Brian Sullivan, Founder
Prior to founding Five Oceans Capital, Brian was a co-founder and partner at Troy Capital Partners and Troy Capital Group. From 2003-2015, Brian was co-founder and Managing Director of ForwardLine Financial (sold to Vistria Partners 2015). In 1997, Brian founded Rolling Oaks Enterprises a bridge lending and venture capital firm with portfolio exits to E*Trade, Adelphia and Hewlett Packard. From 2004-2014, Brian taught as an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at USC Marshall and currently resides on the Board of Advisors for the Grief Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at USC. He received his BS from Northwestern 1993 and MBA from USC 1997.
Rob Ellis, Principal
Rob most recently worked for Reachsocket, an advertising technology company that he co-founded in 2013. Specializing in digital sponsorship, Rob was responsible for partnering with and servicing large properties such as Coachella, UFC, Nitro Circus Live, and LA Galaxy. Prior to forming Reachsocket, he worked as the Director of Corporate Sponsorships for Snuggg Management, a boutique music talent agency, as well as a Wealth Management Advisor for Wells Fargo. Rob received his BS from USC in 2009. He is currently on the board of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association.
Jim Ellis, Chairman
From 2007-2018, Jim served as the Dean of the Marshall School of Business. Previously, he served as the University's Vice Provost for Globalization, Marshall's Vice Dean for External Relations, and Marshall's Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Program. As an instructor, he has been named professor of the year by many organizations and in 2003 received Marshall's Golden Apple Award and Teaching Has No Boundaries Award. Jim serves on boards at the Capital Group and Mercury Insurance as well as a number of non-profit boards. He received his BA from the University of New Mexico and his MBA from Harvard University.
Paul Allen, advisor
Paul is currently the President and CEO of McGuire Builders, Inc., a 30 year old general contracting company specializing in the redevelopment and repositioning of luxury hotels and resorts. He has over 20 years of real estate development and construction experience. Prior to acquiring McGuire Builders at the end of 2013, he worked for Lowe Destination Development, the hospitality development arm of Lowe Enterprises, Inc for 15 years. Paul received his BA from the University of California at Berkeley in 1996, and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2002.
Andy Segal, Advisor
Andy is currently a Managing Partner and the Co-Founder of StrandPoint, a lower middle market private equity firm. Prior to founding StrandPoint, he was a Senior Vice President and member of the Executive Committee at Lowe, where he oversaw underwriting, deal structuring and capital markets-related activities for all of Lowe’s investment platforms nationally. In this capacity, Andy completed more than $2bn of transaction value. His primary investing experience is in the real estate and real estate-related service sectors. Andy is from Santa Barbara, CA and received his BA in Economics and Accounting from Claremont McKenna College.