Keith Walz, a FOCUS Managing Director, has more than fifteen years experience in private equity investing.  Mr. Walz has focused on providing growth capital to privately held businesses, specializing in Enterprise Software, Network Infrastructure, and technology-aided Niche Manufacturing investments. He has served on the board of directors of over a dozen portfolio companies adding strategic planning and advice to maximize shareholder value.

Prior to joining FOCUS, Mr. Walz co-founded and was a Managing Partner of Kinsale Capital Partners, a leveraged buy-out private equity investment firm focused on acquiring and enhancing the value of lower-middle market businesses.

Prior to the formation of Kinsale Capital Partners, Mr. Walz had been a Managing Director at ABN ARMO Capital, ABN AMRO’s Global Private Equity division with over $2 billion in invested capital.  As a senior partner with the firm, Mr. Walz participated in the sourcing, evaluation, and monitoring of over 35 investments with a total enterprise value exceeding $1.5 billion, representing $200 million of capital invested.  As an active investor, Mr. Walz served on the board of directors and held operating roles with ABN AMRO portfolio companies in the interest of enhancing shareholder value and accelerating growth.  Prior to joining ABN AMRO Capital, Mr. Walz was a Vice President in ABN AMRO’s Investment Banking division, responsible for financial reporting, analysis, and systems. 

Mr. Walz was also President and CFO of Sand Hill IT Security, a special purpose acquisition company.  Sand Hill raised $24 million through an initial public offering for the purpose of acquiring a information technology security business.  Mr. Walz participated in the sourcing and evaluation of over 100 acquisition candidates, commencing with the $60 million acquisition of St. Bernard software.   Mr. Walz was also a member of the Board of Directors of Community Bankers Acquisition Corporation, a $70 million special purpose acquisition company established to acquire regional banks.

Prior to joining ABN AMRO, Mr. Walz served as a finance associate with Tyson Foods, Inc., a processor and distributor of chicken, pork and other food products, where he focused on enhancing enterprise business processes and systems through the use of client/server computing technologies.

Mr. Walz holds a M.B.A. from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Arkansas.

Contact Information:
Keith A. Walz
Managing Director
875 N. Michigan Avenue
Suite 3100
Chicago, IL 60611
Office: (312) 794-7888
Cell: (312) 593-7172
Fax: (312) 275-8181
keith.walz@focusbankers.com