Investment Team

David Blechman
Founder & Senior Principal
Dave founded New State Capital Partners in 2013 after 18 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Dave has transaction and operating experience across a variety of industries, including business and industrial services. He has led investments in private and public companies, corporate carve-outs and complex restructurings.
Previously, Dave was Managing Director at H.I.G. Capital, based in New York, investing the firm’s LBO funds. Prior to H.I.G. Capital, Dave was Managing Director with Tower Three Partners, based in Greenwich, CT, and Principal at Sun Capital Partners, based in New York. Prior to Sun Capital, Dave spent five years with The Blackstone Group in their Restructuring and Reorganization practice. Dave began his career with Lehman Brothers investment banking, working in Chicago and London.
Dave received his undergraduate degree in economics from University of Chicago and earned his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. Dave also previously served as Adjunct Professor of Finance at Columbia Business School.

Daniel Han
Senior Principal
Daniel joined New State Capital Partners in 2020. He brings more than 20 years of private equity and investment banking experience across a variety of industries, including industrial services, financials and infrastructure. Daniel has served on more than 10 corporate boards, including those of publicly listed companies. In addition to traditional buyouts, Daniel has led numerous restructuring and distressed credit investments.
Previously, Daniel was the Co-Head of North American Investments at Strategic Value Partners, an $8B distressed credit investment manager based in Connecticut. Prior to Strategic Value Partners, Daniel served as a Principal at Wellspring Capital Management, a $3 billion middle-market buyout fund, where he sat on the investment committee and led transactions across the industrial and consumer sectors. He started his career in the M&A group of J.P. Morgan in New York.
Daniel graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce, with a concentration in Finance.

John Kim
Senior Principal
John joined New State Capital Partners in 2013. Prior to joining, John spent over 14 years in investment banking. Most recently, John was an Executive Director in the Financial Sponsors & Leveraged Finance Group at UBS Investment Bank, where he was responsible for originating and executing leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and refinancings as well as co-covering middle market private equity firms. Prior to UBS, John was at Credit Suisse First Boston (previously Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette) in the Private Placements Group, where he helped raise over $2 billion for growth companies in a variety of industries. John began his career at Deutsche Bank in the Commercial Real Estate Finance Group.
John graduated from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

Parashar Ranade
Senior Principal
Parashar joined New State Capital Partners in 2020. He brings sixteen years of experience in leveraged buyouts, founder/family recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs spanning across a wide range of industries including business services, technology, industrial, government services, and energy services. Over the course of his career in private equity, Parashar executed over 25 M&A and financing transactions, including platform investments, add-on acquisitions, portfolio company sales and portfolio company recapitalizations.
Prior to joining New State, Parashar was a Principal in the LBO Fund of H.I.G. Capital. During his ten years at H.I.G., Parashar was involved in all aspects of the investment process including sourcing, execution, structuring and financing. As a board member of his portfolio companies, he worked in partnership with management teams to drive key value creation initiatives. Before H.I.G. Capital, Parashar worked with Tower Three Partners, a middle-market private equity firm based out of Greenwich, CT. He started his career off in investment banking in the M&A group of JPMorgan.
Parashar attended Dartmouth College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and later attended The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania for his M.B.A.

Will Swayne
Senior Principal
Will joined New State Capital Partners in 2023, bringing with him 19 years of experience in private equity and investment banking. Will has a comprehensive background of transaction experience across a broad range of industries and investment strategies, with extensive experience working alongside founders, management teams, and boards to successfully scale middle market companies in B2B service industries.
Previously, Will was a Managing Director responsible for Professional Services investments at Partners Group, one of the world’s largest investment firms with over $140 billion in assets under management. Prior to Partners Group, Will was a Managing Director at CI Capital Partners, an operationally focused private equity firm that specializes in investing in lower middle market companies with a transformational “buy-and-build” growth strategy. Earlier in his career, Will was a Senior Associate at Sun Capital Partners, an operationally focused middle market private equity firm that invests in companies that are operationally challenged, experiencing an industry or business transition, undergoing a corporate divestiture, or managing rapid growth. Will began his career in the restructuring advisory practice at Lazard Freres, where he focused on financing and advisory assignments for companies experiencing operational and capital structure challenges.
Will received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Finance major from Georgetown University.

Geoff Coar
Principal, Business Development
Geoff joined New State Capital Partners in 2022. Prior to joining, Geoff spent 26 years in commercial banking focused on senior debt solutions for a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, business services and industrial services. He has personally originated, structured, closed, and managed financings for private and public companies primarily located in the Western United States.
Geoff held leadership positions most recently with Pacific Premier Bank, successor to Opus Bank, US Bank, Citibank, and Wachovia. He began his career in 1995 joining Wells Fargo’s Commercial Banking Group.
Geoff is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Finance.

