Private Equity Investment Team

Eric Bennett has more than 30 years of experience in wealth management, investment management, and philanthropy.  He co-founded Tolleson Wealth Management, a single family office that transformed into one of the largest and most reputable multi-family offices in Texas. Through this process, he was also integral in creating a private bank, a trust company, and philanthropy arm.  Eric was at Tolleson for 16 years (1998-2013) and was Chairman and CEO of Tolleson Private Wealth Management, as well as Chairman of the Investment Committee.  He continues to serve on the Board of Directors for Tolleson Private Bank and Tolleson Wealth Management.

In 2013, Eric had the opportunity to become the founding Executive Director of the Brain Performance Institute at the Center for BrainHealth.  The Brain Performance Institute translates proven science, developed at the Center for BrainHealth, to the public.  Eric was an active volunteer at the Center for BrainHealth for 10 years and joined full time in this leadership role to build and grow the Institute.  Under his direction, the Institute substantially increased visibility and credibility in the community, launched a successful capital campaign for an iconic new building that opened in 2017, and built and led a team to provide vital services to enhance brain health in groups including schools, the military, and athletes.  He left his full-time position there after three years, yet continues to be an active supporter.

He began his career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in 1987 after earning a bachelor’s degree in finance, with honors, from the University of Missouri.  He later joined Ernst & Young, where he served as Senior Manager of the Personal Finance Planning Group and led the firm’s Southwest Area Investment Advisory Services team.

Eric is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA).  In the community, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Planned Giving Councils for Children’s Medical Center and Communities Foundation of Texas.  Eric serves on the investment committee for the Baylor University Endowment.  He is also a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), having served on the executive board of his YPO chapter for four years.  He formerly served on the investment committees for the Dallas Symphony Foundation and Communities Foundation of Texas.

Eric married his wife, Robin, in 1991. They have two children, Samuel (1996) and Emily (1999), and live in University Park, Texas. They also have two dogs, Goldie and Max.

Wes Blair is Satori Capital’s executive coach in residence.

Wes assists business leaders in transforming their companies “from scrambling to scaling” by unlocking their general management and leadership capacity.  He typically works with chief executive officers and owner-operators willing to embrace sustained change programs to achieve breakthrough performance improvement for all stakeholders.

Wes introduces proprietary tools and templates that enable executives to effectively implement and sustain new operating models. Areas of focus include organization and talent design, recruiting plans, compensation plan design, initiative prioritization and execution, scaling systems and processes, and many others.  Leaders typically report a successful shift from the need for daily heroics to a more impactful focus on the business’s most strategic issues they are uniquely qualified to address.

Wes has significant experience operating small and large businesses in both challenging and rapid-growth environments.  He was president of private equity-sponsored industrial equipment company PrimeSource and a division president of a $1 billion publicly traded airline during its successful turnaround.  Earlier in his career, he participated in the turnarounds of Continental Airlines and Dell Computer.  He was also a manager at Bain & Company.

Coaching relationships have included multi-year engagements with First United Bank and driversselect (now a part of Sonic Automotive) that resulted in exponential scaling and meaningful cultural advancement.  At Satori, Wes has worked with Able Machinery Movers, Accelerated Learning Solutions, Formulife, Hobo, Lovesac, Purple Land Management, and SunTree Snack Foods.

Wes graduated magna cum laude with a degree in mathematical economic analysis from Rice University.  He lives in Dallas with his wife and three sons.

Vic Keller is a senior executive at Berkshire Hathaway Automotive and is the founder of the ZAK Automotive Companies.

Vic began his career with JP Morgan in commercial banking, where he partnered with several mentors who invested in his early development, equipping him to earn the coveted top performance achievement award in his first year of employment. He then began his career in the automotive industry as an executive with Wynn’s International in its oil and insurance subsidiary, Wynn’s Automotive.

In 2002, Vic started his first company, carXperience, and after one year partnered and grew the business with automotive industry icon Cecil Van Tuyl. Over the past 15 years, Vic has launched several companies, all which vertically integrate into the automotive industry.  His current enterprise, ZAK Automotive Companies, includes ZAK Products, ZAKTEK and NEXEMO.  ZAK Products offers franchised automotive dealerships a comprehensive line of professional-grade fluid maintenance products combined with industry-leading training.  ZAK Products is an official partner of NASCAR and is designated as the #1 Professional Maintenance Fluid of NASCAR.  ZAKTEK is an interior and exterior paint insurance protection program sold exclusively within franchised car dealerships, and NEXEMO is a B2B e-commerce purchasing platform for the automotive industry.  Collectively all of these companies continue to earn double-digit growth year over year and have been recognized by Inc. 500/5000 as one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in America in 2013, 2014, and 2015.  In March of 2015, Vic successfully sold all of the ZAK Automotive Companies to Berkshire Hathaway.

