Our Team
Ampersand's Partners have over 60 years of prior operating experience and over 100 years of shared private equity experience. Our unusual combination of skills, including deep industry, technical, financial, operating, and transactional capabilities, make us a preferred partner for entrepreneurs because we can contribute to their success on multiple levels.
At our roots, we are company-builders, not investment managers. Our experience gives us empathy for our CEOs and helps us understand the challenges they face. This ability to identify, and contribute to, problem resolution makes us very effective in our companies.
Ampersand's management team is led by eight Partners. The team members include:
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Richard A. Charpie, Founder and Managing Partner
Rick has over 30 years of private equity experience. He joined Ampersand's predecessor in 1980 and led its activities beginning in 1983. Rick founded the firm in 1988 by structuring its spinoff from PaineWebber. He's served as a director of more than 35 companies and Chairman of more than ten. He holds an M.S. in Physics and a Ph.D. in Economics and Finance, both from MIT.
Current board seats:
CoreLab Partners, NDC, RAND Worldwide
Prior board seats include:
ADFlex, Cyclis, Elmet Technologies, Endeca, K-TEK, Medifacts, Moldflow, Precision Pharma Services, Talecris Biotherapeutics, TriPath Imaging
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Herbert H. Hooper, Managing Partner
Herb joined Ampersand in 2002 and has over 15 years of experience working with healthcare companies, first as an entrepreneur at Ampersand portfolio company ACLARA Biosciences, and later as an Ampersand General Partner. Herb holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
Current board seats:
ATS Labs, Biomedical Structures, CoreLab Partners, Magellan Biosciences, ViraCor-IBT Laboratories
Prior board seats include:
ACLARA, Agilux Laboratories, Assay Designs, Cequent Pharmaceuticals, ChanTest, Cyclis, Panacos, RadPharm, Signature Genomic Laboratories, Victory Pharma
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David Q. Anderson, Partner
David joined Ampersand in 2010. Previously David spent six years with Covington Associates, a specialty investment bank, including as Director of their Healthcare group. Prior to Covington, he spent five years as a consultant for Boston Healthcare Associates. David holds a B.Sc. from the University of Aberdeen, a Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield and an M.B.A. from the Olin School of Management at Babson.
Current board seats:
ATS Labs
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Stuart A. Auerbach, General Partner
Stuart, who has 20 years of private equity experience, joined Ampersand in 1991. Previously he spent three years consulting at Bain and five years in manufacturing and engineering at Lever Brothers. He has been a director of more than 20 companies and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Current board seats:
Agilux Laboratories, MedVenture, Modified Polymer Components
Prior board seats include:
ADFlex, Assay Designs, Elmet Technologies, Magellan Biosciences, Precision Pharma Services, Sheldahl, SmartFlex, Talecris Biotherapeutics, Tomah Products
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Jared J. Bartok, General Partner
Jared joined Ampersand in 2007. Previously, Jared was a Senior Associate at Wellspring Capital Management, where he worked on a number of leveraged acquisitions and recapitalizations of middle-market companies. Prior to joining Wellspring, Jared was with JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the Financial Sponsor Group focusing on acquisition finance and exit alternatives for private equity clients. Jared holds a B.A. in Economics and Computer Science from Middlebury College.
Current board seats:
Biomedical Structures, MedVenture, Modified Polymer Components, NDC, ViraCor-IBT Laboratories
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Suzanne E. MacCormack, Partner
Sue joined Ampersand in 2005 from Moldflow Corporation(Nasdaq: MFLO), a former Ampersand portfolio company, where she served as Executive VP of Finance and Administration and as CFO for eight years. Sue brings over 25 years of experience in the technology industry, including as CFO of Scitex America Corporation and Autographix. Sue holds a B.A. in Business from Stonehill College and is a C.P.A.
Current board seats:
CoreLab Partners, RAND Worldwide
Prior board seats include:
Sierra Concrete
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David J. Parker, General Partner
Dave, who has more than 15 years of private equity experience, joined Ampersand in 1994. Prior to joining Ampersand, Dave spent five years consulting at Bain and Mercer and four years in corporate lending at Bank of Boston. He has also served as CFO of NOVEX and Victory Pharma. He holds a B.A. in Government and Economics from Dartmouth and an M.B.A. from Wharton.
