Eric Edwards is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Avalon Growth Capital and serves as the Firm’s Chief Executive Officer, is a voting member of the Investment Committee, and sits on the Board of Directors. Eric leads the Firm’s business strategy, direct investment activities, fundraising, and investor relations activities. Sectors of expertise include Food & Agribusiness, Timber & Forest Products, Sustainable Building Materials, Water & Water Technology, Recycling & Circular Economy, Industrials & Manufacturing, Infrastructure & Project Finance, Energy Transition, and Decarbonization themes.

Eric’s career in the Financial Services Industry began in 2002 and has included experience as a Federal Bank Regulator, Senior Credit Officer, Commercial & ABL Lender, Investment Banker, and Private Equity Investor with the majority of his career focused on providing growth capital to under-served lower- to middle-market Rural businesses, having committed more than $1.5+ Billion in growth capital to various rural businesses across the United States.

In addition to committing growth capital, Eric has an extensive background in supervising complex due diligence efforts as well as overseeing numerous business integration and system conversion activities of both public and private enterprises. Eric also brings a successful track record of leading distressed debt workouts and other turnaround activities having performed numerous corporate restructurings, special asset workouts, liquidations and other loss recovery assignments.

Prior to co-founding Avalon Growth Capital, Eric served as Managing Partner of IFG Asset Management, a boutique Investment Banking Advisory, Merchant Banking and Asset Management platform with a focus on the private Real Assets sector.

Prior to joining IFG as Managing Partner, Eric was Senior Vice President & Managing Director of NBH Bank leading NBH Food & Agribusiness Banking which he founded in 2014. Prior to founding NBH Food & Agribusiness Banking, Eric served as Senior Credit Officer for NBH Bank. Prior to his time at NBH Bank, Eric served as Senior Collateral Examiner and Senior Asset Review Officer for CoBank, the lead bank of the Farm Credit System. Before his time at CoBank, Eric served as a Commissioned Bank Examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City leading distressed bank and bank holding company examination activities.

Eric holds a BS in Finance from The Ohio State University and a Graduate Degree in Banking from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Eric is a Registered Representative of BA Securities, LLC and holds FINRA Series 63, 79 and 82 licenses.

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