit and as a Board Observer at Prepaid Technologies.

Sean Barkman, Principal

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2011, Sean spent three years in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Raymond James where he was actively involved in both mergers and acquisitions and capital raising efforts.  Sean holds a B.S.B.A. in Finance from the University of Central Florida, where he graduated summa cum laude, and a Masters of Business Administration from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College.

Sean focuses on technology-enabled business service companies with a particular emphasis on Software-as-a-Service companies.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Y-Prime and is actively involved with PowerDMS.  He was previously active with portfolio companies kSep Holdings, KBI Biopharma and Innocutis.  He also serves on the Investor Advisory Board of the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research and on the Board of Directors of the Florida Venture Forum.

Jeff Smith, Vice President

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2016, Jeff worked for three years at Arbor Investments, a Chicago, Illinois-based private equity firm. While at Arbor, Jeff focused on investments in the food manufacturing, packaging, and distribution sectors. He also worked previously as an Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York covering the basic materials and insurance sectors.

Jeff holds a B.A. in Finance from Michigan State University, where he graduated with Highest Honors, and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. During business school, Jeff worked for Benford Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations of smaller, lower middle market companies.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Theragen.

Carol Bear, Director of Administration

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2004, Carol spent 14 years in the retail industry. She held various positions with Home Depot over her 11 year tenure there, including Product Merchandise Manager for the Southeast Division, Administrative Analyst to the President of the Southeast Division and Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President of Finance. Following her tenure with Home Depot, Carol spent three years with Liberty Hardware (a Masco company), initially as National Field Service Director and later as Senior Director of Sales and Marketing.

Beckett Brandewie, Associate

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2016, Beckett worked in the Technology Investment Banking group at Raymond James, with a specific focus on mergers and acquisitions and capital raises in the software and technology services sector. Beckett graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Biomolecular Science.

Carl Schifanella, Senior Analyst

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures full-time, Carl interned at Ballast Point Ventures and Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners. He graduated, magna cum laude, from the University of Tampa with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and a minor in Economics.

Gina Orsino, Executive Assistant

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2017, Gina was a Senior Executive Assistant for Teva Pharmaceuticals supporting executives in Biosimilars and multiple divisions of Global Generics Medicines.   Prior to joining Teva, Gina was the Personal Assistant to the President of Asplundh Tree Expert Co. and spent 18 years as an Executive Assistant for City Sign Service, Inc.  She graduated from Kutztown University with a Bachelors of Science degree.

Drew Graham, Partner

Prior to co-founding Ballast Point Ventures in 2001, Drew spent six years at South Atlantic Venture Funds. Drew joined South Atlantic in 1995 and was a Principal and General Partner in South Atlantic Ventures Funds III and IV. He has invested in numerous private growth companies across several industries, including healthcare, software, business services, communications and consumer.

Drew began his private equity career with the Merchant Banking Division of Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. in New York and also worked as a management consultant at the Parthenon Group in Boston.

He graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, and from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration with an MBA, with Distinction.

Drew is the Managing Partner responsible for overseeing the operations of the firm.  In addition, he currently serves as Chairman of Watermark Medical Holdings (dba SleepMed) and serves on the board of Molecular MD and MeYou Health.  He previously served as Chairman of KBI BioPharma and kSep Holdings  and represented BPV at Innocutis, QOL Medical, Knology, Lifestyle Family Fitness and Optical Experts Manufacturing.  Drew also serves as Chairman of the Tampa General Hospital Foundation and as a member of the Board of Directors of Tampa General Hospital.  He also is a Director of the Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research through an appointment in 2016 by Florida Governor Rick Scott.

Paul Johan, Partner

Prior to co-founding Ballast Point Ventures in 2001, Paul spent four years in the Investment Banking Group of Raymond James & Associates. He served as a Vice President in the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Telecommunications Groups, where he was the senior banker responsible for the Telecommunications Equipment practice. Paul helped companies raise over $2 billion of debt and equity capital and advised clients in mergers and acquisitions transactions totaling over $1 billion.

Paul was previously an investment banker with Wachovia Securities and a founder of Hunter Capital’s Atlanta office where he was responsible for the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions business.

He graduated from Emory University with a bachelor’s degree, and from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia with an MBA.

