Team Biographies

LAWRENCE E. PENN  III, Managing Director

Mr. Penn, a military officer turned financier, was previously an Investment Banker at Lazard and a Portfolio Manager in the Private Equity Group of JP Morgan where he managed in excess of $500 million in committed and invested capital and served on the Advisory Boards of several private equity groups.  Prior to joining JP Morgan, he worked in the Equities Division of JP Morgan Securities, Inc.  He has also worked in the Alternative Asset Investment Division of the New York State Common Retirement Fund where he had responsibilities for analyzing and conducting due diligence on investments.  Mr. Penn served as a Captain in the U.S. Army where he led logistics operations in Europe and managed one of the largest military communities in the United States Army European Command.  He was awarded the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the United States Army General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award (USAREUR), and the United States Army V Corps Distinguished Leader Award.

He earned a BS in Systems Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and MA in International Business and a MS in Management Information Systems from the University of Maryland European Division.  Mr. Penn earned his MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.  Presently, he serves as a Member and Sponsor for several charities and foundations to include Save the Children, the Morgan Library, The Council on Foreign Relations, The Council on Urban Professionals, Votevets.org, Foreign Policy Association and the Museum of Modern Art.

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A. OLIVER WELSCH-LEHMANN, Managing Director

Mr. Welsch-Lehmann has sourced, monitored, and analyzed Private Equity and Secondary Market Transactions for clients in the United States and Europe. Previously, he was a Vice President at Ambac Corporation where he managed transactions and portfolios for large industrial corporations in the Utilities and Energy industries.  Prior to this position, he was Investment Banker at Commerzbank for six years where he structured project and acquisition financing transactions for large Industrial and Power companies in the U.S. and in Europe. Before joining Commerzbank, Mr. Welsch-Lehmann spent over three years in various positions at Siemens AG in Germany. Mr. Welsch-Lehmann is an active member of the German-American Chamber of Commerce, the German Business Roundtable of New York, The Foreign Policy Association as well as The Royal Institute of International Affairs-Chatham House in London.

Mr. Welsch-Lehmann earned a BA in Finance and Accounting from FH Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany, an associate degree from the European Business School in Wiesbaden, Germany and a MBA in Finance from James Madison University.

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JEFFREY L. WESTFIELD, Director

Before joining The Camelot Group, Mr. Westfield worked in the Investment Banking Division of Morgan Stanley & Co., where he was involved in the completion of numerous mergers and acquisitions and acquisition-related financing transactions. Mr. Westfield assisted in the execution of billions of dollars in merger and acquisitions, financings, restructuring, and corporate finance transactions across a variety of industries in the United States and Western Europe. He has executed over $3.5 billion in secondary transactions over his career.  Mr. Westfield previously served as distinguished and decorated military officer in the US Army, receiving numerous awards for performance and achievement. He served in a variety of capacities as a combat arms officer in USAREUR (United States Army Europe) and the US Army in the United States.

Mr. Westfield received his Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School and his Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

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MICHAEL S. KESTER, Director

In the over 10 years he has been with the firm Mr. Kester has worked on transactions totaling in excess of $4.5 Billion. He has been responsible for sourcing, structuring, and executing secondary transactions as well as constructing and maintaining the MIS and IT systems that have made The Camelot Group unique.  Prior to The Camelot Group International he worked as a business analyst for a division of Westinghouse Electric Co. Before entering the corporate world, Mr. Kester was a professional chef.

He holds an degree in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America, and has earned a BS in Computer Science (Cum Laude) from Columbia University in the City of New York. Mr. Kester is a member of Mensa and when time permits volunteers at local charities. Past commitments have included New York Cares and East Harlem Tutorial Program.

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PUTRA L. BRIDGE, Associate

Prior to joining the team, Ms. Bridge worked for Deutsche Bank as an analyst in Equity Capital Markets.  She covered numerous sectors including Technology, Healthcare, Media, Consumer, and Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging (REGAL).  She participated in 29 IPOs and follow-on offerings raising more than $5.1 billion for companies.  Prior to Deutsche Bank, she held positions with Citigroup in their Sales and Trading division, and with The Camelot Group where she assisted in due diligence and the transfer of limited partner interests in private equity funds and purchases of portfolios of direct investments.  She has assisted in the execution in over $1.5 billion of secondary transactions.

After being honorably discharged from West Point due to injury, Ms. Bridge continued her education at the University of Virginia where she earned a B.A. in Economics with a concentration in Finance, and a Minor in Mathematics.  During her educational era, she made the Dean’s List, was chosen for the West Point Leadership Award, and received the Wendy’s Heisman Athletic Scholar Award. After graduating early from UVA, she spent four months volunteering in Thailand in the wake of the 2004 tsunami.