While Vic remains involved in a leadership capacity in these companies, his role as a senior executive for Berkshire Hathaway Automotive provides him the platform to implement his entrepreneurially driven culture and strategy within a fortune 500 company.  Berkshire Hathaway Automotive is a $10 billion company with 11,500 associates and, as Mr. Buffett has noted, is destined for significant growth under his ownership.

The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) awarded Vic the 2011 Impact Award, recognizing his contributions as an automotive industry executive.  Vic has been a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Southwest Award in 2015 and 2016.  He is a graduate of Texas Tech University.

Craig R. Lentzsch is a senior corporate executive with significant experience in the transportation sector.  He has held chief executive officer, president, executive vice president, vice chairman, and board of directors positions for Coach America Holdings, Inc., Greyhound Lines, Inc., Dynamex, Inc., the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission, and the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver.

Craig served until 2007 as president and chief executive officer of Coach America Holdings, Inc., a former portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, LLC.  With 30 business units located in all major cities in the southern half of the United States, Coach is the premier provider of ground transportation and travel services in its markets.  During his tenure, the company’s revenues increased from $200 million to more than $400 million.

Prior to Coach America, Craig served on two different occasions at Greyhound Lines, Inc. Greyhound, publicly traded during Craig’s tenure, is the only nationwide provider of intercity bus transportation services.  Craig first served as vice chairman and executive vice president of Greyhound from 1987 to 1989, when he and his partners acquired Greyhound in a leveraged buyout. When Craig returned to the company in 1994, he served as president and chief executive officer until 2003. After completing a consensual restructuring in 1995, Craig executed a turnaround plan that increased passenger volume and profits 50% and 20%, respectively, for each of six years.

Prior to re-joining Greyhound, Craig served from 1992 to 1994 as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Phoenix-based Motor Coach Industries International, Inc., the largest manufacturer of intercity coaches and transit buses in North America.

In 1980, Craig co-founded BusLease, Inc., which became the largest lessor of buses in the United States. He previously served on the compensation and audit committees of publicly traded Hastings Entertainment, a multi-media retailer in small and medium-sized markets in the western United States. Craig also served as chief financial officer and board member for Storehouse, Inc., an Atlanta-based, privately held retail chain selling contemporary furniture, and he co-founded Enginetech, Inc., an importer and distributor of automobile engine parts for the United States aftermarket.

In 2008, Craig was elected to the board of Dynamex, Inc., a publicly traded provider of same-day delivery and logistics services, where he chaired the audit committee and served on the special committee that negotiated the sale of the company in 2011. From 2006 to 2009 he served by Congressional appointment on the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission. Craig is on the board of directors of the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver, where he teaches transportation systems and transportation finance at the masters level. He has completed five years as the chair of the board of trustees for The Winston School in Dallas, Texas. The Winston School serves children with learning differences in the first through the 12th grades. Craig served as an officer in the United States Air Force.

Craig is an honors graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in applied mathematics and of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with an MBA concentrating in finance and marketing (top 5%).

Brent McCarty serves on the Board of Directors for Longhorn Health Solutions. He has more than 20 years as a senior executive in the healthcare industry, specifically in multi-site healthcare companies.

Brent is currently President and Chief Executive Officer at Sentient. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Avadyne Health, a leading provider of revenue cycle services and technology. Prior to joining Sentient, Brent was Chairman and CEO of Eagle Hospital Physicians. Previously he was President and CEO of Solis Women’s Health, a company focused on the screening and diagnosis of breast cancer. He has also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Accuro Healthcare Solutions, Inc., a technology-enabled revenue cycle company, and has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SemperCare, Inc.

Brent has served as Chief Operating Officer for national companies in the ambulatory surgical center market as well as the physician practice management market. He began his career in healthcare with Epic Healthcare Group, an owner/operator of acute care hospitals and other ancillary services. Brent received a B.B.A. from Texas Tech University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Christiana Musk is an environmental advocate who serves as an evangelist for a sustainable future. Christiana’s unique perspective as a twenty-something businesswoman landed her on the cover of Kiplinger’s and inside The New York Times, C Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, and The Herald Tribune, among others. In addition to contributing regularly to the HuffingtonPost.com’s “Green” column, Christiana is a frequent lecturer. Her speaking engagements include the Green Inaugural Ball, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Conscious Capitalism Conference, Hollywood Goes Green in Los Angeles, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali.

