Joe Bauer
Joe has spent his entire career in principal investing and lower middle market mergers and acquisitions and brings a wide range of experience to Leelanau Private Capital. Joe is responsible for deal sourcing, fundraising, negotiating and structuring, transaction execution, and working closely with management teams to collaboratively set the overall strategic vision of the business.
Prior to joining Leelanau Private Capital, Joe spent 9 years with Strength Capital Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm. He was the youngest full-time employee ever hired at 21 years old. While there, Joe participated in 20 acquisition and sale transactions totaling $750+ million of value. He served on the board of directors of multiple portfolio companies. During his time with Strength, Joe was responsible for the acquisition of new platforms and add-ons, the fundraising of equity and debt capital, the hiring and oversight of management teams, the refinancing and restructuring of debt, and the execution of sale transactions to strategic and financial buyers.
Joe has served as Interim CFO of multiple distribution companies as well as Vice President of M&A for an acquisitive healthcare platform. He also previously helped launch two hedge funds, one dedicated to non-agency residential mortgage backed securities and another focused on traditional public stocks.
Joe completed his BSBA in Finance at Xavier University where he graduated summa cum laude in 7 semesters. During his time at Xavier, he served as Chief Investment Officer of the student investment fund, which allocated a portion of the school's endowment to public equities. He also served as Treasurer and Captain of the club hockey team.
Joe met his wife Katy while attending Xavier. They live in Cincinnati, OH with their two sons and 100 lb labradoodle. Joe enjoys playing hockey at the Indian Hill Winter Club, running with his dog every morning, traveling to new places and trying new foods, going to craft breweries, and being a diehard fan of his hometown Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres.
