News

Veteran operations executive with proven track record of scaling multi-divisional, facility services businesses to lead next phase of growth

Watertown, South Dakota (June 18, 2025) – Persona-Triangle, a leading national provider of commercial signage, lighting, and facility services solutions, announced today the hiring of Arron B. Yount as its new Chief Executive Officer. With over 25 years of executive leadership experience and a proven track record of driving growth in facility services, Yount will spearhead the next phase of Persona-Triangle’s expansion.

“Arron’s depth of operational expertise combined with multi-divisional leadership experience make him the ideal fit to guide Persona-Triangle as we continue to expand our capabilities,” stated Franklin Staley, Managing Director of Exeter Street Capital Partners. “His demonstrated ability to drive transformational growth within multi-divisional operations aligns perfectly with Persona-Triangle’s commitment to providing customers with our comprehensive suite of facility services solutions.”

Yount joins Persona-Triangle from OWL Services U.S.A., where he was the Executive Vice President of the Integrated Solutions Division. He also brings extensive experience from diverse leadership roles at 7-Eleven, Inc., where he led franchise systems and sales supporting over 4,600 franchisees and 7,300 stores. His background includes successful experience at Nestlé Waters North America and Cintas Corporation, along with distinguished military service as a Captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Yount earned a BS in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

“We are excited to welcome Arron into the Persona-Triangle family. We have built a tremendous team over the years, and I am confident that Arron’s operational expertise and growth-focused leadership will be a strong hand on the wheel as we continue to grow this platform organically and through targeted acquisitions,” said Greg Kulesa, outgoing CEO of Persona-Triangle. Kulesa will remain on the board of directors and in a senior advisory capacity to ensure a smooth transition.

“I am honored by the opportunity to lead Persona-Triangle during this exciting time in the Company’s evolution,” stated Yount. “I look forward to working with Persona-Triangle’s talented team to continue delivering superior facility services solutions to our customers.” Under Yount’s leadership, Persona-Triangle will continue to drive growth in its facility services division, enhance operational efficiency across all divisions, and pursue strategic acquisitions to expand its service capabilities.

About Persona-Triangle

Persona-Triangle is a leading national provider of commercial signage, lighting, and facility service solutions. Its turnkey solutions include in-house design and engineering, site- and permit-planning, start-to-finish project management, state-of-the-art production facilities, and complementary property improvement capabilities which enable Persona-Triangle to support a diverse, blue-chip customer base representing some of the largest globally recognized brands. The Company serves over 200 marquee brands at more than 8,000 locations across North America annually.

Persona-Triangle is headquartered in Watertown, SD, and in combination with its Triangle division in Baltimore, MD, boasts over 270,000 square feet of combined manufacturing space across 4 factories and employs over 500 people. 

With its strong foundation in commercial signage manufacturing and project management, the Company’s fastest growing division is facility services, which includes commercial lighting, facility repairs & maintenance, capital renovation projects, and property-improvement-plans (PIPs). The company is actively growing this division both organically and through acquisitions, recently acquiring New Jersey-based Advanced Facility Solutions, LLC.

For more information about Persona-Triangle’s comprehensive facility solutions, please visit www.personatriangle.com 

West Coast veteran packaging executive to lead the next chapter of Yebo’s growth

Tustin, California (April 15, 2025) – The Yebo Group, LLC (“Yebo”), a leading provider of premium fiber-based packaging solutions and portfolio company of Exeter Street Capital Partners, announced today the hiring of Scott Jones as its new Chief Executive Officer. With over 30 years of leadership experience in the packaging industry and a proven track record of driving successful results, Jones will spearhead the next phase of Yebo’s growth.

“Scott’s exceptional packaging industry expertise and strategic vision make him the ideal fit to guide Yebo as we invest in expanding our capabilities,” stated Franklin Staley, Managing Director of Exeter Street Capital Partners. “His demonstrated ability to drive successful growth strategies while improving customer outcomes aligns perfectly with Yebo’s commitment to being our customers’ first call for all of their packaging requirements.”

