Horizon Principals

Sandy is a Managing Director at Horizon Partners. Prior to Horizon, he was Vice President, Director of New Media & Technology at Media Venture Partners, a boutique M&A advisory firm in San Francisco. Sandy started and led MVP's New Media & Technology practice. At MVP, he worked on a number of transactions in the digital media and interactive marketing sectors, such as the sale of Freeverse to ngmoco, the largest M&A deal in the iPhone/iPod Touch apps sector.

Prior to MVP, he was Vice President at Arbor Advisors, leading their highly successful entry into the digital media and interactive marketing industries. He advised clients in a number of industry-leading transactions, such as the sale of WorldClass Strategy to EducationDynamics, the sale of ReliableRemodeler.com to Quinstreet, the sale of Investopedia.com to Forbes Media, and the sale of Interest.com to Bankrate.

Sandy is a regular speaker at industry conferences, including Ad Tech and LeadsCon. He received his B.A. in Psychology and M.S. in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University.

Lou is a Managing Director at Horizon Partners. He has over twenty-five years of experience as an entrepreneur, senior executive, and investment banker. He started his career by co-founding Raster Technologies, a Venrock and Kleiner Perkins funded startup that was sold to Alliant Computer Systems in 1990. Since then, he has founded and held senior executive positions at a variety of high-growth technology companies including EVP of SuperMac Technology and CEO of Locality.com and Truevision (NASD: TRUV, sold to Pinnacle Systems, which was acquired later by Avid Technologies).

In 2001, Lou co-founded Arbor Advisors. At Arbor, Lou advised twenty-three middle-market technology and digital media companies on completed transactions. Notable transactions include the sale of Lynx Medical Systems to Francisco Partners, the sale of Sparta Systems to AIG Capital, the sale of Synergen to GFI Energy, the sale of Tadpole Computer to General Dynamics, and the sale of Ecometry to Golden Gate Capital.

Lou has served on the board of directors of numerous companies including Plaid Bros. Software (acquired by Sungard Data Systems in 2000) and Vidipax (acquired by Loudeye Technology in 2001). Lou holds a BSEE from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Mike is a Principal at Horizon Partners. He joins Horizon from Hillhouse Capital Advisors, a boutique financial services firm that he founded to provide restructuring and M&A services to middle market technology companies. At Hillhouse, Mike advised DSI-ITI on its sale to Global Tel*Link and Pooltables.com on its sale to BilliardEx.

Prior to Hillhouse, Mike was a Senior Associate at Arbor Advisors where he executed a number of transactions for growing technology companies. Mike advised Cooligy on its sale to Emerson Electric and BuySeasons on its sale of Deals.com. He worked on a number of other successful transactions, such as the sale of Internet Media to Kennet Partners and the sale of Deals2Buy.com to Austin Ventures. Earlier in his career, Mike was an Associate at the University Venture Fund, an early stage venture capital fund.

Mike holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management, graduating with Distinction in Finance & the Law. As a visiting student at Yale Law School, Mike was awarded Academic Honors for his work in each of Antitrust, Behavioral Economics, and Corporate Control. He holds a B.A. in Finance from the University of Utah, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.