Executive Advisory Board Member Stephen Hoffman to Transition to Operating Partner
NEW YORK, NY – March 2, 2022 – NexPhase Capital, LP (“NexPhase” or the “Firm”), a thematic and operationally focused private equity firm, today announced that effective immediately three new members have been appointed to the Firm’s Executive Advisory Board: Michael Johnson, Don Nickleson and Bob Waldron. The firm also announced that Stephen Hoffman has moved to a full-time role as an Operating Partner after working with NPC for nearly 7 years as an Executive Advisory Board member focused on strategy and business development in the software sector.
Messrs. Johnson, Nickleson and Waldron join a group of ten distinguished Executive Advisory Board members with deep operating experience and industry expertise across the consumer, healthcare, and software sectors. Along with NPC’s four industry-focused Operating Partners, Executive Advisory Board members work closely with the Firm’s investment team to develop investment themes and theses, source deals and provide strategic advice and operating support to NexPhase’s portfolio companies. Messrs. Johnson, Nickleson and Waldron bring extensive strategy, operating, sales and marketing expertise to NexPhase’s Executive Advisory Board.
- Michael Johnson is a solutions-focused entrepreneur, executive, and advisor with significant experience in the marketing and advertising industries. His broad areas of expertise include digital marketing and advertising, search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization and web design/development. Mr. Johnson will provide digital marketing guidance to NexPhase’s portfolio companies across all sectors.
- Don Nickleson is a seasoned executive with more than three decades of strategic and operational experience building businesses in the healthcare sector from infancy to leading positions in their market segments. Mr. Nickleson will provide strategic planning and operating support to NexPhase portfolio companies in the healthcare sector.
- Bob Waldron is an experienced consumer packaged goods businesses executive with a demonstrated track record within established and entrepreneurial consumer packaged goods businesses across the U.S. and Latin America. Mr. Waldron will provide strategic planning and operating support to NexPhase portfolio companies in the consumer sector.
“We are thrilled to welcome Michael, Don and Bob to our Executive Advisory Board and look forward to benefiting from their perspectives. The appointments of these innovative and accomplished executives will further enhance our operating capabilities and the depth of expertise and counsel we can provide to our entrepreneurs and portfolio companies,” said Ted Yun, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of NexPhase
“Michael, Don and Bob are proven leaders who we know well, and we believe they will be tremendous assets to our investment teams and portfolio companies,” said Andy Kieffer, Partner at NexPhase. “We have known Don for over a decade, having first worked together on one of our early investments, Comprehensive Pharmacy Services, and we believe he will be a great asset to the firm as we navigate the many opportunities in the fast-evolving healthcare space.”
“Over the last several years Michael has helped a number of our portfolio companies implement and optimize their digital marketing capabilities, and we believe his wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience in digital marketing will benefit the entire NexPhase portfolio,” said Jamie Kaufman, Partner at NexPhase. Speaking of consumer-focused Executive Advisory Board member Bob Waldron, Jamie said, “Bob has an established track record of driving growth at CPG companies across the U.S. and Latin America, and he brings highly complementary industry experience across many of our existing focus areas in consumer, including food, beverage and household goods.”
In addition to these valuable additions to the NexPhase team, long time Executive Advisory Board member Stephen Hoffman will transition to a full-time Operating Partner role. Mr. Hoffman has been a NexPhase Executive Advisory Board member since July 2015 and currently serves as the Executive Chairman at current portfolio company Knowfully Learning Group, as well as board member at DealerOn and CyberCore.
About Michael Johnson
Mr. Johnson currently serves as the Managing Partner of Get Found First, a digital marketing agency with approximately 450 clients globally and Google Premier Partner status (top 1% of agencies worldwide). Mr. Johnson is also the Co-Founder of Spot On Solutions, a digital marketing agency specializing in businesses offering in-home services. Previously, Mr. Johnson led as the Founder & President of Perfect Point Marketing, acquired by Get Found First in 2015, and as a Manager of The Fuzion Agency. Mr. Johnson holds a B.A. from Brigham Young University, Idaho. Mr. Johnson leads courses in digital marketing for Kellogg School of Management, Columbia University: EMERITUS Institute of Management, and London Business School.
About Don Nickleson
Mr. Nickleson has more than three decades of healthcare experience building businesses from infancy to leading positions in their market segments. He served as CEO and Executive Chairman for Comprehensive Pharmacy Services (CPS), which grew under Mr. Nickleson’s leadership to be the leading provider of hospital pharmacy services in the industry serving over 850 hospitals and integrated delivery systems in the U.S and Puerto Rico. Mr. Nickleson served as President for Arrow Business Products, which became a leading provider of business-to-business office product services in the nation. Arrow Business Products merged with U.S. Office Products where Mr. Nickleson served as Regional President responsible for executing operational and acquisition strategies in the southern U.S. Mr. Nickleson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Freed Hardeman University in Accountancy and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
About Bob Waldron
Mr. Waldron is a classically trained marketer and P&L leader with a consistent track record within established and entrepreneurial consumer packaged goods businesses. Mr. Waldron was formerly the CEO of Cameron’s Coffee, a Private Equity-backed company sold to International Strategic Grupo Nutresa. Previously, Mr. Waldron was President of Schwan’s Consumer (Frozen) Brands, Chief Marketing Officer for Sun Products Laundry Care (acquired by Henkel) and spent nearly 20 years at General Mills, including as President of the Yoplait yogurt operating unit. Mr. Waldron holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management and Mathematics from Carnegie-Mellon University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
About Stephen Hoffman
Mr. Hoffman is the Executive Chairman at current NexPhase portfolio company Knowfully Learning Group and a board member at DealerOn and CyberCore. He is also a board member at Certica Solutions and Patrocinium. He previously served on the board of prior fund portfolio company Flexible Architecture and Simplified Technology (FAST). He served as Chairman of Ontuitive until 2017. From 2007 to 2012, Mr. Hoffman served as the CEO and a board member of iJET, an intelligence-driven provider of risk management solutions. Prior to that, he was the CEO and a board member of Element K, a private, industry leader in the development and delivery of e-learning. He has also held senior roles at Blackboard, Prometric Thomson Learning and Computer Task Group (CTG). Mr. Hoffman spent the first 13 years of his career with IBM, where he held various positions in general management, sales, and marketing. He graduated with a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School.
About NexPhase Capital
NexPhase Capital (“NPC”) is a thematic and operationally focused private equity firm that invests in lower middle market growth-oriented companies within three distinct sectors: consumer, healthcare, and software. The firm partners with companies that have reached a growth inflection point and are seeking a value-added partner to help navigate the company’s “next phase.” The NPC team has extensive industry and operational experience and NPC’s partners have invested together for over a decade. The firm has completed over 80 investments, including add-ons, and targets control equity investments between $25 million and $150 million. For more information, please visit www.NexPhase.com.
The operating professionals referenced herein are not employees of NexPhase, but are third-party consultants expected to be compensated by NexPhase-sponsored funds and their portfolio companies. Such compensation is not expected to offset any management fees paid to NexPhase by NexPhase sponsored funds.