Jones joins Yebo from Malnove Packaging, where as Executive Vice President of Sales & Customer Success he successfully drove customer growth while improving margins. He also brings deep prior experience from diverse leadership roles at InBold, Pacific Southwest Container, Graphic Packaging International, and Sierra Pacific Packaging. This blend of perspectives has shaped his ability to create accretive new business and scale organizations with a focus on long-term value creation. Jones earned a business degree from Cal State University of Chico and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

“We are delighted to welcome Scott into the Yebo family. I am very proud of what our team has accomplished and built over these past 14 years, and am extremely excited for what Scott will add to our team and where we believe he can lead us,” said Andrew Tosh, founder and outgoing CEO of Yebo. Tosh will remain on the board of directors and move into the role of Executive Vice President of Sales managing key accounts.

“I am honored by the opportunity to lead Yebo during this pivotal time in the Company’s growth,” stated Jones. “I look forward to working with Yebo’s talented team to continue to expand and deliver innovative and impactful packaging solutions that enable our customers’ products to win in increasingly competitive markets.” Under Jones’s leadership, Yebo will grow its sustainable packaging options by investing in expanded capabilities, enhance its technology infrastructure, and pursue accretive add-on acquisitions. 

About The Yebo Group

Based in southern California, Yebo has established itself as a premium provider of folding carton, rigid and promotional boxes, specialty corrugated, and custom fulfillment solutions for customers in the retail, cosmetics, technology, medical device, nutraceutical, and food & beverage industries. The Company distinguishes itself with unmatched creative design capabilities and structural engineering solutions, rapid turnaround times, and its ability to execute complex packaging concepts within extremely high-quality tolerances.

For more information about Yebo’s premium packaging solutions, please visit their website.

About Exeter Street Capital Partners

Exeter Street Capital Partners is the independent sponsor affiliate of the Patriot Capital Group. We invest in promising small-cap companies within the specialty industrial and services sectors, then pursue strategies that can build them into market leaders: national, regional, or sector; and we have a demonstrated track record of success doing so. Exeter has raised and deployed over $1 billion across 11 investments since 2014, and over $400 million since 2021.  We take a long-term, partnership-first approach to investing, and are under no pre-determined timeline to exit or monetize our investments. 

Add-On Acquisition Accelerates Persona-Triangle’s Growth in Facility Services

Exeter Street Capital Partners (“Exeter”), the private equity affiliate of Patriot Capital Group, today announced that its portfolio company Exeter Image Holdings, LLC (“Persona-Triangle”) has acquired Advanced Facility Solutions, LLC (“AFS”).

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Saddle Brook, NJ, AFS has rapidly emerged as a leading national provider of facilities maintenance and construction services for some of the largest brands in the United States. Serving industries such as retail, convenience, storage, healthcare, and education, AFS delivers tailored solutions designed to meet the diverse needs of its clients.

“We are thrilled to welcome Advanced Facility Solutions to our family,” said Greg Kulesa, CEO of Persona-Triangle. “AFS is a national, multi-service facility maintenance and construction company known for its passionate team of professionals who drive success and exceptional customer service. The AFS team will greatly expand our ability to serve our core customers’ broader facility services requirements, and is strategically accretive to Persona-Triangle as we advance our market leadership in multiple subsectors.”

AFS’s turnkey solutions include reactive and preventive maintenance services, rollout programs, and large-scale construction projects—available on-demand, 24/7/365. Their streamlined operations and cutting-edge technology provide clients with efficient, proactive, and cost-saving solutions. By combining trade expertise with a focus on consumer-centric environments, AFS empowers property owners and managers to operate their locations economically, efficiently, and effectively. AFS sets itself apart with an unwavering commitment to relationships with clients, employees, partners, as well as the communities they serve.

Together with Persona-Triangle, one of the largest commercial signage providers in the United States, AFS and Persona-Triangle will offer customers tremendous one-stop facility services capabilities covering a wide range of facility requirements. While AFS will continue to serve its respective customers and markets directly under the AFS name, the combined company will leverage the size and scale of Persona-Triangle to accelerate its growth.

“We are thrilled to join forces with the Persona-Triangle team, who bring a tremendous breadth of resources and capabilities we will leverage to increase, accelerate, and improve what we already do for our customers,” said Marc Denman, CEO of AFS. 

