Robert Rough
Mr. Rough is the Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Pillar Capital Management. He has been an investor, senior executive, consultant and board member in technology, service, manufacturing, distribution, and retail companies for more than twenty years. The majority of Mr. Rough’s management and consulting experience has been with portfolio companies of venture capital and private equity groups such as Kleiner Perkins, Ballast Point Ventures and Thompson Investments. Mr. Rough has been involved in over twenty completed transactions, usually with primary responsibility for all aspects of the transaction, including post transaction integration.
Mr. Rough graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH and earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School in Boston, MA.
Todd Leake
Mr. Leake is a Managing Director of Pillar Capital Management and oversees the Lubbock office. He is primarily responsible for initial contact with and screening of investment opportunities, seeking investors for investments, and investor relations. Mr. Leake has held numerous positions within the Wall Street community over the last twenty-five years. An entrepreneur, Mr. Leake opened his own independent wealth advisory firm in 2003, West Texas Independent Financial Services, and currently manages in excess of $75 million in assets. West Texas Independent Financial Services offers public securities through Prospera Financial Services, Inc., located in Dallas, TX. Mr. Leake is a Registered Representative and an Investment Advisor of Prospera Financial Services.
In addition, Mr. Leake has started companies in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Prior to beginning his own businesses, Mr. Leake was a Senior Vice President with Morgan Stanley, and prior to that managed in excess of $100 million in assets in the Merrill Lynch West Texas Complex. During his career, Mr. Leake has also worked closely with early stage and startup companies in Texas and has raised capital for dozens of companies.
Mr. Leake graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX with a B.S. in International Economics and has earned the Certified Wealth Management designation.
Amber Dean
Mrs. Dean is a Senior Associate with Pillar Capital Management in the Lubbock office. She primarily is responsible for seeking investors for investments, investor relations, screening potential transactions, initial due diligence on potential investments and managing the day to day accounting operations of Pillar Capital Management.
Mrs. Dean has extensive background in the financial services and technology commercialization industries. She came to PCM from the Texas Tech University System Office of Technology Commercialization where she was an Associate Managing Director of Technology Commercialization and managed a portfolio of over 150 inventions. Prior to this, she was Vice President of Business Development for a $3 billion Lubbock-based banking institution and managed a portfolio in excess of $25 million that consisted of over 300 personal and commercial banking clients, covering over 22 locations across Texas.
She received her B.S. in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University.
Todd Thompson
Mr. Thompson is a Senior Associate in Pillar Capital Management’s Dallas office. He is primarily responsible for screening investment opportunities, performing due diligence, structuring transactions, assisting portfolio companies with strategic initiatives, raising capital and investor relations.
Prior to joining Pillar Capital, Mr. Thompson worked at EFO Holdings, a family office managing over $300 million focused on middle-market private equity investments. Previously, he worked as an Associate in Wachovia’s investment banking division where he advised on over $6 billion in M&A transactions, leveraged buyouts, financings and other strategic advisory assignments in the Southwest region. He also held positions at Duff & Phelps and Piper Jaffray in Chicago focused on mergers and acquisitions. He began his investment career as an intern at Merrill Lynch in Kansas City and at Luther King Capital Management in Fort Worth, Texas.
Mr. Thompson received a B.B.A. degree in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from Texas Christian University and earned his M.B.A. with concentrations in Finance and Strategy from Southern Methodist University.