Louis Bissette, Managing Partner
Before forming North State, Louis Bissette was a Partner at Bison Capital from 2005 to 2010.  Bison Capital is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm focused on structured junior capital investments in lower middle market companies.  From 1993 to 2005, Mr. Bissette was an investment professional at Brentwood Associates, a Los Angeles-based middle market private equity firm, and he was a General Partner of the firm from 2000 to 2005.  Prior to Brentwood, Mr. Bissette worked in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley.  Mr. Bissette is a current Board member of Big Rock Sports, LLC and a former Board member of The Center for Wound Healing, Inc. as well as several Brentwood portfolio companies.  Mr. Bissette graduated with a bachelor of economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a John Motley Morehead Scholar and currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Honors Program.
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John Fennebresque, Jr., Partner
John Fennebresque partnered with Mr. Bissette to form North State in 2010. This partnership linked North State to the investment banking firm Mr. Fennebresque founded in 2007, Fennebresque & Company, to establish a leading merchant banking platform focused on the lower middle market. Mr. Fennebresque serves on the firm’s investment committee and actively works on strategic initiatives with North State’s portfolio companies. He also leverages the resources and market knowledge assets from Fennebresque & Co. to advise North State’s investment activities. Prior to Fennebresque & Co., Mr. Fennebresque was a partner with McColl Partners and worked in the investment banking divisions of Credit Suisse First Boston and Bank of America in New York. He has served on the boards of several privately-held businesses in addition to multiple non-profit organizations. Mr. Fennebresque graduated with a Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from Columbia University in New York and a bachelor of history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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