About Us

Capital at the Speed of Innovation

Leonid is a mission-driven investment firm accelerating innovators in U.S. national security and public-sector transformation. We provide fast and effective financing for government contractors and dual-use tech, combining capital with strategic partnership and deep operational expertise.

Our Team

Meet the dedicated professionals behind our success.

Chris Lay
Co-Founding Partner

Christopher (Chris) Lay is a Co-Founding Partner at Leonid Capital Partners, a private credit fund supporting the U.S. national security ecosystem. With a Ph.D. in Neurobiology, an MBA from USC, and 15+ years of neuroscience research experience, Chris brings a unique perspective to finance and innovation. His career spans healthcare, financial services, and technology, including leadership roles in private equity. Chris is committed to advancing mission-driven initiatives and fostering alignment with clients who share Leonid’s values of supporting veterans and military families.

James Parker
Co-Founding Partner

James Parker, Co-Founding Partner, helps lead the firm’s strategic investments in U.S. National Defense and Space contractors. With over 25 years of experience in finance and investing, James has spearheaded initiatives in fundraising, mergers and acquisitions, portfolio management, and direct lending across various industries. Under his and Chris’ leadership, Leonid Capital Partners has deployed hundreds of millions of dollars across multiple funds and SPVs. Before co-founding Leonid Capital Partners, James held leadership roles at public and private companies, managing restructuring, corporate finance, acquisitions and investments including a successful public listing as CFO.

Earlier in his career, James spent more than 10 years as an engineer and program manager in the Aerospace and Defense industry, working primarily on programs requiring TS/SCI clearance for both the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. James holds an MBA from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and a Bachelor’s in Astrophysics from Rice University.

Ted Lanes
Chief Operating Officer

Ted Lanes serves as Chief Operating Officer at Leonid Capital Partners, bringing decades of operational and financial leadership experience across private equity, banking, and corporate restructuring. Prior to joining Leonid, Ted led Lanes Management Services, advising organizations through periods of transition with a focus on performance improvement and financial accountability. His career includes senior leadership roles guiding companies through complex operational challenges, financial turnarounds, and governance initiatives. As COO, Ted works closely with Co-Founding Partners Chris Lay and James Parker to strengthen Leonid’s operational infrastructure and scale its impact.

Monroe Weng
Chief Financial Officer

Monroe Weng is Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Leonid Capital Partners. He has built his career leading finance and accounting teams across investment management, commercial banking, and other financial services firms. Prior to joining Leonid, he served as SVP Finance at Nano Banc and held senior roles at Goldman Sachs, Tailwind Capital, and Pier Asset Management, where he spearheaded initiatives to build out the firm’s infrastructure functions. At Leonid Capital Partners, Monroe leads financial strategy and oversight as we continue expanding our platform supporting companies with government contracts across defense, aerospace and national innovation sectors.

Sam MacGregor
Vice President

Sam is a Vice President at Leonid Capital Partners. Prior to joining Leonid, he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy, specializing in direct action operations and mission support. He later served as the Director of Research & Development for the Navy’s Autonomous Vessel Program. Before his naval service, Sam worked as an Associate at BlackRock. He holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Bates College, where he was a varsity, All-Conference rower.

Max Mayer
Senior Associate

Max is a Senior Associate at Leonid Capital Partners. Before joining Leonid Capital Partners, Max served as an Investment Associate at a private family office, where he played a key role in strategic investment decisions and portfolio management. Prior to that, he was a Lead Associate in Kroll’s technology investment banking group. There, he focused on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and capital raising across various technology subsectors, including enterprise software and SaaS, internet, information services, semiconductors, and communication technology. Max earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California (USC). He holds both the FINRA Series 79 and 63 licenses and is a certified public accountant (CPA).

Reggie Walker
Senior Associate

Reggie is a Senior Associate at Leonid Capital Partners. Prior to joining Leonid, he served for nine years in the Marine Corps as a UH-1Y helicopter pilot with HMLA-167 and later as a forward air controller and sUAS Program Manager with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO). He specialized in aviation operations, close air support coordination, and unmanned systems integration. Reggie earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of New Hampshire and is currently pursuing his MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Cody Blair
Associate

Cody is an Associate on the Underwriting team at Leonid Capital Partners. Before joining Leonid, Cody spent six years in the Marine Corps. He served as a Scout Sniper with the 1st Marine Regiment and later as a high-risk training instructor before we got our hooks into him. He earned his B.A. in Biology from the University of Kansas and recently completed his MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business, where he interned with RBC Capital Markets in their Healthcare Investment Banking group.

Garrett Sweetser
Associate

Garrett served five years as a U.S. Army field artillery officer, leading teams of more than 200 soldiers and managing complex training and operational missions. He later served as Director of Operations for a metal manufacturing company, overseeing and driving company-wide operations and growth. Garrett holds an MBA from USC Marshall and a B.S. in Economics from West Point.

Brooks Wallace
Associate

Brooks is an Associate at Leonid Capital Partners. Previously, Brooks worked as a Senior Associate in KPMG’s Deal Advisory & Strategy practice, where he supported private equity clients in transactions involving middle and upper middle market companies across TMT and C&R industries. Brooks is a licensed CPA with a B.S. in Business Administration from Chapman University and an M.S. in Accounting from the University of Southern California.

Joseph Brown
Analyst

Joseph Brown is an Analyst at Leonid Capital Partners. He brings experience from Salem Partners’ Investment Banking Division, where he works on middle-market M&A transactions. He previously works in KPMG’s Audit practice and is a licensed CPA. Joseph holds a B.S. in Accounting with a minor in Finance from San Diego State University.

