Our Team

Capital Partners’ success is due in large part to the integrity and quality of our team. We have over 85 years of combined private equity experience and have backgrounds in both industry and private equity.

Brian D. Fitzgerald
President

Mr. Fitzgerald founded Capital Partners^® in 1982, along with the participation of management and principals from companies he previously acquired. Prior to founding Capital Partners^®, Mr. Fitzgerald was a General Partner of Industrial Capital Group, a diversified acquisition and investment holding company. Before his tenure at Industrial Capital Group, he held senior positions at General Electric Co. and VenCap Group, a corporate development and acquisition firm. Mr. Fitzgerald began his career at Kidder, Peabody as an Investment Banking Associate.

Mr. Fitzgerald is also Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Security Capital Corporation, a publicly-listed company.

Mr. Fitzgerald received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and a B.A. in History from Princeton University.

Mark D. Allsteadt
Managing Director

Mr. Allsteadt has been with Capital Partners since 2004. Prior to joining Capital Partners, Mr. Allsteadt was a Partner with Saugatuck Capital Company in Stamford, CT. Preceding his involvement at Saugatuck, Mr. Allsteadt was Senior Vice President of Operations with Eye Care Centers of America, Inc. and an operations executive in various positions at Circuit City Stores, Inc. Mr. Allsteadt started his career as an Analyst with RFE Investment Partners, a private equity firm in New Canaan, CT. Mr. Allsteadt has served on the Board of Directors of a number of privately held companies.

Mr. Allsteadt received an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Bucknell University, where he was Captain of the basketball team.

A. George Gebauer
Managing Director

Mr. Gebauer has been with Capital Partners since 1986. Prior to joining Capital Partners, Mr. Gebauer spent 19 years at Axel Johnson, Inc., a diversified holding company. He held positions of increasing responsibility in Engineering, Marketing and General Management. During his last 6 years at Axel Johnson, Mr. Gebauer led the company’s acquisition and divestiture program. Prior to Axel Johnson, Mr. Gebauer was with Exxon Corporation in their Chemical Engineering Group.

Mr. Gebauer holds an M.B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT. He also received a B.A. in Chemistry from Amherst College

Robert S. Tucker
Managing Director

Mr. Tucker joined Capital Partners in 2004. Mr. Tucker has been actively involved in private equity investing since 1989. Prior to joining Capital Partners, Mr. Tucker was a Partner with Saugatuck Capital Company in Stamford, CT, and a Partner with Rutledge Capital in Greenwich, CT. Mr. Tucker began his career as an Associate with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York where he was a member of the team that invested The 1818 Fund, L.P. and later was a member of the U.S. private equity investment group of Barclays Bank, a limited partner in the 1818 Fund. He has served on the Board of Directors of a number of private companies.

Mr. Tucker holds a B.A. in Physics and Economics from Middlebury College and an M.B.A. in Finance and Management from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

John C. Willert
Principal

Mr. Willert joined Capital Partners in 2007.  Mr. Willert has been actively involved in private equity investing since 2000 as Principal with Family Capital Growth Partners in Greenwich, CT, where he sourced, executed and monitored investment opportunities.  Mr. Willert was concurrently Vice President of de Visscher & Co., Family Capital’s affiliated investment bank, and advised leading U.S. and international family business, regarding numerous mergers, acquisitions, and recapitalizations beginning in 1995.

Mr. Willert holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Gettysburg College and M.B.A in Finance and Accounting from Ohio State University.

Richard W. O’Connor
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. O’Connor joined Capital Partners in 2004. Prior to Capital Partners, Mr. O’Connor was the Director of Financial Reporting and Budgeting at R.H. Donnelley Corporation, an independent directory publisher with over $1 billion in sales. Prior to R.H. Donnelley, he was employed at Ultramar Corporation, an independent refiner and marketer of oil and gas products, as Assistant Controller. Prior to Ultramar, Mr. O’Connor was an auditor for Ernst & Young.

Mr. O’Connor is a Certified Public Accountant and received his M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He received his B.S. in Accounting from the State University of New York at Albany.

Wendy E. Diglio
Assistant Controller/Investor Relations

Mrs. Diglio joined Capital Partners in 1994 upon graduating from college. She is responsible for the communications with and the accounting of our limited partnerships, as well as supporting the due diligence and acquisition processes.

Mrs. Diglio graduated from Quinnipiac University with a B.S. in Accounting.