PARTNER

Jerrold Newman

Jerry is the founder of Willowridge Partners and established its first investment fund, Amberbrook LLC, in 1995. Jerry has been investing in private equity funds and mid-market direct deals for more than 30 years. Previously, Jerry worked at Price Waterhouse as a CPA and at Booz, Allen & Hamilton in its acquisitions practice. Jerry spent over a decade investing in private equity for a family trust and subsequently worked for a buyout fund before founding Willowridge. Jerry received an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College and a B.S. from Cornell University.

PARTNER

James O’Mara

Jim joined Willowridge in 2002 as an intern and returned full time a year later. Previously, Jim worked in the Office of Investments at Hamilton College where he analyzed the performance of the college’s private equity portfolio. Jim holds a B.A. from Hamilton College.

PARTNER

Lawrence Fang

Lawrence joined Willowridge in 2016 and is engaged in the origination and execution of secondary purchases in private equity funds and direct companies. Prior to joining Willowridge, Lawrence was a principal at Pomona Capital, focused on both secondary purchases as well as making primary commitments in private equity funds. Earlier in his career, he worked in the alternative investments division at AIG Global Investment Group. Lawrence received a BBA from the University of Michigan.

MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

Carlos Leal

Carlos Leal joined Willowridge in 2024 after four years as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Litespeed Partners, an event-driven hedge fund. Previously, Carlos spent twenty years at Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, LLC, a mid-sized equity investment firm with separately managed accounts, mutual funds, UCITS, hedge funds and private equity funds as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He started his career in financial services as a senior manager at Ernst & Young LLP; auditing investment firms, hedge funds, private equity funds and secondary funds. Carlos received a B.S. in public accounting at Iona University.

PRINCIPAL

Christian Oberbeck

Christian joined Willowridge in 2016. Prior to joining Willowridge, Christian was an associate at Sonenshine Partners, a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm based in New York. During his three years at Sonenshine Partners, he worked on advisory assignments on a large range of transaction types for both large cap and middle market companies in the technology, software, retail / ecommerce and healthcare sectors. Prior to Sonenshine Partners, Christian worked at Bloomberg in the Financial Product Sales and Analytics division. Christian received an A.B. in Psychology from Harvard College in 2011.

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

Angela Qiu

Angela joined Willowridge in April 2017 as Director of Finance. Miss Qiu is a CPA with over thirteen years of experience in private equity, most recently at GCM Grosvenor, where she was a fund controller responsible for fund accounting and financial reporting for the firm’s primary private equity and secondary funds. Prior to that, Miss Qiu was an AVP at Credit Suisse in the Private Equity group. She began her career at EisnerAmper LLP, a regional advisory and CPA firm. Miss Qiu received an MBA in Finance and Accounting from University at Buffalo, SUNY.

VICE PRESIDENT

Matthew Melamed, CFA

Matt joined Willowridge in 2018. Previously, Matt was an associate at Forester Capital, where he was responsible for alternative investment manager selection and portfolio management. Matt received a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University and is a CFA® charterholder.

VICE PRESIDENT

Justin Cheng

Justin Cheng joined Willowridge in 2019. Previously, Justin was an investment banking associate at The Alberleen Group, where he worked on public offerings and private placement transactions for a range of middle-market global clients. Justin holds a B.S. in Business & Political Economy and Computer Science from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.

ASSOCIATE

Jagriti Sharma

Jagriti joined Willowridge in 2022. Prior to joining Willowridge, Jagriti was a Senior Reporting Analyst at Starr Private Equity Partners, where she was engaged in portfolio monitoring and reporting. Previously, she worked in the Controllers Division at Goldman Sachs. Jagriti received a B.B.A. in Accounting from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.

ASSOCIATE

Samuel Levy

Sam joined Willowridge in 2023. Previously, Sam was an investment banking analyst at HSBC, where he worked in debt capital markets focusing on originating public debt offerings for large domestic and foreign companies. Sam received a BBA and graduated with highest distinction from Emory University.

ASSOCIATE

Kayla Burakovsky

Kayla joined Willowridge in 2023. Prior to joining Willowridge, Kayla was an associate at Morgan Stanley in their Capital Markets group, where she worked with sponsors and management on origination, execution and advisory for companies in the consumer and retail space. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Kayla worked at S&P Global (previously IHS Markit) on the OTC Derivative Portfolio Valuations team. Kayla received a B.S. in Finance from the University of Miami.

ASSOCIATE

Mudassir Qaisar, CPA

Mudassir joined Willowridge in 2023. Prior to joining Willowridge, Mudassir was a Senior Fund Accountant at Wexford Capital & SS&C Technologies. He also has previous experience at a family office as well as Ernst & Young’s family office division. Mudassir is a CPA and holds dual degrees, a B.S in Accounting and a B.S in Finance from the CUNY College of Staten Island.

ASSOCIATE

Caspar La Pierre

ASSOCIATE

Jake Glasgow

ASSOCIATE

Daniel Newman

Daniel joined Willowridge in 2024. Previously, Daniel was an investment banking analyst at Guggenheim Partners, where he was a member of the Private Capital Advisory team focused on GP-led secondary solutions. Prior to Guggenheim, Daniel worked at Lazard on the Private Capital Advisory team.  Daniel received an  A.B. in Economics and Latin American Studies with honors, and graduated magna cum laude from Brown University.

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Mary Stevenson

Mary joined Willowridge in 2005 as an associate and is currently the operations manager. She is responsible for various administrative and operational aspects of the firm. Previously, Mary was a freelance writer and visual artist. Mary loves nature, art and animals. She received a B.A. from New York University.

OFFICE MANAGER

Lauren Green

Lauren Green joined Willowridge Partners in 2019 as the Office Manager/Administrative Assistant, providing all-around support to the team. Prior to this, she served as the Imports Manager at Sunham Home Fashions, a multinational importer and wholesaler of home textiles. She holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Oregon and performs with local opera and theatre companies in her spare time.

SENIOR ADVISOR

Luisa Hunnewell

Luisa became a Senior Advisor in 2021. She joined Willowridge in 1996 and spent 24 years as a Partner, where she was involved in all aspects of the firm. Prior to Willowridge, she spent 16 years at Chemical Bank, where she was involved in a number of specialized industries including insurance, banks and securities firms, auto and tire, and agribusiness. Luisa holds an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

IN MEMORIAM

Michael Kenny

1972-2024

Mike joined Willowridge Partners in 2009, and rose to become our Chief Financial and Compliance Officer. He was an invaluable member of our team. As we mourn his passing, we are also filled with gratitude for the privilege of knowing and working with such an exemplary man. Mike was unfailingly kind and generous. He was a patient teacher, a dedicated partner, and a cherished friend. Mike’s hard work and effort on behalf of the firm will continue to influence us for many years to come.