Our Team
James Barrasso
James Barrasso
Manager, Talent Acquisition
James manages the Talent Acquisition efforts at Arrowroot by partnering with portfolio leadership teams to develop and execute strategic hiring initiatives. James has over 10 years of experience in Talent Acquisition and has expertise in building highly-scalable teams for startup companies in a variety of industries, including product technology, SaaS, and management consulting. Prior to joining Arrowroot, James built high-performance Technical and Sales teams at numerous high-growth companies, including; Innoveer Solutions, Rapid7, and EnerNOC.
Education
- Westfield State University, B.A., Communications
Michael Chun
Michael Chun
VP, Finance and Accounting
Michael is responsible for assisting in all aspects of fund administration, including fund accounting, investor relations and compliance for the firm. Prior to Arrowroot, Michael was a Senior Assurance Associate at BDO USA, LLP and served clients in the private equity and venture capital industries. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.
Education
- University of California, San Diego, B.S., Joint Mathematics and Economics
Patrick Czuj
Patrick Czuj
Senior Associate
Patrick’s primary responsibilities include sourcing, due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio management. Prior to Arrowroot, Patrick worked at investment bank Raymond James, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, and other strategic initiatives.
Education
- DePaul University, B.S. Accounting and Finance
Bradley Ehrlich
Bradley Ehrlich
Analyst
Brad is an Analyst at Arrowroot. His primary responsibilities include sourcing, due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio management. Brad graduated with a B.S. in Management and Finance, and a minor in Computer Science from Boston College Carroll School of Management.
Education
- Boston College Carroll School of Management, B.S., Finance and minor in Computer Science
Josh Ham
Josh Ham
Associate
Josh is an Associate on the investment team. His primary responsibilities include sourcing, due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio management. Prior to Arrowroot, Josh worked at Five Elms Capital, a software-focused growth equity firm, where he executed investments and supported portfolio companies.
Education
- Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, B.S. Finance and Business Analytics
Steve Kim
Kyle Horvath
Analyst
Kyle is an Analyst at Arrowroot. His primary responsibilities include sourcing, due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio management. Kyle graduated with a B.S. in Resource Economics from the University of Connecticut School of Business.
Education
- University of Connecticut, B.S., Resource Economics
Sarah Kirsh
Sarah Kirsh
Office Manager
Sarah is responsible for office operations and providing high-level support to the Partners and team members of the firm. Prior to joining Arrowroot, Sarah held a similar position at Sahana Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut. Preceding that, she held various positions at Cravath Swaine & Moore in New York City and London. Sarah brings over 15 years of professional experience.
Stephenie Lauricella
Steve Kim
Partner, CFO & CCO
Steve is responsible for financial management, fund administration, regulatory compliance, and administrative functions for the firm. He has over 20 years of professional experience in finance, accounting, operations, and compliance functions for financial and asset management firms.
Prior to joining Arrowroot, he was a consultant with Clearlake Capital Group, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles, where he helped evaluate and implement various software and services related to fund administration. Prior to Clearlake, Steve was Chief Financial Officer at Armory Funds, a multi-strategy investment firm focused on middle market companies. Prior thereto, he served as Vice President of Operations at Tennenbaum Capital Partners where he was head of accounting and operations for their multi-strategy hedge fund. Before that, he held various positions at Oaktree Capital Management, OppenheimerFunds, and Merrill Lynch.
Education
- University of Colorado Denver, Business Administration, B.S.
Ashley McConkey
Stephenie Lauricella
Executive Assistant
Stephenie is responsible for office operations and providing high-level support to the Partners of the firm. Prior to joining Arrowroot, Stephenie held similar positions at Macquarie Capital and Credit Suisse and brings over 16 years of executive assistant experience.
Clem O’Donnell
Ashley McConkey
Talent Acquisition
Ashley is a member of the Talent Acquisition Group at Arrowroot which partners with portfolio leadership teams to develop and execute strategic hiring initiatives. Prior to joining Arrowroot, Ashley worked as a technical recruiter with Signature Consultants placing positions such as software engineers, application architects, developers, project managers, and business analysts.
Education
- University of Arizona, Bachelors Degree
Thomas Oh
Clem O’Donnell
Partner
Clem is a partner at Arrowroot Capital and is responsible for overseeing their operations function, conducting platform diligence, and supporting the portfolio in technology, operational efficiency, and team development. He brings 20+ years as a technology and operations executive, and the experience of three successful IPOs to Arrowroot. After progressive roles at Oracle in his early career, he was an early-stage employee of Forte Software and Vitria Technology staying with each through their public offering. Clem was the founding CTO of WageWorks (NYSE: WAGE). In that role he built one of the first fully hosted, multi-tenant SaaS platforms. With his leadership as CTO and then as a divisional GM, WageWorks grew organically and through multiple acquisitions through its successful IPO in 2012. Today, WageWorks is a part of HealthEquity (NASD: HQY).
