Team

Ross Croley is the visionary leader who founded Community Brands, Ministry Brands, and a host of other software verticals now under the GSV umbrella. He presides over all aspects of the business and manages strategic direction of the portfolio companies alongside a seasoned management team. Croley has completed more than 200 acquisitions ranging from $3 million to $300 million per acquisition, and that number continues to grow. As founder of Ministry Brands, Croley served as the CEO until July 2017. Under his leadership, the company went from a startup to a valuation of over $1 billion within five years. The third recapitalization of Ministry Brands earned Croley PE Hub’s Large Market Private Equity Deal of the Year honor in 2017.

Lisa Stinnett serves as the CEO of one of GSV's portfolio companies, Inhabit. She has led the acquisition and integration of more than 30 companies since 2015, as well as the company’s recapitalization with Insight Venture Partners and Goldman Sachs. Stinnett has more than a dozen years of C-suite experience in private-equity backed companies and consults on all GSV platform companies. She previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of Ministry Brands, overseeing the integration of more than 30 acquisitions throughout its recapitalizations with Providence Strategic Growth and Genstar.

Bill Nix leads the process that identifies high-potential acquisition targets for GSV’s growing stable of portfolio companies within its ever-expanding categories. He has led more than 200 acquisitions for numerous GSV platforms. As the first Chief Financial Officer of Ministry Brands, he led more than 30 acquisitions until January 2016. Nix founded a software company, E-zekiel, which merged into Ministry Brands. Previously, he worked as an investment banker at Sterne, Agee and Leach. Nix is the former Chief Operating Officer of Colonial Mortgage, the largest privately held mortgage company in the United States.

Jon Ellison leads a team that originates high-value investment opportunities for GSV in the form of add-on transactions for existing platform companies, as well as the establishment of new platforms. In this role he has led more than 100 acquisitions and investments. Ellison has more than 8 years of M&A experience and consults on all M&A strategy for the firm. Prior to GSV, he led M&A efforts for Ministry Brands, completing more than 30 acquisitions for company while it was backed by GenStar and Providence Strategic Growth. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

Prior to joining GSV in 2019, Mike Stephens served as an advisor on numerous GSV platforms. He was the Chief Financial Officer and head of M&A at Ministry Brands from 2016 to 2019. While at Ministry Brands, he oversaw 36 acquisitions in 36 months. He spent 12 years in healthcare finance, serving as CFO of hospitals such as Community Health Systems, Healthcare Management Administrators, and NCH.

Jonathan Spurgeon joined GSV in 2017 leading the operational expertise for each of the company’s platforms. Formerly the Co-Owner and Chief Operating Officer of Read Window Products, a leading manufacturer and supplier for the hospitality industry, he has experience in strategy, integration, and execution of operational efficiency initiatives.

Joe Pendergrass joined GSV in 2017 leading the finance expertise for each of the company’s platforms. Pendergrass has held financial and operational leadership roles with a digital retailer, as well as with Arlington Capital and Saks Incorporated, where he played a key role in a series of carve-outs and divestitures. He began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mike Casas joined GSV in 2019. He was a private equity M&A attorney at large international law firms for seven years, with a focus on leveraged buyouts, venture capital investments and clubhouse deals. Mike has consummated more than 160 private equity transactions through his career.

Ben New is a managing director at GSV where he focuses on evaluating investment opportunities and managing due diligence processes. He joined GSV in 2018 after beginning his career in investment banking. Previously, Ben was an associate in the investment banking group at Raymond James, where he advised corporate clients and private equity firms on M&A and growth equity raises in the software and tech-enabled services industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University.

Clint Ward joined GSV in 2022 to oversee securities law and compliance for the firm. He has previously served as compliance officer with several investment advisory firms including CIBC Private Wealth Management in Atlanta, Sterling Capital Management in Raleigh, and Keel Point in Huntsville. Clint holds a master’s degree in economics from N.C. State and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Texas A&M.

Will Overstreet joined GSV in 2020 as an operating partner with entrepreneur experience. Prior to GSV, he served as VP of Strategic Partnerships at GRIDSMART Technologies, which sold to Cubic in 2019. Overstreet has six patents, as well as extensive experience in strategy, product development, international and channel sales, and technology partnerships.

Erika Paul joined GSV in 2019 with experience in controllership duties for small business in multiple industries and an emphasis on financial transparency and implementing efficiencies. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Jason Butler joined GSV in 2021 to lead technology and IT with a specialization in payments integration. Butler served in various tech leadership roles with Community Brands and Ministry Brands for a decade, focusing on IT, product and digital payments. He also spent 13 years in programming with FedEx.

