Our Team
Our strategy is based upon on bringing more than just capital to companies. We bring know-how, problem solving, deep resources and experience to grow companies and move them past “inflection points.” As a permanent capital holding company, we have long time horizons, unmatched flexibility and a deeply experienced team.
Executive Leadership
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Tom is a Partner and Co-Founder at Ames Watson. Prior to Ames Watson, Tom was the founder of Severn Partners, a private equity firm that acquired more than a dozen companies in the defense, retail, light manufacturing and service sectors. Over the past 18 years, Tom has developed extensive operating experience across more than two dozen different companies. Today, Tom serves as the Chairman & CEO of Lids Sports Group. Tom started his career as an infantry and special operations officer in the United States Marine Corps. Tom graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a BA and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Tom lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife and three children.
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Lawrence is the Co-Founder and a Partner at Ames Watson. Prior to founding Ames Watson, Lawrence was Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Blackstreet Capital. At Blackstreet, Lawrence participated in over 25 acquisitions and was actively involved in the sourcing of deals, planning of transitions and oversight of investments. Previously, Lawrence worked for the The Washington Post Company and the Boston Consulting Group. Lawrence has served on numerous Boards of both private and public companies. Lawrence is currently the Chairman of FanzzLids Holdings, the holding company that owns Lids and Fanatics Lids College. Lawrence has a B.S.E. and MBA from The Wharton School. Lawrence lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife and three sons. He can usually be found at the ice rink watching his sons play hockey.
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Coleman is a Managing Partner at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Coleman served as an Operating Partner at Severn Partners, a private equity firm that acquired companies in the defense, retail, light manufacturing and service sectors. He guided the turnaround of two manufacturing portfolio companies while at Severn Partners. Coleman graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a BS in Mathematics, and holds an MBA from Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, and started his career as a special operations officer in the United States Navy. Coleman lives in Annapolis, MD with his wife and two sons (the eldest is now off to college).
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Sean is a Managing Partner at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson in 2018, Sean was a transaction advisory consultant at RSM US LLP, where he provided deal advisory services to a variety of financial sponsors and middle market companies. Previously, Sean worked at Sterling Partners. Sean has a BS and MS from James Madison University, and is an active CPA and CFA Charterholder. He lives in Richmond, Virginia with his wife and two daughters.
Investment Team
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Ryan is a Principal at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Ryan was a Vice President with Blackstreet Capital where he managed acquisitions and debt capital structure and served on the operations leadership team of its largest portfolio company, Black Bear Sports Group. During his 12 years at Blackstreet, Ryan participated in both the acquisition process and post-closing management on 45+ transactions in sectors including real estate, sports and entertainment, consumer brands and business services. Ryan graduated from Williams College with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts Degree in Political Science and Leadership Studies and captained the Varsity hockey team as a defenseman. Ryan lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and two children.
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Ryan is a Senior Associate at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Ryan spent six years working in investment banking at Fairmount Partners and Outcome Capital, where he advised clients through sell-side mergers & acquisitions across healthcare, professional services and technology industries. Ryan received his MS in Finance at Villanova and his BBA in Finance at the University of Massachusetts. Ryan enjoys playing golf and spending time with his wife and friends.
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Chao is a Senior Associate at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Chao spent four years at Capitol Hill Group, where he closed 20+ acquisitions across retail & consumer, logistics, and business services industries. Chao earned his M.S. in Finance from the University of Virginia and his B.A. from Colby College, where he double-majored in Economics and Biology. He is a CFA charterholder and Certified Public Accountant. Outside of work, Chao enjoys hiking and spending time with his wife, dog, and friends.
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Ashu is an Associate at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Ashu was in the Leveraged Finance Group at Wells Fargo, where he focused on debt capital raises supporting various uses of proceeds including LBO and M&A transactions. Ashu earned a B.A. in Economics from Wake Forest University. Outside of work, Ashu enjoys fitness, traveling, following professional football and spending time with friends.
