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Rahul Goyal
Principal

Rahul Goyal joined AEA in 2002 and focuses on investments in the value-added industrial products sector. He has played a significant role in executing and managing the firm's investments in Behavioral Interventions, Houghton International, Unifrax, Pregis, Kranson Industries, XM Satellite Radio, and Telephia.

Prior to joining AEA, Mr. Goyal was a strategy consultant with Bain & Co. in Chicago.

Mr. Goyal received a B.S. in chemical engineering with a double major in economics from Northwestern University.


James Ho
Principal

James Ho joined AEA in 2001 and focuses on investments in the consumer products sector. He has played a significant role in executing and managing the firm's investments in Shoes For Crews, Acosta, Burt's Bees, IAG Research, and Tampico Beverages. Mr. Ho is currently serving on the board of directors for Shoes For Crews.

Prior to joining AEA, Mr. Ho was a strategy consultant with Bain & Co. in Chicago.

Mr. Ho received a B.A. in economics and mathematical methods in the social sciences from Northwestern University.

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Christian Johnson
Principal

Christian Johnson joined AEA in 2006 as a member of the Mezzanine Fund team. Prior to joining AEA, he was with Allied Capital in New York, originating, executing and monitoring middle-market mezzanine and control buyout transactions.

Prior to Allied Capital, Mr. Johnson was with GE Equity, the principal investment arm of GE Capital and Chase Securities Inc. where he was a member of the acquisition finance group.

Mr. Johnson holds an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a B.A. in economics from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

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Robin Chiang
Vice President

Robin Chiang joined the Hong Kong office of AEA in 2008.  Prior to joining AEA, he was an associate with Morgan Stanley Hong Kong, working across a number industry groups and global capital markets group.  Before Morgan Stanley, Mr. Chiang worked at Boston Consulting Group in Melbourne as an associate.

Mr. Chiang received a B.S. in Engineering and B.S. of Law from the University of Melbourne. He is a qualified barrister and solicitor of New South Wales, Australia.

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Justin de La Chapelle
Vice President

Justin de La Chapelle joined AEA in 2006 focusing on investments in the value-added industrial and specialty chemical sectors.  He was involved in AEA’s investments in Behavioral Interventions and Suncoast Roofers Supply.

Prior to joining AEA, Mr. de La Chapelle worked at Brera Capital Partners, a global private equity firm based in New York.  Prior to Brera, he worked at Banc of America Securities in both the Mergers & Acquisitions Group and the Leveraged Acquisition Finance Group.  Prior to Banc of America Securities, he worked at Goldman Sachs. 

Mr. de La Chapelle graduated with honors from Georgetown University.

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Leo Fang
Vice President

Leo Fang joined the Shanghai office of AEA in 2007. Prior to joining AEA, he was an associate consultant with L.E.K. Consulting and worked at the Shanghai, Los Angeles and Beijing offices.

Mr. Fang received a M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology; M.S.in Supply Chain Management from National University of Singapore and a B.S. in Management Information System from Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

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Alexander Hoffman
Vice President

Alex Hoffman joined the London office of AEA in 2004. In 2006, Mr. Hoffman relocated to Hong Kong to help AEA establish its Asia program and evaluate investment opportunities in the region. He returned to London in 2009 and is focused on investments in the value added industrial, business services and consumer sectors. He was involved in AEA’s investments in Lone Star PRD Group, North China German Automotive, Pregis Corporation and Convenience Food Systems. He currently serves on the board of Lone Star PRD Group.

Prior to joining AEA, Mr. Hoffman was a Manager in Transaction Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, focusing on financial due diligence for the private equity market in the U.K. and Continental Europe.

Mr. Hoffman received a B.A. Hons in French and German from Bristol University and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

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Vinay Kumar
Vice President

Vinay Kumar joined the New York office of AEA in 2004. In 2006, Mr. Kumar relocated to Hong Kong to help AEA establish its Asian presence and evaluate investment opportunities in the region. He returned to New York in 2009 and is focused on investments in the value-added industrial, specialty chemical and business services sectors. Mr. Kumar was involved in AEA’s investments in CPG International and Pregis.