Brian Seagraves joined GSV in 2021 to lead product innovation across the firm’s tech-focused platforms. Brian’s SimpleChurch CRM was acquired by Ministry Brands in 2014, where he has continued to serve in a variety of leadership roles, most recently as Chief Product Officer.

Ryan Allman joined GSV in 2022 to consult with the firm’s SaaS platforms on conversion-focused marketing strategy and execution. His career includes creative and marketing leadership roles in both corporate and agency settings. Prior to GSV, Ryan owned an agency with notable brand engagements including Krispy Kreme, PetSafe, Ruby Tuesday, MAPCO, and the University of Tennessee.

Kristin Alm joined GSV in 2019 to guide strategic public relations and communications for the company and its brand families. She spent 11 years leading communications and publicity efforts for global media brands such as HGTV and Food Network. Prior to that, she managed public and community relations for retail clothier Goody’s. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree from Tusculum College.

C.J. Orrico joined GSV in 2018 after its acquisition of GiveSmart, where he was a founding equity partner and the Chief Sales and Business Development Officer. As a bootstrapped entrepreneur throughout the majority of his career, as well as a beneficiary of the GSV acquisition process, C.J. is driven to help other entrepreneurs realize the same opportunities.

Louis Roberts is Senior Vice President at GSV. Prior to joining GSV, he was the Director of Giving Sales at Ministry Brands, the Knoxville-based leader of software solutions for churches.

Prior to joining GSV in 2017, David Key spent 15 years in higher education and worked as an educational technology consultant.

Connar Benson-Epstein joined GSV in 2018. Previously, he worked in the financial services industry as an investment representative, venture capital associate, private equity associate and a strategy consultant. He is passionate about helping entrepreneurs maximize the full potential of their company.

Stephanie Schwarz joined GSV in 2022 as an associate with the sourcing team working across multiple platforms. She previously served as an account executive with GSV-backed Community Brands. Stephanie holds a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University.

Mark Maglaya is Vice President, Debt Capital Markets, focusing on GSV’s debt financing efforts for both new and existing platforms and managing the firm’s lending relationships. Mark also assists in the diligence and execution of GSV’s investments. Prior to joining GSV in 2019, he served as a director for NXT Capital, a middle-market direct lending institution. He also held previous positions with Antares Capital and KPMG.

Zach Gornet joined GSV in 2019 as an associate on the Execution team. Previously, he was a tech investment banker at AGC Partners and Progress Partners, where he assisted in the execution of more than 10 sell-side M&A transactions across the software industry. Zach is a CFA charterholder and graduate from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Jacob Brackmann joined GSV’s Investment Execution team as an Associate in 2019. He is responsible for diligence, research and deal execution. Previously, he worked as an investment banking analyst at Founders Advisors, where he assisted in the execution of buy-side and sell-side transactions. Jacob is a licensed CPA (inactive) with a master’s degree in finance and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Alabama.

Ian Gipson joined GSV as an Associate in 2021, supporting senior deal team members in due diligence and execution of new platform investments and add-on acquisitions for existing portfolio companies. Ian previously worked in the Technology, Media, & Telecommunications (TMT) Group at Wells Fargo Securities in the Investment Banking division in Charlotte. While there, he worked on a number of deals and pitches across a variety of products including buy-side and sell-side M&A, debt, and equity financings.

Chris Henderson joined GSV in 2018, providing more than 13 years of research and leadership experience in academic and practical disciplines. He was a professor of graduate-level quantitative and qualitative research methodology for Wake Forest University, Lincoln Memorial University, and Johnson University.

Kendall Howser is the Controller for Greater Sum Ventures. Prior to joining GSV in 2017, she served as an auditor at Deloitte and as a Controller for Waste Connections. Kendall is a licensed CPA and helps run the day-to-day operations of GSV headquarters in Knoxville.

Brad Luke joined GSV as Financial Planning and Analysis Manager in 2021, working within the operations team and across platforms to aggregate and analyze KPIs and other data points that help the firm make strategic, data-driven decisions for each portfolio company. A veteran of the U.S. Army with more than 15 years of finance experience spanning the energy, healthcare, and military and defense industries, he is versed in both private and public institutions and has held positions with NVR, Lancaster Pollard, Oxford Resource Partners and SAIC.