OUR TEAM
ILIYA P. ZOGOVIC
President & CEO
Prior to co-founding DBD Partners, Mr. Zogovic was the Chief Executive Officer of ONEtoONE Corporate Finance USA, an international investment bank that is focused on the lower middle market and headquartered in Europe. Mr. Zogovic launched the US division of ONEtoONE and grew it to become the most profitable branch of the bank in under four years. Prior to joining ONEtoONE, Mr. Zogovic was the President and CEO of GSP Corp., one of the largest sales and marketing organizations in Mexico and Central America. Mr. Zogovic grew this company from a small, local business into an international company with over 10,000 employees. Mr. Zogovic also co-founded and managed a financial services business in Mexico before moving to the USA.
Mr. Zogovic is an advisor to several businesses as well as non-profit organizations. He is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization’s (YPO) Utah Chapter, where he leads the Backcountry Skiing network, and a Founding Member of the NY Liberty Chapter, where he served as Treasurer; he is also the former Learning Officer of the Organization’s Global Financial Services Network. Mr. Zogovic is the Secretary of the Board for the USA – Mexico Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Zogovic an ultra-endurance athlete; he has completed 5 Ironman races, several triathlons, and ultramarathons. He is an avid backcountry and big mountain skier. Mr. Zogovic studied Mechanical Engineering in Mexico and received his post-graduate education from Harvard Business School.
GREGORY SHALOV
Founder & Managing Partner
Prior to co-founding DBD Partners, Mr. Shalov was Managing Partner at ONEtoONE Corporate Finance USA. He led the M&A, Restructuring, and Capital Formation divisions and exponentially grew the business by more than 100% each year.
Mr. Shalov started his career at UBS, where he worked on M&A transactions totaling over $20 billion. These transactions included the sale of Weight Watchers to Invus Group, the sale of Nabisco Holdings to Kraft Foods, the sale of Nabisco Holdings to RJR Reynolds, and the purchase of Favorite Brands by Nabisco Holdings. After UBS, Mr. Shalov joined Hampshire Equity Partners, where he worked on the acquisition of platform companies, including Connector Service Corporation, and assisted in the operations of the company, including the acquisition of 3M Robinson Nugent’s three plants. He later co-founded a successful private equity and consulting firm, where he ran the sales division of two portfolio companies and grew them from inception to $50 million and $20 million in revenues, respectively.
Mr. Shalov is the proud father of four children. He holds a B.A. in History and Economics from Oberlin College, where he graduated from Phi Beta Kappa.
SANDY GARRETT
Managing Director
Sandy joined DBD Partners as Managing Director in April 2018. Sandy has a B.S. in Operations Research from Columbia University, where he helped found it's OR department. He also earned an M.S. in Systems and Information Science from Syracuse University while working at IBM. Here, he developed the first building automation software system and the first computerized backend assembly and test semiconductor operation. This was followed by twelve years at Alliance Bernstein and UBS PaineWebber in Securities Analysis and Investment Banking, deriving extensive credit, risk, and capital formation skills.
Founding his own firm, Venlease Associates, lending money to pre-revenue emerging high-growth companies, he incurred zero losses for investors while capturing nearly one-third of the venture debt market. This led to the first vendor financing in the Semiconductor Industry, where he created a wholly owned KLA-Tencor Capital and Credence Systems Capital, representing over 20% of Credence’s revenue at its $900 million peak. To facilitate transactions, he established offices and relationships throughout Southeast Asia and India, where he collaborated with numerous multinational institutions as well as local lenders and banks. After several years of freelancing, Sandy joined DBD Partners for its network of highly experienced professionals collaborating to maximize returns for early middle market M&A mandates.
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DOUG GREGORY
SALVATORE (SAL) COCUZZA
Executive Director
Director, Head of Origination
Doug joined DBD Partners in April 2018. He is an Executive Director focused on M&A transactions. Doug began his post-MBA career at General Motors in the Treasurer’s Office, where he oversaw the politically charged divestment of GM’s subsidiary in South Africa and then moved on to Airco Industrial Gases, where he closed numerous acquisitions in a consolidation of the industrial gas distribution industry. After assisting Bob Mancuso (the former CEO of Merrill Lynch Capital Partners) in his personal acquisition-related investments and closing several advisory transactions at Janney Montgomery Scott, Doug joined Prudential’s corporate M&A group as a senior vice president. Thereafter, he served as corporate vice president, heading up ADP’s Employer Services acquisition initiative. More recently, he was a senior managing director at The Riderwood Group, a lower middle market investment bank, and then became a Director at ONEtoONE Corporate Finance.
Doug holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, along with a BA in Finance from Pace University. He has consummated over 50 transactions (acquisitions, divestitures, capital raises, and JV’s, both domestic and internationally) totaling in excess of $6 billion in value in his career, acting as both a principal and an advisor.
Prior to joining DBD Partners in 2023, Sal worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Overlay Capital Partners Fund. His experience also includes Real Estate, having worked at Colasacco Real Estate Private Equity and interned under Tishman Speyer mentors. Sal has also been a business owner and entrepreneur; he started and successfully ran multiple businesses under contract with Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, respectfully, in the automotive, aircraft, construction and luxury retail industries. Sal graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Financial Economics.
Sal is an active member of Livingston Lodge 11 of New Jersey and Garibaldi Lodge 542 of New York where he sat as former Chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee and Junior Warden. He is an Active Member of the Classic Car Club of Manhattan and a true car and Formula One enthusiast. Sal is also a Member of the Columbia University Club of NYC, The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce, and the Columbus Citizens Foundation. He currently sits on the board of the Columbia University Alumni Association.
In addition to his passion for cars, in his free time, Sal enjoys music and plays the piano, guitar, bass, and drums. He is tri-lingual and speaks Italian and Spanish.
FARHAN HOSSAIN
Analyst
Farhan joined DBD Partners in July 2023 after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Economics. His undergraduate thesis explored the relationship between zoning policy, construction, and housing affordability in San Francisco. Prior to joining DBD Partners, Farhan completed summer internships at Starwood Capital Group and BlackRock. On campus, Farhan conducted communications and graphic design work for the Alternative Meat Lab, a venture of the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology.
ANDREW SOLNIK
KATE SANTACRUZ
Analyst
Kate joined DBD Partners in February 2023 after graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Applied Economics and Management with a concentration in Finance and a leadership minor. Prior to joining DBD Partners, Kate completed summer internships at Wells Fargo and Nomura Holdings. Kate also interned at the Non-for-profit organization Second Wind.
During her time at Cornell, Kate was involved in several organizations, including Professional Development of Women (PDOW), where she acted as Director of Outreach and Communications, and the Student Assembly, where she represented the Dyson School of Business. Kate also started her own organization, Cornell FinTech Club, where she served as the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion. Kate is a member of the Dyson Leadership Fellows Program and DysonConnects.
Analyst
Andrew joined DBD Partners in June 2023 after graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Industrial Labor Relations and a minor in Information Science. Prior to joining DBD Partners, Andrew completed summer internships at Amazon Web Services and The Walsh Law Firm. During his time at Cornell, Andrew was a member of the IFC Judicial Board, Red Cross Club, Chess Club, and President of Chi Phi Fraternity.
EXECUTION CAPABILITIES
