PEOPLE
Our people represent the power of our mission.
Austin Andrus
Operating Partner
Tyler Bate
Account Manager
Jeff Brownlow
Founding Partner
Erice Che
Senior Accountant
Alex Dodd
Analyst
Joe Drysdale
Founding Partner
Nathan Duncan
Senior Associate
Sergei Gushchyn
Software Engineer
Garrett Hoopes
Controller
Mark Kelly
Chief Accounting Officer
Daniel Kimes
Operating Partner
Tracy Malingo
Operating Partner
Jorge Marcos
Operating Partner
Sam Marshall
Analyst
Matt Mathison
Managing Partner
Brad McGregor
Analyst
Jamie Panganiban
Partner & Chief Operating Officer
Alberto Pontonio
Head of Capital Markets
Tori Poston
Marketing Manager
Parker Rasmussen
Senior Associate
Dan Samuels
Operating Partner
Gregory Schulz
Partner & General Counsel
Barbara Sorhe
Legal Project Manager
Danielle Walker
Manager of Investor Relations
Randy Walker
Controller

Austin Andrus
Operating Partner
Before joining Fifth, Austin attended The Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he focused on entrepreneurship. Prior to business school, Austin helped launch the customer success team at Lucid Software and headed the sales and field marketing teams at EcoScraps, a lawn and garden company that sold to Scott’s Miracle-Gro in 2014.
Austin graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in English from Brigham Young University, where he was a Presidential Scholar.

Tyler Bate
Account Manager
He graduated from BYU in 2020 with a degree in Public Health and joined Fifth Partners as a sales development rep during his junior year. Tyler’s passion for growth and commitment to winning has allowed him to make significant contributions in the companies in which he has worked.

Jeff Brownlow
Founding Partner
Before Bain Capital, Jeff worked in the turnaround practice at Bain & Company in Dallas, advising several clients in diverse industries; he also worked for the US Treasury in Washington in the Capital Markets Group.

Erice Che
Senior Accountant
She graduated from UT-Dallas with a Master degree in Accounting and from UD with a Master degree in IT Project Management and joined Fifth Partners in 2020. Erice is a Certified Public Accountant.

Alex Dodd
Analyst
He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Petroleum Engineering and joined Fifth Partners following graduation. He has a passion for improving the operations of Fifth and its network of companies through the different technologies and processes.

Joe Drysdale
Founding Partner

Nathan Duncan
Senior Associate
He graduated from BYU in 2018 with a degree in Actuarial Science and joined Fifth Partners shortly thereafter as an analyst on the Tactical Operations team. In pursuing his passion for learning, Nathan has passed six of the actuarial exams (P, FM, IFM, SRM, LTAM, STAM) while working towards the ASA designation of the Society of Actuaries.

Sergei Gushchyn
Software Engineer
Prior to Fifth, Sergei had experience developing a variety of web-based apps that included management tools for a non-profit, auditing tools for BTE Global, and a navigation tool for university students.
Originally from Ukraine, Sergei studied at BYU-Idaho where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Software Engineering.

Garrett Hoopes
Controller
Prior to joining Fifth Partners, Garrett served as an accountant for a real estate investment company where he managed all revenue-related functions. His passion for real estate then led him to start a real estate investment company where he evaluated hundreds of prospective real estate opportunities, buying distressed homes and renovating them.
Garrett is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) holding a Bachelor and Master of Accounting degree from Brigham Young University.

Mark Kelly
Chief Accounting Officer
Prior to Fifth Partners, Mark served as the Vice President and Controller of PPG Industries where he led the global finance transformation that created a leaner, more efficient and effective finance organization and was also responsible for internal and external financial reporting, corporate financial planning and analysis, accounting and consolidation, global shared services, internal controls and SOX compliance.
Mark also worked eleven years in the international public accounting firm of Deloitte LLP, which included two years in Deloitte’s national office technical accounting and SEC practice group and nine years of audit experience supervising the audits of public and privately- held companies, including General Motors Corporation, Huntsman Chemical Corporation, Intermountain Power Agency, and Young Electric Sign Company, and Valley National Bancorporation.
Mark is a Certified Public Accountant; he holds a MBA degree from Michigan State University and a BS, Accounting degree from the University of Utah.

Daniel Kimes
Operating Partner
From 2017 to 2019, Daniel served as the co-founder, co-Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the board of directors of Shot Hollow Resources, LLC, a Carnelian Energy Capital portfolio company.
Prior to Shot Hollow, from 2012 to 2017, Daniel served as the Chief Financial Officer, the interim Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the board of directors of Brigadier Oil & Gas, LLC, a private equity-sponsored exploration and production company. Daniel previously worked for NGP Energy Capital Management (“NGP”), a private equity firm focused on investing in the energy sector from July 2006 to July 2008 and started his career working for RBC Capital Markets in their energy investment banking group.
Daniel graduated Magna Cum Laude, Honors in Liberal Arts and Honors in Business from Southern Methodist University and earned a MBA from Stanford University. Daniel was the co-founder of the Dallas Chapter of Young Professionals in Energy and serves on the UT Dallas Energy Advisory Council.

