Peppertree Capital Management

Co-Managing Partners Ryan Lepene and F. Howard Mandel have led Peppertree together since its 2004 founding and continue to make investment decisions. Their working relationship precedes Peppertree; Mandel was previously a partner at Tregan Partners, and Lepene's experience includes investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney and Lehman Brothers. The firm maintains a flat, tenure-heavy investment committee structure.

The team sources opportunities through nearly three decades of direct operating and investing experience in wireless towers, spectrum, and fiber networks. Howard Mandel co-founded OmniAmerica, one of the first publicly traded tower companies, giving Peppertree deep founder-level relationships. The firm's hands-on, patient capital approach and willingness to write small checks also create a distinct originating posture with growing infrastructure developers.

Peppertree makes direct equity investments, primarily through growth equity and buyout vehicles. The firm has raised ten private equity funds and has completed more than 180 direct investments in communication infrastructure companies. There is no stated focus on fund-of-fund commitments or manager seeding; the strategy centers on direct deal-making across the capital structure.

In 2025, TPG acquired Peppertree, integrating it as a specialized digital infrastructure strategy within TPG's platform while retaining its Chagrin Falls headquarters, Co-Managing Partners, and dedicated investment team. The arrangement gives Peppertree access to TPG's global institutional relationships and operational resources without absorbing the team into a generalist private equity pool. The firm now operates as TPG Peppertree.

Peppertree has not publicly defined a formal co-investment program with external managers. Its historical capital has come virtually entirely from institutional investors — insurance companies and university endowments — allocated into Peppertree's own funds. Any co-investment activity would likely be structured through the TPG platform or on a deal-by-deal basis as limited partners in its funds.

Peppertree focuses on wireless communication towers, in-building DAS and rooftop antennas, fiber network operators, and spectrum auction participants. The firm also invests in real estate tied to these subsectors. Its core thesis is that insatiable data demand will continually strain wireless networks, making the underlying physical infrastructure a long-duration growth opportunity.

Virtually all of Peppertree's fund capital comes from institutional investors, with the firm's website specifically naming insurance companies and university endowments as investor types. The strategy does not target high-net-worth individuals or retail channels. Its $8.0 billion-plus asset base is raised through ten private equity vehicles.