Paul focuses on technology-enabled services companies, including companies in the communications and financial services industries.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Prepaid Technologies, Instawares Holding Company, Vazata, InsuranceZebra, and PDQ Southern Texas, and he represents BPV at HotSchedules.  Paul previously represented BPV at Tower Cloud, Florida Bank Group, Cbeyond Communications, Incomm Holdings, FSV Payment Systems, GHN-Online and Wave 7 Optics.

Matt Rice, Partner

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2004, Matt began his career in the Health Care Investment Banking Group of Raymond James Financial where he focused primarily on the specialty pharmaceutical, drug distribution and contract research organization sectors.  Matt also worked in the Strategic Alliances group at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research prior to rejoining BPV as a Vice President in 2008.

He graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration with an MBA.

Matt leads BPV’s health care practice and currently serves on the Board of Directors at MolecularMD, TissueTech, Y-Prime, MeYou Health, Theragen, Iconixx, IRIS, and previously represented BPV at Innocutis.  He also serves on the St. Joseph’s Hospitals Board of Directors (Baycare Health System).

Robert Faber, Partner

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2010, Robert worked for three years as an Associate for Wachovia Capital Partners, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based private equity fund affiliated with Wachovia Corporation.  While at Wachovia Capital Partners, now known as Pamlico Capital, Robert focused on investments in the media, communications, business services and energy sectors.  He also worked previously as an Analyst for two years in the Leveraged Finance Group of Wachovia Securities, also in Charlotte.

He graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree and from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth with an MBA.

Robert focuses on technology-enabled business service companies with a particular emphasis on software-as-a-service companies.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of PowerDMS, PowerChord and TicketBiscuit and as a Board Observer at Prepaid Technologies.

Sean Barkman, Principal

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2011, Sean spent three years in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Raymond James where he was actively involved in both mergers and acquisitions and capital raising efforts.  Sean holds a B.S.B.A. in Finance from the University of Central Florida, where he graduated summa cum laude, and a Masters of Business Administration from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College.

Sean focuses on technology-enabled business service companies with a particular emphasis on Software-as-a-Service companies.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Y-Prime and is actively involved with PowerDMS.  He was previously active with portfolio companies kSep Holdings, KBI Biopharma and Innocutis.  He also serves on the Investor Advisory Board of the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research and on the Board of Directors of the Florida Venture Forum.

Jeff Smith, Vice President

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2016, Jeff worked for three years at Arbor Investments, a Chicago, Illinois-based private equity firm. While at Arbor, Jeff focused on investments in the food manufacturing, packaging, and distribution sectors. He also worked previously as an Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York covering the basic materials and insurance sectors.

Jeff holds a B.A. in Finance from Michigan State University, where he graduated with Highest Honors, and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. During business school, Jeff worked for Benford Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations of smaller, lower middle market companies.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Theragen.

Carol Bear, Director of Administration

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2004, Carol spent 14 years in the retail industry. She held various positions with Home Depot over her 11 year tenure there, including Product Merchandise Manager for the Southeast Division, Administrative Analyst to the President of the Southeast Division and Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President of Finance. Following her tenure with Home Depot, Carol spent three years with Liberty Hardware (a Masco company), initially as National Field Service Director and later as Senior Director of Sales and Marketing.

Beckett Brandewie, Associate

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2016, Beckett worked in the Technology Investment Banking group at Raymond James, with a specific focus on mergers and acquisitions and capital raises in the software and technology services sector. Beckett graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Biomolecular Science.

Carl Schifanella, Senior Analyst

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures full-time, Carl interned at Ballast Point Ventures and Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners. He graduated, magna cum laude, from the University of Tampa with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and a minor in Economics.

Gina Orsino, Executive Assistant

Prior to joining Ballast Point Ventures in 2017, Gina was a Senior Executive Assistant for Teva Pharmaceuticals supporting executives in Biosimilars and multiple divisions of Global Generics Medicines.   Prior to joining Teva, Gina was the Personal Assistant to the President of Asplundh Tree Expert Co. and spent 18 years as an Executive Assistant for City Sign Service, Inc.  She graduated from Kutztown University with a Bachelors of Science degree.

Venture Partners

Donald Burton, Venture Partner
Prior to his involvement with Ballast Point Ventures, Don was the founder and Managing Partner of the four South Atlantic Venture Funds founded in 1983 with $175 million under management. He is also the founder and Managing Partner of The Burton Partnerships, a partnership focused primarily on publicly traded, small capitalization value stocks.