Prior to joining AEA, Mr. Kumar was a strategy consultant with Bain & Company in San Francisco and London.

Mr. Kumar graduated with honors from Harvard University with an A.B. in History and Science.

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Michael Maechling
Vice President

Mike Maechling joined AEA in 2006 as a member of the Mezzanine Fund team. Prior to joining AEA, he was with Investcorp International in New York, working as a generalist on a variety of leveraged buyout transactions.

Prior to Investcorp, Mr. Maechling was with Credit Suisse First Boston in the leveraged finance group.

Mr. Maechling holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in history from the University of California at Berkeley.

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Alex Mehfar
Vice President

Alex Mehfar joined AEA in 2004 as an Associate in the consumer products sector. After three years with AEA, Mr. Mehfar pursued other entrepreneurial focused initiatives before returning to the firm in 2009. Mr. Mehfar was involved in AEA’s investments in Burt’s Bees, Acosta, and Tampico Beverages.

Prior to joining AEA, Mr. Mehfar was a strategy consultant with Bain & Co. in San Francisco. Prior to Bain, he spent a year as a consultant to DataCom, Mongolia’s first internet service provider, as a Henry Luce Scholar.

Mr. Mehfar graduated with highest distinction with a B.A. in economics and a minor in information systems from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.

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Philipp Meyer
Vice President

Philipp Meyer joined the Munich office of AEA in 2009 and is focused on investments in the value-added industrial, specialty chemicals and business services sectors. Prior to joining AEA, Mr. Meyer was with Stone Tower Equity Partners, a middle market private equity firm based in New York. Before Stone Tower, Mr. Meyer was a project leader at Bain & Company in Zurich and Munich, where he was a member of the Private Equity Group and Industrial Practice.

Mr. Meyer received an M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.

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Dan Schorr
Vice President

Dan Schorr joined AEA in 2008 as a member of the Small Business Fund team. He has contributed to the execution and management of AEA’s investments in PLZ Holdings (Plaze and Claire-Sprayway), Implus Footcare, Troxell Communications, Colony Hardware and Sextant Education.

Prior to joining AEA, Mr. Schorr was a strategy consultant with L.E.K. Consulting in Boston.

Mr. Schorr graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics and Biological Basis of Behavior.

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John Smith
Vice President

John Smith joined AEA in 2005 as member of the Mezzanine Fund team.  Prior to joining AEA, he spent 3 years at AlpInvest (formerly NIB Capital Private Equity), a global private equity manager.  Prior to AlpInvest, Mr. Smith was at 212 Ventures, the technology arm of Investcorp.  Prior to this position, he was at Credit Suisse First Boston in the leveraged finance and financial sponsors group. 

Mr. Smith graduated with honors from Georgetown University with a B.S. in business administration with a double major in finance and marketing and a minor in psychology.

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Todd Welsch
Vice President

Todd Welsch joined AEA in 2003 and became a member of the Small Business Fund team in 2005. He is focused on investments in the value-added industrial products and business services sectors and has been involved in AEA’s investments in Kranson Industries, Henry, PPC Industries and Industrial Controls Distributors.

Prior to joining AEA, Mr. Welsch was an analyst in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York.

Mr. Welsch graduated with honors from Northwestern University with a B.S.E. in industrial engineering.

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Tim Whelan
Vice President

Tim Whelan joined AEA in 2005 as a member of the Small Business Fund team. He has contributed to the execution and management of AEA’s investments in PLZ Holdings (Plaze and Claire-Sprayway), National Rehab and Sextant Education.

Prior to joining AEA, Mr. Whelan was a strategy consultant with The Parthenon Group in Boston.

Mr. Whelan received an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and an A.B. in psychology from Dartmouth College.

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