Meet Our Team
The Decatur Group team blends a unique combination of operating and investment backgrounds. All partners of the firm have extensive experience as operators in mid market companies and look to bring this experience to bear in partnering with management teams that lead the companies in which we invest.
R. HAYNES CHIDSEY
Partner
Mr. Chidsey is a co-founder of The Decatur Group. Prior to the founding of The Decatur Group, Mr. Chidsey spent six years as an Executive Vice President with Affordable Residential Communities Inc., the largest owner and operator of manufactured home communities in the U.S. During his tenure at ARC, Mr. Chidsey was responsible for the company’s capital raising activities, acquisitions and corporate development activities. ARC raised substantial public and private debt and equity capital and completed over 100 acquisitions in support of its growth plan. In 2004, ARC completed the simultaneous closing of one of the largest acquisitions completed in the manufactured home community sector and the IPO of the company.
Prior to joining ARC, Mr. Chidsey was a Principal at Fox Paine & Company, LLC, a San Francisco based private equity firm. He was one of four principals involved in establishing the firm and completing fundraising on a $500 million fund. From 1992-1997, Mr. Chidsey was a senior member of Indosuez Capital, the U.S. merchant banking division of Credit Agricole Indosuez. He was one of eight senior members of the group focusing on senior debt, mezzanine debt, bridge loans, private equity and asset management. The group completed 80 transactions with approximately $1 billion of senior debt exposure and invested over $400 million of mezzanine and equity capital. Additional activities included a $100 million dedicated private equity fund and an asset management business with $1.5 billion of third party assets in CLOs and CDOs allocated to high yield bank debt, high yield bonds and mezzanine debt. Prior to Indosuez Capital, he was a member of the High Yield and Restructuring Group at Kidder, Peabody & Co. Incorporated.
Mr. Chidsey holds a B.A. from Emory University. He resides in Denver, Colorado.
KEVIN J. LONTZ
Operating Partner
Mr. Lontz has over 25 years of experience in private equity, executive management, finance, sales and marketing, technology and operations.
Most recently, Mr. Lontz led the carve out of Dent Wizard International Corporation - an industry leader in automotive reconditioning services - from the Manheim Auctions division of Cox Enterprises. The Dent Wizard transaction was particularly challenging as the company was not being auctioned for sale and was critical to the parent company's ongoing operations while also integrated with the parent company's management systems. Mr. Lontz and his team partnered with a leading global private equity firm and a group of senior and mezzanine lenders to successfully consummate the acquisition in November 2010. After orchestrating the pre-transaction diligence and planning, Mr. Lontz served as interim CEO - recruiting and forming the executive management team and executing the critical 100 day post-transaction plan.
Prior to his involvement with Dent Wizard, Mr. Lontz served in several leadership positions (including CEO, COO and CFO roles) with companies in business services, marketing services and technology industries following a successful early career in corporate finance with Bank of America and First Union (now Wells Fargo) and their predecessors. In these corporate finance roles, Mr. Lontz assisted clients with the development and execution of treasury, debt and capital strategies to support operations, recapitalizations and mergers and acquisitions.
Mr. Lontz earned a B.Sc. from Davidson College in North Carolina and a MBA from Emory University's Goizueta School of Business. Mr. Lontz resides in Denver, CO and is married with one son.
FRANK C. McDONALD
Operating Partner
Mr. McDonald is an Operating Partner of The Decatur Group and focuses on transaction origination and providing portfolio companies with operating and management support.
Mr. McDonald brings substantial operating experience to The Decatur Group based on his history of success as an owner-operator and entrepreneur. Mr. McDonald founded McDonald Homes, Inc., a leading home sales and distribution company focused on the Midwest. Under Mr. McDonald’s ownership and leadership, McDonald Homes was twice listed as an Inc. Magazine “500 Fastest Growing Companies” in the United States. Mr. McDonald went on to serve as part of the leadership group responsible for an industry consolidation resulting in the public offering of HomeUSA, a NYSE-listed company, that was subsequently sold to a strategic buyer. Most recently, Mr. McDonald served as Senior Vice President of Sales at Affordable Residential Communities Inc., where he developed and managed a 250 + network of retail home sale locations.
Mr. McDonald’s experience of building his own company from inception, to critical mass, to executing a sale, is consistent with the firm’s approach of creating value through operating and execution initiatives and further builds The Decatur Group’s ability to add and create value as a sponsor beyond traditional financial means. Additionally, Mr. McDonald worked with Messrs. Chidsey and Pak extensively during their tenure together at Affordable Residential Communities Inc.
Mr. McDonald holds a B.B.A from Notre Dame University. Mr. McDonald resides in Tulsa and is married with two children.
PETER K. PAK
Partner
Mr. Pak is a co-founder of The Decatur Group, a private equity firm focused on middle-market transactions. Prior to the founding of The Decatur Group, Mr. Pak spent four years as an Executive Vice President with Affordable Residential Communities Inc., the largest owner and operator of manufactured home communities in the U.S. During his tenure at ARC, Mr. Pak was responsible for the company’s corporate development activities. In addition to his involvement with ongoing capital raising and corporate acquisition activities, Mr. Pak was responsible for the creation and leadership of various new businesses, including Enspire Finance LLC and Enspire Insurance LLC, ARC’s consumer finance and insurance units, respectively. These business units were supported by a $250 million consumer receivables facility which provided the most flexible and liquid financing in the industry. In 2004, ARC completed the simultaneous closing of one of the largest acquisitions completed in the manufactured home community sector and the IPO of the company.
Prior to joining ARC, Mr. Pak was a Principal at Breckenridge Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on acquiring middle-market companies located in the Southeastern U.S. Prior to forming BCP, Mr. Pak was a Principal at Fox Paine & Company, LLC, a San Francisco based private equity firm. He was one of four principals involved in establishing the firm and completing fundraising on a $500 million fund. From 1993-1997, Mr. Pak was a senior member of Indosuez Capital, the U.S. merchant banking division of Credit Agricole Indosuez. He was one of eight senior members of the group focusing on senior debt, mezzanine debt, bridge loans, private equity and asset management. The group completed 80 transactions with approximately $1 billion of senior debt exposure and invested over $400 million of mezzanine and equity capital. Additional activities included a $100 million dedicated private equity fund and an asset management business with $1.5 billion of third party assets in CLOs and CDOs allocated to high yield bank debt, high yield bonds and mezzanine debt. Prior to Indosuez Capital, Mr. Pak was a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Finance Groups at Kidder, Peabody & Co. Incorporated.
Mr. Pak holds a B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University. He resides in Denver, Colorado with his wife and three children.
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