Meet our Team

Founding Partner

Bob Calton

Mr. Calton is a Founding Partner of Summit Park. He has over 30 years of principal investing and investment banking experience and has spent the majority of his professional career advising and investing in lower middle market companies.

Prior to founding Summit Park in 2006, Mr. Calton was a Partner at Wachovia Capital Partners (and its predecessor First Union Capital Partners) where he focused on investments in the business services and manufacturing sectors. Previously, he was a Managing Director and Shareholder at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co., which, prior to its sale to First Union Corporation in 1998, was the leading independent merger and acquisition advisory firm focused on the middle market. Prior to attending graduate business school, he was an Analyst in the investment banking division at Morgan Stanley & Co. in New York and in the venture capital business as an Associate at Morgan Stanley Research Ventures in San Francisco.

Mr. Calton currently serves on the Board of Directors of Aspirent, Elliott Aviation, Exacta, Freedom Electronics, Parkline, smarTours, Tennessee Industrial Electronics, and United Air Temp. He previously served as a Board Member at Arkive, Charter Brokerage Holdings, C.A.R.S. Protection Plus, Control Company, Fast Growing Trees, NSi Holdings, Sentry Security Systems, and U.S. Salt Holdings.

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Mr. Calton received his undergraduate business degree from Southern Methodist University and received his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Founding Partner

Jim Johnson

Mr. Johnson is a Founding Partner of Summit Park and has over 25 years of principal investing and investment banking experience.

Prior to founding Summit Park in 2006, Mr. Johnson was a Partner at Windward Capital Partners, a New York-based middle market private equity firm where he was employed since the firm's inception in 1995. Prior to joining Windward, Mr. Johnson was in the media investment banking group at CS First Boston. Previously, Mr. Johnson worked at BellSouth Corporation first as a Systems Analyst and later in National Account Sales.

Mr. Johnson currently serves on the Board of Directors of Aspirent, Elliott Aviation, Exacta, Fast Growing Trees, Freedom Electronics, Parkline, RuffleButts, and Tennessee Industrial Electronics. Previously, he served as a Board Member of Arkive, C.A.R.S. Protection Plus, Control Company and NSi Holdings, as Chairman of Charter Brokerage Holdings and as a Director of Adplex-Rhodes, eMag Solutions, L. Powell Company, Pressure Systems, Retriever Payment Systems, Sentry Security Systems, and Tycom Corporation.

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Mr. Johnson received his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University and received his MBA with honors from the Columbia Business School.

Operating Partner*

Jason Carlock

Mr. Carlock is an Operating Partner of Summit Park.

Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Carlock spent more than a decade at Red Ventures, a leading marketing technology company that owns and operates a portfolio of high-growth digital businesses and technology accelerators serving Fortune 50 customers, where he most recently was the President of the Home Services business unit and a member of the Senior Executive Team. At Red Ventures, Mr. Carlock had significant experience in digital marketing, data analytics, and direct-to-consumer marketing, as well as in the evaluation of and integration of acquisitions. Prior to Red Ventures, he held sales and marketing roles at Procter & Gamble and Newell Rubbermaid.

Mr. Carlock currently serves on the Board of Directors of Ledge Lounger, RuffleButts, smarTours and United Air Temp. He previously He previously served as a Board Member of Fast Growing Trees.

Mr. Carlock received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College and received his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

*An independent contractor on retainer with Summit Park.

Principal - Financial Operating Partner

Chris Cotton

Mr. Cotton is a Principal at Summit Park and serves as the firm's financial operating partner. Mr. Cotton has been working with the firm's investment team since 2010. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Cotton was a Partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP where he provided attest and financial advisory services primarily to middle market companies in the consumer and industrial products industries. Prior to Deloitte, Mr. Cotton spent 11 years at Arthur Andersen LLP where he rose to the rank of Senior Manager.

Mr. Cotton currently serves on the Board of Directors of United Air Temp. He previously served as a Board Member of C.A.R.S. Protection Plus.

Mr. Cotton received his undergraduate degree in Accounting from Wake Forest University.

Principal

Andrew Gilbert

Mr. Gilbert is a Principal at Summit Park and joined the firm in 2021. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Gilbert spent a decade at MidOcean Partners, a New York-based middle market private equity firm. Prior to MidOcean Partners, he was an analyst in the Leveraged Finance Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Gilbert currently serves on the Board of Directors of Ledge Lounger.

Mr. Gilbert received a BA in History from Davidson College.

Principal - Business Development and Investor Relations

Rachel Hannon

Ms. Hannon is a Principal at Summit Park and leads the firm's business development and investor relations efforts. Ms. Hannon joined the firm in 2014. Prior to joining Summit Park, Ms. Hannon was an Associate with Clark Wolf Company in New York, NY, which provides consulting services to the food and beverage industry. Previously, Ms. Hannon was a Financial Profitability Analyst at the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Suttcliffe LLP in San Francisco, CA. Prior to joining Orrick, Ms. Hannon was a Financial Analyst at Harris Williams.

Ms. Hannon received her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Washington and Lee University. She received her master's degree with distinction in Nutrition, Food Studies & Public Health from New York University.

