The Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) curriculum at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, taught by the below experts, will expose students to the latest thinking on ETA models and strategies and provide practical content on how to become a business owner using ETA. Get to know our faculty.
GJ King
GJ is a Partner at BK Growth Partners. BK Growth Partners is a family investment company that GJ co-founded with Will Bressman which invests in search funds. BK Growth Partners has invested in over 40 companies acquired via a search fund. GJ currently serves on the board of directors of Extended Care Professional, MasLabor, maxRTE, Page Vault, and Triyam.
Previously, he was the president of RIA in a Box, a regulatory compliance software company for investment advisers, until its sale in 2021. Originally, GJ acquired RIA in a Box via a search fund (a common ETA strategy) with his business partner, Will Bressman. Under Will and GJ’s leadership, the value of RIA in a Box increased over 70x. Earlier in GJ’s career, he worked in the investment management division of Goldman Sachs.
GJ resides in the Cleveland area with his family. He holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and a BA from Brown University where he graduated magna cum laude.
Connect with GJ on LinkedIn and get in touch with him at gj@bkgrowth.com.
Scot Lowry
Scot Lowry is managing partner and co-founder of PromiseONE (P1), a long term holding company that acquires small businesses using ETA strategies. To date, P1 has partnered/invested with ten ETA entrepreneurs who are supported by Scot as P1’s managing partner.
Previously, Scot served as CEO of Fathom, an early PromiseONE acquisition he led. Fathom is a national digital marketing firm that grew revenue over 450%, expanded from 25 to 100+ people and won multiple awards for growth and workplace culture.
Scot received his MBA from Weatherhead School of Management in 2001. Scot is currently on the boards of the David Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry at Champlain College and Promise Partners, an ETA incubator in Cleveland. Scot currently resides in Cleveland with his family.
Connect with Scot on LinkedIn and get in touch with him at csl@case.edu.
Reid Tileston
Reid co-created the curriculum for the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition course at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, lectures at leading academic institutions such
as Dartmouth, the University of Chicago and the University of California, and serves on the University of Chicago Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Advisory Committee.
His expertise is derived from 15 years of successful, on the ground entrepreneurial business ownership experience; acquiring, opening, growing and selling four companies in addition to his academic research. Reid achieved a return multiple of invested capital (MOIC) of over 10x on his most recent acquisition.
Reid has worked with leading brands such as Harley Davidson, The Milwaukee Bucks, John Deere, Tough Mudder, and Microsoft and has been featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal and Crain’s Chicago.
Reid is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (BA, Economics) ‘06; the University of Chicago (Booth) School of Business (MBA, General Management, Entrepreneurship) ‘15 and is a doctoral student at Case Western (‘26) doing a dissertation on Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition.
Connect with Reid on LinkedIn and get in touch with him at reid@grititdone.com.
Simon Peck
Simon was initially appointed as a Weatherhead faculty member in 2003. Peck is currently advising Reid Tileston supporting his PhD. on ETA. Peck’s research centers on the link between corporate governance and organization performance, characteristics of the board of directors and top management, and the firm’s competitive advantage. Peck’s work looks closely at topics of executive compensation contracts, board composition and structure, and how top executives do strategic planning. He received his PhD and master of arts degree from University of Leeds; and his bachelor of science degree from University of Warwick.
Connect with Simon on LinkedIn and get in touch with him at sip1@case.edu.