Team

Randolph Bianchi has over 30 years of business development, leadership and operational experience. He’s sourced, evaluated and executed over 40 proprietary transactions, and has worked directly with many of the companies to deliver top-line revenue growth. Having executed both platform investments and add-on acquisitions, Randy has built an excellent track record for identifying prospective investments, working collaboratively to close mutually beneficial transactions, and assisting in the executing of highly strategic business plan and go-forward growth strategies.

Randy is also a highly skilled interpersonal and inter-operational leader. From founding and running his own start-up, leading a closely held family company to holding numerous leadership positions at a multi-billion dollar service companies, Randy’s leadership and conscientiousness are invaluable assets to Lakelet Capital. These skills are also valuable to a number of community organizations and company boards Randy is involved with. Randy is the President of the Board of Directors for Upstate Capital, the Founder of First Thursday Networking, and has served on the Executive Boards for the Junior Achievement of Western New York and Institute of Continuing Professional Education. Randy has served in these roles in addition to coaching youth hockey in the Western New York region.

Education:
- Certificate in Family Business Advising
- B.A. in Economics from Rowan University
- Executive MBA from University at Buffalo

Accomplishments:
- Nationally Recognized for Prestigious Board of Directors Recipient from a leading service company in three separate business segments.
- Multiple national and regional awards for management, leadership and performance recognition.
- Published numerous articles.
- Frequent lecturer and moderator in private equity, business development and family business investing.
- Judged on several business plan competitions including Ernst and Young Entrepreneurial Award and J.A. Business Plan Competition.

Contact Information:
rbianchi@lakeletcapital.com

John Koeppel has over 25+ years of management and transactional experience, primarily focused on successfully advising 200+ private equity transactions. In addition to his role as a Managing Partner at Lakelet Capital, John is a Partner and Private Equity Leader at the law firm of Lippes Mathias. John has advised on deals between $5MM and $250MM+ in a wide range of industry sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, consumer goods, technology, and business services. As counsel for Lakelet, John expertly strategizes and structures these deals to see them through closing with success, transparency, and integrity.

John is also active in the Western New York community and has been for his entire legal career. As a member of the American Bar Association and New York State Bar Association, John is also active in several other organizations and boards. He’s a Vistage Trusted Advisor, and a member of Upstate Capital and the Association for Corporate Growth.

Education:
- B.S. from University at Buffalo, Summa Cum Laude
- M.B.A. from University at Buffalo, with Distinction
- J.D. from University at Buffalo Law School, Magna Cum Laude

Accomplishments:
- Upstate Capital, Dealmaker of the Year
- Chambers USA, Leading Corporate/M&A Lawyer
- Chambers USA, Leading Private Equity Lawyer (Investment Funds)
- Upstate New York Super Lawyers®, Leading M&A Lawyer and Leading Closely Held Business Lawyer

Tyler is a seasoned investment professional with nearly a decade of private equity experience. As Senior Associate at Lakelet, he is a valuable member of our diligence team and a member of our investment committee. His responsibilities include conducting business valuations, financial analysis, industry research, project management, commercial diligence, and strategic planning.

Before joining Lakelet Capital, Tyler spent a large part of his career in Toronto, Canada, serving as a member of the investment team at a sector-focused venture capital & private equity firm. He also held a position in finance at one of the “Big Five” banks in Canada where he provided event-based loans to support North American financial sponsors and corporations. Prior to his time in Canada, Tyler was an Analyst at Buffalo-based private equity firm where he was involved in several transactions across the niche manufacturing and business services sectors. Early in his career, Tyler was a member of an investment consulting group providing asset allocation and third-party asset manager consulting services to pension funds.

Education:
- B.S in Finance from Canisius College

Accomplishments:
- Participated in the evaluation and execution of over 20 closed deals
- Implemented multiple analyst training programs for recent college graduates
- Holds the AFM (Accredited Financial Modeler) designation

Chirag Richards-Desai (“Chi”) has spent over 13 years advising companies and elevating their financial and operational sophistication. Having started his accounting career at Deloitte, Chi quickly realized the exponential value technology added to any organization as he worked for multiple SaaS companies.

During his tenure as COO and CFO of technology companies, Chi gained first-hand experience in both sell-side and buy-side M&A diligence. He brings a wealth of this experience to the Lakelet team as the Director of Finance and Mergers and Acquisitions, as he focuses on partnering with the businesses we invest in.

Chi has co-founded two startups—one in the healthcare space and the other in the ed-tech space—and is heavily involved in the technology ecosystem in Western New York, finding and applying technology in intuitive ways. He’s also served on the board of non-profits and enjoys building communities with mission-oriented individuals.

He is the owner of Vireo Group, LLC, a management consultancy serving technology and tech-enabled growth companies.

Education:
- B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration from Houghton College, Magna Cum Laude
- Certified Management Accountant

Accomplishments:
- Acquired and Sold a Web Development Company.
- Grew and Sold a SaaS Company for Several Multiples to PE-backed Software Company.
- Founded and Exited Two Technology Startups.

Brittany has spent the last 10 years in employee development and on-boarding. Brittany has successfully recruited, hired, trained and promoted multiple associates and leaders for a multi-billion dollar, Fortune 50 company and oversaw the recruitment process for a global company.
Brittany also helped create, implement and lead intern programs. The interns she worked with achieved top recognition throughout the country, ultimately leading to full-time employment for most.

