Team | Other Professionals

Shirley Jefferies, Chief Financial Officer
sjefferies@sterling-group.com
Shirley joined Sterling in 2007. Previously, she was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Loomis-US, one of the nation's leading cash handling services companies. She began her career with Ernst & Young. Shirley is a Certified Public Accountant with a B.S. in Business Administration from Old Dominion University.

Kent Wallace, Managing Director
kwallace@sterling-group.com
Kent joined The Sterling Group in 2001. Previously he was a summer associate with Rocky Mountain Capital Partners, focusing on mezzanine investments in basic manufacturing and services businesses, and an Assistant Vice President at Long-Term Credit Bank, where he managed an energy loan portfolio. Kent began his career at Coopers & Lybrand. He received his B.B.A. and M.P.A. in accounting from The University of Texas and his M.B.A. with honors from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago. He currently serves on the board of directors of Panolam Industries, Hudson Products and the Zina Garrison Foundation.

Francis Carr, Vice President
fcarr@sterling-group.com
Francis joined Sterling in 2005. Previously, he was an Associate with Arena Capital Partners, a middle market private equity fund in New York. At Arena, Francis focused on investments in the community newspaper, financial services and proprietary education sectors. Prior to Arena, Francis worked for both Prudential Securities and ING Barings in the Energy Investment Banking groups, focusing on small cap oil and gas and oilfield service coverage. He received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

David Lalonde, Associate
dlalonde@sterling-group.com
David joined Sterling in 2005. Prior to joining Sterling, he was an analyst with Bear Stearns Investment Banking Group in Dallas. David received his B.B.A. in accounting and his M.S. in financial management from Texas A&M University.

Melissa Claugus, Associate
mclaugus@sterling-group.com
Melissa joined Sterling in 2006. Previously, she worked as an analyst with Credit Suisse's Investment Banking Group in Houston, with a focus on midstream and oilfield service businesses. Melissa received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Chris Hathorn, Analyst
chathorn@sterling-group.com
Chris joined Sterling in 2007. Previously, he worked as an analyst with Stephens Inc.'s Investment Banking Group in Little Rock. Chris received his B.A. in economics and business administration from Rhodes College.