RLJ’s newest executives are young and taking charge

Daphne J. Dufresne, 40 Managing director, RLJ Equity Partners 

• 
• 
• 
• 

(Jeffrey MacMillan/ Capital Business ) - Trevoir D. Gregg, managing partner of the Credit Opportunity Fund.

(Jeffrey MacMillan/Capital Business) - T. Otey Smith, vice president at RLJ.

When Johnson interviewed Daphne Dufresne to head his newly formed private equity company in 2006, one thing stood out: her confidence.

“She said ‘I understand this private equity business, I know what it takes to raise money, find deals, evaluate and close deals.’ Daphne projected the confidence that I’m ready to take on the top role at a private equity firm ... and that impressed me,” Johnson said.

Dufresne walked through the doors of RLJ with a long list of credentials. Not only was she a former principal at multibillion-dollar private equity firm Western Presidio Capital, but also an associate director in the structured finance group at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Europe.

A career in finance, however, was not always on Dufresne’s agenda. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s in engineering in 1994, but wanted to explore an interest in business and started out in consulting.

“I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur, run a business. And private equity was just a great industry to take a quasi step towards that ... You are taking an ownership stake in a company and thinking about its growth strategically,” she said.

The Harvard Business School graduate said she understands she has to continually prove herself to establish credibility.

Dufresne recalls a client at Western Presidio who constantly compared her to his college-aged daughter. Though the association was initially off-putting, she used it to ingratiate herself with the client.

“When his company was facing challenges, he felt comfortable calling me. I think he might have avoided making that call if he viewed me as this hard-charging person,” she said.

At RLJ Equity Partners, Dufresne oversees investments in five companies, including Fleishmann’s Vinegar in Cerritos, Calif., and tour operator CVC in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

T. Otey Smith, 35 Vice president, RLJ Equity Partners

After working as an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions Group at Goldman Sachs for two years straight out of college, T. Otey Smith was ready for a new challenge.

“Goldman let me figure out what I wanted to do with my life, which was to be in private equity. But I knew I wanted to work at a place where I could shape the environment, shape the culture,” he said.

So Smith high-tailed it to Chicago to become a founding member of Reliant Equity Investors, a middle market private equity fund with $120 million of assets under management today. There, he helped raise capital and engineer transactions for two years as a senior associate before heading to Harvard Business School.

When Smith graduated in 2006, his former boss at Reliant recommended he reach out to Daphne Dufresne, who had just signed on at RLJ Equity Partners. They hit it off and she brought him on as one of the first three people at the company.

“You can’t underestimate how important it is to maintain relationships in this business. They take a long time to build, but, if nurtured, can help you along the way,” he said.

Trevoir Gregg, 38 Managing partner, RLJ Credit Opportunity Fund

Trevoir Gregg will tell you that his ascent to the upper echelon of asset management was a matter of “luck defined by preparation meeting opportunity.”