Meet The Team

Shane Hubbell is a Managing Director at Alkali Partners. Shane has spent over a decade as a technology investment banker, software engineer, and operations professional. Shane has advised on sell-side engagements with an aggregate transaction value of over $5B. He began his career at Goldman Sachs as an analyst in New York.

Shane holds dual BS degrees in biology and economics from Union College and has completed an advanced immersive software engineering program at HackReactor.

Chris Skubic is a Managing Director at Alkali Partners.  Chris has spent a healthy portion of his career in corporate development with Autodesk & Intel Capital. Chris' operating experience includes co-founding a manufacturing-focused software company, leading a privately held managed services company to a successful exit, and working as an industrial chemical engineer.  Chris has worked on numerous transactions ranging from smaller minority investments to multi-hundred million dollar acquisitions.

Chris holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and a Masters in Operations Management from Northwestern University.

Prior Experience

2003-2020 – Founder & Managing Partner of Riverlake Partners, a private equity firm focused on leveraged control growth investments in smaller, profitable companies, where ownership and leadership dynamics present the opportunity to create value through operational, financial, and strategic change.

2002-2004 – Owner & CEO of CLEANPAK International, Inc., the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of air handling equipment for ultra clean room environments primarily for use in semiconductor and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

1989 to 2003 – Co-founder of Pacific Crest Securities, the Pacific Northwest’s largest independent financial services organizations. Served as CEO and Chairman from 1996 to 2003.

Erik has been an active private equity investor since 1989.  In addition to Pacific Crest, Erik played an active role in guiding a number of companies as a director and an investor, including Wholesome and Hearty Foods, Applied Research, Morrow Snowboard Corporation, and CLEANPAK International, Inc.  Erik is currently Chairman of HKZ Private Capital, is on the board of directors of Bastion Security, Critical Power Solutions, Terra Dynamics, RxXtrax, and Omega Morgan.

Expertise

Erik has advised several high technology and communications companies in merger and acquisitions and financing transactions.

Education

Erik received his M.B.A., with honors, from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. (double major) in economics and business administration, magna cum laude, from the University of Oregon.

Taylor Adkins is a Senior Associate at Alkali Partners. Prior to joining Alkali Partners, Taylor was a buy-side advisor with Totality Ventures, a middle market SaaS focused advisor. Before Totality, Taylor helped deploy over $100M dollars into middle market SaaS companies. Taylor started his career by founding a SaaS company to service niche manufactures for the custom apparel space. Taylor holds a B.A. in Business Analytics from The University of Tennessee.

Sumit Shukla is a Senior Associate at Alkali Partners. Prior to joining Alkali Partners, Sumit was an investor with Peterson Partners, a $1B+ fund focused on middle market companies. Before joining Peterson Partners, Sumit worked as an investment banking analyst at Duff & Phelps in Los Angeles. He began his career in the M&A team at BNP Paribas in London. Sumit holds a B.A. in Economics from Vanderbilt University.

Derek Heinonen is an Associate at Alkali Partners. Derek previously worked in Mergers & Acquisitions at BMO Capital Markets. His prior operating experience includes telecommunications engineering for Verizon Wireless and managing intelligence operations for the United States Special Operations Command.

Derek holds a BS in Biology from the University of Portland and an MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

Ellen Walker is a second year Analyst at Alkali Partners. She started her career in Structural Engineering at AECOM in their New York City office before moving to the Principal side of Commercial Real Estate investing. Ellen worked in both Construction Management and Acquisitions for a large-scale Class-A multifamily apartment developer in NYC prior to joining Alkali.  

Ellen holds a M.S. in Construction Engineering Management from Columbia University and a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a Minor in Architecture from Cornell University.

Hissan Mohammad is a second-year Analyst at Alkali Partners. Prior to joining Alkali Partners, Hissan worked as an investment banking analyst at Tully & Holland, a boutique lower middle market investment bank focused on the consumer sector. Prior to that, Hissan worked as an equity research analyst at Essex Investment Management, a Boston based mid-size hedge fund with $800M AUM. He started his career as a Risk Advisory Analyst at KPMG International in Pakistan.

Hissan holds an M.S.c in Finance from Babson College and B.S.c (Hons) in Accounting and Finance from Oxford Brookes University (United Kingdom).

Jaipal Silla is an Analyst at Alkali Partners. Prior to joining Alkali Partners, Jaipal worked in Bank of America's liquidity stress management group. Jaipal holds a BSBA in Finance, a BS in Computer Science, and a minor in Theatre.

Ashley Li is an Analyst at Alkali Partners. Prior to joining Alkali Partners, Ashley worked as a Quantitative Intern at Pacific Life Fund Advisors. Ashley holds a B.A. (Hons) in Economics from UC Berkeley and a Master of Financial Engineering from UCLA.

Connor Sigmon is an Analyst at Alkali Partners. Prior to joining Alkali Partners, Connor worked as an analyst for Puentes Global, a management consultancy in Madrid, Spain. Connor recently graduated from IE Business School with his Master in Business Management.

Liam O’Shea is an Analyst at Alkali Partners. Prior to joining Alkali Partners, Liam worked in the Fixed Income Trading group at Wells Fargo Advisors. Liam holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Pomona College.