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PARSRAM DHANRAJ, Associate

Before joining The Camelot Group, Mr. Dhanraj was an investment professional at The Tokarz Group Advisers, a $500 million  private equity fund.  Mr. Dhanraj provided investment screening, deal sourcing, valuation of investment securities, and structuring investment transactions across various industries.   Prior to that, Mr. Dhanraj was a credit analyst at Moody’s Investors Service.  He has covered banks, finance companies, and other specialty finance credits on the Financial Institutions Group ranging in size from $500 million to $650 billion.  Mr. Dhanraj has also analyzed collateralized debt obligations and collateralized loan obligations (CDOs/CLOs) on the Structured Finance team ranging in size from $200 million to $1 billion.  Earlier, he has worked on the States/High Profile Ratings team on the Public Finance Group, where he developed  a quantitative scorecard to provide municipal and state ratings.

Mr. Dhanraj received his Master of Business Administration from the Johnson School at Cornell University and his Bachelor of Science from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.

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PARNELL J. CLITUS, Director

Mr. Clitus was previously head of fundraising for Syzygy Therapeutics from September 2010 to September 2011 where he marketed a healthcare private equity fund to global institutional investors.  Prior to joining Syzygy, he worked in the business development group of Capital Dynamics from September 2005 to September 2010 where he was responsible for sourcing secondary transactions, structured solutions (portfolio re-financings, securitizations, structured investment vehicles), and global fundraising. Prior to Capital Dynamics, Mr. Clitus worked for Paul Capital Partners from August 2002 to September 2005 where he was part of the investor relations team.  He has also worked at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette from February 1996 to January 2001 where he reported directly to the global head of business development and marketed alternative investment strategies to investors.

He earned a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996.

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JON M. MCCARRY, Director of Business Development APAC

Mr. McCarry has invested in Private Equity and sourced deals and capital over ten years. He joined The Camelot Group International, LLC, in 2009 and is responsible for sourcing investment opportunities and capital throughout the Asia Pacific Region. Prior to joining The Camelot Group he was a Senior Group Internal Auditor at Nestlé where he conducted operational and financial audits across three continents and ten countries. Prior to this position, he was a Technical Advisor to a Hong Kong HNW family office where he managed a USD 50 M venture portfolio of U.S. and Chinese technology companies. During this time he was a board member of two companies and a board observer of two others. Mr. McCarry is an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan and sits on the Foreign Direct Investment and Banking & Finance committees.

Mr. McCarry earned a BS in Engineering and Physics from the University of North Texas, U.S.A., an International MBA from Vlerick Management School in Belgium, and completed the Private Equity Programme in China sponsored by Oxford University and Peking University.

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JONAS SCHAEFER, Director of Business Development

Mr. Schaefer joined The Camelot Group in May, 2012. He is currently serving in a Business Development and Introductory function, with an emphasis on the U.S. West Coast.  Prior to joining The Camelot Group, he was with Diamond Edge Capital Partners, a boutique third-party marketing firm based in New York.  At DECP, he worked with private equity groups raising assets. He raised in excess of U.S. $100 million while at DECP. Prior to Diamond Edge Capital, he worked with the World Pension Forum, a conference organizing business focused on bringing institutional investors and asset managers together. He served in a conference development function.

He earned a BA with an emphasis on the Dramatic Arts from the University of California, at Davis. Mr. Schaefer earned his MBA with a concentration in Finance from Golden Gate University. He is presently active in mental health causes.

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GREGORY P. AGIUS, Director of Business Development

Mr. Agius is the former Director of the World Trade Center in Geneva, Switzerland where he managed 25,000 square meters of business center office space with over 150 clients and served as the head of relationship management, marketing, membership program, and the investment advisory arm. Prior to joining the World Trade Center Geneva, he worked in the Incident Management Division of Interoute Inc., one of Europe’s most predominant telecommunications firms.  He also worked in the Strategic Planning and Corporate Strategy Division of the International Telecommunications Union where he was a main point of contact for CEOs, Diplomats, and Heads of State for the ITU World Summit on the Information Society.  Mr. Agius started his career in the Private Sector Fundraising Unit of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees where he was immersed in raising capital and worked on large-scale projects with numerous high-profile donors and foundations worldwide.

Mr. Agius earned a BA in International Relations with minor degrees is Psychology and Computer Science from Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland.  Mr. Agius earned his MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from The Malcolm Baldrige School of Business at Post University.  Presently, he is a Member of the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce as well as The Project Management Institute.

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