Don began his investment career as a Securities Analyst at Fidelity Management & Research Company in Boston and later joined Fidelity’s venture capital subsidiary, Fidelity Venture Associates. He then became a General Partner of Fidelity Ventures Limited, which made venture capital investments in small, rapidly growing, privately owned companies throughout the United States.

Don was also a Director of the National Venture Capital Association and has served as a Trustee of The Heritage Group of Mutual Funds. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of a family of Blackrock-sponsored mutual funds.

Don graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree and received an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

O. Gene Gabbard, Venture Partner
Before his involvement with Ballast Point Ventures, Gene was a Managing Director of South Atlantic Venture Fund IV and a Special Limited Partner of South Atlantic Venture Funds I, II and III.

From 1990 to 1993, Gene was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of MCI Communications Corporation. He served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Telecom*USA (previously SouthernNet, Inc.) from 1983 to 1990, when Telecom*USA, the fourth largest U.S.-based long distance company, was acquired by MCI for $1.2 billion. Prior to forming SouthernNet, Inc., Gene was a founder and President of Digital Communications Corporation (now Hughes Network Systems), a manufacturer of telecommunications hardware. He later merged Digital Communications Corporation with Microwave Associates, Inc. to form M/A-Com, Inc. for which he served as a Vice President until founding SouthernNet in 1983.

In private industry as a Member Technical Staff and Section Head for COMSAT Laboratories, Mr. Gabbard was one of the inventors of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), the technology discovery that has helped power the digital wireless revolution. Throughout his professional career he was awarded more than a dozen patents in digital data processing and transmission.

Gene is a director of several public and private companies and also serves on the Board of Trustees of Mercer University.

Gene graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in Electrical Engineering and received his master’s in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He previously served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

Raymond James Advisory Group

The BPV team enhances its effectiveness and expands the reach of its network through its relationship with the Raymond James Advisory Group. The Advisory Group offers investment perspective and a comprehensive view of capital markets in addition to assistance with important due diligence issues. The Group also ensures that the resources and network of Raymond James Financial, including over 100 investment bankers and research analysts focused on key growth industries, are available to BPV and its entrepreneur partners.

Tom James, Chairman of the Advisory Group
Tom is the Executive Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE-RJF). He is also a past chairman of The Financial Services Roundtable and the Securities Industry Association (now SIFMA). Tom has served on the boards of numerous public and private companies.

Tom graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and received an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar and graduated with high distinction. Tom also holds a JD from Stetson College of Law and a Certified Financial Planner designation.

Jeff Trocin, Member of the Advisory Group
Jeff is an Executive Vice President of Raymond James Financial and has directed the firm’s Equity Capital Markets group, which includes the firm’s investment banking, research, institutional sales, trading and syndicate operations, since 1996. He also serves as a member of the firm’s Capital Markets Commitment Committee.

Prior to joining Raymond James, Jeff was a member of the Corporate Finance Department of Merrill Lynch Capital Markets and a marketing manager for Burroughs Corporation in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Jeff graduated from the University of Miami with honors with a degree in Economics and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Bob Anastasi, Member of the Advisory Group
Bob is a Senior Managing Director and Director of Equity Research, overseeing Raymond James & Associates’ Research Analysts. He also serves on the Raymond James Capital Markets Commitment Committee. In addition to his management role, he continues to cover select companies in the IT hardware & distribution sector.

Prior to joining Raymond James, Bob held senior level management positions at The Robinson Humphrey Company in Atlanta and also held management positions at Hewlett Packard and Ford Motor Company.

Bob graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor of science degree and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Limited Partner Advisory Board

D. Scott Luttrell, LCM Group
Scott Luttrell is Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of LCM Group, Inc., an investment firm specializing in alternative asset funds management and financial market consulting services. Scott has over 35 years of investment and financial market experience with particular expertise in hedge fund and fund of funds, venture capital, private equity, foreign exchange, and fixed income investing.

Scott launched LCM Group in 1988 with its first hedge fund and after three years merged the investment activities of LCM Group with Caxton Associates, LLC, a New York based diversified investment firm. Serving from 1991 through 2000 as Principal and senior officer of Caxton, Scott’s responsibilities included Senior Trading Manager, Director of Global Fixed Income and senior member of the firms’ portfolio risk management committee.

