Our Team

Investors and operators, aligned around a single mission.

We have spent our careers buying, building, and selling businesses like yours. Everyone at Ardente owns the same shares on the same terms, so we all win the same way you do.

Our Team

The people behind Ardente.

John McKernan, Managing Partner at Ardente Capital

John McKernan

Managing Partner

John is the Managing Partner of Ardente, where he leads sector identification, acquisition, value creation, and exiting of portfolio companies as well as the overall strategic direction of the firm. Prior to co-founding the firm, John was with The Riverside Micro-Cap Fund for 16 years, most recently as a Senior Partner on the investment team. John has been involved in 80 acquisitions representing over $1B of enterprise value. He started his career in the Lower Middle Market, working at the M&A Advisory and Mezzanine investment arms of First National of Nebraska. John holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting, magna cum laude, from Creighton University.

Shaun Kelley, Operating Partner at Ardente Capital

Shaun Kelley

Operating Partner

Shaun is an Operating Partner at Ardente. Prior to co-founding the firm, Shaun was an Operating Partner at The Riverside Company, where he worked closely with John on growing and successfully exiting Performance Systems Integration and CertaSite. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles delivering results in essential B2B products and services at Wind River Environmental, Iron Mountain, and Cintas. Shaun was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps and holds a B.A. in Administration of Justice from Salve Regina University.

Nick Giacco, Head of Business Development at Ardente Capital

Nick Giacco

Head of Business Development*

Nick leads acquisition sourcing and origination, including identifying attractive markets and targets, and building our relationships with business owners, bankers, brokers, and referral partners. Before joining Ardente, Nick led business development for the B2B Technology Group at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (“WCAS”). Prior to WCAS, he was a Manager at Axial Networks, working with hundreds of investment firms on how they source and evaluate acquisition targets. Nick holds a B.A. in Political Science from Trinity College.

*Independent contractor to Ardente Capital.

Beyond the Investment Team

A deep bench behind every business.

Every company we buy gets its own board, built from people who have run businesses like it. We start putting that group together before we buy anything.

Functional experts

A board built for each business

Advisors who know growth, sales, buying other companies, finance, operations, and technology, each brought in for a specific job.

Executive network

Operators on call

A deep network of experienced executives we can call on for hiring, strategy, finance, buying other companies, and putting better technology in place.

Aligned incentives

Owners, not consultants

Advisors put their own money in and share in how it turns out, the same deal we give management teams and employees at every company we own.

Join Us

We hire for trajectory, not just pedigree.

If you want hands-on ownership of meaningful work, whether at the firm or inside one of our companies, we want to hear from you.

Introduce Yourself

Work With Us

Owners, bankers, and referral partners.

See what we look for, and reach out. We reply to everything we receive.

What We Buy