Apis & Heritage Capital Partners

Co-founders Philip Reeves and Todd Leverette operate as Managing Partners and sit permanently on the investment committee. Dwayne Boothe, a former principal at RLJ Credit, serves on the same committee as an advisor. Day-to-day underwriting and portfolio oversight are handled by a team that includes Managing Director Jason Ollison in New York and Operating Partner Walter Mayo in Boston.

A&H acquires a profitable, founder-led business with $4–10 million of EBITDA and converts it to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The selling owner receives fair value at close; employees — predominantly workers of color — accumulate shares over time with no personal capital required. A&H installs post-close governance, financial reporting, and an Ownership Culture training program to build the behaviors that research ties to higher productivity inside employee-owned firms.

No, Apis & Heritage is an investment manager that raises committed capital from external limited partners. Its flagship vehicle, Legacy Fund I, closed above $250 million with backing from impact-first institutions. The firm is not affiliated with a single-family wealth pool and does not operate as a family office.

The firm pursues profitable lower-middle-market businesses in real-economy sectors: manufacturing, construction, logistics, transportation, waste hauling, landscaping, commercial services, agriculture, and food processing. Deal criteria are a minimum of $4 million in EBITDA and a workforce of at least 40 employees, almost always in businesses where the founder is retiring and seeking a legacy-preserving transition.

A&H invests directly as a control buyer in operating companies. It does not operate as a fund-of-funds, nor does it make minority LP commitments to other private equity vehicles. The ELBO structure requires board-level control and deep operational engagement, which precludes passive investing.

The firm has not disclosed a co-investment program. Given the ELBO model’s reliance on full operational control and multi-year ownership-culture implementation, a standard co-investment alongside a disinterested financial sponsor is structurally difficult. Capital for acquisitions comes from Legacy Fund I and its limited partners.

Melissa Hoover serves as Director of Ownership Culture and oversees all post-ELBO employee training and engagement, reporting directly to the partnership. This function sits alongside the deal team rather than beneath it, ensuring that culture-building receives dedicated budget and staffing independent of the investment committee’s underwriting work.