She was a founding partner of Zaadz.com, an online network for people who want to change the world, which was sold to Gaiam, inc. in 2007. Her passion for social technology, global change, and empowering young entrepreneurs globally keeps her on the cutting edge of new media and emerging ideas.

Christiana inspired her father, Sam Wyly’s, environmental education, leading him to found one of the largest clean-energy companies in the country, Green Mountain Energy. This experience showed her how business can be a powerful force for change. Christiana remains actively involved in the company, and she and her father are in the process of coauthoring a book about its creation, its ongoing mission, and success.

Larry North has been a leading expert in the health, fitness, nutrition, and weight loss sector for more than three decades. He has operated cutting-edge health clubs, authored three best-selling books, appeared on numerous radio and television programs, and created a globally successful weight-loss program, “The Great North American Slimdown,” that reached more than $150 million in revenue.

After advising Satori team members regarding health and wellness initiatives through the firm’s “Optimal Living” initiative, Larry found himself inspired by the principles of conscious capitalism and began to see his relationship with Satori as a continuation of his lifelong focus on impacting and enriching the lives of others.

Larry’s orientation toward others and his gift for selflessly connecting values-aligned people has resulted in the development of countless valuable personal and professional relationships throughout the Satori ecosystem.

Larry lives in Dallas with his wife, Brenda, their dog, Bliss, and their cat, Buda.

John Ofenloch is CEO of Ranger Wireless Holdings. He has more than 25 years of technology management experience with a focus on the telecommunications, internet services, and integrated optic manufacturing industries. His experience includes development and implementation of restructuring and business plans and strategic initiatives. He has assisted in the completion of an initial public offering, negotiated sale lease-backs, and worked on various mergers and acquisitions.

John has served in executive management roles at a photonics component manufacturing company, where he had overall responsibility for strategic planning, general accounting, treasury, budgeting, financial reporting, and investor relations. He also held management roles at a holding company that controls telecommunications operating divisions and subsidiaries in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as at Pacific Crossing Limited, a company that operates a trans-Pacific, sub-sea network providing a vital link between the U.S. and Asia. Additionally, he continues to serve as a director on charitable boards.

John holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Auburn University and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Southern Methodist University.

Cheryl Rosner is the founder of Stayful.com, which serves the boutique and independent hotel community. Previously, Cheryl was a strategic coach for startup founders and CEOs and a strategic advisor to BuyWithMe.

Prior to that, Cheryl served as President and Chief Executive Officer of TicketsNow, the world’s largest independent online marketplace for premium event tickets. Before joining TicketsNow, Cheryl was instrumental in leading both Expedia Corporate Travel and Hotels.com to unprecedented success. While serving as president of Expedia Corporate Travel from 2005 to 2006, Cheryl directed the group to consistent profitability, including the successful launch of two new international divisions in Canada and Germany.

Prior to Expedia, Cheryl worked at Hotels.com from 1999 to 2005 in a number of executive capacities before becoming president of the company.  Cheryl’s key accomplishments at Hotels.com include: the successful IPO in 2000, the launch of the company’s consumer website in 2002 (leading it to become the sixth most-visited travel site 60 days after launch), creation and development of the company’s brand strategy, and award-winning advertising campaigns. In 2004, Cheryl was named one of the “25 Most Influential People in Travel” by Business Travel News.

Marc J. Sharpe is the founder and chairman of The Family Office Association, an organization formed in 2007 to provide a forum for single family office principals and professionals to share ideas and best practices, pool buying power, leverage talent, and conduct due diligence.

Marc’s career in the investment management industry spans more than 25 years. He has held positions in investment banking for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wasserstein Perella & Co. Inc. in addition to founding a venture capital incubator in the UK and working on strategic initiatives for Dell Inc. In 2006, Marc took a position as portfolio manager and research director for a full-service single family office serving a select group of ultra-high net worth families. After successfully navigating through the 2008 market crash, he subsequently joined an international private equity firm with assets valued at $1 billion specializing in control investments.

