The business was founded 15 years ago has a focus on combining traditional private equity best practices with low-cost, high-impact strategies that promote growth.

Jacmel Growth Partners, a minority-owned, private investment firm, has appointed Mark Hardaway as chief financial officer.

In this newly-created role, Hardaway will oversee the financial operations for Jacmel and its holdings, while also working with portfolio company leadership to implement financial strategies, risk management and operational practices.

Hardaway, who has 15 years of experience in senior finance positions across a range of companies, is also a business owner. He was previously a senior treasury officer at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to that he worked at Amgen, Inc. in a variety of roles of rising seniority for nearly seven years based in Zug, Vienna, Prague and Thousand Oaks, California.

Founded in 2015, Jacmel Growth Partners targets family-operated, lower middle market companies.

The firm is led by managing partner Nick Jean-Baptiste, who developed the firm's approach after over 15 years of Wall Street and private equity experience.