Prior to founding Ardent, Charles was a partner with HIG Capital, LLC and Boyne Capital Partners. His experience at HIG Capital spans the firm’s early history through its emergence as a preeminent middle market private equity fund. He has over twenty years of experience in structuring and leading recapitalizations of privately held businesses, corporate divestitures and restructurings.

Charles began his career advising pioneers of small cap private investing on acquisitions, divestitures and financings while at Kidder Peabody & Co. in New York and as an energy services analyst with Howard Weil in New Orleans. 

His industry expertise includes business services, consumer goods and services, multi-unit retail, publishing, industrial supplies, wholesale distribution, energy services, agri-business, component manufacturing and building products.