About Us
Investment and operating professionals founded Ridge Capital to invest across the North American Industrial Base in the middle market. Sectors of interest include precision manufacturing, specialty fabrication, engineered materials, electronic and electrical components, and value-added distribution. We partner with investors and management teams to deliver outsized returns, and we structure debt and equity capital individually for each investment.
Our Philosophy
- Select investment opportunities carefully
- Partner with strong management teams
- Focus on operational and infrastructure improvements
- Utilize robust data analysis
- Align incentives to achieve outsized risk-adjusted returns
Operating Principles
Invest in people
Lead by asking
Commit to trust, integrity, and respect
Demand continuous improvement
Investment Criteria
- Principal customer base and physical operations in the United States or Canada
- EBITDA of at least $10 million for platforms and as low as $1 million for add-on acquisitions
- Entrenched customer relationships and market positions demonstrated by strong margins and consistent growth
- Mission critical products or services (non-commoditized) whether proprietary or built-to-print
Team
Radek Kozlowski
Managing Partner and Co-Founder
[email protected]
Radek is a Co-Founder and the Managing Partner at Ridge Capital. He oversees the firm’s strategy and the origination, management, and development of all investment activities. Radek brings over 20 years of private equity investing, investment banking, asset management, engineering, and operations experience to Ridge Capital. His career experience spans general industrial, capital goods, aerospace, and defense sectors. Most recently at Compass Partners Capital, LLC, Radek invested ~$200 million of equity capital in diversified and defense focused precision manufacturing businesses. He led underwriting, capital raising, and supporting management teams. Across platform, add-on, and refinancings, aggregate transaction value was ~$1 billion.
As an investment banker, Radek worked at RBC Capital Markets Global M&A Group, FBR as Head of Capital Goods, Oppenheimer & Co. as an A&D and Industrials banker, and Needham & Co. as an Industrial Technology banker. His transaction experience includes cross-border M&A and debt and equity capital raising for clients in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Prior to investment banking, Radek held technical and management positions with multinational diversified manufacturers, SKF and RBC Bearings, in North America and Europe.
Radek earned his BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, and his MBA from LeBow College of Business at Drexel University. Radek is fluent in Polish.
Orson Clay
Principal and Co-Founder
[email protected]
Orson is a Co-Founder and Principal at Ridge Capital and oversees the origination and management of the firm’s investments. Most recently at Compass Partners Capital, LLC, Orson managed all aspects of the investing process for the firm. Key responsibilities included origination, underwriting, capital raising, and strategic support for company executives and boards of directors. Across platform, add-on, and refinancing transactions, Orson invested ~$200 million in equity with ~$1 billion in aggregate transaction value.
As an investment banker with Wells Fargo Securities, Orson provided capital structure and strategic transaction advisory services to clients across various sectors.
Orson earned his BSc in Applied Mathematics from Brigham Young University. Orson is fluent in Spanish.
Christopher Lally
Senior Advisor
[email protected]
Chris is a seasoned finance, investment banking, and capital markets professional with a strong financial planning, M&A, and investment banking background. His 20+ years of investment banking experience spans large multi-national banks including Credit Suisse and UBS, smaller independent investment banks including CIBC/Oppenheimer, and small private entrepreneurial organizations. Transactional experience includes over $10 billion of debt and equity capital raises for small, middle-market and large companies across the U.S. and Europe. International assignments included 5 years in London and Frankfurt with Credit Suisse and BHF-Bank, respectively. Chris maintains a substantial network of private equity, corporate, bank, legal, and accounting relationships.
Chris earned his BA cum laude in Mathematics and Economics from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, and his MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University. Chris is fluent in German.
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