Marc has also served as a managing director for a boutique investment advisory firm providing alternative asset strategies to ultra-high net worth families and registered investment advisors, and he is the founder of IVY EB-5, which is responsible for building strategic partnerships and investment opportunities throughout the world via the United States’ EB-5 immigration investment visa program.

Marc holds an M.A. from Cambridge University, a M.Sc. from Oxford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is active in the Houston community and serves on the Board of the Holocaust Museum Houston, the HBS Houston Angels, and sits on the Investment Committee of two Houston-based foundations.

Dr. Kern Wildenthal has combined careers in institutional administration, clinical medicine, education, biomedical research, and philanthropic leadership. He served as President of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for 22 years from 1986 to 2008 (longer than any other president of a Texas state medical school). He had been the dean of the medical school for six years before becoming the institution’s president, and prior to that he served for four years as graduate school dean. From 2008 to 2012, Kern served as the chief executive of the medical center’s principal supporting organization, Southwestern Medical Foundation, and now is the foundation’s Senior Consultant.

Kern holds appointments as Executive Consultant of ScienceSeed LLP, Board Director of the Hamon Charitable Foundation and the Hoblitzelle Foundation, Chairman of the Moncrief Cancer Foundation, and a member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Kronos Worldwide, Inc., a NYSE-listed company that is a major international producer of titanium dioxide products.

During Kern’s administrative tenure at UT Southwestern, the institution more than quintupled in size and emerged as one of the leading medical institutions in the world. Four of its faculty were Nobel Laureates, 20 were members of the National Academy of the Sciences, and 50 served as presidents of national societies of their clinical and research specialties. Under his presidency, more than 300 new endowed Chairs, Professorships, and Centers were established; total endowments rose from $40 million to over $1.4 billion; land was acquired to expand the campus from 65 to 300 acres; two referral hospitals and outpatient facilities totaling 1,000,000 square feet were added to the campus; and the first half of a planned 4-million-square foot research complex was completed. The quality of the institution’s biomedical research enterprise rose in international rankings to among the top 10 in the world.

Patricia Aburdene is one of the world’s leading social forecasters. For 25 years she has been tracking how change impacts business. Through her books, talks and workshops, Ms. Aburdene has helped thousands of organizations and millions of people make the most of social change and transformation.

Ms. Aburdene is co-author of the number one New York Times bestseller Megatrends 2000 as well as Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, a blueprint of the social, economic and spiritual trends transforming free enterprise. As the tag line promises, the book describes seven new trends that will transform how you “Live, Work and Invest.”

Ms. Aburdene has lectured throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, Australia and the Pacific Rim. Clients include Adecco, the Professional Coach and Mentor Association, the Management Institute of New Zealand and the Consciousness in Business conference in Santa Fe, N. Mex.

Ms. Aburdene’s lifelong career in business journalism began at Forbes in 1978. As a Policy Fellow at Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Mass., from 1993 to 1996, she explored emerging leadership models.

Ms. Aburdene holds a B.A. in philosophy from Newton College of the Sacred Heart (now Boston College), an M.S. in library science from Catholic University, and three honorary doctorates. In 1990, she was awarded the Medal of Italy for her interpretation of global trends. Ms. Aburdene lives in Telluride, Colo. and Cambridge, Mass.

Garrett Boone is Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of The Container Store. His commitment to maintaining the company’s unique culture has played a vital role in The Container Store being selected by Fortune magazine as a “Best Company to Work For” many years in a row. In 2006, along with Kip (now CEO) and Sharon Tindell (Chief Merchandising Officer), Mr. Boone was inducted into the Retailing Hall of Fame. In his role as Chairman Emeritus at The Container Store, he attends all new store openings, major celebrations and cultural events as well as conducting “Selling with Garrett” seminars.

In 2006, Mr. Boone co-founded Texas Business for Clean Air in an effort to derail a fast track initiative to construct 11 coal-burning energy plants in North Texas using outdated air quality controls. Their efforts in promoting “clean air is good for business in Texas” have been heralded nationally and recently were the subject of a Robert Redford documentary Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars. Texas Business for Clean Air was 2010 recipient of the CATEE Outstanding Nonprofit Organization of the Year. In 2007 Mr. Boone was First runner-up for Texan of the Year awarded by The Dallas Morning News.