Adam McDowell
Principal
Adam joined New State Capital Partners in 2019 with 4 years of M&A experience. Adam has transaction and investment experience across a broad range of industries, including industrial services, business services, and packaging.
Prior to joining New State, Adam was with Speyside Equity, an operationally focused special situations middle-market private equity fund making control investments in underperforming manufacturing businesses.
Adam began his career as an investment banker with Deloitte Corporate Finance, where he focused on M&A across the industrials and packaging sectors.
Adam received his undergraduate degree in business from Kalamazoo College

Shaun Vasavada
Senior Principal
Shaun joined New State Capital Partners in 2018 with over six years of M&A experience including investing across commercial and facility services, industrial services, and professional services.

Alec Arthur
Vice President
Alec joined New State Capital Partners in 2023. Alec has 4+ years of transaction advisory and investment experience across a range of industries, including industrials, food & beverage, logistics, and various business services subsectors.
Prior to joining New State, Alec worked as a Manager in KPMG’s Deal Advisory & Strategy group, where he focused on financial and business diligence for both buy-side and sell-side private equity transactions. Alec also worked as an Associate Intern at Sun Capital Partners, Knox Capital, and Rock Island Capital while pursuing his M.B.A. During this time, Alec assisted in various aspects of evaluating and closing transactions as well as portfolio company monitoring and support.
Alec received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Accounting from Michigan State University and University of Michigan, respectively. Alec earned his M.B.A from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Jason Levy
Vice President
Jason joined New State Capital Partners in 2023, bringing with him 11+ years of M&A experience. He has served as an investor and advisor to the middle market across a broad range of industries, including industrials, distribution, business services, and consumer products.
Prior to joining New State, Jason was a Vice President with AOS Capital, an operationally oriented middle market private equity firm focused on the industrials sector. Previously, Jason was a Senior Associate with Guardian Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on growth-oriented investments in the industrials, business services, and consumer products industries. Earlier in his career, Jason was an Associate at Fairmount Partners, an investment bank focused on middle market M&A advisory. Jason began his career with Ernst & Young in the firm’s Transaction Advisory Services practice.
Jason received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University, where he graduated with distinction.

Caroline Weakland
Vice President
Caroline joined New State Capital Partners in 2025, bringing 8+ years of middle market M&A experience across the technology, technology services, and business services end markets.
Prior to joining New State, Caroline was a senior associate with OceanSound Partners, an operationally focused middle market private equity firm focused on government and highly regulated enterprise software and services businesses. Previously, Caroline was a senior associate with Sun Capital Partners, where she worked with the technology and tech-enabled services team. Earlier in her career, Caroline was an investment banking senior financial analyst at Houlihan Lokey in their business services group. Caroline started her career at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey (now Truist) in the M&A group.
Caroline received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia with a concentration in finance and management.

Alex Dunn
Senior Associate
Alex joined New State Capital Partners in 2022. He has a range of transaction experience spanning a variety of industries, including commercial and industrial services, building products, distribution and other industrial-focused subsectors.
Prior to joining New State, Alex was an Investment Banking Associate at Raymond James, a middle-market investment bank headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. He began his career in Chicago working with the Debt Capital Markets group at Huntington Bank, based in Columbus, Ohio.
Alex received his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Marissa Rietman
Senior Associate
Marissa joined New State Capital Partners in 2025. She has a range of transaction experience spanning a variety of industries, including industrial services, food and beverage, packaging, logistics, manufacturing and other industrial-focused subsectors.
Prior to joining New State, Marissa was a Senior Associate with Fernweh Group, an operationally focused middle market private equity firm focused on industrials and industrial technology. Previously, Marissa was a Manager with Western Digital, where she worked with the Corporate Strategy and Development team.
Marissa received her Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from Arizona State University and her M.B.A from University of Southern California.

