GCMG GCM Grosvenor Inc

Excolere Equity Partners (“Excolere”), a leading buyout investor in the education and human capital management sectors, today announced a strategic partnership with GCM Grosvenor’s Elevate strategy. Tony Miller, Managing Partner of Excolere, former Co-Founder and COO of The Vistria Group and Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, formally launched Excolere in 2022 with long-time colleagues and fellow partners Pete Davis and Marcelus DeCoulode.

“We launched Excolere to further the fundamental role that education and human capital management play in driving economic and societal progress, and to drive superior returns for our investors,” Miller said in a statement. “Our partnership with GCM Grosvenor allows us to accelerate hiring of top talent and to build best-in-class operational infrastructure at launch, while retaining full control over the investment process and day-to-day management of the firm. We are excited by the early support from GCM Grosvenor and other institutional investors and look forward to continued positive momentum.”

Kevin Nickelberry, Co-Head of GCM Grosvenor’s Elevate strategy, said, “Our partnership with Excolere is consistent with GCM Grosvenor’s multi-decade history of partnering with exceptional founders early in the evolution of their firms. We look forward to working with the Excolere team as they continue to grow the platform.” Added Elevate strategy Co-Head, Elizabeth Browne, “Tony and his partners bring a unique depth of investment, operational, and public policy expertise to bear in launching Excolere.”

Excolere is focused on the segments within the education and human capital management (HCM) sector that are poised for sustained growth and reflect the transformation underway as enterprises look to recruit, upskill and re-skill their workforce, as working adults look to acquire the capabilities and credentials needed to thrive in an increasingly skills-based economy, and as our pre-K through 12 system adopts more evidenced-based and more individualized instructional approaches that improve learning outcomes.

The firm has experienced early success with an oversubscribed investment in EPS School Specialty, a leading developer of curriculum products and services that enhance literacy and math skills for K-12 grade level students.

A strategic partnership with Excolere complements GCM Grosvenor’s 25-year history of partnering with emerging and diverse firm founders. As of June 30, 2023, GCM Grosvenor had more than $18 billion of assets under management (“AUM”) invested with small and emerging managers and over $15 billion of AUM with diverse managers.

Sidley Austin LLP served as legal counsel to Excolere Equity Partners and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to GCM Grosvenor.

About Excolere Equity Partners

Excolere Equity Partners is a middle market private equity firm specializing in investments in the Education and Human Capital Management sector. Grounded in an understanding of the fundamental role that those sectors play in driving economic and societal progress, Excolere leverages its deep sector experience, public policy insights, and operational expertise to accelerate the growth and enhance the impact of the companies in which it invests. For more information, please visit www.excolerepartners.com.

About GCM Grosvenor

GCM Grosvenor (Nasdaq: GCMG) is a global alternative asset management solutions provider with approximately $76 billion in assets under management across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and absolute return investment strategies. The firm has specialized in alternatives for more than 50 years and is dedicated to delivering value for clients by leveraging its cross-asset class and flexible investment platform.

GCM Grosvenor’s experienced team of approximately 530 professionals serves a global client base of institutional and individual investors. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, with offices in New York, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney. For more information, visit: www.gcmgrosvenor.com.

GCM Grosvenor launched the Elevate strategy in January 2023 to make catalytic investments in emerging private equity firms, focused on lower and middle-market buyout strategies across industries. Elevate leverages the GCM Grosvenor platform to provide broad support to firm founders through consultative resources across key non-investment functions. For more information on Elevate, visit: www.gcmgrosvenor.com/sponsor-solutions.

Media Contacts

GCM GrosvenorTom Johnson and Abigail RuckH/Advisors Abernathy tom.johnson@h-advisors.global / abigail.ruck@h-advisors.global212-371-5999

Excolere Equity PartnersMediaRelations@excolerepartners.com310-867-2758