BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Bernhard Capital Partners (“BCP”), a services and infrastructure-focused private equity management firm investing in middle market businesses providing essential services to owners of critical infrastructure, today announced the following promotions:

  • Mark Spender to Partner
  • Catherine Cusimano to Principal
  • Bryan Poppler to Principal
  • Chris Ringswald to Principal
  • Jason Badeaux to Senior Associate

Jim Bernhard, Founder and Partner at Bernhard Capital Partners, commented: “We are very pleased to congratulate Mark, Catherine, Bryan, Chris and Jason on their well-deserved promotions. Each of these individuals has made a meaningful contribution to our firm’s success and we appreciate their continued commitment. We are proud to have such a skilled team with diverse backgrounds across the energy, infrastructure and finance sectors, and look forward to continuing to support the growth of all of our colleagues.”

Mark Spender

Mark Spender has been promoted to Partner at Bernhard Capital, where he is a member of the Investment and Portfolio committees and is involved in all areas of the firm’s investment activities. Mark currently serves on the Board of Directors for several of BCP’s investment platforms, including Allied Power, Charah Solutions (NYSE: CHRA), RailWorks and United Utility Services. Prior to joining BCP in 2015, he served as Managing Director in the Global Industrials Group of Credit Suisse. During his more than 15 years in investment banking, Mark focused on a variety of industrial sub-sectors, including engineering and construction, building products and construction materials and industrial distribution. He advised a variety of clients on more than 100 transactions, including corporate sales, mergers and acquisitions, equity issuance and monetizations, leveraged finance and other corporate finance assignments. Mark received his B.B.A. with Highest Distinction from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Catherine Cusimano

Catherine Cusimano has been promoted to Principal at Bernhard Capital, where she is involved in all areas of the firm’s investment activities and is active in the sourcing and execution of several of the firm’s proprietary opportunities. Prior to joining BCP, Catherine was a Vice President at HPS Investment Partners, LLC in New York. While at HPS, she was a member of the Energy & Power team where she focused on investments ranging from senior debt to mezzanine, subordinated debt and preferred equity. Earlier in her career, Catherine was an Associate on the E&P Equity Research team at Capital One Securities, Inc. She received her B.S.M. in Finance and Economics from Tulane University and a Master of Management in Energy from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.

Bryan Poppler

Bryan Poppler has been promoted to Principal at Bernhard Capital, where he is involved in all areas of the firm’s investment activities. Prior to joining Bernhard Capital, Bryan served as a Senior Analyst at Stephens Inc. in Dallas, TX. While at Stephens, Bryan was a member of the Industrials Group where he worked on various mergers and acquisitions and capital raises for clients in the Engineering & Construction, Building Products and Transportation sectors. He received his B.B.A. in Finance and B.S. in Economics with Financial Applications from Southern Methodist University.

Chris Ringswald

Chris Ringswald has been promoted to Principal at Bernhard Capital, where he is involved in all areas of the firm’s investment activities. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of RailWorks. Prior to joining BCP, Chris was an Associate at Stellus Capital Management, LLC. in Houston, TX. While at Stellus, he was a member of the investment team for the middle market energy platform and the middle market direct lending platform. Additionally, Chris was previously an Associate in the Strategic Planning group at Seneca Resources Corporation and an Analyst in the Global Energy Investment Banking group at RBC Capital Markets. Chris holds a B.S. in Finance from Louisiana State University.

Jason Badeaux

Jason Badeaux has been promoted to Senior Associate at Bernhard Capital, where he is involved in all areas of the firm’s investment activities and is also involved in several of the firm’s philanthropic activities. Prior to joining BCP, Jason served as an Analyst at Simmons & Company International, the Energy and Power investment banking group of Piper Sandler, in Houston, TX. While at Simmons, Jason focused on M&A and capital markets advisory for the natural resources industry. Jason received his B.S. in Economics from Louisiana State University.