Mission Statement

At Giralus, we identify and partner with visionary founders in high-growth, evolving industries to propel their companies to new heights. We believe in the power of collaboration, unlocking synergies, and fostering innovation to create value that transcends traditional business boundaries through strategic M&A consolidations.

We specialize in navigating the complexities of consolidations within these markets, leveraging our expertise to streamline operations, enhancing efficiency, and driving overall profitability with a focus on creating shareholder value. Our seasoned team of professionals brings a wealth of experience and expertise that provide strategic guidance and operational support to propel our companies towards sustained success over the long term.

The core element of our philosophy is forging solid partnerships with founders who share our integrity and passion for building enduring enterprises. We seek out opportunities with proven leaders who are committed to optimizing their companies for long-term growth and value creation. Our commitment to cultivating a collaborative environment ensures that our investments go beyond mere financial transactions – they become enduring strategic partnerships built upon shared values and a mutual drive for operational excellence and market leadership.

TEAM Bios

KI INGERSOL

Ki has over thirty years of experience working with early-stage companies as an investment banker and a transactional attorney.

Formerly Vice President at First National Investment Banking, Ki has advised a wide range of companies and investors in connection with mergers, acquisitions and capital raising activities.

Ki was the founding CEO of Hostcentric, a roll-up of web hosting companies, and served on its Board of Directors from its inception until its acquisition by Interland, a publicly traded web-hosting company. Hostcentric raised $55.5 million in Series A and Series B Preferred Stock rounds prior to its acquisition.

As a corporate attorney at Morrison & Foerster, Dentons and Kroloff, among other firms, Ki advised companies and investors in connection with mergers, acquisitions, investments, securities law issues, intellectual property matters and a wide range of other corporate and financing transactions.

Ki also served as Director of Strategic Development for Xing Technology Corporation, a pioneer in the field of internet audio and video streaming, where he helped Xing secure venture capital financing from Yucaipa, Sumitomo Corporation, and Internet Initiative Japan. Ki also helped Xing close a number of strategic partnerships, and align itself for its acquisition by RealNetworks.

Ki is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He also holds an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, where he received instruction from Bill Cockrum, Al Osborne, Michael Milken and many other great teachers.

RONALD F. RICHARDS

Ron has over 30 years of experience working with public and private companies in the areas of investment banking, law and accounting. He is an expert negotiator and has structured and executed numerous public offerings, private placements, and merger and acquisition transactions and delivered numerous valuations and fairness opinions. He is co-author of PIPES: A CEO’s Guide to Successful Private Investments in Public Equities.

Ron also serves as Managing Director of Gray Wolf Partners, LLC, a business consulting firm that provides innovative strategy, finance and marketing advisory services. Previously, he served as Managing Director of Viking Asset Management, LLC, the investment advisor to the Longview Funds. His responsibilities included: (i) sourcing, conducting due diligence and structuring potential investment opportunities for the Longview Funds and (ii) working with portfolio companies to enhance their value. Before joining Viking Asset Management, Ron served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Business Development of Biopure Corporation, a publicly-traded life sciences company engaged in the development of oxygen therapeutics. Prior to Biopure, he served as Managing Director, Corporate Finance at Wells Fargo Van Kasper. He also previously worked for the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw, and the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche.

Ron holds a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law and an M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he was a two-time winner of the prestigious Price Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies Fellowship. He also received his B.A. in Economics/Business from UCLA, graduating magna cum laude from the Division of Honors, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is a member of the State Bar of California and is a retired Certified Public Accountant. Ron has extensive Board of Directors experience and currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Gray Wolf Partners, LLC and Kinstate, Inc.

JORGE I. RIOS

Jorge is a seasoned financial markets and wealth management services professional, having practiced his craft in the industry for over 33 years.

His experience includes advising individuals, family groups, corporate entities and family offices with various components of the financial and capital markets, including asset allocation, specialized and structured solutions, restructurings, primary market offerings, as well as all aspects related to equity, fixed income, foreign exchange, derivatives and separate portfolio management.

Jorge's experience was gained and honed at The Chase Manhattan Bank, Wasserstein Perella Emerging Markets LP, HSBC Private Bank International and Merrill Lynch.

Jorge is a graduate of Harvard College, and the Herbert Business School at the University of Miami. He has active securities industry licenses, including Series 7, 9, 10, 24, 63 and 66 licenses.

GRIFFITH A. KUNDAHL

Griff is a veteran entrepreneur and executive who is passionate about disruptive technologies and strategically building teams and companies to thrive in new markets. Griff’s career experience is in launching, building and scaling companies in emerging technology sectors.
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Griff is a founding partner/shareholder in multiple early-stage startups, served as Executive Director at the incubator known as COIN, the Center of Innovation for NanoBiotechnology (Research Triangle Park, NC), and was a Founder (in 2002) of the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (Wash., DC/NYC), the national non-profit trade association for nanotech-enabled business. His writing credits include co-authorship of The Handbook of Nanotechnology Business, Policy and Intellectual Property Law (Wiley 2004).
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Griff is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Denver College of Law.

Giralus executes collaborative, simultaneous consolidation transactions in fragmented, high-growth industries to build market-leading companies driven by operational excellence and strong core values.

Mission Statement

TEAM Bios