Gregory J. Purcell, '94
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Arbor Investments
Gregory J. Purcell co-founded Arbor Investments in 1999 with offices in Palm Beach, Chicago, and New York. Arbor Investments is a specialized private equity firm that focuses on identifying, investing in, and building private enterprises in the food and beverage industry. Mr. Purcell and the firm are currently investing out of Arbor Fund V and managing an active portfolio of investments with an aggregated $3.5 billion in annual revenue.
As a preeminent leader in private equity with fund returns among the highest in the industry, Arbor has been nationally recognized and profiled in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Food Business News. Mr. Purcell along with Arbor are the only buyout firm to win Buyouts Magazine’s coveted “Deal of the Year” award three times.
Prior to founding Arbor, Mr. Purcell was SVP of Mergers & Acquisitions at the largest privately held food and beverage company in the United States. He started his career in commercial banking and was Division Head at American National Bank of Chicago (now owned by JP Morgan Chase).
Mr. Purcell earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Marquette University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He serves as a Council Member of the Booth School of Business and on the Polsky Center Private Equity Council. Mr. Purcell and his wife recently established the Purcell Venture Investment Award providing seed capital and funding to exceptional next-generation entrepreneurs in the Polsky Center’s New Venture Challenge.