Our mission is to acquire one business and carry its legacy forward.
We will grow your business while preserving the people that make it great.
And we’ll transact on the terms that suit you.
Our Story
Felipe and James co-Founded Highland together after two decades of experience in management consulting roles at McKinsey & Co. and Deloitte Consulting, in small business operations, and in alumni leadership and board level academic roles.
Felipe and James met in 2018 as part of a team leading the operational due diligence and finance integration work for a >$50B acquisition at a marquee integrated healthcare company. The creation of Highland represents the continuation of a now seven-year-old discussion from that time about passion, professional inspiration, and a love of entrepreneurship.
Today, Felipe and James are united in their belief that direct ownership and operational accountability over a single great business will maximize the value of their skillsets, their drive, and their shared vision of building a business with the capacity to generate enduring value.
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Co-Founder & Principal
Felipe lives in Washington DC with his young family. He’s married to Daniela, a healthcare strategy consultant, and have two kids together: Felipe (age 2) and Elia (age 6M). He is an engineer by training from Purdue University and has 9 years of experience in Management Consulting. Felipe obtained his MBA from Cornell University’s School of Management. Most recently, Felipe was an engagement manager at Deloitte Consulting’s supply chain strategy practice.Felipe was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. From an early age, he was exposed to learning experiences that helped shape his adult life. He moved to the US to attend Purdue University, where he majored in Industrial Engineering. After college, Felipe moved to Washington DC to start his career in Deloitte Consulting’s commercial practice. A few months before reaching the three-year mark at Deloitte, Felipe left the firm to attend Cornell University’s Graduate School of Business. While at Cornell, Felipe focused heavily on strategic operations and leadership programs. After graduating business school, Felipe returned to Deloitte Consulting, specifically in Deloitte’s Supply Chain Strategy team.
Outside of work, Felipe enjoys spending time with his family. He consistently tries to get his golf game back to its glory days of 5-10 HCP. And when time allows, he works out at the National Mall with his Irish Setter. Felipe enjoys traveling internationally and is starting to expose his kids to the world outside of the US and Mexico.
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Co-Founder & PrincipalJames is based in New York City and brings over a decade of experience in Finance, M&A and strategy consulting. Most recently, he was a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he led teams advising Life Sciences and Private Equity clients on drug portfolio investment decisions, M&A strategy and execution, and commercial. Prior to McKinsey, James spent seven years at Deloitte Consulting, where he guided large teams instrumental in global transformations, including a $10B+ life sciences divestiture and a $50B+ healthcare merger. Raised in South Texas in a multigenerational family of entrepreneurs, James developed an early appreciation for business grit and a “the buck stops with me” problem solving perspective in the face of operational complexity.
James is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business and holds a BBA in finance with additional coursework in statistics and accounting. He has served on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the undergraduate program and has led the NYC McCombs Alumni Chapter, supporting a professional network of 2,500+ alumni. He has also studied Capital Markets and Game Theory at Prague’s University of Economics and Business and Spanish literature in a post-graduate capacity.
Outside of work, James is a competitive endurance athlete, coach, and writer. He recently accomplished a longtime goal of running a sub-24 hr 100-mile ultramarathon and is writing a cowboy novel inspired by his family’s experiences in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. James is also a passionate skier and cyclist, but for now is principally focused on preparing for the Valencia marathon in December 2025.
Who you sell to matters if you want to protect your people and your business, for the long term.
See how we stack up against other potential buyers.
our differentiated value
Highland Legacy Capital
We’re not just aligned in principle—we’re built to deliver on it. Here’s how that translates in real terms:
We go all-in.
This is not one of many bets—we’re acquiring one company and dedicating ourselves to it entirely. You get full-time operators, not part-time overseers.
Your legacy gets a blue ribbon team.
We bring decades of operating and advisory experience, a deep bench of mentors, and investors committed to long-term success.
You get continuity where it counts.
Employees stay on. Customers stay supported. Culture stays intact. We believe in compounding what makes a company great, not cutting it.
You set the pace.
We tailor the transaction and timeline to your goals— whether that’s stepping away entirely or staying on through a phased transition. No cookie-cutter structures. No pressure.
You’ll be proud of what comes next.
Growth doesn’t mean change for its own sake. We scale carefully, thoughtfully, and with a plan—so you can look back and know it went to the right hands.
Like you, our differentiated value lies in who we are and how we act—principled, all-in, and committed to building something that lasts for the next generation.
vs. them
Private Equity Sponsors
(financial buyers)
Mandates can be restrictive for owners.
Owners are often required to keep working, tied to complex earnouts or equity rollover structures, while PE “steers from the boardroom”
People are performance levers.
Employees are retained or replaced strictly based on near‑term ROI metrics, putting the team that built your company on uncertain footing.
Returns over resilience.
With a 3–5 year investment window, there can be significant pressure to drive results with financial engineering: bolt-ons, cost-cutting, and leverage. Long-term potential—and legacy—can be sacrificed for IRR.
vs. them
Strategic Buyers
(competitors)
Synergy‑first agenda.
Acquirers often pursue deals for cost synergies—consolidating teams, roles, and systems to eliminate what they view as duplication. This means layoffs, especially in G&A and leadership.
Legacy absorbed, not stewarded.
Your brand, culture, and decision‑making are subsumed into the parent organization—diluting the heritage you’ve built for your employees and your customers.
Your values get diluted.
Integration tends to favor the acquirer’s playbook. What made your business special—its pace, its people, its priorities—rarely survives the transition.
You’ve spent years turning your vision into a vibrant, enduring company...
…our purpose is to steward that legacy— not flip it.
What that means for you:
Founder‑first transition. We collaborate closely with you to honor the culture, customers, and team that makes your company great.
Buy to build, not to sell. We step in as full‑time owner‑operators and run the business for the next generation, with no exit clock.
People at the center. From day one we invest in the employees who built the business, keeping their growth and security front of mind.
Flexible economic terms. We’ll structure a deal that’s right for you—up-front cash, predictable cash flow, or an equity ride on the next growth curve, you tell us.
Legacy that lasts. We chart the next chapter of expansion so your life’s work continues to thrive, long after the deal is signed.
What we look for: we are excited about businesses that demonstrate the hallmarks of long‑term, defensible value.
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Predictable, recurring, or contract-based revenue (cyclicality ok if annualized revenue is stable)
Annual EBITDA of $3–15+ million, with EBITDA margins above 15%
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Privately owned, founder- or family-led
Defensible brand, IP, or differentiated service that is '“mission-critical” to end customers
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Large, fragmented market with room for growth
Favorable customer and supplier dynamics (i.e., low concentration)
We don’t expect any business to check every box, and that’s not the goal. These criteria serve as guiding lenses, not rigid filters, as we evaluate each opportunity on its own merits.
Let’s work together.
Thinking about selling your business? We’d love to hear your story.
Share a few details below, and we’ll be in touch promptly.
