Our Team

A team of operators, engineers, and aviators...

Dean Emmerton
Managing Partner

Dean Emmerton

Experience

  • Emko Capital, founder ('17-present)
  • Interim CFO, Davlyn Group ('18-20)
  • McKinsey & Company, Associate Partner ('12-'17)
  • Celgard, Battery Components, Project Engineer ('06-'10)

Education

  • MBA, Harvard Business School with distinction
  • BS Chemical Engineering, UoSC
Josh Kowitt
Managing Partner

Josh Kowitt

Experience

  • Emko Capital, founder ('17-present)
  • McKinsey & Company, Associate Partner ('11-'17)
  • CEO & Owner, University Trucking & Collegeboxes ('00-'08)
  • Founder & CEO, Storably

Education

  • MBA, The Wharton School
  • BA Political Science, Washington University
Jackson Dunlap
Partner

Jackson Dunlap

Experience

  • Emko Capital, partner ('19-present)
  • McKinsey & Company, Engagement Manager ('13-18)
  • U-Penn, Program Facilitator ('10-12)
  • ESP Systems, software startup, Project Manager ('06-08)

Education

  • MBA, The Wharton School with honors
  • BS Psychology, BA Business Admin, UNC Chapel Hill
Johnny Tran
Investor

Johnny Tran

Chris Burke
CFO

Chris Burke

…Backed By a Bench of Industry Practitioners

Operating consultants

Michael Braswell, Product Design

Michael Braswell, Product Design

20+ years product development engineering

Former Tesla, Emko portfolio company engineer

Rick Grassel, Procurement

Rick Grassel, Procurement

20 years supply chain (Accenture, AT Kearney)

Delivered ~10% procurement savings at Emko portfolio company

Jim Friedl, SolutionTech, Lean manufacturing

Jim Friedl, SolutionTech, Lean manufacturing

32 years in manufacturing & operations

Delivered 2-3% COGS improvement at Emko portfolio company

Alissa Moody, Executive Search

Alissa Moody, Executive Search

Partner, JM Search

Focuses exclusively on industrial exec search

Recruited 3 executives for EMKO

Patricia Rauch, Finance

30 years of CFO experience

Complex integrations, including ERP and other system implementations

Omkar Balekundri, Engineering & AI

Engineer and AI specialist

Developed proprietary Emko Capital investor and portco tracking website

…And FORGE Operators in the Field

FORGE operators

John Mann

John Mann

FORGE Operator · Solestra Group

Embedded at Solestra Group, leading M&A, FP&A, and priority growth initiatives

Joey Kermes

Joey Kermes

FORGE Operator · Artistry in Motion

CPA leading strategic finance, reporting, and add-on M&A at Artistry in Motion / Pangolin Group

Learn more about the FORGE Operators program →