Enterprise Bank and Trust provided senior debt financing for the deal. Three Sixty Seven Advisors acted as the sole M&A advisor to the transaction. Nelson Mullins represented Exeter and Persona-Triangle in the transaction. Harbert Credit Solutions, NewSpring Mezzanine, Northcreek Mezzanine, and members of Persona-Triangle leadership team continue to be investment partners with Exeter in Persona-Triangle.

New Platform Investment in the K-12 Education Sector

Exeter Street Capital Partners (“Exeter”), the private equity affiliate of Patriot Capital Group, today announced the majority recapitalization of Creative Learning Systems, LLC (d/b/a “SmartLab” or the “Company”) in partnership with IBC Funds, Siguler Guff, and members of the SmartLab leadership team.

Founded in 1987 and based in Longmont, Colorado, SmartLab is a rapidly growing tech-enabled education company that designs and delivers turnkey project-based learning environments with a STEM (“Science, Technology, Engineering, Math”) focus. SmartLab’s learning environments bundle a customized environment, curated kits and equipment, proprietary SaaS curriculum, professional development, and technical support into a single solution.

The Company has been a pioneer in developing engaging and collaborative learning spaces aligned with learning initiatives, like college and career readiness, STEM capacity building, and life skills. Today, SmartLab partners with the most innovative school leaders nationwide to implement learning solutions that increase a student’s capacity through engaged, active, and social problem-solving. SmartLab’s project-based learning approach has proven efficacy in improving student achievement and engagement with math and science, both inside and outside the classroom.

“We could not be more thrilled to partner with Ashley Mathis, CEO of SmartLab, as well as her extremely talented leadership team to forge the next chapter in SmartLab’s growth. SmartLab’s unique learning solutions take aim at solving an acute pain-point in K-12 education: the decreasing number of STEM-ready students prepared to fill the increasing number of STEM-required jobs in our economy. This is a tremendous opportunity to partner with a company that will do well by doing good,” said Franklin Staley, managing director of Exeter. 

“We are excited to enter this next phase of growth for SmartLab and our employees,” said Ashley Mathis, SmartLab’s CEO. “For the last 3 years our team has put the building blocks in place to expand our national footprint, reach more schools with our unique turnkey solution, increase our market leadership position, and ultimately expand the number of students we serve. In partnership with Exeter and our new private equity partners, we intend to accelerate this growth and impact. Expect great things to come from SmartLab.”

Enterprise Bank and Trust provided senior debt financing for the deal. McGuireWoods LLP represented Exeter in the transaction.

New Platform Investment in the Specialty Packaging Industry

Exeter Street Capital Partners (“Exeter”), the private equity affiliate of Patriot Capital Group, today announced the majority recapitalization of Yebo Group (“Yebo” or the “Company”) in partnership with Harbert Credit Solutions, IBC Funds, and the Founder and CEO of Yebo, Andrew Tosh.
 
Based in Orange County, California, Yebo is a specialty packaging converter that provides wide-ranging solutions for the graphic packaging needs of customers in markets such as specialty retail, cosmetics, medical, promotional, agriculture and food service. Yebo’s diverse, fiber-based capabilities include folding carton, corrugated, and rigid/turned-edge boxes, as well as commercial printing.
 
While Yebo’s state-of-the-art equipment enables it to offer customers rapid turnaround times and exceptional value, it’s Yebo’s passion for customer service and technical prowess that make Yebo a best-in-class specialty packaging platform. The Company is also a pioneer in supporting California’s agricultural producers and packagers as they migrate to more sustainable, fiber-based alternatives for their produce. Exeter will work with Yebo to innovate in this agricultural and other emerging packaging markets, while also pursuing accretive add-on acquisitions that leverage the intrinsic value of the platform.
 
“We are delighted to forge this partnership with Andrew Tosh, Founder and CEO of Yebo, as well as the entire team of associates at Yebo. Yebo has grown rapidly and distinguished itself within crowded, competitive markets by offering superior speed, value and customer service, which is second to none in this industry. Yebo is at the perfect inflection point in its growth curve for Exeter to add value, and we look forward to working with Andrew and his team to take the Company to the next level,” said Franklin Staley, managing director of Exeter. 
 