Education:
- B.A. in Speech and Hearing Science
- Master of Science in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration

Accomplishments:
- Implemented successful intern programs for fortune 50 and 125 companies
- Developed and promoted several leaders within her organizations
- Responsible for a culture of training and development for over 300 employees and their career advancement
- Seen as a district partner when training new executives and completing orientation and leadership training

Brittany’s passion for her community, building key relationships and connecting individuals has led to the success she’s had in her roles.

Philip Mulé has over 30 years of B2B sales and sales leadership experience; over 15 of those years in sales management and associate development. Phil has led numerous sales organizations, across multiple geographies and business segments. Phil has recruited, hired, trained and promoted dozens of sales associates and managers. Phil has successfully created and implemented multiple sales processes across business units he has led; including but not limited to, strategic multi-channel selling, steps of a sale, client-based selling, phone canvassing, objection handling and more.

At Lakelet Capital, Phil assists in business development with a keen focus on driving top-line revenue and sourcing sales talent. His experience is leveraged by Lakelet Capital portfolio companies as they utilize Phil’s unique ability to identify areas of strong growth opportunity and process implementation. Phil understands which processes and resources are required to meet sales milestones and ensures that our companies enhance results.

Accomplishments:
- Multiple President's Club Qualifiers.
- Multiple Super Starts Qualifiers.
- 100% Breadth of Participation Amongst Teams, Within His Sales Organizations.
- Multiple Sales Associate, President's Club Qualifiers on Teams He Has Led.
- Promoted Several Successful Sales Leaders.
- VP Advisory Board.

Bonnie has over 20 years of diverse business experience ranging from sales and marketing to investment banking. Prior to joining Lakelet Capital, Bonnie spent 5 years operating her own small business consulting company in the Buffalo area. In that role, she offered operations, marketing, CRM, and other business development services to companies in several different industries.

Bonnie has extensive experience in investment banking and volunteered for Conscious Capital NEO to help grow and align businesses culturally. Additionally, Bonnie had a very successful direct sales business for over a decade where she sourced, trained and developed a sales force to provide in-home demonstrations. During that time Bonnie was recognized as one of the top contributors in both training/development and personal sales.

Accomplishments:
- Was an integral part of the management team which created an investment bank focused on aligning cultures for M&A work
- Created a business plan with a client from an initial concept to become a finalist for the - Rochester Venture Capital Challenge
- Established an online order system for a large distributor and worked with several other clients to improve their website, digital marketing and data management capabilities to increase the top line of each client several fold
- Implemented operations overhaul for a client to increase efficiency and productivity and reduce errors

As the Marketing Director of Lakelet Capital, Darrell Porter is integral in the overall management and assessment of marketing strategies. His experience researching industries and sectors leads the new business efforts of Lakelet as he expertly aligns our investors with attractive targets.

Darrell has over 10 years of experience working in digital marketing and social media management. He has spent the last five years working for a local college where he managed the institution’s social media outlets while providing writing expertise and video production. Darrell's expertise for social media and film are evident by his 2.5 million views across his social media platforms.

Darrell develops sequential marketing plans to increase customer reach and responds to the specific needs of each and every one of Lakelet Capital’s clients.

Education:
- B.S. in Public Communications
- M.S. in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration

Accomplishments:
- Wrote and published several public interest stories.
- Produced content-based videos for CCM Hockey which resulted in brand partnership.
- Established marketing campaigns resulting in increased student enrollment.
- Photographed and published event images for media outlets to increase awareness

Glen Kauffman provides accounting expertise and management consultant knowledge to a vast assortment of businesses across the region. His over 40 years of business accounting experience features highlights such as serving as the VP of Finance for one of the largest Burger King franchisees in the U.S.

Committed to the growth of the Western New York community, Glen has served on the boards of several organizations including YMCA Buffalo Niagara and Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, which included stints as each board’s Treasurer. He also served as Executive VP of the Mathewson-McCarthy Youth Baseball Board.

Brigham Pratt serves as an Analyst on Lakelet’s investment team. A Western New York native, Brigham’s ability to think critically and analytically grants Lakelet a fresh lens to evaluate investment opportunities. He is responsible for financial modeling, industry research, conducting due diligence, and supporting portfolio company activities.

Prior to joining Lakelet, Brigham excelled in his academics and extracurricular activities. Brigham held an internship with Lakelet Capital in Spring 2020, bringing experience from his previous internships in the corporate finance division of a Fortune 500 company and from a comprehensive wealth management firm. During his time in college, he also led his campus's 80-member student entrepreneurial club Enactus, including founding a triple-bottom-line business focused on sustainable food production and workforce development.

Education:
- B.S. in Finance

Accomplishments:
- Recipient of Fredonia’s Lanford Presidential Prize
- Graduated Beta Gamma Sigma
- Graduated summa cum laude with honors
- Founder and general manager for Sprout, an Enactus business focusing on sustainable food production and workforce development
- Represented Fredonia on the Enactus presentation team, presenting Fredonia’s projects to Fortune 500 executives at a national competition
- Writer and editor for a satirical website