Dallas, TX – October 10, 2023 – Riata Capital Group (“Riata” or “RCG”), a Dallas-based private equity investment firm, announced today that Jeffrey Porter, a seasoned financial executive, joins Riata from WSS, a specialty retailer of athletic footwear and former RCG portfolio company. WSS operates more than 130 retail locations throughout the Hispanic communities of California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and Florida. Mr. Porter provided financial and strategic leadership across the WSS organization during a period of unprecedented growth and expansion, wherein earnings increased over 5x during Riata’s ownership and Mr. Porter’s leadership as CFO.
Mr. Porter joins Riata as a Managing Director in the Firm’s Operations Group. He is responsible for providing financial, operational, information technology, and business analytics leadership to the Firm's portfolio companies. Mr. Porter will also assist the Firm with acquisition diligence, post-acquisition onboarding, and integration as well as portfolio company performance improvement activities. Mr. Porter will work closely with Jay Bradford, a Partner responsible for providing operational and financial leadership to the Firm’s portfolio companies, and Satish Dave, a Managing Director responsible for providing information technology and business analytics leadership to RCG's portfolio companies.
Mr. Fletcher, Managing Partner of Riata, added, “We are excited to have Jeffrey join Riata. Our team worked very closely with Jeffrey throughout our investment in WSS. He played an integral role in the company’s success from an organizational, financial, and operational perspective, as well as our success with the sale of WSS to Foot Locker. Jeffrey is a terrific addition to our RCG Team.”
Mr. Porter added, “I am beyond thrilled to join the phenomenal team at Riata Capital Group. My experience working closely with Barron Fletcher and Jeff Fronterhouse for six years as CFO of WSS was nothing short of exceptional; the Riata team added significant strategic and operational value to the business, enabling the WSS management team to deliver tremendous results. I look forward to leveraging my operational and financial expertise to drive significant returns for the firm.”
About Riata Capital Group
RCG is a leading Dallas-based private equity investment firm that partners with seasoned management teams to invest in growing, profitable, privately held companies with a focus on three industry sectors: business services, consumer, and healthcare services. Riata takes a selective approach to investing in high-potential businesses whose owners and management teams want an investment partner with the capital, experience, and record of successful collaboration required to achieve their liquidity and value-creation objectives. Over the course of their careers, the principals of RCG have deployed over $2 billion of capital into more than 45 platforms and 200 add-on acquisitions totaling $7 billion in transaction value. The Firm targets equity investments of $25-150 million in companies with $5-30million of EBITDA. With significant investment experience, a balanced team with financial and operating expertise, a strong team of seasoned operating partners, and significant experience in the firm’s targeted sectors, Riata provides a compelling value proposition to business owners and entrepreneurs.