“We are excited for this new partnership and the next chapter in Yebo’s development,” said Andrew Tosh, Yebo’s Founder and CEO. “For over 10 years, we have grown Yebo and cultivated a strong culture from the inside out, passionate about delivering results for our customers. The Exeter team embraced this culture and will add essential resources and know-how to accelerate the growth of our platform.”
 
CFG Bank provided senior debt financing for the deal. McGuireWoods LLP represented Exeter in the transaction.

Transaction builds one of the largest sign makers in the United States

Exeter Street Capital Partners, the private equity affiliate of Patriot Capital Group, announced that its platform Exeter Image Holdings has made a majority investment in Persona Signs (“Persona”) in partnership with Harbert Credit Solutions, NewSpring Mezzanine, Northcreek Mezzanine, and members of Persona’s leadership team. 

Persona is the second investment made by Exeter Image Holdings, LLC this year and joins with Triangle Sign & Service (“Triangle”), acquired in June 2021, to form one of the largest signage, lighting, and facility services companies in the United States. The two companies will operate side-by-side under the name “Persona-Triangle.”

Based in Watertown, South Dakota, for over 40 years, Persona is one of the largest national providers of commercial signage and lighting solutions to the hospitality, restaurant, convenience store, and corporate image sectors. Its turnkey solutions include in-house design and engineering, site- and permit-planning, start-to-finish project management, and three state-of-the-art production facilities centrally based in South Dakota, with the capacity and expertise to support the largest brand and sign programs in the world.

While Persona and Triangle will each continue to serve their respective customers and markets directly, the companies will leverage their expertise and deep industry relationships to broaden market reach, cross-sell each firm’s unique competencies, and expand customer solutions. Greg Kulesa will assume the title of Group CEO of Persona-Triangle. Mike Peterson will remain President of Persona and Craig Horn will remain Chief Operating Officer of Persona. Steve Altshuler will remain President of Triangle.

“Persona is a one-of-a-kind market leader in the hospitality, restaurant, and corporate image sign markets. We are tremendously excited about the potential for Persona to expand that leadership into other segments going forward. This transaction was not just about acquiring scale. Rather, this is about building a market leader with the capabilities to deliver the highest quality products and services to customers across all sectors. Much like Triangle, Persona has earned a reputation for superior products, quality, and a steadfast focus on customer service that is second to none in the industry. We could not be happier about our new partnership with Greg Kulesa, Mike Peterson, Craig Horn, and the entire team at Persona,” said Franklin Staley, Managing Director of Exeter.

“We are thrilled about the opportunities before us as Persona-Triangle,” said Greg Kulesa, Group CEO. “Both organizations wield deep-seated cultures of exceptional quality and dedication to our customers’ success, while also caring for our employees and the communities around us. We are excited to apply each firm’s special capabilities to continue to deliver for our customers in the marketplace.”

Enterprise Bank and Trust provided senior debt financing for the deal. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP represented Exeter in the transaction. Persona was represented by Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), with legal representation from Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP.

Exeter Street Capital Partners, the private equity affiliate of Patriot Capital Group, today announced its majority recapitalization of Triangle Sign & Service, LLC (“Triangle” or the “Company”) in partnership with Harbert Credit Solutions, Northcreek Mezzanine, and Company leadership.

Based in the Baltimore, Maryland area for nearly 90 years, Triangle is a leading national provider of commercial signage, lighting, and facility service solutions. Its turnkey solutions include in-house design and engineering, site-and permit-planning, start-to-finish project management, and state-of-the-art production facilities which enable the Company to support a diverse, blue-chip customer base representing some of the largest globally recognized brands.

Triangle’s focus on high-quality products and exceptional service has attracted a highly diversified, recurring customer base in key sub-sectors such as telecommunications, food and hospitality, corporate image, real estate development, high-end luxury, education, financial services, automotive, hospitality, and other consumer goods and services. Triangle also recently expanded to provide a full suite of commercial lighting and related facility services, enabling it to serve as a “one-stop” solution provider for its customers nationwide.