Mr. Boone is active on the boards of directors of the YMCA of the USA and the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, where he led a successful $28 million capital campaign as chairman. Among others, he is on the boards of directors of The Woodall Rogers Park Foundation, Trinity Trust Foundation, Trinity Commons Foundation, The Boone Family Foundation, and TreeHouse, Inc. He is highly involved in the Trinity Paddling Trails and Bird Count Initiatives and is a member of the advisory boards for The Dallas Women’s Foundation and Teach for America. He is an advocate for public education and serves on the Dallas ISD Star Commission to share business best practices with DISD.

Matt Christensen joined AXA IM in 2011 and as Global Head of Responsible Investment is responsible for directing, implementing and overseeing the development of an impact investment programme and the integration of ESG criteria across asset classes and multi-asset solutions. Matt has been a leading voice in the field of responsible investment and was a member of the European commission’s coordination committee to explore the future of sustainability policy and legislation in the EU, a position he held until joining AXA IM.

Prior to AXA IM, Mr. Christensen was a Founding Director at Eurosif, the leading European responsible investment think tank, where he worked for nine years. Before that, he was a Business Development Director at Motley Fool. Prior to that, Mr. Christensen was a Strategy Consultant at both Braxton Associates and Deloitte Consulting.

Mr. Christensen has held Board positions with impact funds in the alternatives arena, including a listed private equity fund on the London Stock Exchange, and as Vice President of one of the largest microfinance funds.

Mr. Christensen holds an MBA and an M.A. in international political economy from the University of Pennsylvania – Wharton.

Jody Grant is the outgoing chairman and CEO of Texas Capital Bancshares, a $4.3 billion bank holding company that he founded in 1998. Mr. Grant assumes the role of chairman emeritus and remains a member of the board of directors of Texas Capital.

Except for his role as EVP, CFO, and member of the Board of Directors of EDS Corporation from 1990 to 1998, (where he co-led the company’s successful spin-off from its parent General Motors), Mr. Grant has spent the preponderance of his career in commercial banking. He was formerly chairman and CEO of Texas American Bancshares, at the time one of the largest bank holding companies in Texas. While senior vice president and economist of Texas Commerce Bank Houston, he led the effort that formed Texas Commerce Bancshares, which is now part of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. He was the architect of the bank’s expansion strategy and a key member of the team that made the company’s first 35 acquisitions. A native of San Antonio, Tex., Mr. Grant began his banking career at Citibank in New York City. He is the author of two acclaimed books on the banking industry.

Mr. Grant has an undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University, where he was an All-American swimmer, and he received his doctorate and master’s degrees from the University of Texas.

In 2001, Mr. Grant received the American Banker “Community Banker of the Year” award. He is a member of World Presidents Organization and Chief Executive Organization and a former international president of Young Presidents Organization. He serves on the boards of Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation, MD Anderson, Communities Foundation of Texas, Dallas Citizens Council, KERA, and Dallas County Community College Foundation.

John Mackey is co-founder and chief executive officer of Whole Foods Market, Inc., based in Austin, Texas. He is widely credited with helping fuel the rise of organic and natural food in the United States.

Mr. Mackey found his passion for organic foods in an unusual manner. In his early 20s, he joined a vegetarian cooperative even though he wasn’t vegetarian. He thought living in a co-op would be a great way to meet women. And he was right. He met his girlfriend and eventual business partner Renee Lawson, and he also experienced what he called a “food awakening.” In 1978, that epiphany led him and Lawson to open a natural foods grocery store called Safer Way, a counterculture alternative to conventional grocery chain Safeway. Mr. Mackey didn’t have an MBA, but he claims to have gotten the perfect education for launching a retail store by studying philosophy. Safer Way struggled during its first two years, and he and Lawson eventually teamed up with two competitors to form Whole Foods Market, Inc.

Mr. Mackey attributes the success of Whole Foods to his application of libertarian philosophies and free-market principles. He says he runs the company “with a conscience.” Whole Foods is considered the first major grocery chain to adopt humane treatment standards for animals. Mr. Mackey says he gets “a sense of deep meaning and purpose” by helping others improve their quality of life with natural food.

Prior to launching Safer Way, Mr. Mackey tried his hand at being a college student. He attended two universities, but dropped out six times. Still, he says he notched 130 credit hours in electives, mostly in religion and philosophy.

Today, Mr. Mackey lives on a 720-acre ranch west of Austin with his wife, Deborah. They practice yoga and meditation. Mr. Mackey has two books in the works: The Whole Story, which talks about the company’s birth and his business philosophies, and The FLOW Papers, a collection of essays about a nonprofit organization he co-founded in 2003.

Mr. Mackey loves to read, debate politics, and engage fans and critics on his blog.