Principal

Michael York

Mr. York is a Principal at Summit Park and joined the firm in 2016. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. York was an Associate at BlackArch Partners. Prior to BlackArch, he was the founder and CEO of Soldthru, an ecommerce services company focused on pricing optimization for online retailers. Before Soldthru, Mr. York worked at Fidelity Equity Partners as a Private Equity Associate focused on investments in middle-market companies in the business services and technology-enabled services sectors. Mr. York began his career at Rothschild where he worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the business services, media and energy sectors.

Mr. York currently serves on the Board of Directors of smarTours, Fast Growing Trees, Freedom Electronics, and Aspirent.

Mr. York received a BA in Economics from Amherst College and his MBA from Columbia Business School.

Vice President

Alex Sarkisian

Mr. Sarkisian is a Vice President at Summit Park and joined the firm in 2021. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Sarkisian was an Associate at AEA Investors. Prior to AEA Investors, he worked at Bain & Company.

Mr. Sarkisian received a BA in Government from Harvard College and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Vice President

Stephen Stites

Mr. Stites is a Vice President at Summit Park. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Stites was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Aerospace, Defense and Government Services Group at Harris Williams.

Mr. Stites currently serves on the Board of Directors of Elliott Aviation and Exacta Land Surveyors.

Mr. Stites received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Washington and Lee University.

Director of Finance and Compliance

Corey Millette

Ms. Millette is the Director of Finance and Compliance at Summit Park. Prior to joining Summit Park, Ms. Millette spent six years with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC where she rose to the level of Manager. Ms. Millette began her career in Boston, MA and transferred to Charlotte, NC in 2012 to help expand PwC's local Asset Management practice.

Ms. Millette received her undergraduate degree in Corporate Finance and Accounting and received her master's in Accounting from Bentley University. She is a certified public accountant in North Carolina and Massachusetts.

Senior Associate

Ryan McNally

Mr. McNally is a Senior Associate at Summit Park and joined the firm in 2018. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. McNally was an Investment Banking Analyst for the Logistics & Transportation, Commercial & Industrial, and Healthcare groups at BB&T Capital Markets.

Mr. McNally received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration and English Studies from the Washington & Lee University.

Senior Associate - Business Development

Charlie Orr

Mr. Orr is a Business Development Senior Associate at Summit Park. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Orr was a Marketing Analyst for Carolina Cat. Previously, Mr. Orr was a member of the founding team of a Charlotte-based startup.

Mr. Orr received his undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University.

Associate

Kyle Andersen

Mr. Andersen is an Associate at Summit Park. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Andersen was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Diversified Industrials & Business Services group at Piper Sandler.

Mr. Andersen received his undergraduate degree in Accounting & Business Administration from Washington & Lee University.

Associate

Jonathan Cooke

Mr. Cooke is an Associate at Summit Park. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Cooke was an Investment Banking Analyst for the Business Services Group at Harris Williams.

Mr. Cooke received his undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia.

Associate

Jon McCarthy

Mr. McCarthy is an Associate at Summit Park. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. McCarthy was an Investment Banking Analyst with BlackArch Partners. Previously, Mr. McCarthy worked at KPMG and is a CPA in the state of New York.

Mr. McCarthy received his undergraduate degree and master’s degree in Accountancy from the Schools of Business at Wake Forest University. 

Associate - Business Development

Parker Widhelm

Mr. Widhelm is a Business Development Associate at Summit Park. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Widhelm was a founding member of Trellis Advisors.

Mr. Widhelm received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Furman University.

Controller

Ben Murphy

Mr. Murphy is the Controller at Summit Park. Prior to joining Summit Park, Mr. Murphy was an Associate Director in the Client and Portfolio Services group at Barings LLC where he spent three years working with private placements and global infrastructure debt funds. Mr. Murphy began his career at Citco Fund Services, where he worked as a Supervisor in the Fund Accounting group.

Mr. Murphy received his undergraduate degree in Accounting from the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Executive Assistant and Office Manager

Elizabeth Kettler

Ms. Kettler is the Executive Assistant and Office Manager for Summit Park.

Prior to joining Summit Park, Ms. Kettler was a Senior Administrator at Cushman & Wakefield in their Multifamily Advisory Group. Prior to Cushman & Wakefield, Ms. Kettler was a Senior Analyst at Lidl US, a German grocery retailer expanding into the U.S.

Ms. Kettler received her undergraduate degree in Interpersonal Communication and Italian Studies from James Madison University.

Director of Talent Acquisition*

Allison Worthington

Ms. Worthington is the Director of Talent Acquisition for Summit Park and supports the recruiting activities within the portfolio.

Prior to joining Summit Park, Ms. Worthington was a Principal at The Prince Houston Group, a leading retained executive search firm recruiting talent globally in financial services, specializing in asset management and alternatives. Prior to The Prince Houston Group, Ms. Worthington was with Sextant Search Partners, another boutique executive search firm where she was a member of the Asset Management and Financial Services practices. Ms. Worthington began her career in financial services at UBS as an Analyst in the Equity Sales and Trading program.

Ms. Worthington received her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development magna cum laude from Cornell University.

*An independent contractor on retainer with Summit Park.