Quentin Catalano
Associate

Drew Croghan
Associate
Drew joined New State Capital Partners in 2026. He brings transaction and investment experience across a wide range of industries, including industrial services, business and consumer services, and niche manufacturing.
Prior to joining New State, Drew was an Associate at Compass Group Equity Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm focused on industrial and business services, as well as niche manufacturing and distribution. Previously, Drew was an Investment Banking Analyst at Integral Capital Advisors, where he advised clients on M&A and capital raising transactions. He began his career at PwC.
Drew received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Accountancy from the University of Missouri

Alexander Medearis
Associate
Alexander joined New State Capital Partners in 2024, bringing with him over five years of transaction advisory experience spanning a diverse range of industries, including industrials, consumer & retail, automotive aftermarket, food & beverage, transportation & logistics, and energy, power, & infrastructure.
Prior to joining New State, Alexander was an Investment Banking Vice President at Capstone Partners, where he advised middle market companies on mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate finance assignments. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in facilitating successful transactions with a combined value exceeding $1 billion.
Alexander received his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Denver, where he graduated summa cum laude and with honors.

Alex Robin
Associate
Alex joined New State Capital Partners in 2025. He brings a broad range of capital markets and M&A advisory experience, with a focus on the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications sectors.
Prior to joining New State, Alex was an Investment Banking Associate at Deutsche Bank in New York, advising clients in the media and telecom industries on mergers, acquisitions, and capital markets transactions. He began his career in Deutsche Bank’s Equity-Linked Capital Markets group, executing transactions across a variety of industries.
Alex received his undergraduate degree in Financial Economics from Columbia University
Operations Team

Marc Herdegen
Senior Principal

Steve Larned
Senior Principal
Steve joined New State Capital Partners in 2016 with more than 30 years of experience in executive management, strategy consulting and private equity operations. Steve has led operating teams, developed strategies and advised executives across a range of industries including tech services, information/business services, healthcare, manufacturing and distribution.
Prior to New State, Steve was a Sr. Operating Executive at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe responsible for working with portfolio company management to develop and implement growth and EBITDA enhancement plans in both healthcare and information/business services. At WCAS, Larned was also deployed in board roles and led a company as interim CEO.
Previously, Steve was a senior executive at Dell, Inc. where he led B2B teams to drive profitable growth in a range of VP/GM roles including leading the Americas Marketing organization, the Preferred Accounts Division and the Americas Server and Storage team.
Steve started his career at Bain & Company where he worked on commercial/ industrial and consumer product projects.
Steve earned his undergraduate degree in Economics from Duke University and has an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Josh Skevington
Senior Principal
Josh joined New State Capital Partners in 2018, with more than 20 years of experience in executive management and investment banking. Josh has transactional and operational experience across a wide range of industries.
Prior to joining New State Josh was the CEO of a manufacturer and distributor of durable and consumable products. Before that Josh spent almost 13 years at Alvarez & Marsal acting as interim management leading corporate turnarounds and as an investment banker completing M&A, capital raises, and balance sheet restructurings. Josh began his career at Arthur Andersen in the Global Corporate Finance group.
Josh received his B.A. degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arizona. He earned his CPA license in 2001 (currently inactive) and is a CFA charter holder.

Kristin Brown Patrick
Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital
Kristin joined New State Capital Partners in 2019 as Senior Operating Partner, Human Capital with more than 25 years of hands-on growth strategy, executive search, talent acquisition and talent development experience.
The bulk of Kristin’s career has been focused on strategic talent acquisition for a wide range of industries including pharmaceutical, tech and consulting. Her engagements have included both short term consultants and full-time senior executives in organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Kristin specializes in helping companies grow quickly and build value. She has worked across a range of companies in roles including advisor, mentor, consultant and recruiter.
Prior to New State, Kristin served as Client Service Principal at Business Talent Group, a firm that specializes in on-demand strategy consultants, interim executives and subject matter experts. Before that, she founded and ran her own boutique executive search firm working with venture capital firms and their portfolio companies.
Early in her career she was involved with LC39 Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm, and CitySearch.com.
Kristin received her M.B.A. in Marketing from the Stern School of Business and holds her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Megan Galvin
Senior Operating Partner, Revenue
Megan joined New State in 2023 with 25 years of experience in marketing, sales, and executive leadership. Megan has strategic and operational experience in bringing new products, services, and commercial models to market, in segmentation and targeting, in positioning and messaging, and driving pipeline through omni-channel marketing campaigns and sales programs in B2B, B2C, and B2B2C revenue models.
Prior to joining New State, Megan was Senior Vice President of Marketing for Cengage Learning, where she was responsible for driving revenue through brand, demand gen, and sales enablement programs; creating, accelerating, and closing pipeline; and driving customer renewal, upsell, cross-sell and loyalty at scale. She built marketing, sales, and customer success capabilities and led digital business transformation from a go-to-market perspective.
Prior to Cengage Learning, Megan was VP Director of Marketing at Pearson, a global media company, after positions of successively growing revenue and market responsibility. She started her career as a sales representative for Addison Wesley Publishing.
Megan received her B.A. in English from Dartmouth College.

