NextGen Growth Partners (NGP), a Chicago-based private equity firm, is bringing its proven investment model to the Southeastern region of the U.S. with a new office in Nashville. Located at 1033 Demonbreun Street in the city’s Gulch neighborhood, NGP aims to attract top talent and investment opportunities through its Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) program that partners with entrepreneurial talent to invest in, operate and grow lower middle-market businesses.
NGP’s expansion to Nashville underscores the firm’s bullish outlook on the Southeastern part of the country. The firm is looking to expand in Tennessee, Georgia, the Carolinas and Florida by tapping into a robust pool of top entrepreneurial talent and investment opportunities based in the area.
“Nashville is a target-rich environment for our entrepreneur-led investment model,” Brian O’Connor, Managing Partner of NGP, said. “We are excited to partner with the Southeast region’s top talent, investors and companies as we expand our reach.”
NGP is a premier partner in Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA), an investment model which involves entrepreneur-operators taking an active leadership role post-investment. ETA is rapidly growing in popularity for entrepreneurs, investors, and as a succession plan for business owners. NGP sees great opportunity in the ETA clusters and MBA programs located throughout the Southeastern region.
“Nashville represents a natural extension of our Chicago infrastructure and investment approach,” said Rich Herrick, NGP’s Chief Financial Officer & Chief Compliance Officer. “We are thrilled to bring Chicago’s proven model to other parts of the country ripe with opportunity.”
The NGP Nashville team represents the best and the brightest in the industry. The team will initially consist of three team members, including EIRs Adam Philpot and Drew Chiles. Philpot started in January, and Chiles will join the team May 1. Philpot and Chiles will pursue lower middle-market businesses throughout the country and in the Southeast region. Philpot will have a focus on outsourced hospital and provider office services, occupational health and workplace safety services, outsourced healthcare compliance services and B2B services in the greater Nashville area.
“We’re excited to put the NGP stamp on a new part of the country,” Philpot said. “We know there are profitable, growing companies in the region that are looking to preserve and grow their legacies, and we believe we are the right team to support them.”
Jay Davis, a Nashville-based investor and friend of the firm, will support the team with strategic guidance and join the firm’s advisory board.
“The NGP Nashville team is one to know,” Davis said. “I am confident that NGP Nashville will extend the firm’s legacy and begin another strong chapter in NGP’s success story.”
As the firm continues to expand, NGP will remain rooted in Chicago. The firm’s leadership team, intellectual property and core investment and portfolio operations functions will remain in Chicago, where the NGP team established its unique investment approach and has navigated its successful trajectory.
“Chicago is home and will always be the NGP nerve center as we continue to grow across the country,” O’Connor said.
About NextGen Growth Partners
Headquartered in Chicago’s West Loop, NextGen Growth Partners is a private equity firm that partners with the best and brightest entrepreneurial talent to acquire, operate and grow lower middle-market businesses across a variety of industries. The NGP team has a strong track record of creating value through growth and operational improvement in middle market businesses. For more information on NGP and its investment approach, please visit https://nextgengp.com.
