Les Alexander is an experienced private equity investor, mezzanine lender, corporate executive, and investment banker. He has significant knowledge of private equity and mezzanine investing having worked at Advantage Capital Partners and MSB Fairway Capital Partners prior to joining Jefferson Capital. Mr. Alexander served on the board of directors of several portfolio companies where he was actively involved in strategic planning and corporate governance.
Mr. Alexander served as president of Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc., a leading fire truck and emergency vehicle manufacturer. At Ferrara, he was responsible for managing a workforce of 450 employees producing over 300 vehicles annually for its domestic and international customers.
As an investment banker for 15 years with Howard Weil, Southcoast Capital, J.C. Bradford & Co., and LeCorgne Loewenbaum, Mr. Alexander completed over 50 public offerings of debt and equity securities, private placements, and merger and acquisition transactions totaling more than $7 billion for public and private companies in a variety of industries.
Mr. Alexander is a faculty member at Tulane University and Loyola University in New Orleans where he teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in finance. Mr. Alexander is a governing board member of the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) and previously held the positions of SBIA southern region president, vice president, and secretary. Mr. Alexander founded the Louisiana chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), served as its first chapter president, and remains an active board member. He was the Chairman of Finance on the global board of ACG, a member of its global board of directors, and Chairman of the 2016 InterGrowth conference. Mr. Alexander received the ACG global Meritorious Service Award and the ACG Louisiana Outstanding Service Award. He served as board president for Benjamin Franklin High School, a charter school in New Orleans. He is a frequent speaker on private equity, M&A, and other finance topics at conferences, meetings, and seminars.
Mr. Alexander received his bachelor of science in Commerce from the University of Virginia in 1989 and his MBA from the University of North Carolina in 1993.