Jim Kozlowski Joins Austin Ventures as Venture Partner

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Jan 8, 2013) - Austin Ventures ("AV"), a venture capital firm investing in early stage and middle market companies predominantly in Texas, announced today that Jim Kozlowski has joined the firm as a Venture Partner. Kozlowski was a Co-Founder and the President of TGF Management Corp. ("TGF"), one of the most active middle market investment firms in the Southwest and a frequent co-investor with AV. He brings more than 30 years of experience, relationships, and track record to AV, where he will focus on Texas middle market investments.

"Jim has been our co-investment partner in multiple Texas middle market transactions over the last 10 years," said Joe Aragona, Founder and General Partner of AV. "The results of our investment partnership with Jim and TGF have been outstanding and we're excited to have him formally join the AV family."

"After successfully investing four private equity funds, the TGF partners have chosen to forgo a successor fund. Joining AV and its Texas middle market platform is a logical and exciting move for me," added Kozlowski. "I have long-standing relationships with AV's entire Texas middle market investment team and I look forward to continuing to work with our existing co-investment portfolio and originating new deal opportunities for this segment of AV's business."

Jim Kozlowski is joining AV after co-founding TGF in 1992. With Jim's leadership, under the Texas Growth Fund and Southwest Opportunity Partners banners, TGF managed a series of funds totaling more than $700 million dedicated to investing in companies located in Texas and throughout the Southwest. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Dallas-based ENTACT and San Antonio-based Sterling Foods, both AV and TGF co-investments. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of Waxahachie-based Magnablend (Acquired by Univar), Houston-based Orion Marine Group (ORN), and Dallas-based Southern Star Concrete (Acquired by Compania de Cementos Argos SA), all of which were AV and TGF co-investments. 

Prior to TGF, Jim was a Managing Director at Fortis Private Capital in New York. Prior to Fortis, he was a Vice President at Merrill Lynch Venture Capital in New York and Director of New Business at Tenneco Ventures in Houston. He has also worked in the Corporate Finance Group at Credit Suisse First Boston and the Commercial Lending Division of Chemical Bank in New York. Jim is the past Chairman of the Children's Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas and current Chairman of The Comfort Crew for Military Kids. He is an alumnus of the Texas Lyceum and the Texas Business Hall of Fame. He is actively involved in the Young Presidents' Organization, Association for Corporate Growth, and the World President's Organization. Jim received his B.A. degree in economics from Harvard College and his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. 

About Austin Ventures

Austin Ventures ("AV") has worked with talented entrepreneurs to build valuable companies for over 30 years. With $3.9 billion under management, AV is the most active venture capital firm in Texas and one of the most established in the nation. AV invests in early stage and middle market companies, and its strategy is to partner with talented executives and entrepreneurs to build industry-leading companies predominantly in Texas. Visit Austin Ventures for more information.