Hwikeun Kim Dartmouth College St. Cloud Intern Reflection, May 2021 I am currently a Junior at Dartmouth College, studying Economics. This is my 2nd internship at St Cloud Capital, LLC; this time as a Winter/Spring 2021 intern. I had one of the best internship experiences here at the firm in the Winter of 2019, and […]
Read MoreOur Team
Cohesive team with investing experience through multiple economic cycles.
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Benjamin Hom close
Benjamin Hom is a Managing Partner of St. Cloud Capital, LLC (together with its affiliates, “St. Cloud”). Mr. Hom is a member of the Investment Committee of St. Cloud and is responsible for sourcing, execution, and portfolio monitoring functions. Previously, Mr. Hom worked in the Investment Banking Group at Bear, Stearns & Company, where his experience included mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, public and private equity offerings, and debt financings. Mr. Hom focused on middle market clients in a variety of industries including business services, restaurants, communications, technology, and health care services. His prior experience also includes working at KPMG and Parnassus Investments. Mr. Hom currently serves as a Member or Observer on the Board of Directors of JibJab, LLC, AR HIIT, LLC (an Orangetheory Fitness franchisee), BigRentz Inc., AleraCare Holdings, LLC, AdvancedOne Legal, LLC and Transom Bravo Holdings, LLC. Mr. Hom serves on the Western Region Committee for the Small Business Investor Alliance (“SBIA”). Mr. Hom previously served as a Director on the board of Midnite Air Corporation and served as a Board Observer of Tuff Shed, Inc., among others. Mr. Hom is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), Beverly Hills Chapter. Mr. Hom received a Bachelor of Arts in Business & Economics with a minor in Accounting from the University of California, Los Angeles. He resides in Brentwood, CA with his wife and three sons.
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Kacy Rozelle close
Kacy Rozelle is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of St. Cloud. Mr. Rozelle is a member of the Investment Committee of St. Cloud and is responsible for sourcing, execution, and portfolio monitoring functions. His middle and lower-middle market corporate finance and investment banking experience also includes an additional ten years at Jefferies & Company, Inc., where Mr. Rozelle served as a member of the firm’s Taxable Fixed Income Executive Committee, and where he participated in the structuring and placement of more than $40 billion of securities, including more than $10 billion of public and private equity. Mr. Rozelle began his career at Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin, a Los Angeles-based investment bank, where he assisted on a wide range of services for middle market companies including mergers and acquisitions, financial opinions and valuation, and advisory assignments. Mr. Rozelle currently serves as a member or observer on the Board of Directors of AutoReturn, LLC; Burke Williams, Inc., Apple Montessori Schools, LLC and Renters Warehouse USA, LLC. Mr. Rozelle previously served on the Board of Directors of: Pipeworks, Inc., Johnson Products Company, Inc.; SAFE Security, Inc.; National Holdings (OTC: NHLD.OB); Frontline Sales, Inc.; and Earl Scheib, Inc.; among others. Kacy Rozelle serves as a Western Region committee member for the Small Business Investor Alliance (“SBIA”). Mr. Rozelle is also an active member of the Santa Monica Bay Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO Gold). Mr. Rozelle earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a BS in Finance from Virginia Tech. He resides in Pacific Palisades, CA with his wife and three children.
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Robert Lautz close
Robert Lautz is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of St. Cloud. Mr. Lautz is a member of the Investment Committee of St. Cloud and is responsible for sourcing, execution, and portfolio monitoring functions. Mr. Lautz has over 25 years of operating experience as a business owner, entrepreneur, and CEO of both private and public companies. At St. Cloud, he serves as operating partner and, if necessary, turnaround manager. Mr. Lautz’s prior business involvement includes being Chairman and co-founder of REO.com, an internet-based sales mechanism for bank foreclosed properties. Prior to that he served as the CEO of ListingLink, the original Internet-based residential property multiple listing service. Mr. Lautz formed and was Chairman and CEO of Indenet, Inc., a NASDAQ listed private satellite-based network that delivered digital advertisements and programming to the 3000+ national broadcast and cable television networks. Mr. Lautz began his career within Citibank’s Operating Group where he rose to become the Senior Financial Officer, responsible for all financial functions and strategic planning. He ultimately purchased this division from Citibank to form a start-up business named Property Data Services, which he built to the 3rd largest company of its kind domestically. He currently serves as a Member or Observer on the Board of Directors of Morrow Sodali Global, LLC, Apposite Technologies, Inc. and Life Spine, Inc.
