Calvert Street Capital Partners Announces Partnership with Longtime Traffic Safety Executive

January 14, 2021 – Calvert Street Capital Partners (“Calvert Street”) is pleased to announce its partnership with traffic safety industry veteran, Kathi Holst, to pursue an investment strategy in the traffic safety sector.  Kathi will play a leading role in supporting Calvert Street’s efforts to build a differentiated national provider of traffic safety services through the acquisition of high-quality and growing privately held businesses.  We anticipate announcing our first acquisition in this strategy (a company which is currently under LOI) toward the end of the first quarter this year.

Kathi began her career in traffic safety in 1988 when she founded ACCi, an Illinois based provider of pavement marking and traffic control solutions.  Kathi successfully sold ACCi to National Equipment Services (NES), which was ultimately consolidated into RoadSafe Traffic Systems. At RoadSafe, Kathi served as the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President for Business Development and Strategic Initiatives.  During her time at RoadSafe, Kathi assisted in the integration of the original 12 acquisitions, acquired 2 more companies and started several greenfield operations, helping make RoadSafe the largest provider of traffic safety services in the United States.  In 2012, Kathi departed RoadSafe to start RCMS, LLC, a consulting business focused on traffic safety and traffic management. 

Kathi has played a critical role in the advancement of roadway safety initiatives at the local and national levels.  She serves on the national board of directors of American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) having previously served as its Chair from 2002-2004.  Kathi also previously served on the board of directors of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association. Kathi also currently serves on the board of directors of the Construction Safety Council, an organization committed to the safety training in construction trades. 

Kathi commented, "I have enjoyed working with John Wissel and the team at Calvert Street as we have developed an investment strategy in this industry for which I have such a passion.  Calvert Street’s collaborative approach blends well with the entrepreneurial spirit of the industry in general and with me in particular."

John Wissel, a Partner at Calvert Street, added, “We are delighted to be able to work with Kathi on our investment strategy to build a differentiated national provider of traffic safety services.  Her industry experience, guidance, and relationships make us better investors.  Kathi has been working with us to develop our thesis-led strategy in this sector over the past two years, and we look forward to a long-term, successful partnership as we begin to execute upon that strategy.”   

 

ABOUT CALVERT STREET

Calvert Street is a lower middle market investment firm based in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm consists of experienced professionals pursuing two distinct investment strategies: (i) equity investments (through Calvert Street) and (ii) mezzanine investments (through Parkway Capital). The equity team utilizes a research driven approach to identify attractive businesses providing critical services to the industrial and commercial sectors. The mezzanine team provides flexible junior capital solutions for companies in a broad range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, consumer products, business and industrial services, and healthcare. Collectively, Calvert Street’s and Parkway Capital’s investment professionals have invested in over 120 companies representing cumulative transaction values in excess of $1.5 billion. Read more about Calvert Street at www.cscp.com.