Mary Bass is a leader in Spencer Stuart’s Private Equity practice with nearly 30 years of private equity experience. She focuses on board director, CEO, COO and CFO roles and their direct reports for growth companies nationwide. Mary has worked extensively with several prominent private equity groups (including Berkshire Partners, Cornerstone Ventures, First Reserve, Jordan Company, Parthenon Capital, Platform Partners, Saw Mill Capital, Shoreview Industries, TA Associates, The CapStreet Group and Texas Growth Fund) to help them recruit CEOs, COOs and CFOs for their portfolio companies and experienced investment professionals for their firms. Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Mary had 16 years of direct investing experience with Triad Ventures, one of the leading private equity groups in Texas. Her experience working with emerging growth companies spans several industries, including industrial, life sciences, telecommunications, distribution, software, specialty retail and consumer. As a venture capitalist, she participated at the board level to help build the management teams necessary to take companies public. Mary is the past president of the Houston Venture Capital Association and has served on the international board of the Association for Corporate Growth, including serving as the former international membership chairman. Mary is director of the Texas Lyceum Association and serves on the board of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation and the Houston Golf Association. She is a graduate of Mississippi State University, from which she earned both BS and MBA degrees with an emphasis on Corporate Finance.
