In this episode, “what makes a successful CEO” is answered by two great entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, board members, and Lead Independent Directors. Bill Clendenen and Michael Burcham share the crucial attributes of CEOs, especially within private equity. They emphasize the importance of financial acumen, empowering the team without micromanaging, and the continuous education and coaching of teams. Both highlight the need for potential CEOs to develop key scaling skills like goal setting and relationship-building.

The is the second of a three-part series that features CEOs who successfully exited (or recapitalized) a Shore portfolio company. This episode features Rex Adams, CEO of EyeSouth, the nation’s largest comprehensive ophthalmology platform headquartered in Atlanta. Rex shares how focusing on people, processes, and technology helped EyeSouth exceed their growth goals. He also discusses his advice to future CEOs and his strong belief that leaders have a responsibility to develop their people.

In October 2022, Shore Capital Partners announced the sale of EyeSouth Partners, a leading provider of comprehensive ophthalmology services across the eastern United States, to Olympus Partners. Shore formed EyeSouth in 2017 with the goal of creating a leading ophthalmology platform in the South and providing the highest level of support to its practices and clinicians. At the time of founding, Shore completed a strategic partnership with Georgia Eye Partners and its founding physician, Dr. Eugene Gabianelli, was appointed Chief Medical Officer of EyeSouth. Led by Chief Executive Officer Rex Adams, EyeSouth grew its affiliate network from 5 locations to over 155 locations throughout Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Alabama, North Carolina and Illinois. The growth was driven by organic and M&A initiatives, as well as EyeSouth’s ability to support its affiliated practices and physician partners with strategic guidance, administrative resources, operating expertise and capital with an absolute focus on clinical quality and a patient-first culture.

In this episode, we sit down with Mark Larsen, a CXO alumnus who now serves as the CEO of Connexure, to discuss his remarkable career growth. Mark reflects on his early days as a CXO, explaining why he chose this career path, how failure contributed to his professional development and the importance of building relationships in the microcap space. He also offers advice for aspiring CXOs on how to optimize their time in the program.