Current board seats:
Blue Sky Bioservices, Modified Polymer Components
Prior board seats include:
Assay Designs, IBT Laboratories, LTI, Ortho Organizers, Stereotaxis, Victory Pharma
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Charles D. Yie, General Partner
Charlie, who has over 20 years of private equity experience, joined Ampersand's predecessor in 1985 and has been a director of more than ten companies. Formerly a systems engineer and manufacturing specialist at Hewlett-Packard, Charlie holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Management, both from MIT.
Current board seats:
Kortec, RAND Worldwide
Prior board seats include:
Endeca, K-TEK, Kroy Building Products, Moldflow, Nuvex, Ortho Organizers, Protient, Sierra Concrete
The other members of the full-time investment team include:
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J. David Jacobs, General Counsel
David joined Ampersand in 2005. Previously, he was General Counsel of ArQule (Nasdaq: ARQL), where he participated in the acquisition of Ampersand portfolio company Cyclis. Prior to ArQule, he served as Senior Counsel in the Biomedical Services division of the American Red Cross. Prior to joining the Red Cross, David practiced in the fields of tax and international transactions in New York and in Jerusalem. David holds a B.A. from Columbia and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.
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Thomas de Jager, Vice President, Business Development
Thomas has been responsible for Ampersand’s new investment sourcing program since 2011. From 2005 through 2008, he was an Associate at Ampersand evaluating new investment opportunities and supporting the firm’s direct outreach efforts. From 2008 through 2010, he was founder of a M&A advisory firm, Savannah Acquisitions, sourcing and supporting buy-side transactions. Prior to 2005, he was at Aleutian Capital Partners where he was active in the company’s deal sourcing and deal diligence efforts. Thomas holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and an M.B.A. from Pace University.
We supplement our full-time Partners with a team of Senior Advisors and Venture Partners who are chosen for their deep domain expertise in the industries where we invest and for their past experience with Ampersand. They include:
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Marc L. Dulude, Venture Partner
Marc joined Ampersand in 2002 and served as General Partner through 2008. Prior to joining Ampersand he spent six years at Moldflow Corporation, an Ampersand portfolio company, where he was Chairman, President and CEO. Marc has nearly two decades of experience as a senior information technology executive, including serving as Senior VP of Marketing at Parametric Technology and in various positions at Nortel. Currently Marc serves as Chairman and CEO of RAND Worldwide, an Ampersand portfolio company. He holds an M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from Carleton University.
Current board seats:
Kortec, RAND Worldwide
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Peter H. Glick, Venture Partner
Peter joined Ampersand in 2007 as a Venture Partner. Previously, Peter served as President and CEO of Cohesive Technologies, a bioanalytical equipment company that was sold to Thermo-Fisher. Prior to Cohesive, Peter served as President of Primedica, a pharmaceutical services business that was acquired by Charles River Labs. Peter has also served as VP of Corporate Development at Genzyme Transgenics Corporation, and as a management consultant at Bain & Company. Peter holds an M.S. in Management from MIT and a B.S. in Economics from Wharton.
Current board seats:
Agilux Laboratories, Blue Sky Bioservices , ChanTest, CRI, Magellan Biosciences
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Todd R. Johnson, M.D., Venture Partner
Todd joined Ampersand in 2010 as a Venture Partner with nearly 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry and currently serves as a Divisional Vice President at Abbott Laboratories. Most recently he served as SVP and GM of MDS Pharma Services where he was responsible for the Early Stage Development divisions. Prior to MDS, Todd spent five years as a consultant with McKinsey. He has also served as CEO of Tangerine Technologies, a provider of drug discovery software and as a researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He holds a B.A. and a M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, an ABA from St. Catherine's College - Oxford and an M.B.A. from Wharton.