Michael Aossey
Operating Partner, AI Solutions
Michael Aossey joined New State Capital Partners in 2026 as Operating Partner, Artificial Intelligence. He brings more than 15 years of experience building and scaling technology and professional services organizations across public sector, healthcare, regulated industries, commercial enterprise, and mid-market segments. His diverse background gives him a broad perspective on how organizations achieve growth, margin expansion, and differentiated customer outcomes.
Before joining New State, Michael spent over six years at Amazon Web Services (AWS), most recently leading global solutions architecture teams focused on AI-powered customer experience. By applying emerging technologies with strategic intent, he helped AWS customers and partners reimagine how they engage with their consumers and constituents.
Earlier in his career, Michael served as Vice President of Cloud Solutions at Trace3, where he expanded and operationalized cloud and modernization services for enterprise clients. He also held senior leadership and engineering roles at ConvergeOne, Presidio, CDW, and CBTS, gaining practical experience across every stage of the technology adoption lifecycle—from solution design and delivery to team scaling and operational execution.
Throughout his career, Michael has made customer experience a cornerstone of value creation, combining AI, disciplined execution, and talent development to help management teams build scalable, high-impact services businesses

Ivan Gataric
Operating Partner, Operations Excellence
Ivan Gataric joined New State Capital Partners as an Operating Partner, Operations Excellence. He brings more than 25 years of operational leadership experience across private equity and global industrial organizations, with expertise in operational excellence, lean transformation, supply chain management, strategic sourcing, and M&A integration.
Prior to joining New State, Ivan served as Senior Vice President of Operations at Sole Source Capital, where he supported strategic and operational initiatives across multiple portfolio companies. Previously, Ivan held leadership roles with Danaher Corporation and Delphi Corporation.
Ivan received an MBA and Master of Engineering in Manufacturing from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He is also an ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt

David Keating
Operating Partner, Revenue
David joined New State Capital Partners in 2025, with 15 years of experience in go-to-market strategy and operations across both public and private technology companies.
Prior to joining New State, David led go-to market strategy and operations at Komodo Health, a series E health technology company. At Komodo, he led teams responsible for incentive compensation, sales and revenue operations, and go-to-market strategy. Prior to Komodo, David spent six years at Meta, working with different sales and sales enablement teams to drive business planning, operational efficiencies, and revenue and cost forecasting.
David earned his undergraduate degree in American Studies from Cornell University and holds an M.B.A. in Technology and Entrepreneurship from the Johnson Graduate School of Business.

Dan MacElroy
Operating Partner, Operations Excellence
Dan MacElroy joined New State Capital Partners in 2025, bringing over 20 years of leadership experience in operations, supply chain optimization, and strategic planning across MedTech, consumer packaged goods, energy, and defense sectors. He has a proven history of leading high-performing teams and implementing transformative initiatives that drive operational efficiency, improve financial performance, and enable sustainable business growth.
Before joining New State, Dan served as the North America Sales and Operations Planning Leader at Philips, where he enhanced operations and financial outcomes through revenue growth, order management, and supply chain innovation.
Previously, Dan was Director of Initiatives at Keurig Dr Pepper, where he revamped project management systems to boost market share and expedite product launches. At Hunt Oil Company, he led and served in operations teams for nearly a decade, focusing on process optimization, productivity, and profitability. Dan began his industry career at Raytheon, where he honed his Six Sigma expertise as a manufacturing engineer.
Dan’s professional journey began in the United States Army, serving as an armor officer in Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. He completed two combat tours with the 1st Infantry Division, earning distinction for his service in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Dan holds a BS in Environmental Geography from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Dan has also served as an Adjunct Faculty member at Dallas Baptist University.

Steve Mayotte
Operating Partner, Technology Enablement
Steve joined New State Capital Partners in 2022 with 15 years of experience in executive management and high-tech consulting. Steve has operational experience developing strategy and executing transformational solutions using modern technology across a range of industries including financial services, hospitality, healthcare, and real estate.
Prior to New State, Steve was the Chief Information Officer at PAYOMATIC responsible for developing and implementing innovative strategies to create value using technology and for leading the company’s digital transformation. Previously, Steve was with Modus Agency, a boutique consulting firm specializing in digital product development, where he led global teams to execute strategic initiatives for clients in a variety of industries.
Steve began his career at UBS Wealth Management in the information technology group where he worked on enterprise-wide software and infrastructure projects.
Steve received his undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and earned his M.B.A in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Stern School of Business.
Platform Team

