TEAM
Tailoring McKinsey talent to search funds
BRAD BROWN, Managing Director
Former Senior Partner, McKinsey
Brad Brown is the managing director of Applied Equity.
He is an executive advisor and coach, with deep professional expertise in B2B Services, Tech-Enabled Services, and Software. He looks at dozens of companies in these spaces each month through his search fund, venture, and angel activities. He spends time with searchers and CEOs to develop strategies regarding services and software trends, competitors, pricing multiples, funding, channel partnerships, and products. He has developed the firm's theses, frameworks, and metrics on software and tech. Applied Equity was one of the first search fund investors to commit to the tech space, serve on software company boards, and support new CEOs.
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Mr. Brown is also a Senior Partner Emeritus of McKinsey & Company, where he was a senior leader of the Technology practice, and the global leader of the Big Data practice. For thirty years, he worked with senior executives to implement strategies around technology, SaaS, cloud, and AI. He also worked in Fintech and InsurTech. For seven years, he led the Global Insurance Technology practice, and is well known across the industry.
He is on the board of several search fund acquisitions including Blue Sky Network, ISI, Attainia, CarData, and Bridge Software. In addition, he is an advisor to many search fund CEOs as well as several Saas startups.
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Mr. Brown is a graduate of Dartmouth College. He also received a Masters in Computer Science from UPenn, and an MBA from the Wharton School.
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AJAY GUPTA, Partner
Former Senior Partner, McKinsey
Ajay Gupta is a Partner in Applied Equity.
He is an executive advisor and coach with professional expertise is in all aspects of business services, regulations, and trends within the healthcare system.
He remains highly involved with the healthcare executive community through his work on the Boards of Healthium Medtech, BJC Healthcare, OnPoint Surgical, the RAND Corporation Health Advisory Board, and the Keystone Board of Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. He spends time with searchers and CEOs to help them understand key health care trends, and develop strategies regarding pricing, distribution, operations, and growth. He has developed the firm's theses, frameworks, and metrics on health care. Applied Equity was one of the first search fund investors to commit to the health practice space, with its early investment in ConvenientMD.
Mr. Gupta is also a Senior Partner Emeritus of McKinsey & CO, and brings 28 years of experience across all segments of healthcare, covering commercial and growth topics, corporate strategy, M&A, large scale performance improvement, organization design and aspiration setting. He led McKinsey’s Midwest Healthcare Practice and North America Medical Products.
Mr. Gupta has served medical technology companies, pharma/biotech, health systems, academic centers, post-acute providers, drug store chains, specialty pharmacy, PBMs, HCIT, distributors/other intermediaries and disease management. He has published articles on new therapy adoption, commercial excellence, pricing/contracting, digital marketing, industry consolidation and M&A. His experience covers ambulatory, acute and post-acute care settings.
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He holds an MBA from Stanford University where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar, and a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi where he was awarded the President's Gold Medal.
SAM MARWAHA, Special Advisor
Former Senior Partner, McKinsey
Sam Marwaha is a Special Advisor to Applied Equity.
His professional expertise is in pharma/health tech and media tech.
Mr. Marwaha is also a former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he founded and led the healthtech and mediatech practices. He then became a senior partner of the B Capital Group (VC) and Digital Ventures (incubator), playing a lead role with health tech companies. He was also the launch CEO of Blink Health, a leading innovator in providing low-cost pharmacy drug plans using technology. He is currently working with several tech-enabled growth companies: as chief commercial officer for Evidation Health; senior advisor and investor in ScrollStack, a marketplace for creators.
MARK NESLINE, Special Advisor
Former CTO, PE-backed Tech Companies
Mark Nesline is a Special Advisor to Applied Equity
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He is an executive advisor and board member with expertise in all aspects of growing Saas and tech-enabled companies, as well as with particular depth in the engineering and CTO function. He is active in PE-backed due diligence. He currently fills Applied Equity’s board seat with ConnectWare.
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Mr. Nesline is a former senior executive with several successful software and technology-enabled services companies, including venture-funded startups, private equity-owned companies, and public companies.
He has specific industry expertise in identity and access management, computer security, healthcare IT, language translation technology, and human capital management technology.
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Over his career, he has led efforts to move technology to the cloud, develop SaaS offerings, and modernize software products and corporate technology. He currently advises CEO’s, senior executives, and engineering executives on technology and product strategy, growth strategies, organizational effectiveness, and operational efficiency.
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Mr. Nesline has served as Chief Engineering Officer at Imprivata, a healthcare IT company focused on Identity and Access Management, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Product Management and CIO of Lionbridge Technologies, the industry leader in technology enabled language services, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Product Management at Sentillion, a VC funded startup, Vice President of Engineering, Product Management and Professional Services at Kenexa and Vice President of Engineering at RSA Security.
Mr. Nesline is a graduate of Dartmouth College. He also received a Masters Degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University.