Education
- Carnegie Mellon University, Information & Decision Systems, B.S.
Thomas Olivier
Thomas Olivier
Managing Director
Tom is a Managing Director with Arrowroot Capital, and President and CFO of Arrowroot Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company focused on the Enterprise Software sector. Prior to joining Arrowroot, he was a Managing Director in Houlihan Lokey’s Technology/Media/Telecom Group. He has over 20 years of experience working with technology companies as an investment banker, entrepreneur, and corporate legal advisor. Previously, Tom was a Managing Director and Co-Head of Digital Media at Pacific Crest Securities. Before joining Pacific Crest, he was a Managing Director with Morgan Keegan’s Technology Group, which acquired his prior firm, Revolution Partners, in 2008. Prior to Revolution Partners, Tom was Co-General Counsel and Strategy Officer at iOptions, an online employee stock option portal. He also spent over five years practicing corporate law, most recently with Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, representing organizations in all stages of development, from start-ups to publicly held corporations, venture capital and investment banking firms, and both issuers and underwriters in numerous public offerings. Prior to attending law school, Tom spent over two years at Morgan Stanley & Co. as an analyst in its Information Services Department.
Javan Rice
Javan Rice
Analyst
Javan is an Analyst at Arrowroot. His primary responsibilities include sourcing, due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio management. Javan graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Vanderbilt University.
Education
- Vanderbilt University, B.A., Economics
Matthew J. Safaii
Thomas Oh
Partner
Thomas’ primary responsibilities include sourcing, due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio management. Prior to Arrowroot, Thomas worked at Pacific Crest Securities in their software investment banking group and at B. Riley & Co. in their generalist investment banking group.
Education
- University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, B.S., Business Administration
Jessica Schmitt
Jessica Schmitt
Head of Investor Relations
Jessica is the Head of Investor Relations at Arrowroot Capital, a growth equity firm providing transitional capital to healthy, growing SaaS companies that are under-resourced and need capital for growth-related initiatives. Prior to joining Arrowroot, Jessica was a Director on the Fundraising and Investor Relations team at the Riverside Company, a global investment firm focused on the smaller end of the middle market, where she worked for over eight years. While at Riverside, she worked with investors globally and was involved in all aspects of fundraising and investor relations for private equity, structured capital and private debt funds investing in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region
Education
- BA, Political Science – Loyola Marymount University
Cole Secor
Senior Associate
Matthew J. Safaii
Managing Partner
Matthew’s primary responsibilities include overseeing Arrowroot Capital, investment professionals and the Strategic Resources Group, as well as qualifying deals, conducting due diligence, executing transactions, and monitoring portfolio companies.
He has worked at several private equity firms in the U.S. and Europe. He is also an entrepreneur. His deal and board experience is concentrated in growth equity investments, but also has experience in leveraged buyouts and restructuring. Before founding Arrowroot Capital, Matthew was a Managing Director and Head of the Acquisitions Team at Actua Corp. While at Actua, Matthew was a lead or active investor and board member of several companies including MSDSonline, Parchment, Instamed, and InvestorForce. He was also an investment committee member of Rittenhouse Ventures, an early stage VC based in Philadelphia. Prior to Actua, Matthew worked in the technology group at TA Associates in the Boston and London offices. During his tenure, Matthew was an active investor, including board meeting attendance with: Creditex, Smartstream Technologies and OpenLink Financial. Prior to TA Associates, Matthew worked at Platinum Equity in Los Angeles, where he was involved with Platinum’s investment in Broadspire Services. Matthew was also the co-founder of Quewey, a digital media company based in Philadelphia. Matthew was awarded “Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors” in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 and was also awarded “Top 25 Software Investor” for 2020.
Education
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Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, M.B.A.
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Boston College, Carroll School of Management, Finance and Marketing, B.S.
Paige Tippet
Cole Secor
Senior Associate
Cole’s primary responsibilities include sourcing, due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio management. Prior to Arrowroot, Cole worked at investment bank Financial Technology Partners, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, and other strategic initiatives.
Education
- Boston University, Questrom School of Business, B.S. and B.A., Business Administration
Paige Tippet
Senior Associate
Paige is an Senior Associate at Arrowroot. Her primary responsibilities include sourcing, due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio management. She previously supported the Talent Acquisition effort at Arrowroot by partnering with portfolio leadership teams to develop and execute strategic hiring initiatives. Prior to joining Arrowroot, Paige served as a Search Consultant at Avenue Pacific.
Education
- Columbia University, B.A., Psychology