Summit Partners, a leading alternative investment firm, announced the promotion of 14 professionals across the firm’s global offices. Scott Ferguson, Paul Furer, Mark Nordstrom, Dayton Ogden and Sophia Popova have been promoted to Partner; Chris Bon, Ali Dowd, Mark Hexamer, Chelsea Jurman, Nick Oppedisano and Jono Pagden have been promoted to Principal; and Jonathan Gilman, Andy Lee and Irina Müller have been promoted to Vice President.
“We are very pleased to recognize the achievements of our colleagues with these well-deserved promotions,” said Peter Chung, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Partners. “Each of these professionals represents well the culture and values of our firm. We are very confident they will continue to serve our investors and our portfolio companies with distinction.”
Scott Ferguson has been promoted to Partner. Scott joined Summit’s Menlo Park office as an Associate in 2009 and is a member of the Technology team. His investment and board experience includes Calypso Technology (acquired by Thoma Bravo), HelpSystems (acquired by H.I.G. Capital), MercuryGate, Perforce Software (acquired by Clearlake Capital), Teaching Strategies (acquired by KKR) and Trintech. Prior to Summit, Scott worked in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Piper Jaffray. Scott holds a BS in finance from the University of Kansas and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Paul Furer has been promoted to Partner. Paul joined Summit’s Boston office as an Associate in 2011 and is a member of the Growth Products & Services team. His investment and board experience includes 48forty Solutions, Beyond Risk, FineLine Technologies (acquired by L Squared Capital Partners and Leonard Green Partners), Harvey Performance Company (acquired by Berkshire Partners), Parts Town (acquired by Berkshire Partners and Leonard Green Partners), Patriot Growth Insurance Services, Solo Brands (NYSE: DTC), and Vivint Smart Home (NYSE: VVNT). Prior to Summit, Paul worked for Jefferies and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Paul holds a BS in finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Mark Nordstrom has been promoted to Partner. Mark joined Summit’s Boston office as an Associate in 2010. Today, Mark serves as the Head of our Capital Markets team and in this capacity leads the firm’s capital markets activities for existing portfolio companies and new acquisitions. Additionally, he helps Summit manage its commercial and investment banking relationships. Prior to Summit, Mark worked for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and State Street Corporation. Mark holds a BA in economics from Wesleyan University. In addition, he is a CFA charterholder.
Dayton Ogden has been promoted to Partner. Dayton joined Summit’s Boston office as the Head of Talent & Recruiting in 2014. Dayton works with Summit’s portfolio companies and investment teams to identify and recruit high-impact senior executives and board members. Prior to Summit, Dayton led the venture capital and growth equity practice at executive search firm CTPartners. Previously, he was a co-founder of Fortis Partners and a senior associate at Spencer Stuart. Dayton holds a BA in American Studies, with highest distinction, from Wittenberg University.
Sophia Popova has been promoted to Partner. Sophia joined Summit’s Boston office as a Vice President in 2017 and is a member of the Technology team. Her investment and board experience includes Invicti Security, Klaviyo, Markforged (NYSE: MKFG), Mavrck, PrismHR (acquired by Stone Point), Sifted, StackAdapt and Ylopo. Prior to Summit, Sophia worked at Morgan Stanley and led product management at several technology startups, including Contactive. Sophia holds a BA in economics and mathematics from Yale University and an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School.
Chris Bon has been promoted to Principal. Chris joined Summit’s London office as an Associate in 2016 and is a member of the Growth Products & Services team. His investment and board experience includes Energy Aspects, GRESB, Normec (acquired by Astorg), OnRobot, ProGlove (acquired by Nordic Capital) and Sipartech (acquired by Blackstone). Prior to Summit, Chris worked in M&A advisory at J.P. Morgan. Chris holds a BCom in economics from the University of Toronto and an MSc in finance from HEC Paris.
Ali Dowd has been promoted to Principal. Ali joined Summit’s Boston office as a Vice President in 2021 and is a member of the Healthcare & Life Sciences team. Her investment experience includes Veranex. Prior to Summit, Ali worked in the Healthcare Group at Thomas H. Lee Partners. Previously, she worked at TA Associates. Ali holds a BA in economics, cum laude, from Vanderbilt University.
Mark Hexamer has been promoted to Principal. Mark joined Summit’s Menlo Park office as a Vice President in 2014. As a member of the Talent & Recruiting team, Mark works with Summit’s portfolio companies and investment teams to identify and recruit high-impact senior executives and board members. Prior to Summit, Mark was a founding member of the venture capital and growth equity practice at executive search firm CTPartners, a partner at Fortis Partners and a cofounder of Swap.com and Sidebar Software. Mark holds a BA in history from the University of Notre Dame and a JD/MBA from Boston College.
Chelsea Jurman has been promoted to Principal. Chelsea joined Summit’s Boston office as a Vice President in 2019 and is a member of the Growth Products & Services team. Her investment and board experience includes Adviser Investments, Brooklinen, Halborn and ShipMonk. Prior to Summit, Chelsea worked in Global Investment Research at Goldman Sachs, in the Technology group. Chelsea holds a BA in political science, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Yale University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar.
Nick Oppedisano has been promoted to Principal. Nick joined Summit’s Menlo Park Office as a Vice President in 2019 and is a member of the Technology team. His investment and board experience includes CoderPad, Foxen, Jobber, PriceLabs and Recharge. Prior to Summit, Nick worked on Goldman Sachs’ tech, media, telecom investment banking team and Centerview Partners’ tech investment banking team. Nick holds a BA in business administration, honors, from Ivey Business School and a BS in engineering from the University of Western Ontario.
Jono Pagden has been promoted to Principal. Jono joined Summit’s London office as an Associate in 2016 and is a member of the Healthcare & Life Sciences team. His investment experience includes Advance Medical (acquired by Teladoc), CluePoints, Fortis Life Sciences and zahneins (acquired by PAI Partners). Prior to Summit, Jono worked on the Retail/Healthcare and U.K. M&A teams at Goldman Sachs. Jono holds a Bachelor of Business Science, with honors, in accounting and finance from the University of Cape Town.
Jonathan Gilman has been promoted to Vice President. Jonathan joined Summit’s Boston office as an Associate in 2018 and is a member of the Healthcare & Life Sciences team. His investment experience includes Abode Healthcare (acquired by BrightSpring Health Services), Fortis Life Sciences, InnovaCare Health, Leon Medical Centers, TurningPoint Healthcare Solutions and U.S. Renal Care. Prior to Summit, Jonathan worked in the Global Healthcare Group in the Investment Banking Division at Jefferies. Jonathan holds a BS in finance and economics from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Andy Lee has been promoted to Vice President. Andy joined Summit’s Boston Office as an Associate in 2018 and is a member of the Growth Products & Services team. His investment and board experience includes Beyond Risk and Patriot Growth Insurance Services. Prior to Summit, Andy worked for Fisher Lynch Capital and Fidelity Investments. Andy holds a BA, cum laude, in psychology from Dartmouth College.
Irina Müller has been promoted to Vice President. Irina joined Summit’s London office as an Associate in 2019 and is a member of the Technology team. Her investment experience includes Appway (acquired by FNZ), ProGlove (acquired by Nordic Capital) and Solactive. Prior to Summit, Irina worked in the M&A Group at Houlihan Lokey. Irina holds a BA in business administration and an MA in banking and finance from the University of St. Gallen.