RAF

Since joining RAF in 2006, Vice President of Acquisitions and Chief Digital Officer Jeff Panarey has played a key role in shaping the firm’s approach to investing, digital strategy, and operations. His career reflects the many paths within private equity jobs, blending hands-on support with high-level strategic vision. In this Q&A, Jeff shares why he joined RAF and his role on portfolio growth across the firm’s companies.

Q. What drew you to join RAF, and how does the firm’s approach to private equity differ from others you’ve encountered?

A. “My introduction to RAF came as a summer intern while pursuing my undergraduate degree. As one of my earliest professional experiences, I immediately recognized that this organization was very different from what I expected to find in a private equity firm. RAF’s focus on values with their portfolio company partners and within the organization was palpable and consistently reinforced in both rhetoric and actions. After a brief stint as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, I was thrilled to rejoin RAF and have spent the last 20 years of my career with the firm.

RAF differentiates from other private equity groups in a number of ways, from a fundamental difference in financing structure to long-term investment hold periods considerably in excess of industry standards, but none more so than an extraordinary focus on people. They underwrite the intangibles…integrity, emotional intelligence, entrepreneurial drive, and trustworthiness are paramount to the investment thesis, which is very different from the traditional PE approach that views incumbent management teams as dispensable.”

Q. Can you share more about your role at RAF–especially around acquisition due diligence and strategy–and how it contributes to the firm’s overall mission?

A. “Over my career with RAF, my role has expanded across finance, marketing, and operating initiatives, each of which allows me to impact the firm’s mission. In my primary M&A role, I get to contribute to private equity deal sourcing and evaluation of new investment opportunities. Working alongside a talented group of professionals, we collectively have the privilege to influence and advocate for new investments that we believe align with the firm’s investment goals. Additionally, we are often RAF’s ambassadors to the market and are entrusted with the responsibility of communicating our message and values. Interacting with Investment Banking professionals and directly engaging with entrepreneurs from all walks of life is amongst my most privileged tasks.

In our pursuit to be best-of-breed partners, we have developed a digital marketing competency that, alongside an experienced Marketing Director and Senior Data Analyst, I focus on advancing the capabilities of our e-commerce-based functions within the portfolio. RAF believes that success lies in the margins and has made investments in finding competitive advantages in the field of digital marketing to unlock and socialize data-driven insights that aid our partners in navigating the quickly evolving digital landscape.

Lastly, I work closely with a number of our companies in a principal investment lead role that allows me the opportunity to work directly with our management teams. This facet of my role with RAF affords me the opportunity to contribute directly in an advisory capacity, as well as harnessing all RAF assets to ensure our companies have the resources they need to succeed. Often, we are able to provide supplementary analysis, conduct research projects, assist in document review, and other value-added initiatives that complement the management teams and accelerate their decision-making processes.

The confluence of these roles acts as a reinforcing flywheel in that my experience learning from portfolio companies makes me a better evaluator of new acquisition opportunities, as I can better appreciate the nuanced challenges operators face, while my constantly refreshing exposure to new business models and technologies brings value to my ability as an advisor to our partners. In each of these capacities, I am able to advance RAF’s mission.”

“Our mission is unlike the others. We grow great businesses by investing in best-of-breed owners and their people. Development is our focus – not buying and selling, but building.”

Q. In your view, what makes RAF a valuable partner for businesses and leadership teams—particularly when it comes to long-term business partnerships during growth or transition?

A. “Both our approach and our structure are instrumental to helping companies throughout all phases of the lifecycle. Our unique credit facility structure, which is cross-collaterized across the portfolio, provides a plentiful and reliable source of capital to fund fast-paced growth, withstand adverse market conditions, and continue investments in R&D and human capital that evolve businesses over time. This foundational structure, coupled with our recyclable equity from a dedicated group of long-term investors, fundamentally separates RAF from traditional PE funds.

Our long-term outlook approach enables us to truly work collaboratively with management teams to think beyond the next quarter or next year’s financial results and think more broadly about initiatives that will benefit our companies over the next decade. Since our companies have the security of financing resources and stability of partnership focused on long-term success, we are better positioned to drive innovation goals, brand equity building, and market share growth over time.”

Q. How does RAF approach portfolio growth beyond capital investment, and what types of support do businesses typically receive post-acquisition? 

A. “While purchase price often drives the early stages of a transaction, founders should look beyond the deal terms to evaluate how a private equity firm will support long-term growth. At RAF, capital access doesn’t end at closing; we offer ongoing financial guidance that enables companies to invest in what matters most.

Within RAF’s unique capital structure, we provide portfolio companies with reliable access to funds for R&D, facility upgrades, and market expansion. Because we operate with a cross-collateralized structure across industries, we borrow at below-market rates and pass those benefits along, without requiring amortization payments. Founders gain flexibility to execute aggressive growth plans and resilience to navigate tough conditions.

Beyond capital, RAF provides operational guidance through in-house experts in areas like logistics, risk management, tax, and digital marketing–offering shared resources that reduce cost and complexity. Just as valuable is the mutual learning that happens across our portfolio. The proverb ‘experience is the greatest teacher’ holds true; often, the most impactful insights come not from RAF directly, but from conversations between portfolio company leaders who’ve navigated similar challenges and growth inflection points.”

Q. What are the most impactful ways you’ve seen companies scale under RAF’s partnership, following private equity acquisitions?

A. “Investing in the lower middle market often means we are encountering companies in a stage of their life cycle where they have successfully proven their products or services have market acceptance and the management teams have demonstrated their ability to lead an organization. It is also true that the next stage of evolution for these companies hinges upon scalability. RAF’s investment in shared resources, subject matter experts, access to capital, and over 45 years of experience is perfectly aligned to support businesses through that next stage of growth.

In my tenure with RAF, I’ve been part of numerous successful transitions that were a convergence of factors. Typically, each case coupled a clear vision with a dynamic strategic plan that required upgrades to technology suites, investments in working capital and growth capital expenditures, formalizing management operating systems, expansion into new channels, enhanced product development cycles, improvements in customer experiences, and further investments in human capital that over time yielded substantial growth.

While impact is often measured by financial success, it isn’t exclusively a function of the Income Statement. Rather, it can be measured by the personal and professional growth of the people working in the company and the impact on their families and the surrounding community, which is bolstered along with the success of the enterprise. Due to our long-term approach and my role within RAF, I have become intimately involved with the people at our companies and drive deep intrinsic value from witnessing their growth.”