Mr. Southern manages a personal portfolio of private equity investments in small to medium sized companies and has or has had investments in 47 search funds. Search funds investing consists of providing search and acquisition capital to promising entrepreneurs whose intent is to acquire a small, established company with revenues of $10 million to $30 million and a solid history of growth and profits. Over a ten year holding period, the average portfolio company has grown to annual revenue of $150 million.
Prior to search fund investing, Mr. Southern was himself a beneficiary of search fund investors early in his career. His first search resulted in the acquisition of Uniform Printing, a $43 million printer of specialty insurance forms and documents, where he served as its chairman and CEO for 10 years. He sold the company, yielding a 60% IRR to its investors.
Mr. Southern also served as Chairman and CEO of Continental Fire & Safety Services, a privately held company providing fire safety services to commercial and industrial customers in the mid-Atlantic market. He serves or has served on the boards of ten privately held companies and several not-for-profit foundations. Mr. Southern received a BA from Southwestern University and MBA from Harvard Business School. He and his wife, Linda, reside in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and Boston, MA.