A VETERAN TEAM

Neel Bhargava

Founding Partner

Neel is an experienced investor, operator, and advisor. Prior to NB Group, he was a member of the investment team at Berkshire Partners, a corporate development manager at The New York Times, a co-founder of Foodpanda India, and a management consultant at Bain & Company. He is also the founder of NB Advisory, an advisory and consulting firm working with growth stage businesses on corporate development, strategy, and finance.

At Berkshire Partners, a growth-oriented private equity fund with $15+ billion in assets under management, Neel evaluated new investments in the Tech/Telecom and Consumer/Multi-Unit industries. He also worked closely with the teams of several portfolio companies including retailers Aritzia and Party City, where he was a Board Observer. At the New York Times, Neel evaluated investments in ad technology, business intelligence, and mobile. At Bain, Neel advised clients across industries and worked with several leading private equity funds on strategic diligence.

Neel is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Harvard Business School. He lives in New York City with his wife and two kids.

Ariez Dustoor

Partner

Ariez is an experienced investor, entrepreneur, and advisor. Prior to NB Group, he was a member of the investment team at Audax Group, the Corporate Development team at Yahoo!, a Co-Founder of Scout Finance (sold to a strategic acquirer in 2017), and started his career as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies at McKinsey & Company.

As a Co-Founder at Scout Finance, an enterprise software company focused on the financial industry, Ariez helped lead product development, sales, and fundraising. At Audax Group, a leading middle market private equity fund, Ariez evaluated new investments and worked closely with portfolio companies, including a large business media and data company, and a physical security services provider. At Yahoo!, Ariez was heavily involved in new investments and acquisitions globally in the Mobile and Online services spaces. At McKinsey, Ariez worked with Fortune 500 CEOs in a variety of industries on growth strategy and operational imrovement in the US and abroad.

Ariez is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa. He lives in Miami with his wife and two kids.

Paul Singh

Operating Advisor, Healthcare

Paul is currently the CEO of U.S. Dermatology Partners, one of the largest dermatology practice management groups in the country with 100+ locations and 1800+ employees. He is an active board advisor to OnePeak Medical, a NBG portfolio company.

Paul previously served as COO of Northstar Anesthesia, a TPG-backed practice management company with 150+ facilities that was successfully sold in 2018. He has also served as a private equity investor in multiple healthcare sectors at H.I.G. Capital and Code Hennessy. He began his career at Citibank.

Paul is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Harvard Business School. He lives in Dallas with is wife and three kids.

Lucy Kalkman

Operating Advisor, Multi-Location (B2B)

Lucy has deep experience as a C-level executive at several high growth companies in the business and consumer services spaces where she led multi-site, multi-state, and highly diverse teams for public, private and PE backed companies. She has also advised multiple private equity firms on investment diligence and growth initiatives within their portfolios.

Most recently, Lucy was COO at a high-growth facilities management company, as well as COO of a PE-backed residential services roll up. Earlier in her career, she was COO at National Express LLC, the second largest school bus transportation company in North America, and previously led operations at Empire Flooring where she oversaw growth of from a single location and $30M of revenue to 80 locations and $800M.

Lucy has a B.S. from Northern Illinois University and lives in Chicago.

Jason Carter

Operating Advisor, Multi-Location (B2C)

Jason is a highly experienced C-Level Revenue and Operations leader, who brings a record of success in transforming businesses, maximizing efficiency, delivering a world-class customer experience, and scaling for long-term growth. Jason brings significant experience in franchising having spent time working on both the franchisor and franchisee side.

Most recently Jason was President & COO for an Anytime Fitness group with 250+ gym locations. Jason led strategic initiatives growing the footprint from 190 locations to 258 across 30 states and 2 countries, delivering consistent same-store-sales and EBITDA growth. Prior to that, Jason was CEO for the largest franchise group of OrangeTheory Fitness, which was private equity backed. Jason also serves as board advisor for a PE-backed multi-brand home services franchisor.

Jason has a B.S. from Washington State University and lives in Atlanta.

Kal Gullapalli

Operating Advisor, Multi-Location (B2C)

Kal is a highly entrepreneur, operator, and investor in the multi-unit consumer space with a track record of scaling brands, particularly franchise concepts. Kal is currently the CEO of MPZ Holdings, which owns and operates dozens of Dave's Hot Chicken, Marco's Pizza, and PopUp Bagel locations in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. He is also an advisor and investor in other franchise concepts.

Kal previously partnered with NB Group on EWC Growth Partners, which he sold 7 franchise locations to and then served as CEO of the platform for nearly three years. He also started and successfully sold an OrangeTheory franchise and other hospitality concepts. He started his career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch.

Kal is a graduate of the University of Michigan and lives in Tampa with his wife and two kids.