Capital 54 Family Office Appoints Former YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) Leader Sean Magennis as CEO
DALLAS – July 7, 2020 – Capital 54 focused on investing in boutique professional services firms
Dallas entrepreneur and investor Greg Alexander has opened a family office, Capital 54, and appointed the former global president of YPO (formally Young Presidents’ Organization), Sean Magennis, to run it.Investing solely in boutique professional services firms, Magennis was recruited to grow Capital 54’s portfolio of companies and support their CEOs. He will also have responsibilities for investment sourcing, screening, and due diligence. Magennis is accountable for implementing Capital 54’s proprietary growth, scale and exit process for the companies in the firm’s investment portfolio.
“There are approximately two million professional services firms in the United States, but 90 percent of them never reach scale. For select firms meeting our criteria, we bring specialized management expertise, significant global relationships and growth capital, to help create enduring value for all stakeholders. -SEAN MAGENNIS, CEO
The family office has made its first investment in Collective 54, a nationwide peer network of owners of professional services firms. It provides members with indispensable peer relationships, tools, and resources. The goal is to help owners reach scale, while offering access to funding, leads and needs fulfillment, acquisition opportunities and preparation for exit readiness.
“At the core of running a successful family office is the ability to recognize investment opportunity amongst a vast sea of entrepreneurs, and Sean brings us this ability and a wealth of experience in the professional services sector as well as in the peer-to-peer membership space,” said Alexander, founder and chief investment officer of Capital 54.
Magennis most recently served as the global president and chief operating officer of YPO, (Young Presidents’ Organization) , serving 30,000 members in 138 countries, where he was responsible for membership, learning and insights, networks, chapters and regions, events and YPO’s exclusive member forum. At YPO, he led a globally distributed, diverse teamserving CEOs with combined annual revenues of US$9 trillion. Magennis also achieved YPO’s highest annual customer retention rates for seven consecutive years, the best run during the organization’s 70-year history. Prior to YPO, Magennis began his career in South Africa with Farm-Ag Limited and Dow Limited, one of the country’s largest producers of agricultural chemicals. Later, he acquired the United States rights for Thomas International and, as the company’s president, moved the headquarters for Thomas International USA to Dallas in 2000. Under his leadership as president, the organizational development consulting and human resources business, which also provided executive search services, grew to encompass operations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, serving thousands of clients. Magennis is the past international chairman of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and he played a key role in EO’s North American and global expansion for more than 16 years. Magennis also serves on the board of Gateway Green Energy Holdings.
“Sean’s leadership at Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) for more than 16 years and his contributions to YPO’s success have strongly established his track record of supporting extraordinary business leaders, which is the experience we needed to lead our firm. -GREG ALEXANDER, CIO
About Capital 54
Capital 54 is the premier family office of entrepreneur Greg Alexander, based in Dallas, Texas. The family members, partners, and their advisors invest their time, talent, and treasure in one thing – boutique professional services firms. The combination of growth capital with years of accumulated expertise and relationships in this segment results in exceptional returns for the family, and its partners.