Strategic Resources Group
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Patrick is an Operating Partner at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Pat was a Director with Alvarez and Marsal, a management consulting firm, where he focused on delivering solutions across supply chain and manufacturing operations. Previously, Pat worked for General Electric and Molson Coors as a continuous improvement leader within their manufacturing facilities. Pat started his career as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. He received his MBA from The University of Texas - Austin and BS from James Madison University. Pat lives outside of Pittsburgh, PA with his wife and two children.
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Jesse is an Operating Partner at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Jesse was a transaction advisory consultant at EY where he performed financial due diligence services for buy and sell-side transactions. He also spent time in EY's assurance practice, working with publicly traded Fortune 500 companies and privately held REITs.
Jesse has a BS and MS from James Madison University, and is a CPA with an inactive license. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Alex is a Marketing Senior Vice-President at Ames Watson. Alex developed her dynamic, customer-experience centric view of marketing during early career experiences with Build-A-Bear Workshop and as the Marketing Manager for the pet care start-up Dogtopia. In 2011 she established her own consulting venture, Mason Cre8tive, which partnered with over 20 companies to create meaningful digital engagement and drive ROAS improvement via data-driven decision making. Alex holds a BS from Georgetown University, and resides in Manassas, VA with her husband and two children.
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Craig is a SRG Vice-President at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Craig was a Sr. Manager of FP&A with Under Armour, where he supported various members of the executive team on the planning and analysis of global product profitability and execution of gross margin strategic initiatives. Previously, Craig also spent time at Stitch Fix as a Corporate Strategy Manager on their Operations team. Craig has a BS and MS from Penn State University and is an inactive CPA charterholder. He lives in Sykesville, Maryland with his wife and two daughters.
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Nick is a SRG Vice-President at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Nick was a Senior Director of FP&A and Strategy at Aqua-Leisure Recreation driving financial performance and growth. Previously, Nick worked at CVS Health and EY-Parthenon as a strategy consultant. Nick holds an MBA from Dartmouth College and lives in Boston with his wife and kids.
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Brent is a SRG Senior Director at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Brent was Director of Real Estate & Analytics at Worldwide Golf, where he led company-wide initiatives across real estate, analytics, AI integration, and new business development. He served as a strategic advisor to senior leadership, helping shape long-term growth and operational strategy. Previously, Brent held leadership roles at Custom Ink and Under Armour, where he focused on go-to-market execution, performance marketing, and direct-to-consumer strategy. Brent holds an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a BBA in Economics from James Madison University. He lives outside of Washington, DC with his wife and two children.
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Jacob is a SRG Vice-President at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Jacob was a Director with FTI Consulting’s Business Transformation, Office of the CFO Solutions practice, where he supported C-suite executives in various planning and performance management and financial process improvement initiatives - primarily focusing on operational strategy, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), treasury solutions, and finance technology. Jacob received his BS in Finance from Ohio State University and currently lives in New York City.
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Sean is a SRG Senior Director at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Sean served as director of finance and FP&A at Stier Supply Company, a building materials firm, where he drove scalable growth through strategic performance management. Previously, he worked for BrandSafway as director of project controls delivering project portfolio management, operational excellence, and FP&A solutions. Sean started his career as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. He received his MBA from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and BS from the United States Naval Academy. Sean lives outside of Charlotte, NC with his wife.
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Morgan is a SRG Portfolio Development Associate at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Morgan spent a year as an analyst at a middle market Investment Bank; preforming market research, due diligence, and financial analysis for clients. In 2022, Morgan simultaneously received her BA and Master of Public Administration from the University of Alabama while swimming for their varsity team. Morgan resides in Baltimore, Maryland and enjoys attending all Baltimore sporting events with her family and friends.
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Erik is a SRG Senior Director at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Erik was a Director at Alvarez & Marsal, a management consulting firm, where he focused on SG&A cost takeout, optimizing business processes, and implementing technology-driven solutions. Previously, he held roles at Pilot Thomas Logistics and KPMG, where he contributed to turnaround efforts, budgeting strategies, and financial due diligence. Erik began his post-graduate career as a pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds’ minor league system.
