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Matthew Ailey
Founder & Managing Partner
Matt founded GenRock Capital Management in 2017 and serves as Managing Partner, overseeing the firm and all investments, and works closely with the management teams of GenRock’s portfolio companies. Matt founded Quality Restaurant Group in 2017 and built the company into a scaled, and diversified portfolio across four brands, along with a portfolio of nearly 100 parcels of real estate. In 2021, Matt founded Early Foundations Childcare to build a leading operator of Primrose Schools.
Prior to founding GenRock, Matt was an investment professional at activist hedge fund Corvex Management. Matt was involved in Corvex’s two-year, $2 billion investment in YUM! Brands (NYSE: YUM), where Corvex assisted YUM with the spin-off of its China division as a master franchisee and subsequent restructuring of YUM outside of China.
Prior to Corvex, Matt worked in the Private Equity Division at Blackstone, where he focused on investments in the consumer, industrial, healthcare, telecom, and other sectors, and specialized in roll-up investments.
Prior to Blackstone, Matt began his career at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division. Matt received his A.B. from Dartmouth College.
Rachael received her BBA from Florida International University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Ryan joined GenRock in 2023 as an Investment Associate. He is responsible for evaluating investment opportunities, executing transactions, and monitoring portfolio companies. Prior to joining GenRock, Ryan was an investment banking and capital markets analyst at Truist Securities, where he focused on the healthcare sector. Prior to Truist, Ryan was an analyst at a personal beauty products manufacturer.
Ryan received his BS from the University of Delaware.
Nick Sale
Fund Controller & Chief Compliance Officer
Nick joined GenRock in 2022 as the Fund Controller & Compliance Director. He is responsible for accounting and reporting for GenRock’s funds, oversees finance and accounting functions for certain portfolio companies, and manages the Firm’s compliance activities. Prior to joining GenRock, Nick spent several years in various finance and accounting roles in the financial services industry, including several years with Sun Capital Partners. Nick also served in the United States Navy.
Nick received his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida and his Masters of Accounting from Florida Atlantic University and is a licensed CPA in the state of Florida.
Bob Crumley
GenRock Operating Partner
Bob has served as a GenRock Operating Partner since the firm’s inception in 2017. Bob spent 40 years as a Senior Vice President at Boddie-Noell Enterprises before retiring in 2015. Boddie-Noell is the largest franchisee of Hardee’s restaurants (a subsidiary of Roark Capital-owned CKE Restaurants) in the U.S., with nearly 350 restaurants in the Southeast U.S. Boddie-Noell also developed and manages a vast portfolio of commercial real estate and has owned and operated several other restaurant brands. Prior to Boddie-Noell, Bob was an executive at Barcalounger.In addition to serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Quality Restaurant Group, Bob also advises GenRock on management team development, corporate resource management, infrastructure build-out, risk management, and all other operational aspects of building businesses. Bob received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Bill Pierquet
GenRock Operating Partner
Bill Pierquet joined GenRock as an Operating Partner in 2021. Bill served as the Chief Development Officer and Senior Vice President of School Development for Primrose Schools for twelve years, where he built the development team and supported franchisees in more than doubling the U.S. school count for the Primrose brand before retiring in 2019.
Prior to Primrose, Bill served as Senior VP of Development for Sonic Drive-In for nearly 10 years, where he was responsible for all U.S. and international development for the Sonic brand. Prior to Sonic, Bill spent his career in leading brands within the restaurant industry, primarily focused on real estate and development.
Bill received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin and his M.B.A. from Loyola University
Matt Zeiger
Chief Executive Officer, Quality Restaurant Group
Matt Zeiger became CEO of Quality Restaurant Group in 2022 and leads GenRock’s largest portfolio company of 350 restaurants across the Pizza Hut, Arby’s, Sonic Drive-In, and Moe’s Southwest Grill brands. Prior to becoming CEO, Matt joined QRG as the company’s first CFO in 2021.
Prior to QRG, Matt was COO and CFO of Fleet Feet, a specialty running retail company with over 180 company-owned and franchised locations across the U.S.
Prior to Fleet Feet, Matt spent 17 years at YUM Brands, where he held various senior finance, accounting, and operations roles across multiple brands and in multiple countries. Prior to YUM, Matt began his career in finance roles in various consumer companies and in the audit division at Deloitte. Matt received his B.S. from California State University.
Caitlin Harris
VP of Operations, Early Foundations Childcare
Caitlin oversees Early Foundations, including all operations responsibilities, school excellence, management team recruiting, human resources, and new school development. Caitlin has spent her entire career in operations roles within the early childcare industry.
Prior to joining Early Foundations, Caitlin managed the Central and South Florida regions for Bright Horizons (NYSE: BFAM), a national premium early childcare operator with over 1,000 locations across the U.S. While at Bright Horizons, Caitlin specialized in school operational turnarounds, new school development, and school acquisitions and integrations.
Prior to Bright Horizons, Caitlin held various operations roles at KinderCare, another national, company-owned early childcare operator in the U.S. with over 1,500 locations. Caitlin managed multiple regions across the Midwest and Southeast U.S. for KinderCare. Caitlin received her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Indianapolis and her Child Care Center Administration Training from Michigan State University.