Mr. Lautz earned a Master’s degree from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird), and a BS in Business Administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
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Matt Smith close
Matt Smith is a Managing Director at St. Cloud and is responsible for sourcing, execution, and portfolio monitoring functions. Previously, Mr. Smith founded and managed the Structured Finance Group at Banc of California, which focused on origination and structuring of senior credit facilities to middle market companies backed by private equity. Prior to that, Mr. Smith worked in commercial banking and leveraged finance roles at various commercial banks and leveraged finance groups. He has served as Observer on the Board of Directors of Pipeworks, Inc. and currently serves as an Observer to the Board of Directors of AleraCare Holdings, LLC, AMP Security, LLC, Renters Warehouse, LLC, and Apposite Technologies, Inc. Mr. Smith was also an Army officer and deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan where he earned a Bronze Star Medal.
Mr. Smith earned his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and BA in Economics and Political Science from UC Davis.
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Sheila Emami close
Sheila Emami is a Vice President at St. Cloud and is responsible for sourcing, execution, and portfolio monitoring functions. She has over 10 years of experience in originations, structuring, and underwriting of senior credit facilities to middle market companies in a variety of industries including private equity-backed consumer product, shipping and logistics, technology, manufacturing, and retail. Previously, Ms. Emami worked in leveraged finance and corporate banking roles at various corporate and commercial banks.
Ms. Emami earned her BA in Economics from Pitzer College and is a graduate of the Summer Institute for General Management from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. She is an alumna of Wells Fargo’s Credit Management Training Program.
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Cordell Gee close
Cordell Gee is the Controller at St. Cloud and is responsible for SEC and SBA reporting and the funds’ cash activities.
Prior to joining St. Cloud, Mr. Gee held a financial analyst position at Provident Financial Holdings Inc., where he performed SEC reporting and internal ad hoc reporting. He also has worked at KPMG, LLP and Rothstein Kass &Co, performing public accounting work for financial service companies. Mr. Gee is a Certified Public Accountant.
Mr. Gee received his Master of Business Administration Degree from California Baptist University and Bachelor of Science with Accounting Minor from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Tami Brinson close
Tami Brinson is the Office Manager and Executive Assistant for St. Cloud. Previously, Ms. Brinson worked in the office of the CEO at Docusource and Tatum, LLC. Her prior experience includes hospitality and restaurant operation management positions at various casinos.
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Ty Umoh closeMr. Umoh has over 8 years of experience in private equity, investment banking, business strategy and management consulting.He is currently a Senior Associate at St. Cloud and is responsible for sourcing, execution, and portfolio monitoring functions. Previously, Mr. Umoh worked as a senior consultant at FTI Consulting, Inc., advising various stakeholders of troubled and distressed companies across a wide range of industries, including financial services, hospitality, gaming, commercial real estate, energy & oil field services, construction, infrastructure, and municipal-related assets. Additionally, his prior experience includes roles at BNY Mellon and Ocean Park Advisors, LLC’s Investment Bank where he was involved in equity and debt capital raising transactions as well as M&A assignments, liquidity forecasting and assessments, business plan due diligence, development of waterfall and recovery analyses, stakeholder negotiations, plan of reorganization development, M&A/transaction advisory including purchase and sale negotiations and seller due diligence support, board/shareholder representation, developing executive compensation/bonus plans, and ad-hoc strategic and operational assessments.Mr. Umoh earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Finance from the University of Houston. He also has a Master’s in Economics and Corporate Finance from Rice University.
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Francisco Flores close
Francisco Flores is an analyst at St. Cloud. Previously, Mr. Flores interned at AEW Capital Management, a real estate private equity firm, where he managed an industrial portfolio on the Asset Management team. Prior to AEW, he interned at Clarion Partners where he worked with both the Acquisitions and Asset Management teams. Mr. Flores received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
About Us
St. Cloud Capital is a Los Angeles-based private investment firm founded in 2001.
