Phil Collins is Founder and Managing Partner of Orchard Holdings Group. Previously, he was a Managing Director of McCown De Leeuw & Co., a $1.2 billion middle-market private equity investment firm in New York City and Menlo Park, CA where he served on the investment committee and was involved in leading numerous growth company investments, including three companies that grew to over $1 billion in revenue. He started his career working for private investment pioneer Carl H. Lindner, Jr., then Chairman, CEO and Founder of American Financial Group, a $50 billion diversified financial services and investment company, and as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. He is Chairman or a Director of several privately held companies.

He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Cincinnati, to which he was appointed in 2016 by Governor John Kasich, and also serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee of its $2 billion endowment and as a Director of UC Health, its affiliated academic health system. He previously served as a Trustee and Vice Chair of the University of Cincinnati Foundation, on the Dean’s Advisory Committee at the Lindner College of Business, and along with his wife as a Co-Chair of the University’s Bicentennial Commission. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Business School Club of Cincinnati and as a Section Chair for the Harvard Business School Annual Fund and the Campaign for Harvard.

Phil is a summa cum laude graduate of The University of Cincinnati, received an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School and was a member of Class 30 of Leadership Cincinnati.

Kevin Jackson joined Orchard Holdings Group in 2016. Prior to joining Orchard, Kevin was an Associate for Chase Capital, where he focused on the origination and management of junior capital investments. Previously, he was an Analyst in the Commercial Bank of JPMorgan, where he underwrote corporate loans for middle market clients.

Kevin has a BS in Finance and a BA in History, with honors, from The Ohio State University.

Chris Kober joined Orchard Holdings Group in 2023. Prior to joining Orchard, he was the founder of CTQ Partners, a Cincinnati-based search fund. Previously, he was an Associate at L Catterton, a consumer-focused private equity firm with $30 billion+ assets under management. While at L Catterton, he diligenced, invested in, and helped build brands across the consumer space. He started his career at Citigroup in New York in their Global Industrials Group where he focused on Aerospace & Defense, Diversified Industrials, and Industrial Services businesses.

He currently serves on the Finance Committee of Cincinnati Works, a non-profit focused on ending poverty in Cincinnati.

Chris graduated cum laude from Georgetown University, where he earned a BS in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

Carol Alf joined Orchard Holdings Group in 2012. Prior to joining Orchard, Carol was the Director of Finance and Accounting for Neyer Holdings Corporation, a real estate development and merchant banking company.  Previously, Carol was a Business Analyst for RA Mueller, Inc., a whole sale distributor/manufacturer’s representative of fluid handling products.  Carol began her career with Barnes Dennig & Co., Ltd., a regional accounting firm in Cincinnati. 

Carol has a BSBA in Accounting from Xavier University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Kelley Konieczko joined Orchard Holdings Group in 2015.  Prior to joining Orchard, Kelley was an Operations Manager for The Normandy Group.  Previously, she was a Purchasing/Facilities Manager for ConstructConnect.