Jarrett Korson
Analyst

Jarrett is an Analyst at Leonid Capital Partners in the Washington, D.C. office. Prior to joining the Leonid team, he attended Claremont McKenna College where he earned a B.A. in Economics and was a member of the baseball team, 2x team captain, 2x SCIAC All-Conference team, and 4x SCIAC All-Academic team. Jarrett also attended The George Washington University School of Business, earning a M.S. in Management while competing as a member of the Revolutionaries’ baseball team. He has previously worked as an intern and Associate Analyst at Econ One Research, focusing on the landmark Senne v. Major League Baseball case.

Tyler Sanford
Analyst

Tyler is an Analyst at Leonid Capital Partners. He brings experience from Capital Group, where he supported product launches and financial planning, and Forbes Partners, a boutique M&A advisory firm. He has also held deal advisory internships with PwC, KPMG, and Eide Bailly. Tyler holds an M.S. in Accounting from Indiana University – Bloomington and a B.S. in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

Tyler Shaw
Analyst

Tyler is an Analyst at Leonid Capital Partners. Prior to joining Leonid, he completed internships in analytics and fintech, with a focus on data science and financial analysis. He holds a B.A. in Economics with a Data Science sequence from Claremont McKenna College and is currently pursuing an M.S. in Business Analytics from Villanova School of Business, where he was a Division 1 baseball player.

Peter Snelgrove
Analyst

Peter is an Analyst at Leonid Capital Partners. Before joining the team, he worked at PwC specializing in assurance services for private equity and hedge fund clients. Aligning with the firm’s commitment to service and operational excellence, he currently serves in a part-time role as a UH-60M Black Hawk Pilot in the California Army National Guard. Peter holds a B.A in Economics and Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Trent Grainger
Junior Analyst

Trent Grainger is a Junior Analyst at Leonid Capital Partners. Prior to joining Leonid, he completed internships in equity capital markets advisory and origination at ICR Capital and Roberts & Ryan, followed by an internship with Leonid. Trent holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Richmond, where he was a Division I lacrosse player.

Rose Amalfitano
Accounting Associate

Rose is an Accounting Associate at Leonid Capital Partners. Previously, she worked as an Assurance Senior at Ernst & Young, where she focused on clients in the wealth and asset management industry, specifically private credit funds. Rose is a licensed CPA and holds a B.A. in Economics and Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Claire Carloss
Marketing Associate

Claire is a Marketing Associate at Leonid Capital Partners. Before joining Leonid, she gained valuable experience in market research and communications during her internship at Tracker + Scout. Claire holds a B.S. in Psychology from Santa Clara University.

Gabrielle DeGravina
Investor Relations Associate

Gabrielle is an Investor Relations Associate at Leonid Capital Partners. Previously, she was Director of Investor Relations at MC Companies, supporting capital raising and investor engagement. She also served as Senior Manager of Investor Relations at CG Capital, managing communications for publicly traded companies, and gained experience as a financial analyst for a Real Estate Investment Trust. Gabrielle holds a B.S. in Finance from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University, and is an alumna of ASU’s Investment Banking Industry Scholars program.

Sheena Moreno
Accounting Associate

Sheena is an Accounting Associate at Leonid Capital Partners. Prior to Leonid Capital Partners she worked as a Tax Associate at PwC, focusing on Real Estate, Fund, and SALT tax compliance. Sheena holds a Master’s in Accounting from California State University, Long Beach.

Our Board

Our Board of Directors and Advisory Board members include an exceptional group of individuals, from highly decorated military leaders to accomplished private-sector executives. Each member brings unmatched expertise across defense, innovation, and enterprise growth. Their leadership ensures Leonid remains at the forefront of national security investing and enterprise advancement.

General Michael Barbero

United States Army (Ret)

General Robin Rand

United States Air Force (Ret)

General Melvin Spiese

United States Marine Corps (Ret)

General James Young

United States Army (Ret)

Vice Admiral Mat Winter

President of Winter Strategic Solutions

James “Hondo” Geurts

Former Undersecretary of the Navy

Brian Hibbeln

Former Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of Defense

Daniel Elkins

Green Beret/ CEO of Special Operations Association of America

Michael Halas

Special Forces Officer/ Account Executive Director/ Goldman Sachs

Ken Campbell

Venture Capital Investor and Founder

Matthew Hayden

Founder and Owner of SeaPurity Investments

Journey

Growth Through Every Stage

2019

Leonid Partners is founded to provide non-dilutive capital to innovators supporting U.S. government and defense initiatives.

2020

The firm gains traction as a trusted financing source for federal contractors in aerospace, biotech, and national security.

2021

Leonid expands its services, portfolio, and capital solutions for early-stage to growth-stage government-aligned businesses.

2022

Senior military and financial leaders join the advisory board, enhancing strategic depth and sector expertise.

2023

Leonid grows its defense and space investments, including key deals in advanced manufacturing and national infrastructure.

2025

With new investments in quantum computing and climate-tech, Leonid continues to scale its impact across national security priorities.

Giving Back

We donate 50% of our profits to organizations that support military families and veterans. Beyond our daily mission, we are committed to supporting organizations that matter most to us, our partners, and their community.

Warrior Canine Connection

Warrior Canine Connection trains service dogs to help veterans and military families heal from the invisible wounds of war.

Bret Bigelow Foundation

This charity provides specially designed pajamas for children with terminal and chronic illnesses to offer them comfort and dignity during their hospital stays, inspired by a mother’s experience caring for her severely disabled son, Bret, who faced numerous health challenges before passing away.