Team

Investment Team

Drew Chambers

Co-Founder and Managing Partner,
Investment Committee Member

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Steven Meisel

Co-Founder and Managing Partner,
Investment Committee Member

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Adam DeSilva

Principal
Investment Committee Member

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Additional Investment Committee Members

Clint Allen

Co-Founder and Partner,
Investment Committee Member

Quinn Goldman

Partner,
Investment Committee Member

Operating and Advisory Partners

Billie Ellis

Advisory Partner

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Matt Eckl

Operating Partner

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Barry Barron, Sr.

Operating Partner

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Barry Barron, Sr.

Operating Partner

Barry has over 35 years of experience, primarily within the restaurant and food and beverage industries. He was most recently Chief Operating Officer of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants in Dallas, TX. Previously, Barry served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Buffet Partners Holding Company, where he oversaw the strategic restructuring of the multi-brand restaurant conglomerate. He also served as Chief Executive Officer for Red Mango USA, a frozen yogurt and smoothie franchise, where his strategic planning efforts resulted in the company being named the number one yogurt and smoothie chain in America by Zagat. Barry held executive leadership positions at ACE Cash Express, Papa John’s Pizza, and PepsiCo. At ACE, he helped grow the chain from 700 to 1,800 locations during his tenure as Chief Operating Officer. At Papa John’s, he led international expansion efforts and was instrumental in the rapid growth of the brand. Barry published Succeeding as a Chief Operating Officer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Century University.

Drew Chambers

Co-Founder and Managing Partner,
Investment Committee Member

Prior to co-founding FG1, Drew served as Co-CEO and CFO of Discovery Midstream Partners. He previously worked in finance and business development at Wildcat Midstream and in the investment banking division of Barclays, where he specialized in Power & Utilities mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Drew has held managerial positions in corporate strategic planning at Energy Future Holdings. He began his career in the consulting services group at Deloitte. Drew holds a bachelor’s degree in Management Science and Mathematics from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from the University of Virginia.

Steven Meisel

Co-Founder and Managing Partner,
Investment Committee Member

Prior to co-founding FG1, Steven was Co-CEO of Discovery Midstream Partners where he led the development of a greenfield pipeline project in Colorado that sold to Williams for $1.3 billion in 2018. He previously held a variety of corporate development, strategic planning, and operational management positions at Wildcat Midstream Partners and Regency Energy Partners. Steven previously worked in the investment banking group at Southwest Securities where he focused on M&A advisory across multiple industries. Steven holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Kansas.

Adam DeSilva

Principal, Investment Committee Member

Adam previously served as Manager of Corporate Development & Strategy at Discovery Midstream Partners, helping lead the due diligence efforts for over $30 billion in M&A opportunities. Prior to Discovery Midstream, he worked at a middle market investment bank, where he focused on M&A advisory across multiple industries. Adam is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, where he received MBA and Juris Doctor degrees as well as a bachelor’s degree in Economics.

Billie Ellis

Advisory Partner

Billie is a partner at Winston & Strawn where he focuses on a broad spectrum of private equity, financial, commercial, and real estate transactions. Prior to joining Winston, Billie was a Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Halifax Group, a $200 million private equity fund where he was instrumental in fund formation, marketing to private and institutional investors, and handling all legal matters related to Halifax’s portfolio companies. Billie has been designated “Lion of the Bar” by the State of Texas for his extraordinary success and impact on the legal profession in the State of Texas. In addition, Texas Lawyer has named Billie to its Preferred Excellence Awards in its Distinguished Leader category for his tremendous impact on the legal community in Texas. In 2018, a consortium of over 40 publications named Billie one of the 100 most influential persons “who are having an impact on business and legal matters in communities across the nation”. Billie holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, a Juris Doctor from the University of Houston, and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

Matt Eckl

Operating Partner

Matt serves as Chief Financial Officer of CECO Environmental, a publicly traded leader in providing companies around the world with improved air quality and fluid handling solutions. Matt has a deep background in finance leadership with complex multi-national public companies. Prior to joining CECO in 2017, Matt was VP of Finance for Gardner Denver’s $1 billion energy segment where he played a pivotal leadership role in the 2012 take-private transaction by KKR. He helped grow Gardner’s aftermarket business 15%+ annually over three years, led several significant acquisitions, and oversaw investments in new product sales for the Pressure Pumping business that generated a 60% increase in revenue. Matt was instrumental in Gardner’s IPO readiness activities. He began his career at General Electric in the Information Management Leadership Program and Corporate Audit Staff. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Pennsylvania State University and is a LEAN Six Sigma Black Belt.

Barry Barron, Sr.

Operating Partner

Barry has over 35 years of experience, primarily within the restaurant and food and beverage industries. He was most recently Chief Operating Officer of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants in Dallas, TX. Previously, Barry served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Buffet Partners Holding Company, where he oversaw the strategic restructuring of the multi-brand restaurant conglomerate. He also served as Chief Executive Officer for Red Mango USA, a frozen yogurt and smoothie franchise, where his strategic planning efforts resulted in the company being named the number one yogurt and smoothie chain in America by Zagat. Barry held executive leadership positions at ACE Cash Express, Papa John’s Pizza, and PepsiCo. At ACE, he helped grow the chain from 700 to 1,800 locations during his tenure as Chief Operating Officer. At Papa John’s, he led international expansion efforts and was instrumental in the rapid growth of the brand. Barry published Succeeding as a Chief Operating Officer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Century University.