Team
The Sky Island team brings a unique and multifaceted skill set from their principal investing, operational improvement, investment banking, restructuring, and general management backgrounds.
Jack Waterstreet
Managing Partner
Jack is the Managing Partner and a Co-Founder of Sky Island Capital. Jack is responsible for overseeing all facets of the firm’s investment activities.
Prior to founding Sky Island, Jack was the Chief Investment Officer and a Partner at Insight Equity, an operationally intensive middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.4 billion under management. At Insight, Jack sat on the Investment Committee and was responsible for sourcing, executing, and managing investments.
Prior to Insight, Jack was an Associate at Brockway Moran & Partners, a middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.3 billion under management. While at Brockway Moran, Jack evaluated and executed numerous investment opportunities as well as worked extensively with portfolio company senior management teams. Prior to Brockway Moran, Jack was an Analyst with Harris Williams & Co. where he provided sell-side advisory services for several M&A transactions.
Jack received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Jack was also valedictorian of his class at Babson College, where he earned a BS in Business Management, summa cum laude.
Jack currently sits on the Board of Overseers of Babson College.
Pat Murley
Partner
Pat is a Partner and a Co-Founder of Sky Island Capital. Pat is responsible for overseeing the operations of all of Sky Island’s portfolio companies. Pat also sits on the Investment Committee.
Pat is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Material Sciences Corporation. He has been the CEO of Material Sciences and its predecessor companies since it was acquired by Severstal in September 2008.
Prior to leading Material Sciences, Pat was Severstal’s Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. He also spent twenty years at Worthington Industries in various capacities, serving as Vice President of Steel Operations for his last six years with the company.
Pat currently serves on the boards of Material Sciences, Special Steel Works Inc., and Miami Valley Steel Service Inc. He was previously a board member of Atlas Paper Mills until it was successfully sold to a strategic acquirer. Pat has worked with several private equity companies including Aurora Capital, Insight Equity, and Peak Rock Capital.
Pat earned his MBA with distinction from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He also graduated cum laude with a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from Ohio State University.
Will Dobbs
Partner
Will is a Partner of Sky Island Capital. He is responsible for overseeing all facets of the firm’s investment activities.
Prior to joining Sky Island, Will was a Partner at LongWater Opportunities, an operationally intensive lower middle market private equity firm focusing on majority buyouts of family-owned-and-operated U.S. based manufacturing companies. At LongWater, Will helped source, execute, and operate all the firm’s investments and served on the board of each portfolio company.
Prior to LongWater, Will was a Vice President at Insight Equity, an operationally intensive middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.4 billion under management. Prior to Insight, Will was an Associate at Quad-C Management, a middle market private equity that has deployed over $3 billion of capital in middle market companies over nearly three decades. Prior to Quad-C, Will was an Analyst in the Industrial Growth & Services investment banking group of Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo).
While receiving his MBA, Will followed his passion for sports and joined the Strategy & Development group of the Chicago Cubs, where he worked with a small team to maximize value for the baseball club and related entities owned by the Ricketts family.
Will received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He also received his BSBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Neal jain
Principal
Neal is a Principal and founding team member of Sky Island Capital. He is responsible for all aspects of deal sourcing, evaluation, and execution as well as portfolio company management.
Prior to founding Sky Island, Neal was a Vice President at Insight Equity, an operationally intensive middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.4 billion under management. While at Insight Neal was responsible for the execution of several platform and add-on acquisitions as well as working directly with portfolio company senior management teams. He also held interim senior management roles at two portfolio companies.
Before joining Insight, Neal was an Analyst in the M&A group at Lazard Frères & Co., a financial advisory and asset management firm. While at Lazard, Neal advised clients in the upstream, midstream, oilfield services, and transportation sectors on mergers, acquisitions, and capital structures.
Neal received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He also graduated magna cum laude from Rice University with a BA in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Statistics.
Vince Smith
Vice President
Vince is a Vice President and founding team member of Sky Island Capital. He is responsible for all aspects of deal sourcing, evaluation, and execution, as well as portfolio company management.
Prior to founding Sky Island, Vince was a Senior Associate at Insight Equity, an operationally intensive middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.4 billion under management. While at Insight, he worked on a variety of transactions including platform and add-on acquisitions, carve-outs, facility rationalizations and expansions, and restructurings.
Before joining Insight, Vince was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Industrials Group at Lazard. While at Lazard, Vince worked on a range of M&A engagements in the chemicals, transportation & logistics, and industrial technology industries, including both acquisition and sale processes.