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Laurence R. McCarthy, Venture Partner
Larry joined Ampersand in 2007 as a Venture Partner. As the Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Focus Diagnostics, he built Focus from a $2 million business to a leading esoteric lab with over $80 million in revenues by the time of its acquisition by Quest Diagnostics in 2006. Prior to Focus, Larry served in various positions at Boehringer Mannheim and Becton Dickinson. He holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of New Hampshire and served on the faculty of Johns Hopkins and at the University of North Carolina.
Current board seats:
ATS Labs, Magellan Biosciences, ViraCor-IBT
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Peter D. Parker, Senior Advisor
Peter served as a General Partner at Ampersand until 2006, serving on the boards of numerous companies in both the Healthcare and Industrial sectors. From 2006-2010, Peter served as CEO and Chairman of Ampersand portfolio company Cequent Pharmaceuticals. Peter joined Ampersand in 1988 from AMAX where he served as President of AMAX Specialty Metals Corporation. Peter holds a B.S. and M.S. from Columbia University.
Current board seats:
ATS Labs
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Itzhak Reichman, Venture Partner
Itzhak joined Ampersand as a Venture Partner in 2011. Itzhak has 25 years of food industry experience, most recently as Chairman and CEO of Desert Glory. Prior to Desert Glory, he served as VP Finance, Information and Strategy at Borden Foods Corporation (BFC). Itzhak was Vice President of Strategy and Development for Borden Capital Management Partners (BCMP) and CEO of Elite Foods (Frito Lay, Israel). Prior to his active management roles, Itzhak was a consultant with McKinsey and Co. He currently serves as Chairman of Inventure Foods (Nasdaq: SNAK), as well as a board member on other food companies. Itzhak holds a M.S. from MIT and a B.S. from Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
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Douglas D. Rohall, Venture Partner
Doug joined Ampersand as a Venture Partner in 2007. Most recently, he was a Managing Director at JMH Capital, where he focused on making equity investments in lower middle market buyouts. Doug has expertise in value-added distribution, niche manufacturing, and other industrial process businesses. Prior to JMH, he was at Monitor Group as the CEO of Monitor Equity Advisors advising private equity and venture investors in a variety of industries. In addition to an M.B.A. from Harvard and a J.D. from Yale, he holds undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Political Science from MIT.
Current board seat:
MedVenture
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Timothy C. Tuff, Venture Partner
Tim rejoined Ampersand as Venture Partner in 2007. Prior to this, he was Chairman, President, and CEO of John H. Harland Co., a $1B NYSE company, before selling it to MacAndrews and Forbes. A General Partner of Ampersand from 1990 to 1993, Tim played a major role in establishing Ampersand's position in corporate spinoffs. Tim has also served as President of Alcan Aluminum's U.S. subsidiary and CEO of Boral Industries. He holds a B.S. in Economics from Dalhousie University, an M.S. in Marketing from the University of Lancaster and attended Harvard's Advanced Management Program.
The investment team is supported by an experienced financial administrative team, including:
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Caroline L. Marple, Director of Operations
Caroline joined Ampersand in 1998 to coordinate its deal flow, fundraising and administrative operations. Prior to Ampersand, she was the Assistant Director of the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Caroline holds a B.A. from Trinity College in Connecticut.
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Cynthia M. Rossetti, Director of Finance
Cindy joined Ampersand in 2001 to manage its financial operations. Prior to Ampersand, she was a Vice President at Silicon Valley Bank in the Private Banking Division and an Investor Relations Manager at IDX Systems Corp. Cindy holds a B.A. in Economics from Wheaton and an M.B.A. from Bentley.
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Loretta M. McClary, Tax Counsel
Loretta joined Ampersand in 1998 with responsibility for all tax and accounting records. Prior to Ampersand, she was a Senior Tax Manager with Feeley & Driscoll. Loretta holds a B.A. from Regis College, an M.B.A. from Suffolk University, an M.S.T. from Bentley, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, an LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University and is a C.P.A.
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Julie F. Giles, Senior Accountant
Julie joined Ampersand's accounting and finance team in 2003. Prior to Ampersand, she held accounting positions at PHT Corporation and at Enermetrix. Julie holds a B.S. in Business Administration, with a concentration in Accounting from Lasell College, and an M.B.A. from Bentley College.