Leadership Team
Thomas H. Ripley
Partner
Tom is a Partner and Co-Founder at Ames Watson. Prior to Ames Watson, Tom was the founder of Severn Partners, a private equity firm that acquired more than a dozen companies in the defense, retail, light manufacturing and service sectors. Over the past 18 years, Tom has developed extensive operating experience across more than two dozen different companies. Today, Tom serves as the Chairman & CEO of Lids Sports Group. Tom started his career as an infantry and special operations officer in the United States Marine Corps. Tom graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a BA and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Tom lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife and three children.
Lawrence Berger
Partner
Lawrence is the Co-Founder and a Partner at Ames Watson. Prior to founding Ames Watson, Lawrence was Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Blackstreet Capital. At Blackstreet, Lawrence participated in over 25 acquisitions and was actively involved in the sourcing of deals, planning of transitions and oversight of investments. Previously, Lawrence worked for the The Washington Post Company and the Boston Consulting Group. Lawrence has served on numerous Boards of both private and public companies. Lawrence is currently the Chairman of FanzzLids Holdings, the holding company that owns Lids and Fanatics Lids College. Lawrence has a B.S.E. and MBA from The Wharton School. Lawrence lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife and three sons. He can usually be found at the ice rink watching his sons play hockey.
Investment Team
William D. Carr, IV
Principal
Will is a Principal at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Will was a Vice President with Severn Partners. At Severn, Will participated in various transactions on both the buy and sell side. Will started his career in public accounting and subsequently spent 6 years in corporate accounting and finance at a middle market company headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. Will has a B.S. in Accounting and a minor in Economics from Stevenson University. Will and his wife have one daughter and reside in Crownsville, Maryland.
Garrett Breeden
Associate
Garrett is an Associate at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Garrett spent six years at the National Football League in New York City where he performed financial analysis and due diligence for deals with the League’s broadcast TV, media and gaming partners. Garrett received his B.S.E. with a concentration in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently lives in Washington D.C.
Alex Hurdle
Associate
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Alex spent two years at the United States Department of Justice in the Antitrust Division in Washington DC; reviewing corporate merger filings for technology and finance companies. Alex received his BA from the University of Notre Dame in 2018 and is actively working towards a Master of Finance Degree from the University of Maryland. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland and enjoys playing lacrosse with his three younger brothers.
Christian Liddell
Associate
Christian is an Associate at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, he was an Investment Banking Analyst at Houlihan Lokey where he advised clients through Mergers & Acquisitions in the Aerospace, Defense, and Government Services sectors. Christian began his career as a Markets analyst at Citigroup where he rotated through equity trading and private debt capital markets roles. Christian received his B.S.B.A. from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, D.C. and enjoys running amongst other outdoor activities.
Strategic Resources Group
Coleman Ruiz
Operating Partner
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Coleman served as an Operating Partner at Severn Partners, a private equity firm that acquired companies in the defense, retail, light manufacturing and service sectors. He guided the turnaround of two manufacturing portfolio companies while at Severn Partners. Coleman graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a BS in Mathematics, and holds an MBA from Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, and started his career as a special operations officer in the United States Navy. Coleman lives in Annapolis, MD with his wife and two sons (the eldest is now off to college).
Carey Brezler
Vice-President, Strategic Resources Group
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Carey was a Regional Manager for lululemon, where she was instrumental in developing the strategic growth of the Mid-Atlantic Area by focusing on enhancing systems and processes, portfolio optimization, omni-channel evolution, labor planning, brand awareness, and evolving the in-store retail experience. She received her BA from the University of Pittsburgh and spent her early post-graduate years rowing for the US Rowing National Team. Carey lives in Severna Park, MD with her wife and two children.
Cliff Foreman
Vice-President, Strategic Resources Group
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Cliff served as a Marine Corps infantry officer where he developed new officers as an instructor in Quantico, VA. Cliff then gained consulting experience at Alvarez & Marsal’s Consumer and Retail Group working on a growth strategy project for an international retailer. He received his BA from Yale University, his MBA from The Wharton School, and started his career as a corporate retail buyer in Columbus, Ohio. Cliff and his wife have one daughter and reside in Arlington, VA where they enjoy morning runs on the W&OD trail with their birddog, Ole.
