Jay Ferguson is a Managing Partner of Vicente Capital Partners. Previously, he joined Kline Hawkes & Co. at inception and is currently a member of the investment committees for Kline Hawkes California, L.P. and Kline Hawkes Pacific, L.P.

Jay previously worked in the investment banking industry for both Merrill Lynch & Co. and Smith Barney Inc.  While at Merrill Lynch, he was a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Group and the General Corporate Finance Group.  From 1989 to 1994, he worked on over 30 public and private transactions for numerous emerging growth and middle market companies, raising in excess of $4 billion.

Selected current and past board seats and board observer positions include: Advanced Products Corporation, MicroNet Technologies, Evant, Overture Services (formerly GoTo.com), CampusLink Communications, TranSoft Networks, UFO Communications and Via Medical.

He is a member of the Governing Board of the Robert Toigo Foundation and a board member of California ALL.  Additionally, Jay is a member of the Board of Trustees for The Wildwood School and a board member of the Los Angeles Urban League.  In 1998, he received the Robert A. Toigo Foundation’s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year award.  In June 2006, he was named to Black MBA Magazine’s list of “Top 50 Under 50” Corporate Executives for 2006.

Jay is a past-president of the UCLA Anderson School’s Alumni Association, a former member of the Board of Visitors at the Anderson School and was the recipient of the 2006 UCLA Anderson Outstanding Alumni Service Award.  He is a former member of the Steering Committee for the Cedars-Sinai Sports Spectacular, and served on the Board of Governors for NASBIC from 1999-2001.

Jay Ferguson received a B.B.A in Finance from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.  At the Anderson School, he was named a Toigo Fellow and a Venture Capital Fellow.  He also interned with Warburg, Pincus & Co.