“We are thrilled to forge this partnership with Steve Altshuler, president of Triangle, and the entire Triangle team to power the next chapter of growth for this tremendous business. Triangle has become a leader in this dynamic market by focusing on long-term customer relationships, exceptional quality and service, and its proprietary manufacturing expertise. Triangle is a great fit for Exeter’s strategy of investing alongside passionate leadership to develop new growth channels, optimize operations and expand through acquisitions,” said Franklin Staley, managing director of Exeter.

“We are excited to partner with Exeter to take advantage of the numerous opportunities we have to invest in and grow our business,” said Steve Altshuler. “Exeter shares our corporate culture for exceptional quality, tireless dedication to our customers, care for our employees, and service to our community, all of which have enabled our company to sustain itself as a long-term leader in this industry for nearly 90 years.”

“Exeter and Triangle are actively seeking add-on acquisitions in the commercial signage, lighting, and facility services sectors, and would welcome any conversations regarding such opportunities,” added Staley.

First National Bank provided senior debt financing for the deal. Nelson Mullins represented Exeter in the transaction.

Patriot Capital Group, a multi-strategy middle market investment manager and advisory services platform announced today it has hired Franklin Staley to lead its lower middle market buyout strategy, Exeter Street Capital Partners (“Exeter Street”).  Staley brings to Exeter Street more than 25 years of private equity, advisory and operating experience, all of it focused on lower middle market industrial growth & technology, business, consumer and healthcare services companies.  

Most recently, Staley spent 9+ years with DC Advisory LLC (formerly Signal Hill), where he founded the firm’s sponsor coverage effort and was a Managing Director in the Business Services practice area.  Prior to joining Signal Hill, Staley spent 9 years as a Principal and founding member of Meriturn Partners, LLC, a private equity fund focused on buyouts of lower middle-market companies in basic industries.  He has prior investment banking experience with Cowen & Company, Lehman Brothers and Chase.

Charles McCusker, Managing Partner of Patriot Capital Group commented: “After 20 years of successfully managing 5 junior capital and minority equity funds and 30 years of corporate advisory investment banking services, we are excited to leverage the Patriot Capital Group platform to supercharge our efforts in the microcap buyout market on behalf of our investors. This is a very natural extension of our business, and Franklin is the right professional at the right time to take our Exeter Street platform to the next level.”

Staley will leverage Patriot Capital Group’s dedicated and proprietary deal sourcing resources, as well as its 30-year-deep network of industry resources and professional partners, to differentiate Exeter Street in the market as he looks to build the team rapidly and acquire lower middle market businesses.

Exeter Street Capital Partners is pleased to announce that its affiliate Accscient, LLC (“Accscient”) has acquired PDS, LLC (“PDS”).  PDS, established in 1987 and headquartered in Denver, CO, has offices in Phoenix, AZ and Salt Lake City, UT and is one of the leading Information Technology (IT) & Engineering consulting firms in the Western United States. Given their presence in the southwest and strong engineering competencies, the acquisition will create significant synergies to both companies and significantly enhance Accscient’s market position in the Western United States.

Based in Atlanta, GA, Accscient was founded in 2005 with a goal of building a leading national provider of IT services. Accscient operates through three divisions (Norwin Technologies, Premier IT Solutions and Appridat) and provides IT consulting and IT staffing services on client projects including ERP planning/implementation, business intelligence, and infrastructure/data center management. Accscient serves Fortune 1000 customers in a wide variety of industries with over 350 consultants while leveraging offshore capabilities when appropriate.

Exeter Street Capital Partners is pleased to announce that its affiliate Accscient, LLC (“Accscient”) has acquired Emergys, LLC (“Emergys”).  Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, Emergys is a leader in SAP enterprise solutions, IBM business process management, business intelligence and analytics and digital transformation solutions and services.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Accscient was founded in 2005 with a goal of building a leading national provider of IT services.  Accscient operates through three divisions (Norwin Technologies, Premier IT Solutions and Appridat) and provides IT consulting and IT staffing services on client projects including ERP planning/implementation, business intelligence, and infrastructure/data center management.  Accscient serves Fortune 1000 customers in a wide variety of industries with over 350 consultants, while leveraging offshore capabilities when appropriate.