About Momentum Capital Partners
Founded in 2000 by James L Anderson, the Partners formed Momentum Capital Partners largely as a means to invest their own capital. The Partners’ collective net worth, however, was insufficient to (1) allow them to diversify their investments beyond three or four transactions and (2) allow them to afford the quality staff and expenses necessary for long-term professional private equity investing. Therefore, Momentum was created to diversify the Partner’s own investing and to spread the actual cost of investing among other investors. The terms offered to investors allow Momentum to attract and maintain a high-quality staff but prevent the Partners from accumulating profits from fees. We believe that financial reward for the managers should come from successful investments and not from successful fundraising.
Our Investment Professionals
James Anderson: Managing Director
James Anderson has been engaged in private equity investing since 1989. He is responsible for investing in platform companies and add-on acquisitions in the form of assets or businesses and building/assembling them into (mostly) successful companies and for managing exit terms and processes. Anderson has served as lead investor, with direct responsibility for investments, in 21 platform companies since 1989 and has served continuously in managing most of those companies from initiation of due diligence through the governance and investment stages to closing and then through all building management teams, add-on acquisitions and financing activities. He has been solely responsible for the sale of 16 of those companies to date. In late 2004, he closed the sale of MoCap’s largest single investment, returning IRR in excess of 35% to the partnership. Currently, Anderson serves on the board of eight Momentum investments and is a lead investor of Momentum’s media, technology and business services investments. Anderson has also served as Managing Director of Momentum Capital Partners since 2000.
Derrick L. Varnell: Partner
Derrick Varnell received his B.B.A degree in accounting from Texas Tech University and now has 15 years of executive management experience. He also has six years of corporate and partnership income tax experience and has qualified as a certified public accountant. Before joining MoCap, Varnell was the controller for Willett America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Willett International of the UK with sales in excess of £150M at that time. He formally joined Momentum in 2004 after working with Anderson for seven years, first as the executive primarily responsible for both manufacturing and finance at Cowboy Tack, then as VP-Finance for Tejas Broadcasting. Varnell serves on the board of eight Momentum investments and is the lead in specialty manufacturing, construction and energy investments. He also leads the back office team at MoCap and has had significant experience in operational and accounting systems implementations.