Gideon serves as an Advisory Director at Berkshire Partners, a Boston based private equity firm, managing over $15 billion. He is also the Chairman of the board of Servotronix, an automation company based in Israel as well as a director of SunEdison Semiconductor.
Prior to that, he served as President and CEO of Entegris (2004-2012), a global provider of advanced manufacturing solutions to high-technology industries, Managing Director of Parthenon Capital (2001-2004), a private equity partnership based in Boston, and Chairman and President and CEO of Kollmorgen Corporation (1991- 2000), a factory automation and electro-optical systems provider.
Gideon is a Member of the International Council of the Belfer Center at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Trustee of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He also serves as an international director of the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel and is the founder of the Shlomo Argov Fellows program at IDC Herzliya.
Gideon holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and a BA from Harvard University (magna cum laude).
Trail Mark Partners was formed to acquire, operate and grow the right Israeli business with focus on long term value creation.
With a team of experienced entrepreneurs, senior executives and professional investors from various industries and geographies, Trail Mark Partners provides the opportunities for business owners to unlock the wealth they have created in their business and transition day-to-day operations to our internal team, allowing them to either fully retire or retain a reduced role.
Business Owners
Trail Mark is a group of partners with deep experience and passion for running businesses. We are not looking to turn a quick profit, tear apart a business or sell it for parts. We acquire businesses because we are excited to manage and grow them, and we are in it for the long haul.
A Legacy Intact
Trail Mark Partners understands and cares about the legacy and relationships that business owners have built over the life of their company and plan to build upon that legacy.
We recognize how important your business is to you. We will work together to structure a purchase agreement that satisfies both parties. This collaboration will extend to employees, customers and other stakeholders to ensure the continuity of the business legacy and its reputation long after the acquisition.
Flexible Structure, Quick Process
We are a tight-knit group that can act fast, and be flexible. We work closely with business owners to tailor an exit plan that accommodates their individual needs such as subsequent involvement, timelines, tax, and family needs.
Our way of working allows us to bridge price expectations through creative deal structures that are beyond the reach of other investors.
Commitment for the Long Run
Our firm focuses solely on acquiring one company with our fund. This allows us to dedicate all of our energy and attention into helping the acquired company succeed. Trail Mark does not have a predetermined investment horizon. We do not flip companies and we do not attempt to time economic cycles. Everything we do is with a long-term mindset, nurturing the business for the future as you have nurtured it in the past.
Dedicated Operational Focus
We will run your business ourselves, hands-on from day one. Trail Mark’s founder and managing partner will assume senior management role in the acquired company to ensure it is well positioned for future growth.
Exceptional Resources
Your business will have access to resources only very few businesses of this size can match. A world-class team of over 15 seasoned entrepreneurs, business executives and investors who will be active board members and advisors. This team brings decades of experience of acquiring and substantially growing middle market businesses from around the globe.
Investment Focus
Trail Mark Partners plans to acquire a profitable company where the existing owner is searching for a succession partner or personal net worth diversification. When it comes to acquiring a business, we want to find the right match. Here are some of the characteristics that can make a particular company attractive for us:
Financial Criteria
- Revenue: $5 to $50 million
- EBITDA: $1 to $8 million
- Minimum 10% EBITDA margins
- Over three years of profitability
Business Criteria
- Scalable with clear potential for organic growth
- Diverse and growing customer base
- Preference for recurring or contracted revenue
- Strong middle management
Industry Criteria
- Fragmented, large and growing industry
- B2B Services
- SaaS and Tech-Enabled Services
- Light manufacturing
Ownership Status
- Owner seeks liquidity and/or exit
- Owner seeks transition from daily management
- Owner looking to take a more focused role
- Corporate divestment
Team
Prior to founding Trail Mark Partners, Guy spent most of his career advising senior management teams and entrepreneurs on international growth through strategic initiatives such as M&A, private and public capital raising (both debt and equity) and commercial partnerships in various sectors across Israel, USA, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa, with deal record of over $5 billion.
In his recent capacity as Vice President at the Israeli partner of Wells Fargo, Guy focused on business development and led growth initiatives, identified new opportunities and clients while working closely with them from deal flow generating to successful execution.Guy Also worked at Barclays where he, sourced, analyzed and executed debt, equity and M&A transactions with corporate clients.
