Greenhill Capital Advisory

Greenhill Capital Advisory

Robert H. Niehaus established Greenhill Capital Advisory in 2009 as an independent investment and advisory platform following his tenure as a founding partner of Greenhill & Co., the publicly traded independent advisory firm. The firm operates outside the traditional family office or fund structure, organizing capital on a deal-by-deal basis — a model that aligns sourcing discretion with Niehaus's personal network, which was forged leading the firm's private equity and commercial services coverage spanning more than 20 years. The firm focuses on control-oriented private investments in middle-market companies across three core verticals: business services, infrastructure and energy transition, and financial services. Niehaus's approach relies on direct, proprietary origination rather than broad auction processes, leveraging his board relationships and long-standing advisory engagements. Confirmed investments include Orizon Energy, a Canadian gas-fired power generation platform, and a minority position in American Industrial Partners. The geographic footprint remains concentrated in North America, with select exposure to European energy transition assets. Niehaus runs a lean operation with a small team of investment professionals, deploying capital through a combination of personal balance-sheet commitments and a curated group of co-investors that includes other former Greenhill partners and institutional family offices. The firm does not raise blind-pool funds or report assets under management publicly, operating instead through special-purpose vehicles that align incentives around individual deal outcomes. Niehaus also maintains an active role on the board of Rowan University and previously served on the advisory board of the Yale School of Management. Structurally, the firm's edge is pure relationship alpha. Niehaus spent his career inside the M&A process loop — understanding seller motivations, boardroom dynamics, and the capital-structure levers available to a privately negotiated transaction — and now deploys that intelligence from the buy-side. This effectively inverts the traditional investment-banker-turned-investor path by preserving the advisory franchise's origination network without the constraints of a fund mandate or return-to-LP timeline.