Tracy Malingo
Operating Partner
Tracy has over 25 years of management experience leading every aspect of an organization including; sales and marketing, research and development, back office and operations. Tracy has held various executive positions including COO and President, enjoying each new opportunity and learning experience.

Jorge Marcos
Operating Partner
Jorge began his finance career as an investment banking analyst at J.P. Morgan’s Latin America Mergers & Acquisitions group in New York in 2008, working in transactions across several industries, including telecom, financials, energy, natural resources, and real estate in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela and Argentina. From 2010 to 2011, he worked at J.P. Morgan’s derivatives desk, where he structured and sold derivatives to corporate clients to help them manage financing, operational, and investment exposure to interest rate, commodity and foreign exchange risks.

Sam Marshall
Analyst
He graduated from Texas A&M in 2021 with a degree in Management Information Systems and joined Fifth Partners shortly thereafter.

Matt Mathison
Managing Partner
Prior to Fifth Partners, Matt served as CFO and Co-Founder of Imagination Unwired, a successful technology platform company. Before that, he served as VP of Capital Markets for NQ Mobile and as President of Wedge Partners Corporation where he led the sales efforts of the company’s technology-focused research and trading business. He also led the formation of WP Asset Management, a registered investment advisor in the U.S., and acted as general partner of long/short equity hedge fund Proconex Partners LLC.
Matt began his career as an institutional sales representative at Goldman Sachs. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management.

Brad McGregor
Analyst
He joined Fifth Partners in 2018, working part time on the Sales and Marketing team doing SEO, CRO, and Web Development. In 2020 he graduated from BYU with a degree in Computer Science and transitioned over as an analyst on the Tactical Operations team.

Jamie Panganiban
Partner & Chief Operating Officer
Since starting at Fifth Partners in 2016, Jamie has worked in almost every aspect of the business, building systems, processes, and tools that influence how Fifth operates. Prior to coming to Fifth, Jamie’s experience was in training and curriculum development.
Jamie attended Brigham Young University where he received a Bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Business Strategy.

Alberto Pontonio
Head of Capital Markets
In 2019, he joined Raymond James as a financial advisor, based in Miami. Prior to this, he traded Equity Index futures. In 2009, he co-founded Censible, an automated investment platform that allows individual investors to align their investments with their personal interests and social values.
Previously, Mr. Pontonio worked for Espirito Santo Investment Banking, was a Managing Director at Bear Stearns in London, and worked at Merrill Lynch, in New York and then in London, as a Director in the Institutional Equity department.

Tori Poston
Marketing Manager
Tori graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations, and has since gained experience in a wide variety of industries including retail, CPG, TMT, and non-profit organizations.

Parker Rasmussen
Senior Associate
Parker attended Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Business where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Finance.

Dan Samuels
Operating Partner
Dan enjoys surfing and scuba diving, a passion his twin daughters inherited. Dan’s family culture is centered around his Spanish wife who is also the force that drives them all.

Gregory Schulz
Partner & General Counsel
Prior to joining Fifth Partners, Gregory worked in private legal practice. He represented clients in a variety of transactions, including securities issuances, commercial real estate partnerships, and debt financing. He also litigated a variety of commercial disputes in both state and federal courts.

Barbara Sorhe
Legal Project Manager
Barbara has a Bachelor of Science in International Political Economy from the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
Prior to joining Fifth Partners, Barbara worked in a variety of administrative and project management roles. She has worked across industries including Nonprofits, State Governments, Intellectual Property Law, and Medical Rehabilitation.
As an entrepreneur herself, she is passionate about her role in bringing new business to fruition.

Danielle Walker
Manager of Investor Relations
Prior to Fifth Partners, Danielle served as the Investor Relations Manager at Kairos Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, where she managed relationships with 150 Limited Partners across four funds and 10 Special Purpose Co-Investment Vehicles (SPVs). She prepared investor communications including quarterly and annual reports, Capital Call Notices, and Portfolio Company News.
Danielle is also an experienced project manager with years of experience managing a company’s nationwide real estate portfolio to ensure reduced transactional costs and standardized term sheets, lease agreements, subleases, and purchase and sale agreements.
Danielle holds a law degree from The University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Princeton University.

Randy Walker
Controller
Randy has more than 18 years of work experience in finance, accounting, and banking. He previously worked at Citibank’s global treasury, securities and fund services corporate banking groups in NYC, Xerox Business Services in their IT Outsourcing division, and Deloitte LLP in their audit practice.
Prior to joining Fifth Partners, Randy worked for Walmart in various corporate finance, merchandise finance, and treasury roles.
Randy holds an MBA from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management and a BS, Accounting degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
If you or someone you know is interested in exploring how to work with Fifth Partners, we would love to get in touch.