Private Equity Investor Heads Advisors

Mitch Vance, a general partner of a private equity investment firm, has agreed to chair Westmont’s Board of Advisors, President Gayle Beebe announced today. Vance joined the board in 2000 and previously served on the Westmont Foundation.

The 17-member Westmont Board of Advisors, a group of business people who serve as consultants to the college, provides a critical link between the college curriculum and post-graduate experiences.

“My primary goal is to ensure that the board continues to bring fresh ideas and viewpoints to assist Dr. Beebe and his senior officers in advancing Westmont’s mission,” Vance says. “I am also passionate about interacting with and mentoring Westmont students and recent graduates. In my experience, they all pursue their careers with a remarkable sense of purpose and context.”

A graduate of the University of Oregon, Vance first came to Westmont on a visit with his wife, Leslie, who graduated from the college in 1985.

“I was impressed with the faculty, staff and students I met,” he says. “Although at the time I was active with my own alma mater, I felt I could make a greater impact through my involvement at Westmont.”

In 1990, Vance co-founded TGV Partners, which makes control investments in emerging growth and middle-market companies. Their investment portfolio has included B. Manischewitz Company, Empire Kosher Poultry, Childtime Learning Centers, Raging Waters Amusement Park, Thompson/Center Arms and Garfield & Marx.

“We are truly blessed to have such a gifted leader head the board,” Beebe says. “Vance has an exceptional business background, and he has proved to be a huge asset for the college.”

Previously, Vance worked as a general partner of Pacific Mezzanine Investors (PMI), which managed an institutional fund to invest in private debt and equity securities. PMI’s limited partners included eight large pension funds, endowments and financial institutions, including IBM, AT&T, University of Texas and Pacific Life.

Vance also served as an associate with the private equity investment firm Levine, Tessler, Leichtman & Co. and as an investment manager at First Westinghouse Capital Corp., specializing in subordinated debt and equity investments.

He is an avid outdoorsman and competes as an amateur triathlete. He and Leslie have three children, ages 9, 13 and 15.