LEADERSHIP ELEVATED
At Apogee Leadership Advisors, we go above and beyond so that you can too.
We partner with investors, boards and CEOs to maximize human capital — delivering analytical,
data-driven and thoughtful counsel that guides critical decisions around talent selection,
organizational optimization and leadership development.
ap•o•gee -
the highest point in
the development of something; a climax
or culmination.
AT THE INTERSECTION OF
STRATEGY & HUMAN CAPITAL
Every organization is different, but one thing remains
the same: leadership and human capital drive strategy
— and strategy drives success.
At Apogee Leadership Advisors, we customize our
solutions based on your company's specific goals
and needs. From private equity-owned businesses
across the spectrum to public companies, we partner
with your professionals and executives to elevate
performance and accelerate business outcomes.
APOGEE SOLUTIONS
Private Equity Sponsors
Boards of Directors
Chief Executive Officers
Family Offices
Corporations
WHO WE ADVISE
Andre Zafrani
Founder & CEO
Chris Hikade
Chief Intelligence Officer
Prior to founding Apogee, Andre spent 12 years at ghSMART & Co., where he was a Senior Partner and member of the firm’s management committee. He dedicated the first decade of his career solidifying his reputation — and deep relationships — as a transactional and restructuring attorney serving private equity, venture capital and corporate clients at Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden and Greenberg Traurig. He still works with many of these private equity sponsors and corporate clients today.
Andre holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Arizona.
Caroline Larew
Principal
Prior joining Apogee, Caroline was a private equity investor at Water Street Healthcare Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners, where she developed a deep appreciation for how talent strategy drives value creation across all phases of a company’s growth.
She holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in Neuroscience from Middlebury College.
At Apogee, Caroline brings a sophisticated investor’s lens to every client engagement. Her hands-on experience evaluating acquisition targets, navigating sensitive deal dynamics and supporting portfolio company integration informs hers sharp, pragmatic and empathetic approach to executive assessment and organizational design.
Mark Agnew
Senior Advisor
Chris is a retired CIA Senior Operations Officer with 25 years of combined government service operating in mostly austere and difficult environments. As an Operations Officer, Chris served on the frontlines of Human Intelligence (HUMINT) collection overseas in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia for the CIA’s Directorate of Operations. Chris was responsible for running and managing clandestine operations, including the recruitment of individuals with access to foreign intelligence in support of U.S. national security requirements. As a Senior Operations Officer, Chris personally recruited and handled human assets for the CIA.
Given his years of experience spotting, assessing, developing and recruiting sources, Chris is not only an expert at evaluating an individual's behavior and veracity, but he can also determine a person's ability to perform and succeed at whatever level is being asked of them. Chris brings this distinct skillset from his years of agent-handling experience to Apogee, adding a unique perspective to Apogee's leadership assessments.
Ante Vucic
Partner
Ante brings to Apogee a sharp, strategic mind and a wealth of experience with companies large and small. Prior to Apogee, Ante was a Partner in the Corporate Department of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. There, Ante specialized in mergers and acquisitions, and represented a wide variety of clients, including private equity firms (Apollo, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Merrill Lynch, BC Partners and Paine Schwartz Partners) and strategic companies (Expedia, IAC, Match Group, Publicis, AT&T, Delta, Sears and Altria/Philip Morris).
Ante graduated with honors from Columbia Law School, where he was an Editor of the Columbia Law Review and received an AB degree with honors from Harvard College.
Mark is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, teaching a class called “Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition.” After rejoining Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria in 2011 (after working there in high school), he led the company through significant growth for nearly a decade. Under Mark's tenure as CEO and President, the company employed more than 4000 people and operated 58 company-owned locations throughout Chicagoland and Phoenix, along with an eCommerce company, Tastes of Chicago.
Prior to joining Lou Malnati’s in 2011, Mark spent five years as a Vice President at Dixon Midland Company, a Chicago-based private investment firm, where he helped source platform and add-on investments, as well as provide hands-on operational duties at portfolio companies. Before Dixon Midland, Mark was a private equity Associate at Glencoe Capital and an Investment Banking Analyst at Deutsche Bank with an emphasis on leveraged finance and M&A.
Mark earned an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago and a BS from Cornell University.
Mark brings his extensive leadership experience and acumen to bear at Apogee as an executive coach.