St. Cloud Capital is a Los Angeles-based private investment firm founded in 2001 to provide growth capital to U.S. lower middle market companies (companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $150 million). St. Cloud has made over 76 portfolio investments in companies across a wide range of industries and in every layer of the capital structure, including senior secured debt, subordinated debt, preferred equity, and common equity.
We typically invest between $3 million and $20 million in non-control and control situations, acting as both a financial and strategic partner to strong management teams and industry entrepreneurs in fulfilling their long-term growth plans. We are also able to arrange larger financings through relationships with co-investors.
St. Cloud has managed over $630 million of capital since 2001. St. Cloud is currently investing out of its fourth fund targeted at $275 million.
Underserved Market
Our typical investment is $3 million to $20 million in size, and focused on lower middle market companies that typically fall “below the radar screen” of larger private equity firms and the broader capital markets.
Opportunities
We seek opportunities to partner with strong management teams who have built the business delivering proven services or products with substantial growth potential looking for non-dilutive capital to facilitate the company going from good to great. We welcome investment referrals from investment banking firms, brokers, lenders, attorneys, accountants, consultants, business executives and other investors. All information provided to us is treated confidentially.
Transaction Types
We support a wide array of transaction types, including, without limitation, expansion and growth capital, recapitalizations, refinancings, management buyouts and change of control transactions, and strategic acquisitions to support a company’s growth.
Industries
We invest in a wide range of industries, including areas where we have demonstrated experience, such as manufacturing, distribution, business services, logistics, consumer, healthcare, and financial services. Our prior experience across a broad range of industries helps us articulate a thoughtful approach toward due diligence and strategic planning.
Investment Approach
St. Cloud provides flexible financing solutions to lower middle market companies including entrepreneur-owned companies, private equity sponsor owned companies, closely held private companies, and micro-cap publicly owned companies.
Investment Structure
We take an opportunistic and flexible approach providing for a diverse range of transactions. We excel in customizing investments to fit the unique financial and strategic characteristics of each transaction. We are long term partners with the experience it takes to succeed.
Our investments are typically structured as a combination of debt and equity securities. The debt portion of our investments may be structured as senior or junior debt. Our investments may be in conjunction with other debt or equity investments.
We develop close partnerships with the companies in which we make investments. Typically, one or more St. Cloud principals or advisors will serve on the portfolio company’s Board of Directors. In addition, our support for our portfolio companies can involve additional consulting and advisory services from affiliated or third party sources. Our common goal with each of our portfolio companies is to maximize performance and value creation.
St. Cloud’s Commitment to Underserved Communities
Since 2001, St. Cloud has invested over $630 million in 76 small businesses across the United States, with a focus on Underserved Communities.
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$630mm invested in growing U.S. Small Businesses
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81% of investments are in Underserved Communities
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58% of investments are located in LMI or SBA HubZones
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41% of investments are Woman, Minority, or Veteran-owned or operated
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18,800+ jobs created and/or sustained
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$2.0Bn in revenue growth for St. Cloud Capital investments
INVESTMENTS MAP
Investments across the united states since inception.
Internship Program
Established in 2002, St. Cloud’s College Internship program continues to develop, mentor, and train the next generation of diverse leaders in the finance industry.
Summer Internship | Student Spotlight: Jack Butler – St. Cloud Capital
What were your overall responsibilities in your internship? As St. Cloud was (and currently is) deploying capital from its third fund, I was primarily tasked with researching potential investments in the pipeline to help with the deal screening process. (continue reading…)
Read MoreYilin Huo: St. Cloud Intern Reflection, December 2019
Yilin Huo Dartmouth College student St. Cloud Intern Reflection, December 2019 Hello! My name is Yilin, and I was an intern at St. Cloud Capital, LLC during winter break. I am currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College. I was nervous on the first day of the internship and did not know what to expect. However, […]
Read MoreSt. Cloud Intern Reflection, Spring/Summer 2020
For many service members, the transition from active military service to the civilian sector is extremely daunting and stressful. As an active U.S. Army Officer, I can attest to this and have found my transition period to be a moment to moment battle. However, since I began interning for St. Cloud Capital my path has […]
Read MoreAre you interested in joining our Internships program? Send us a message!
Contact
St. Cloud Capital, LLC
10866 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1450
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel (310) 475-2700 · Fax (310) 475-0550
Send us a message
All information will be treated confidentially.