Patrick Greene
Vice-President, Strategic Resources Group
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Pat was a Director with Alvarez and Marsal, a management consulting firm, where he focused on delivering solutions across supply chain and manufacturing operations. Previously, Pat worked for General Electric and Molson Coors as a continuous improvement leader within their manufacturing facilities. Pat started his career as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. He received his MBA from The University of Texas - Austin and BS from James Madison University. Pat lives outside of Pittsburgh, PA with his wife and two children.
Jacob Koplan
Senior Director, Strategic Resources Group
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Jake was a Director with FTI Consulting’s Business Transformation, Office of the CFO Solutions practice, where he supported C-suite executives in various planning and performance management and financial process improvement initiatives - primarily focusing on operational strategy, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), treasury solutions, and finance technology. Jake received his BS in Finance from Ohio State University and currently lives in New York City.
Sean McCabe
Vice-President, Strategic Resources Group
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Sean was a transaction advisory consultant at RSM US LLP, a national assurance, tax and consulting firm, where he provided financial advisory services to a variety of financial sponsors and middle market companies. Previously, Sean worked at Sterling Partners. Sean has a BS and MS from James Madison University, and is an active CPA and CFA Charterholder. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife and daughter.
Alexandra Mason
Vice-President, Portfolio Marketing
Alex developed her dynamic, customer-experience centric view of marketing during early career experiences with Build-A-Bear Workshop and as the Marketing Manager for the pet care start-up Dogtopia. In 2011 she established her own consulting venture, Mason Cre8tive, which partnered with over 20 companies to create meaningful digital engagement and drive ROAS improvement via data-driven decision making. Alex holds a BS from Georgetown University, and resides in Manassas, VA with her husband and two children.
Aliza Strauss
Vice-President, Strategic Resources Group
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Aliza was an analyst at Patriot Capital, a growth source for middle market companies, where she performed portfolio monitoring and analysis, valuations, and LP reporting. Aliza received her BA from University of Maryland, Baltimore County and MBA from Loyola University. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her husband and two sons.
Jesse Thomas
Senior Director, Strategic Resources Group
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Jesse was a transaction advisory consultant at Ernst & Young LLP, where he performed financial due diligence serving both private equity and corporate clients. Jesse received his BS and MS from James Madison University and is an active CPA. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland and enjoys playing sports and spending time with friends and family.
Finance & Support Teams
Melissa Hahn
Vice-President, Finance
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Melissa was a Senior Manager in EY’s Financial Accounting Advisory Services group. Melissa has over 12 years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including internal and external audit, accounting advisory, and corporate accounting. Melissa started her career in public accounting at Grant Thornton, and subsequently worked at Campbell Soup Company in corporate accounting and internal audit roles. She also advised clients on new accounting pronouncements and process optimization at Deloitte. Melissa has a B.S. in Accounting from Penn State University and is an active CPA in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Melissa and her husband reside in Ellicott City, MD.
Caterina Ippolito
Recruiter
Prior to joining Ames Watson, Cat worked as a technical recruiter in the government consulting space, building out teams for the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of State. Outside of work, she is actively pursuing her JD from the University of Baltimore and serves on the steering committee for Leadership Howard County, Leadership U’s High School leadership program. When she’s not at work, Cat enjoys hiking, testing out the best restaurants, and traveling.
Sarah Lim
Chief of Staff
Sarah is the Chief of Staff at Ames Watson and Executive Director of the Lids Foundation. Prior to Ames Watson, Sarah was the Business Development – Partnerships Manager at Lids, where she managed celebrity, pro-athlete and high profile relationships. Sarah was also passionately active in all Lids Foundation events and operations prior to being named Executive Director. Sarah received her Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, loves painting and enjoys spending weekends watching college football. (Go Boilermakers!)
Ariel Rivera
In-House Counsel
Ariel is In-House Counsel at Ames Watson. Prior to joining Ames Watson, Ariel was Associate Legal Counsel at a venture capital fund, where she was responsible for all legal aspects of fundraising, deal execution, fund compliance and corporate governance. Ariel started her career as an Associate at a leading international law firm in New York City where she represented major investment banks as well as public and private companies in a variety of equity and debt transactions, including private placements, initial public offerings and high-yield, investment-grade and convertible debt financings. Ariel has a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. from Colgate University. Ariel is admitted to the bar in the State of New York and Washington, D.C. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, daughter and dog.