Donald H. Putnam - Executive Chairman

Donald H. Putnam founded Grail Partners LLC in early 2005 and is Managing Partner. Prior to founding Grail he led Putnam Lovell Securities, which he founded in 1987. At Putnam Lovell he served as Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board, and Managing Director in the firm's investment banking group. Putnam Lovell was sold to National Bank Financial in 2002; until 2005 Mr. Putnam served as CEO and Vice Chairman of Putnam Lovell NBF.

From 1980 to 1986, Don held senior positions at SEI Investments. He was an Executive Vice President and Division President of SEI, founder and President of SEI Financial Services Company, and founder and President of its various mutual funds with assets under management in excess of $15 billion.

Prior to joining SEI, Don was a Senior Consultant at Catallactics Corporation (a subsidiary of SunGard), where he devised new quantitative products and strategies for major banks, including J.P. Morgan, The Boston Company, and Northern Trust Company. From 1973 to 1978, he designed quantitative investment products and other trust services at Bankers Trust Company.

Don serves on the investment committee of Ripon College and the boards of Manifold Partners and Welton Investment Partners, as well as an Advisory Board member at Ridgedale Advisors.

S. Craig Cognetti - Chief Executive Officer

S. Craig Cognetti focuses on M&A execution and principal investing for Grail Partners LLC.

Prior to joining Grail in 2006 Craig was with Chelsey Capital, a New York City-based alternative investment firm. Before Chelsey, Craig was with Mellon Ventures, the $1.4 billion private equity division of Mellon Financial. Craig focused on buyouts and financial and business services investments, including credit cards, trading platforms, post-trade & technology and portfolio management tools. Craig completed several investments and was actively involved on the boards of several portfolio companies.

Before joining the private equity group, Craig was in Mellon Financial’s Corporate Strategy and Development group, where he worked closely with Mellon’s executive management on M&A transactions. Craig co-led an initiative to increase Mellon’s presence in separate accounts and managed an initiative to build an alternative asset management platform.

Earlier in his career, Craig was on the senior management team of TRL, a leading transportation services provider. Craig reported directly to the firm’s CEO and managed the firm’s largest division to record revenue and profitability.

Craig earned his BS in Business Administration from Georgetown University and his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he completed an International Finance and Management program at Oxford University.

John Griff - President

John has 40+ years of experience in financial services. He was COO of publicly held Gleacher & Company, an investment bank specializing in Advisory, Capital Markets, Fixed Income, and Private Equity, where he was also CEO of the broker-dealer. He was a Strategic Advisor to the CEO at LNR Property Corporation where he shared responsibility for LNR’s European business units. He was the President of Putnam Lovell Securities, an investment bank specializing in the financial services sector. He was the CEO of HSBC USA, Inc. a leading US based investment banking business, and Co-Head of HSBC’s Global in the Fixed Income Division. He had Senior roles at then NationsBanc Capital Markets, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch.

He has Established Merchant banking businesses at each of NationsBanc, HSBC and Putnam Lovell NBF. John went to Fordham University with a BS degree in Finance and Marketing.

Rachel Hsu - Chief Financial Officer

R. Rachel Hsu joined Grail Partners LLC as CFO in August 2019 after a sabbatical to raise her family. Previously, Rachel spent six years at Hall Capital Partners LLC, a private investment advisory firm to ultra-high networth families and individuals. She joined Hall Capital Partners LLC in 2003 as the corporate controller and departed as the CFO of Funds in 2009. Prior to Hall Capital Partners LLC, Rachel was the controller at Putnam Lovell Securities Inc. for two years.