Andrea Cipriani
Chief Financial Officer & Chief Compliance Officer
Andrea Cipriani joined New State Capital Partners in 2018 with more than 20 years of experience in the finance and administration of private equity funds. Andrea has extensive experience in the governance and management of private equity funds and their portfolio companies.
Prior to New State, Andrea spent 12 years as the CFO and CCO of Monomoy Capital Partners, a middle market private equity fund. At Monomoy, Andrea played a key role in the startup, growth and success of the organization. She oversaw the finance, administration, risk and compliance functions of the firm and participated in three successful fund raises. She served on several of the firm’s management committees, including the investment and valuation committees of the funds, and she supported the firm’s investment teams on a multitude of transactions.
Previously, Andrea was the CFO at KPS Capital from 2001 to 2004. Prior to that, Andrea held positions at CW Group, a life science venture capital fund; Morgan Stanley, in their commodity trading group; and Ernst & Young, where she spent seven years in the firm’s financial services group.
Andrea received a B.A. in Accounting and a B.A. in Economics from the City University of New York – Queens College. She became a CPA in 1989 (currently inactive).

Larissa Mengel
Finance Director
Larissa received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from Syracuse University.

Miriam Diwan
Head of Investor Relations
Miriam joined New State Capital Partners in 2021 to lead Investor Relations. She brings 15 years of private equity and investment banking experience across a variety of industries, both as a principal investor as well as in investor relations.
Previously, Miriam was a Director of Investor Relations at Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, a $9B middle-market private equity firm based in Los Angeles. While at Levine Leichtman, Miriam participated in four fund launches which collectively raised approximately $5B in capital. Prior, Miriam served as Vice President and Portfolio Manager with Amzak Capital, a Boca Raton-based family office, where she was responsible for the firm’s publicly-traded equity investments. Prior to that, Miriam was an Associate at Sun Capital Partners, a Boca Raton-based private equity firm, where she participated in the investment due diligence and management of distressed debt securities. She started her career in the Syndicated and Leveraged Finance group of J.P. Morgan in New York.
Miriam graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the College of Arts and Sciences

Clare McIntyre
Director, Firm Operations
Clare joined New State Capital Partners in 2016. Prior to joining, Clare served as a Roadshow Coordinator at JP Morgan Chase and ABN AMRO Securities where she was responsible for organizing and managing the logistics for international and domestic roadshows as well as planning corporate events. In addition, Clare was an Equity Administrator at Furman Selz and ING Baring supporting Institutional Domestic Equity Sales.
Clare started her career at Merrill Lynch &Co. where she worked in Private Client Operations.
Clare graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History

Fakhra Sanam
Administration and Finance
Sanam joined New State Capital Partners in 2025.
Prior to joining, Sanam served as the Office Operations Manager at Hwarang Inc., a martial arts company based in Stamford, CT.
Before joining Hwarang, Inc., Sanam served as Assistant Director at the Board of Investment, Pakistan, a federal government entity focused on facilitating and promoting investment across all economic sectors. In this role, she managed the investment portfolio for the North American region. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Project Coordinator at the Board of Investment, where she oversaw the investment portfolio of local firms.
Sanam earned a B.S. in Economics and Computer Science from the Islamia University in Pakistan, an MBA with a concentration in Human Resources from the same institution, an MBA in Management and International Business from the University of Connecticut, USA, and a Master’s in International Commerce from Korea University, South Korea.
Advisor

M. Kurt Lentz
Kurt joined New State Capital Partners in 2018, bringing with him 17 years of experience in private equity, principal lending, and investment banking. Kurt has a comprehensive background of transaction experience across a broad range of services and related industries and extensive experience working directly with management teams to drive performance improvement within portfolio companies.
Previously, Kurt was a Principal with Atlantic Street Capital Management, an operationally oriented lower middle market private equity fund focused on investing in owner and entrepreneur-led businesses. Prior to Atlantic Street, he was a Principal at Sun Capital Partners, an operationally focused middle market private equity firm that invests in companies that are operationally challenged, experiencing an industry or business transition, undergoing a corporate divestiture, or managing rapid growth. Prior to Sun Capital, Kurt was with American Capital Strategies, a publicly traded private equity and debt fund. He began his career as a member of CIBC World Markets’ Los Angeles-based Corporate and Leveraged Finance Group, where he focused on financing and advisory assignments for financial sponsors, hotel operators, casino operators, and gaming equipment manufacturers.
Kurt received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Claremont McKenna College.