Vince received his Master of Accountancy degree from the Trulaske College of Business at the University of Missouri. He also graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri with a BS in Business Management with an emphasis in Accountancy and a BA in Economics. Additionally, Vince is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Missouri.
Jack is the Managing Partner and a Co-Founder of Sky Island Capital. Jack is responsible for overseeing all facets of the firm’s investment activities.
Prior to founding Sky Island, Jack was the Chief Investment Officer and a Partner at Insight Equity, an operationally intensive middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.4 billion under management. At Insight, Jack sat on the Investment Committee and was responsible for sourcing, executing, and managing investments.
Prior to Insight, Jack was an Associate at Brockway Moran & Partners, a middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.3 billion under management. While at Brockway Moran, Jack evaluated and executed numerous investment opportunities as well as worked extensively with portfolio company senior management teams. Prior to Brockway Moran, Jack was an Analyst with Harris Williams & Co. where he provided sell-side advisory services for several M&A transactions.
Jack received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Jack was also valedictorian of his class at Babson College, where he earned a BS in Business Management, summa cum laude.
Jack currently sits on the Board of Overseers of Babson College.
Pat is a Partner and a Co-Founder of Sky Island Capital. Pat is responsible for overseeing the operations of all of Sky Island’s portfolio companies. Pat also sits on the Investment Committee.
Pat is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Material Sciences Corporation. He has been the CEO of Material Sciences and its predecessor companies since it was acquired by Severstal in September 2008.
Prior to leading Material Sciences, Pat was Severstal’s Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. He also spent twenty years at Worthington Industries in various capacities, serving as Vice President of Steel Operations for his last six years with the company.
Pat currently serves on the boards of Material Sciences, Special Steel Works Inc., and Miami Valley Steel Service Inc. He was previously a board member of Atlas Paper Mills until it was successfully sold to a strategic acquirer. Pat has worked with several private equity companies including Aurora Capital, Insight Equity, and Peak Rock Capital.
Pat earned his MBA with distinction from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He also graduated cum laude with a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from Ohio State University.
Will is a Partner of Sky Island Capital. He is responsible for overseeing all facets of the firm’s investment activities.
Prior to joining Sky Island, Will was a Partner at LongWater Opportunities, an operationally intensive lower middle market private equity firm focusing on majority buyouts of family-owned-and-operated U.S. based manufacturing companies. At LongWater, Will helped source, execute, and operate all the firm’s investments and served on the board of each portfolio company.
Prior to LongWater, Will was a Vice President at Insight Equity, an operationally intensive middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.4 billion under management. Prior to Insight, Will was an Associate at Quad-C Management, a middle market private equity that has deployed over $3 billion of capital in middle market companies over nearly three decades. Prior to Quad-C, Will was an Analyst in the Industrial Growth & Services investment banking group of Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo).
While receiving his MBA, Will followed his passion for sports and joined the Strategy & Development group of the Chicago Cubs, where he worked with a small team to maximize value for the baseball club and related entities owned by the Ricketts family.
Will received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He also received his BSBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Neal is a Principal and founding team member of Sky Island Capital. He is responsible for all aspects of deal sourcing, evaluation, and execution as well as portfolio company management.
Prior to founding Sky Island, Neal was a Vice President at Insight Equity, an operationally intensive middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.4 billion under management. While at Insight Neal was responsible for the execution of several platform and add-on acquisitions as well as working directly with portfolio company senior management teams. He also held interim senior management roles at two portfolio companies.
Before joining Insight, Neal was an Analyst in the M&A group at Lazard Frères & Co., a financial advisory and asset management firm. While at Lazard, Neal advised clients in the upstream, midstream, oilfield services, and transportation sectors on mergers, acquisitions, and capital structures.
Neal received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He also graduated magna cum laude from Rice University with a BA in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Statistics.
Vince is a Vice President and founding team member of Sky Island Capital. He is responsible for all aspects of deal sourcing, evaluation, and execution, as well as portfolio company management.
Prior to founding Sky Island, Vince was a Senior Associate at Insight Equity, an operationally intensive middle market private equity firm with approximately $1.4 billion under management. While at Insight, he worked on a variety of transactions including platform and add-on acquisitions, carve-outs, facility rationalizations and expansions, and restructurings.
Before joining Insight, Vince was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Industrials Group at Lazard. While at Lazard, Vince worked on a range of M&A engagements in the chemicals, transportation & logistics, and industrial technology industries, including both acquisition and sale processes.
Vince received his Master of Accountancy degree from the Trulaske College of Business at the University of Missouri. He also graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri with a BS in Business Management with an emphasis in Accountancy and a BA in Economics. Additionally, Vince is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Missouri.