November 18, 2021
Circumference Group Accelerates Expansion through
Appointment of Financial and Analytics Experts
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Circumference Group, a unique, operationally-focused investment firm led by former Endurance International CEO Jeff Fox, today announced it has appointed Chad Brown, Joe Hill and Forrest Short to new positions focused on private investments as the firm continues expanding its investment platform.
In their new roles, Mr. Brown, Mr. Hill and Mr. Short will leverage their proven finance and investment experience to support Circumference Group as the firm invests in people building businesses. The addition of Mr. Brown, Mr. Hill and Mr. Short further enhances Circumference Group’s operational and strategic expertise and builds on the recent appointment of industry leaders Kurt Silverman, Luca Sechi and Virgil Prewitt to leadership positions at the firm.
“Our investment discipline begins with the people building our partner companies, because strong talent and a commitment to human capital are vital to the long-term success of a business,” said Mr. Fox, CEO and Founder, Circumference Group. “By welcoming Chad and Joe back to Circumference Group following their years of proven operational and analytical experience, we are strengthening our team of experts and enhancing our ability to support businesses throughout their growth journey. I am thrilled that Chad, Joe and Forrest are part of our team and look forward to leveraging their unique and invaluable insights for the benefit of our partner companies.”
Chad Brown rejoins Circumference Group as Vice President, Private Investments, where he is the lead finance and analytical resource for the firm’s private investing initiatives. He previously served as Circumference Group’s Director of Research from 2009 through 2019, where he was responsible for identifying, researching, and monitoring public equity investments.
In between his positions at Circumference Group, Mr. Brown served as Director of Strategic Finance at Constant Contact / Endurance from 2019-2021. In this role, he performed due diligence on potential M&A targets, executed two transactions and served as the targets’ lead Finance partner post-transaction. Mr. Brown holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University and serves on the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Central Arkansas and the Hat Club.
Joe Hill serves as Vice President, Private Investments, leading Circumference Group’s lower middle market buyout initiative. In this position, Mr. Hill pursues opportunities for control acquisitions of regionally-based companies with less than $10 million in annual cash flow, primarily focusing on tenured companies with strong track records in business to business software or services, telecommunications, and other software and tech-enabled services. He previously worked on private company investing at Circumference Group from 2013 through 2017.
Prior to rejoining Circumference Group, Mr. Hill helped establish the Enterprise Transformation Office at Endurance International Group and served as the head of finance for the company’s HostGator brand. Mr. Hill also served as an Analyst in the Leveraged Finance Group of Bank of America and the Investment Banking division of Stephens Inc. He holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Arkansas.
Forrest Short is an Associate at Circumference Group, where he focuses on private company investing. He previously served as an Associate at Harbert Management Corporation, where he worked on private investments in the infrastructure, power & renewables sectors. Prior to Harbert, Mr. Short was an Investment Banking Analyst at Guggenheim Securities and Stephens Inc., where he advised on M&A and financing transactions. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Mississippi.
About Circumference Group
Circumference Group is an investment firm designed to deliver superior risk-adjusted performance for its capital partners. The firm leverages the broad and deep operational experience of its team to thoroughly understand a target investment’s current competitiveness and performance and the execution risks that may prevent it from reaching its performance potential. Circumference Group invests when its organizational insight, operational intelligence and strategic perspective identify pathways to significant value creation with mitigated risk.
Circumference Group was founded in 2009 by a team of veteran business operators and investors led by Jeff Fox, a proven executive who has served in multiple leadership roles including CEO of Endurance International Group, CEO of Convergys Corp. and COO of Alltel Wireless. For over a decade, Circumference Group has successfully invested in the public and private markets utilizing its Core Value Assessment (CVA), a proprietary framework that evaluates a company’s growth and cash flow potential, as well as its organizational and operational strengths and weaknesses. The CVA underpins all of Circumference Group’s investment strategies.