Guy holds a BA in Economics and an MBA from the international honors program both at Ben Gurion University.
Selected Partners
Trail Mark Partners is backed by a group of over fifteen entrepreneurs, senior executives and professional investors from a diverse mix of sectors and geographies with the same vision; to successfully acquire, run and grow a single privately held business in Israel. Below is a subset of six of our partners:
Gideon Argov
An Advisory Director at Berkshire Partners with over 25 years of experience as CEO of global industrial technology companies and as a director and chairman of the board of
multiple high performance companies in the US and Israel. He holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB.
Tom Matlack
Founder of a venture capital firm that started more than 30 companies. The lead investor in a $5 billion ecommerce software company and former CFO of The Providence Journal. He holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
Tom is a private investor who has led several venture investments in the areas of media and technology, including Art Technology Group, a previously failing internet commerce platform that, two years after his arrival, had a $5 billion market capitalization.
Previously he founded and ran as a managing partner, Megunticook Management (1999-2010), a venture capital firm that started more than 30 companies. Megunticook’s biggest success was a company called Telephia which was sold to Neilsen for over $500 million. Prior to founding Megunticook Tom served as the CFO of The Providence Journal until 1997 where he was instrumental in selling the cable unit for $1.4 billion to Continental Cablevision, taking the parent company public and then selling the company to A.H. Belo for $2.0 billion. Prior to The Providence Journal Tom worked at Houghton Mifflin Company and Goldman Sachs.
Tom holds an MBA. from the Yale School of Management and a BA from Wesleyan University.
Ritz Steytler
A technology entrepreneur, investor and a senior executive with over 20 years experience in the transformation and growth of complex multinational businesses. He
led the acquisition, growth and later sold a technology business. He holds an MBA from London Business School.
Ritz led the acquisition of omni-channel payment processor PXP (formerly Servebase) by Abacus Partners, a privately held buyout firm that he founded in 2008. Following this investment, he served as CEO and Board Director of PXP up to its acquisition by Kalixa in May 2014, and subsequently as COO and Board Director of Kalixa until October 2015.
He previously served as a management consultant with IBM and Accenture and specialized in the transformation and growth of complex multinational businesses including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Shell, Virgin Media, Cable & Wireless, and Legal and General.
Ritz holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Computer Science from Stellenbosch University and an MBA with Distinction from London Business School.
Jose Stella
Co-CEO and Co-Founder of QMC Telecom, a wireless infrastructure provider. Jose has an extensive experience in the Latin American Media and Telecom industry including founding and later selling a large outdoor advertising company. He holds an MBA from The University of Michigan.
Jose Stella is currently Co-CEO and Co-Founder of QMC Telecom, LLC, a wireless infrastructure provider in Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Mexico. He serves as a director of Rocket Learning, LLC , Penn Warranty, and New Media Learning.
Previously, Jose Co-Founded and served as President of VIU Media, Puerto Rico’s largest locally owned outdoor advertising company, until the sale of the company to Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR). Prior to VIU, he Co-Founded and served as President of Quest Management Corporation, a private equity group formed to identify, acquire, and operate a company in Puerto Rico. Jose also worked at KPMG Peat Marwick in the middle-market Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory Group and UBS and Chase Manhattan Bank.
In 2004, he received Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Puerto Rico.
Jose holds a BA in Economics, Finance and Investments from Babson College (High Honors) and an MBA from The University of Michigan (Cum Laude).
Pacific Lake Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm focused on investing in search fund acquired companies.
Founding Partners Jim Southern and Coley Andrews hold investments in over 50 search funds and they actively work to create value on the boards of their portfolio companies in a variety of industries and geographies.
Jim holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and Coley holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB.
www.pacificlake.com
Relay Investments is a private equity fund focused on backing talented, young and aspiring entrepreneurs, who plan to acquire a small or medium sized business (SME).
The firm was founded by Sandro Mina and Martin Steber who each have over 20 years exposure to the Search Fund model and successfully acquired, operated and sold businesses in the smaller end of the middle market.
Sandro and Martin hold an MBA from Stanford’s GSB.
www.relayinvestments.com
Contact Us
Contact us to learn more about Trail Mark Partners or discuss an investment opportunity. We will maintain strict confidentiality about your inquiry.
+972.390.38807
