Mr. Klump founded Argonne in 2003 and leads its investment and capital raising activities. Prior to the formation of Argonne, Mr. Klump served as Vice Chairman of Equity Investment Group (“EIG”), a leading private real estate investment trust that serves the neighborhood shopping center market. Mr. Klump co-founded EIG in 1993 and guided it through approximately 120 acquisitions over a 9-year period. By 2002, EIG boasted a portfolio containing nearly 17 million square feet in 32 states and valued at approximately $850 million. Mr. Klump continues to serve in an advisory capacity to EIG. Mr. Klump’s experience prior to EIG included all phases of real estate development, acquisition, leasing, and financing with Leo Eisenberg & Company, as well as real estate principal investing with MAK Investments, Inc. Mr. Klump received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado in 1987.

Mr. Jaeger joined Argonne in 2004 and focuses on all investment activities as well as investor relations, and is responsible for overseeing the operations of the firm and its portfolio companies. He has led the completion of over 20 acquisitions and has worked closely with the management teams at each portfolio company to drive growth and profitability. Mr. Jaeger has helped Argonne grow from its initial investment in one company to a well-established and successful investment company with a portfolio of over 10 platform companies. In addition, he has helped establish Argonne as a pre-imminent investor in the restaurant and retail industries. Prior to Argonne, Mr. Jaeger spent 15 years in the lending industry in various roles at GE Capital, NationsCredit and Wachovia leading senior and mezzanine debt financings, as well as equity co-investments, in multiple industry sectors. He received his BS in Finance from The Ohio State University and his MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Mr. Grisette joined Argonne in 2012 and focuses on new acquisitions and portfolio management, including oversight of Argonne’s acquisition of the Krystal Company, On The Border, Planet Fitness and John Deere. Currently Mr. Grisette is involved in the management of Argonne’s investments in Planet Fitness and John Deere. Prior to joining Argonne, Mr. Grisette worked in Arcapita’s Private Equity and Infrastructure business lines. Earlier in his career, Mr. Grisette served in business development and valuation roles with The Home Depot and Deloitte.

Mr. Grisette holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mr. Weimar joined Argonne in 2012 and is focused on sourcing and executing new acquisition opportunities, in addition to providing support for the management of Argonne’s existing portfolio. Mr. Weimar helped lead the firm’s acquisitions of Lube Stop, On the Border, Sonny’s BBQ (franchisee) and Schill Grounds Management and remains actively involved in the management of these assets, save Lube Stop, which was sold to a strategic buyer in 2016. Prior to joining Argonne, Mr. Weimar spent two years at Arcapita Inc., a global private equity firm, where he assisted with acquisitions, refinancings and portfolio management in a variety of sectors including retail, logistics and energy. Mr. Weimar worked closely on Arcapita’s acquisition of J. Jill, a women’s apparel retailer, and the sale of Cirrus Aircraft to China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA). Mr. Weimar was previously in the Leveraged Finance group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he helped structure and execute $6.2 billion of debt financings.

Mr. Weimar graduated from Vanderbilt University, earning a BA in Economics.

Mr. Anderson concentrates on new acquisitions and portfolio management. Prior to joining Argonne, Mr. Anderson was a financial analyst for RCG Ventures, assisting with all acquisitions, dispositions, and re-financings. Before joining RCG he served as a financial analyst for CB Richard Ellis’ Capital Markets group and as an underwriter for RBC Bank. While at CBRE, Mr. Anderson performed due diligence and underwriting on retail, hospitality, office, industrial, multi-family, and mixed-use real estate assets throughout the country and the Caribbean. He assisted in obtaining over $750 million in debt/equity financings. Mr. Anderson graduated from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business with a B.A. in Real Estate and Management Information Systems in 2004.

Mr. Wyche joined Argonne in 2019 and is focused on sourcing and executing new acquisition opportunities, in addition to providing support for the management of Argonne’s existing portfolio. Prior to joining Argonne, Mr. Wyche spent four years at The Halifax Group, a middle-market private equity firm focused on buyouts in the Health & Wellness, Outsourced Business Services, Franchising, and Infrastructure sectors. Mr. Wyche previously spent 3 years at Roark Capital Group , a middle-market private equity firm focused on consumer, business service and environmental service companies, with a specialization in franchised and multi-unit business models in the retail, restaurant, and consumer services, and business services sectors.

Mr. Wyche earned a BBA in Economics from The University of Georgia and an MBA from The Kennan-Flagler Business School at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. While at Kenan-Flagler, Mr. Wyche served as an investment professional on the UNC Kenan-Flagler Private Equity Fund.

Mr. Brister joined Argonne in 2019 and is focused on new acquisitions and portfolio management. Prior to joining Argonne, Mr. Brister was an Associate with VRA Partners, a sell-side M&A advisory firm. During his three years at VRA, Mr. Brister assisted with all aspects of M&A transactions for middle-market industrial, technology, service and consumer businesses.

Mr. Brister graduated from Washington and Lee University’s Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics, earning and B.S. in Business Administration, in 2016.

Ben Nemo joined Argonne Capital Group in 2017 and serves as a Board Member for On the Border and National Fitness Partners. He has 20 years of multi-unit industry experience and
advises on marketing and strategic initiatives across the Argonne portfolio. Prior to Argonne, Ben was Industry Manager, Restaurants for Facebook, Inc. where he helped grow annual team revenue from $5 million to over $220 million during his six-year tenure. He previously held several leadership roles in the restaurant and hospitality industry, including leading the “Louisiana Fast” brand repositioning for Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (2008-2011), creating a full- service brand strategy for Marriott International (2006-2007) and directing brand and product innovation during the sales turnaround for Burger King Corporation (2001-2006). Ben spent the first part of his career as an investment banker at Bear Stearns in New York and São Paulo.

Ben received his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and his BA in Economics and Spanish from Duke University.

Sara Goodwin joined Argonne Capital Group in January, 2014 as Controller. In addition to preparing the financial reports and other accounting responsibilities, Ms. Goodwin manages the Intralinks website and provides support to our investors. She has accounting experience in the insurance industry and most recently as Assistant Controller of Collier Investments LLC, a small private equity firm based out of Florida. Ms. Goodwin earned her B. S. in Accounting from Centenary College.

Michelle Rooks joined Argonne Capital Group in June, 2020 as Executive Assistant to the CEO and Office Manager. Formerly with RCG Ventures, Ms. Rooks has extensive experience with general management, software implementation, investor support, marketing and advertising as well as corporate events. She earned her B.S. in English from Vanderbilt University and is the co-founder of the non-profit, Daughters Against Alzheimer’s and is the co-creator of the Atlanta fundraiser, Battle for the Brain.

Shelby Lyle joined Argonne Capital Group in March 2021 as Executive Assistant. Before joining the Argonne Team, Ms. Lyle worked as a Subcontractor Coordinator with NAVCO and as an Administrative Coordinator with Travel Incorporated.  A Native Atlantan, Ms. Lyle earned her B.A. in Business Management from Georgia Gwinnett College. Besides her background in business administration and marketing, Ms. Lyle has extensive skills with customer service, client need assessment and client relations.