Scott currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the YMCA Retirement Fund, a $6 billion retirement fund serving the employees of the YMCA.  He also serves on several private company Board of Directors and is active in various academic and community organizations including serving on the Southern Methodist University’s Cox School Executive Board and the Cox School Alternative Asset Management Center Board of Advisors.

Scott graduated from Southern Methodist University with a degree in Business Administration/Finance and attended Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program in corporate governance.

John Touchton, The Witt-Touchton Company
John Touchton is a third-generation partner and President of The Witt-Touchton Company, a family investment partnership in Tampa, Florida.  Previously, he was a founding partner at Bayshore Capital Advisors and also worked at Lazard Frères & Co. in New York and for NationsBank Investment Banking in Charlotte, North Carolina.

John currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Berkeley Preparatory School, and he is a member of the Board of Directors of Tampa General Hospital, where he chairs the Strategic Planning and Investment Committees.  John formerly served as Chairman of the Tampa General Hospital Foundation and as President of CFA Tampa Bay.  He was a member of the Advisory Faculty of the Institute for Private Investors in New York City, and a member of the Private Client Task Force for the CFA Institute.

John graduated with honors from Washington & Lee University and received an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

Brett Couch, Regions Bank
Brett Couch is Senior Executive Vice President and oversees banking operations in the bank’s East Region, which includes Florida (excluding the Panhandle), Georgia, East Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. He is also a member of Regions Operating Committee. Regions is a regional bank that operates throughout the South, Midwest and Texas and is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.

Prior to assuming his current duties in 2008, he served as Mississippi state president and area president for West Florida. Brett previously held various positions, including head of Business Banking, manager of Credit Review and commercial sales manager. Prior to joining Regions, he worked in National Accounts for SunTrust Bank.

Brett graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in Corporate Finance. He is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

Brett serves on the boards of directors of the Tampa Metropolitan YMCA (Governance Board Chair), Enterprise Florida (Past Vice Chair) and Florida Council of 100. He also has prior leadership roles with United Way, American Heart Association (Heart Walk Chair – 2007) and Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo.

Gustavo Cardenas, Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC
Gustavo Cardenas is a Vice President on Hamilton Lane’s Investment Team, based in the firm’s Ft. Lauderdale office, where he sources, performs diligence and actively monitors direct and fund investments, primarily in Florida but also for Hamilton Lane’s global co-investment vehicles. As a member of the in-state team, Gustavo supports the Florida Growth Fund through outreach efforts, deal investment sourcing and client support.

Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2012, Gustavo was at Mesoamerica Partners, an investment and advisory group focused on Central America and Colombia. Previously, he was with Banc of America Securities in their financial institutions group investment banking division.

Gustavo graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Economics and received an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Eric Obeck, Hancock Bank
Eric Obeck became Whitney Bank regional president in 2008, expanding that executive role when Hancock acquired Whitney in 2011. Eric recently extended his executive oversight to include all lines of business in Hancock’s Florida, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi markets. His experience includes 11 years at Barnett Bank in Tampa and 10 years running three start-up companies in the healthcare, internet, and marketing technology industries, respectively.

Eric is the immediate past chairman of the St. Joseph Hospitals Board of Trustees and currently serves on the executive committee of the BayCare Health System Board of Trustees and chairs the finance committee.

Eric graduated from Washington & Lee University with a degree in Economics.

Peter Chiste, PNC Venture, LLC
Pete Chiste joined PNC Equity Management Corp. in 2001 to manage its portfolio of venture capital and private equity partnership investments represented by limited partnership interests. The portfolio has over 150 funds and $700 million in committed capital. Additionally, Pete has responsibility for over $300 million in other alternative and equity oriented investments held by PNC Investment Corp., including hedge fund investments and direct investments in private and public entities. He is a member of PNC’s Alternative Investment Management Committee.

Previously, Pete was a Vice President in the Venture Fund Investments Unit of Banc One Venture Partners,where he focused on private equity fund investments and development of a fund-of-funds product offering. He has 20 years of institutional trust and investment management experience.

Pete graduated from Rutgers College with a degree in Business Administration and English Literature, received a JD from Rutgers School of Law, and received an MBA in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

 

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