GTCR Announces Partnership with Steve Powell and Mary Mattes to Form Harpula

Pharmaceutical services and technology industry veterans to build new company through acquisitions and organic growth

CHICAGO, Oct. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced that it has entered into a Leaders Strategy™ partnership with Steve Powell and Mary Mattes to form Harpula Health Holdings, LLC ("Harpula"). Based in Raleigh, NC, Harpula will seek to acquire companies and assets in the technology-enabled pharmaceutical solutions industry as part of a strategy to build a market-leading company focused on improving the efficiency of drug research and development.

GTCR's Leaders Strategy™ approach involves partnering with exceptional management leaders in its core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. GTCR has successfully applied The Leaders Strategy™ for several decades and maintains a culture of partnership with management teams as they build strategically attractive businesses over time. Mr. Powell and Ms. Mattes are serving as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Harpula, respectively, and will make a substantial investment alongside GTCR.

Mr. Powell has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical services industry. He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Synteract, a biotechnology-focused contract research organization ("CRO"). He joined Synteract as CEO in 2017, and significantly grew the company through organic growth and strategic acquisitions before completing a successful sale of the company to Syneos Health. Prior to leading Synteract, Mr. Powell spent more than 25 years in senior leadership roles across pharmaceutical services and technology businesses.

Ms. Mattes most recently served as Executive Vice President, Global Operations for the Synteract division of Syneos Health. With over 25 years of industry experience, Ms. Mattes has worked across the CRO sector in operational and technology delivery roles, and prior to the Syneos Health acquisition, served as Chief Operating Officer of Synteract.

"We look forward to working together with Steve and Mary to build a leading tech-enabled pharmaceutical solutions company," said Ben Daverman, Managing Director and Co-Head of Healthcare at GTCR. "They have an exceptional track record in the pharmaceutical services space with experience across CRO and eClinical organizations. Their backgrounds, industry expertise and strategic vision make them ideal partners as GTCR commits to build a platform in this attractive industry."

"I am excited to partner with GTCR to build Harpula into a market-leading company in the biopharmaceutical technology and data industry," said Mr. Powell. "GTCR has deep domain expertise in healthcare, a substantial track record of creatively building platforms in this space, and a long history of backing experienced management teams. With our partnership, Harpula is well-positioned to create a compelling platform to enable efficient and patient-centric clinical trials."

"GTCR's formation of Harpula with Steve and Mary is another excellent example of The Leaders Strategy™ and builds on our history of successful investments in pharmaceutical services and the broader healthcare industry," added Geoffrey Tresley, Principal at GTCR. "We are excited to create this platform behind Steve and Mary and are actively looking for companies and assets in the sector, including corporate carve-outs, founder-led and sponsor-backed companies."

Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm that pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. GTCR is focused on investing in transformative growth in companies in the Business & Consumer Services, Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Technology, Media & Telecommunications sectors. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $24 billion in over 270 companies, and the firm currently manages over $27 billion in equity capital. GTCR is based in Chicago with offices in New York and West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Harpula was formed in October 2022 as a partnership between Steve Powell, Mary Mattes and GTCR. Harpula's mission is to build a market-leading platform in the technology-enabled pharmaceutical solutions industry. For more information about Harpula, please contact (212) 835-7042. Follow us on LinkedIn and on the future website www.harpula.com.

Media Inquiries:
Andrew Johnson
(212) 835-7042
[email protected]

SOURCE GTCR