Bio

Derek Ferguson is Founder and Partner of KCM Capital Partners LLC. Derek has a deep background in lower middle market business services, specialty industrial and consumer goods & services, with more than 15 years of private equity, private credit and corporate advisory experience, over which, he has led or participated in the direct investment of nearly $450 million of debt and equity capital and advised on more than $800 million of transaction value. Prior to founding KCM, Derek was a Principal with Victory Park Capital, a leading Chicago-based private investment firm, where he originated, structured, executed and managed direct debt and equity investments across a wide range of lower middle market companies, including those in the industrial, manufacturing, business services, energy, healthcare and tech-enabled products sectors, while serving on the Board of Directors for five portfolio companies. Prior to Victory Park, Derek held various positions at other well-regarded private equity and investment banking firms, including Maxim Partners, Wynnchurch Capital, Thoma Cressey Equity Partners and JPMorgan Securities, where he worked closely with lower middle market companies to advise on and implement strategic alternatives and value creation initiatives. In addition to his responsibilities at KCM, Derek serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Children’s Choir, a 60-year-old non-profit organization providing choral music education and artistic opportunity to more than 4,600 children throughout all 57 of Chicago's zip codes. Derek received his MBA, with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and graduated with a BS in Finance, with High Honors, from the University of Illinois. He lives with his wife and two daughters in the northern Chicago suburb of Glencoe.