He received his BS and MBA from Texas Christian University and currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife.
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Jana is the Director of E-Commerce at Ames Watson. Prior to joining, she was an e-commerce manager at VF Corporation, where she focused on driving new e-commerce strategies and ongoing enhancements and optimizations. Jana received her Bachelor in International Management from Toulouse Business School (Toulouse, FR) and her Masters in E-Business from Copenhagen Business School (Copenhagen, DK). In her free time she loves to travel, spend time with family and friends, and go to the beach.
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Eric is an SRG Director at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, he was a Senior Associate at Brand Velocity Group, where he focused primarily on buyout transactions. He also supported the firm’s portfolio companies, including serving as Interim CFO of a BVG platform company. Eric holds a B.A. in History and Legal Studies from Northwestern University, where he graduated with honors. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.
Finance & Support Teams
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Melissa Hahn is the Chief Financial Officer at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson in 2023, she gained over 12 years of progressive accounting and finance experience spanning internal and external audit, accounting advisory, and corporate accounting. Melissa began her career in public accounting at Grant Thornton and later held corporate accounting and internal audit roles at Campbell Soup Company. She also advised clients on new accounting pronouncements and process optimization during her time at Deloitte. Melissa holds a B.S. in Accounting from Penn State University and is a licensed CPA in Maryland and Pennsylvania. She lives in Maryland with her husband and daughter.
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Alex is the Director of Finance at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Alex was an assurance manager in PwC's Consumer and Industrial Products and Services group, where he primarily supported the Under Armour account. Alex has over five years of experience in public accounting and is an active CPA in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Alex graduated from the University of Richmond with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration - Accounting, followed by a Master's degree in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics from Saint Joseph's University. Alex and his wife live in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Sarah is the Chief of Staff at Ames Watson and Executive Director of the Lids Foundation. Prior to Ames Watson, Sarah was the Business Development – Partnerships Manager at Lids, where she managed celebrity, pro-athlete and high profile relationships. Sarah was also passionately active in all Lids Foundation events and operations prior to being named Executive Director. Sarah received her Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, loves painting and enjoys spending weekends watching college football. (Go Boilermakers!)
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Lisa is the Director of Recruiting at Ames Watson. Prior to Ames Watson, Lisa was a Senior Global Executive Talent Attraction Manager at TE Connectivity. Lisa brings 20 years experience in identifying, engaging, and securing top-tier talent across various industries. She started her career in agency before moving to Fortune 500 companies including Honeywell and TE Connectivity. She prides herself on her ability to enhance stakeholder and candidate experience, as well as implementing strategic recruitment initiatives, and serving as a TA trusted advisor. Lisa received her Bachelor's degree in Health and Physical Education.
Lisa lives in Crofton, MD with her husband Jim and daughter Ellie who will be playing lacrosse at High Point University.
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Vicki is Legal Compliance Manager at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Vicki was a Paralegal and Legal Compliance Manager at Blackstreet Capital, where she actively participated in the closings of Blackstreet’s acquisitions and post-closing restructuring activities including corporate governance and legal entity compliance. Following Vicki’s tenure at Blackstreet Capital, Vicki worked in the DC office of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips LLP, and the Northern Virginia office of Rees Broome, PC as a Senior Corporate Paralegal, and part of corporate the M&A transaction teams performing a range of activities including, corporate due diligence associated with M&A transactions, entity creation, organization and dissolution, contract review, and entity compliance.
Vicki has a Bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and a Paralegal Certificate from Georgetown University. She and her husband are big Nascar fans, and on many weekends, you’ll find them at the track in person, cheering for their favorite drivers.
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Emily Yankovich is Office Manager at Ames Watson. Prior to Ames Watson, she served as Office Manager at Elixirgen Therapeutics, a biotech research company, and worked at The Dominion Group, where she supported HR functions, managed IT and employee equipment, and ensured daily office operations ran smoothly. She earned a B.A. in History from the University of Maryland and currently lives in Baltimore. Outside of work, she enjoys reading and attending concerts and festivals.
