Operating Advisory Group

John Priest

Senior Managing Director and Head of Special Assets and Financial Institutions Operations

John is a Senior Managing Director and the head of Special Assets and FI Operations within Operating Advisory Group (“OAG”), a consulting firm that partners with Manulife | Comvest Credit Partners and its portfolio companies to drive value creation activities.

Prior to joining OAG, John was based in London as a Managing Director and head of the Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company (“COAC”) in Europe and Australia where he oversaw operational due diligence, business plan development and execution, unsecured investments, and exit strategies for Cerberus Capital Management’s portfolio companies and asset purchases. During his tenure at COAC, John also led the turnaround and sale of a Cerberus-owned U.S. financial services company as the CEO. Prior to that, he held a variety of roles in retail and investment banking in the U.S., South America, and Africa leading M&A, Risk and Credit, Operations, and Analytics functions. John resigned his commission in the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant Commander.

John received a B.A. in Economics from Miami University.

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Our private credit business is now Manulife | Comvest Credit Partners, offering creative and flexible private credit solutions to both sponsored and non-sponsored middle-market companies, backed by Manulife’s global scale and Comvest’s proven leadership.

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Our private equity platform continues as Comvest Private Equity, an independent firm focused on control investments in middle-market companies, partnering with founders and management teams to build businesses for lasting growth.

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