About
Our Story
……………………………………………………………………………
Who We Are and What We Do:
- We are a private holding company rooted in more than 70 years of family business heritage
- We have ample capital and a flexible investment horizon
- We do not have to raise funds from investors
- We make direct equity co-investments of $2 million to $10 million per platform company
- We co-invest alongside high-quality sponsors that are leading change of control transactions in the lower middle-market
- We are not the sponsor or lead investor in these acquisitions but seek to be value-added to our investment partners through our experience and network
Our History and Experience:
- We have more than 25 years of experience making direct equity investments in lower middle-market companies
- Until 2024, we acquired controlling ownership stakes with our own capital and grew our portfolio companies organically and through follow-on acquisitions
- To accelerate the diversification of our investment portfolio and to deploy more capital, we now focus on direct equity co-investments
- Our three officers have 45 years of collective experience making direct private equity investments in middle-market companies
- Our officers have completed more than 100 platform and follow-on direct private equity investments and have sat on more than 25 private company boards
Our Team
……………………………………………………………………………
Craig Flom
President & CEO and Board and Investment Committee Member
Craig directs the activities of Encore One. He is a board member of Encore One and each of its portfolio companies. Craig is also the President of Scale Holding Company and the Chair of Scale Bank, a board member of various entities involved in commercial real estate development and construction, and a member of the Investment Committee of Pathfinder 360 Capital Pool II. He played a central role in the acquisition of each of Encore One’s portfolio companies and Scale Bank.
Craig has more than 35 years of business experience encompassing private equity investing, investment banking, management consulting, and commercial banking. Prior to joining Encore One in 2001, Craig was an investment banker with Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and Piper Jaffray Inc., serving middle-market clients. Previously, he was a management consultant with Deloitte and a commercial banker with The First National Bank of Chicago.
Craig received his MBA, with distinction, from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and graduated, with highest distinction and Phi Beta Kappa, from Northwestern University with a BA in Economics.
Paul Moffatt
Vice President
Paul is responsible for sourcing and evaluating potential co-investments and expanding Encore One’s network of investment partners (independent sponsors, family offices and PE funds).
Paul has spent his entire career serving the middle market. Prior to joining Encore One in 2017, Paul enjoyed a successful 16-year career in commercial banking, most recently as a Vice President in the Twin Cities Commercial Banking Group at U.S. Bank. Prior to joining U.S. Bank in the Twin Cities, Paul held similar roles at LaSalle Bank, Cole Taylor Bank and MB Financial in Chicago. Paul has helped advise and fund over 100 companies, in various stages of development with a wide range of transactions and special situations.
Paul received his MBA from the Kellstadt School of Business at DePaul University and graduated from Marquette University with a BS in Finance and minor in Political Science.
Kiel Luse
Vice President
Kiel is responsible for evaluating and executing co-investments and monitoring Encore One’s investment portfolio.
Prior to joining Encore One in 2024, Kiel sourced, evaluated, executed and monitored numerous co-investments over 12 years for Pohlad Investment Management, the investment arm of the Pohlad family. Previously, he worked as an investment banker with Chery Tree & Associates, providing advisory services to middle-market companies. Kiel also worked at Clearwater Equity Group, a Minnesota-based family office.
Kiel graduated from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota with a BS in Business.
Tim Johnson
Board and Investment Committee Member
Tim joined the board of Encore One in 2022. He has more than 35 years of experience in private equity. In 1989, Tim co-founded Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, one of the longest-standing private equity investment firms in the Midwest. Until his recent retirement, he was involved in all aspects of private equity investing across a wide range of industries and was a member of Goldner Hawn’s investment committee. Tim has served on the boards of many Goldner Hawn portfolio companies.
Prior to Goldner Hawn, Tim was an executive with U.S. Bank, where he was responsible for setting credit underwriting policy and portfolio risk management policy, as well as building and managing a division that underwrote more than $1 billion of leveraged loans. Tim started his career with JP Morgan, where he worked in the corporate finance group.
Tim received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and graduated from Denison University with a BA in Economics.
Bruce Engler
Board and Investment Committee Member
Bruce joined the board of Encore One in 2022. He recently retired from the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath after more than 40 years, including 15 years as head of the firm’s global Mergers & Acquisitions practice. Bruce advised boards, corporate executives and private equity executives on M&A, board governance, general corporate, business, and other matters across a wide range of industries. He represented several leading private equity firms and their portfolio companies.
Bruce received many professional accolades during his legal career. For several years, the Chambers USA guide, which is the gold standard for ranking lawyers, ranked him as one of the top three M&A/Corporate lawyers in Minnesota. For many years, Bruce was listed in the Best Lawyers guide in the M&A and private equity categories, while being recognized as its “Minnesota Corporate Lawyer of the Year” (twice) and its “Minnesota M&A Lawyer of the Year.”
Bruce graduated from the University of Michigan Law School (Magna Cum Laude, Michigan Law Review, Order of the Coif) and from Creighton University (Summa Cum Laude).
Let’s Get Started
……………………………………………………………………………
