Team

Dr. Fender, DMD serves as a Partner at the Thurston Group. At Thurston Group, Dr. Fender is responsible for development and relationship management of their physician practice management companies, including clinical leaders, research endeavors and practice growth opportunities. Dr. Fender also provides strategic oversight to Thurston Group’s portfolio companies clinical integration and affiliation programs.

Prior to joining Thurston Group, Dr. Fender co-founded Smile Doctors, where he served as Chief Clinical Business Development Officer since 2015. His success at Smile Doctors allowed the company to grow significantly through strategic acquisitions and was also able to implement an affiliation program that allowed the company to grow to a national presence. In addition, Dr. Fender co-founded SGA Dental Partners in 2018. Currently, Dr. Fender serves on the board of directors for National Dental Healthcare REIT, SGA Dental Partners and Gen4 Dental Partners.

Dr. Fender earned his dental degree in 1993 from the University of Georgia Dental School where he graduated as Valedictorian. He then completed and received his degree in orthodontics from Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Fender and his wife, Hope, have 3 sons with 2 grandsons. Dr. Fender enjoys traveling and spending time in the great outdoors with his family.

Mr. Davis has over eight years of private equity experience and is responsible for originating, evaluating and executing investment opportunities at Thurston Group. Mr. Davis focuses on growth equity investments, with a particular emphasis in the healthcare services sector and has helped clients develop and implement compelling strategic growth plans to improve operational efficiency.

His past investment experience includes Smiles Dental, Smile Doctors, Pinnacle Dental, U.S. Oral Surgery Management, South Georgia Dental Management, U.S. Endo Partners, E78 Partners, National Dental Healthcare REIT and U.S. Orthopaedic Partners. Currently, Mr. Davis serves on the Board of Directors for South Georgia Dental Management, U.S. Endo Partners, E78 Partners and National Dental Healthcare REIT.

Prior to joining Thurston Group, Mr. Davis served as senior consultant at Navigant Economics and worked at UBS Financial Services. Mr. Davis began his career as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps where he served three combat tours in Iraq as a platoon commander and executive officer. Today, he serves as a board member of Chicago’s Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation (MC-LEF).

Mr. Davis earned a BS in Political Science from the US Naval Academy and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Mr. Hayes joined Thurston Group in 2019 to assist with Thurston’s private equity investment portfolio. Prior to joining Thurston, Mr. Hayes worked as an Associate for Cain Brothers, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets, focused on mergers and acquisitions, debt financings and equity financings for healthcare companies.

Mr. Hayes graduated cum laude from DePauw University with a BA in Economics.

Mr. Ticker joined Thurston Group in 2020, where he focuses on sourcing, diligence, execution and oversight of investments in healthcare and business services companies. Mr. Ticker has several years of experience in private equity investing, portfolio company oversight and operational execution. He joined Thurston Group from E78 Partners, a Thurston Group portfolio company, where he assisted E78’s private equity clients in the diligence and execution of investments.  Prior to this, he served as an investment professional with H Plus Capital (formerly HNA Capital International), a private investment firm, where he worked on investments across several industries. Prior to joining H Plus, Mr. Ticker worked at The Kraft Heinz Company, where he was responsible for executing strategic financial goals following the combination of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz. Mr. Ticker began his career in Citi’s investment banking division, where he served clients and executed transactions in the financial services industry.

Mr. Ticker is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Mr. McNitt joined Thurston Group in 2000 following a successful career as a senior finance executive with Gould Electronics, Zenith Electronics and Netdox. He oversees mergers and acquisitions, business development, and investor relations at Thurston Group. With a deep understanding of financial markets and institutions, Mr. McNitt brings his extensive experience in the private and alternative investing sector, including venture capital, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and leveraged and management buyouts to bear for Thurston Group portfolio clients.

A recognized business leader, Mr. McNitt serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Royalty Capital Corporation, Capital Reserve Insurance Company, SSWhite and ACG Chicago. He received a BA with honors in Economics from Amherst College and an MBA in Finance from Harvard Business School. He is a CPA, CFA and a licensed real estate broker.

Mr. Friedman is a former Principal at Deloitte Consulting, having worked with the firm for 40 years until reaching mandatory retirement. For the last 14 years, Mr. Friedman developed and managed the Value-Based Billing program and portfolio. In this capacity, he structured, negotiated and managed Deloitte’s interest in risk sharing. The fair market value of the portfolio approached $1 billion as of his retirement.

Previously, Mr. Friedman practiced in strategy and operations and led the firm’s oil and gas practice in North America. He also structured and managed several joint ventures, including Deloitte’s first in India, in which Deloitte subsequently acquired 100% ownership and today employs in excess of 20,000 people.

Mr. Friedman received his BS degree in Finance from Indiana University and his MBA in Finance and Economics from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

Mercedes Fehsel has been with Thurston Group since 1990 and is a dedicated and focused Executive Assistant. Mercedes is the top aide to the Chairman and the CEO and she maintains the Chicago office operations. Mercedes is responsible for supporting the Thurston team across a variety of different administrative fields and she directly handles all financial matters such as client billing, accounts payable, payroll and banking. She excels at prioritizing and multi-tasking in order to achieve project goals. Mercedes is a very hardworking individual with a strong drive to succeed.