WHO WE ARE

Connacht Asset Management is a New York based small and mid cap focused equity investment firm, founded in July 2019 by Sean Gallagher, a former Goldman Sachs Partner.

Our investment approach is conviction driven, with a focus on quality and bottom up, fundamental analysis.
We believe we have a differentiated strategy focused on smaller cap companies, which in our view is the most alpha rich and inefficient part of the market, and an area where we have extensive expertise.
We have a cohesive team that has over 100 years of combined investment experience and a shared history at Goldman Sachs.
Culture is important to us and is centered around collaboration, accountability, and humility across all areas of the firm.

THE MEANING BEHIND CONNACHT

Connacht is the name of a province located in the western part of Ireland. Sean Gallagher, Founder and Chief Investment Officer, named the firm as a tribute to his mother and late father, both Irish immigrants who came to the United States in the mid 1960’s. Sean’s mother was born on Connacht Street and his father grew up in the Connacht region of Ireland.

THE TEAM

SEAN GALLAGHER

SEAN GALLAGHER
Founder, CEO, CIO – Connacht Asset Management

Sean Gallagher is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Connacht Asset Management and has 27 years of industry experience. Sean is known for and strongly believes in the importance of culture and is focused on fostering a strong, fiduciary minded investment team with a focus on collaboration.

Prior to launching Connacht Asset Management, Sean was the Co-Chief Investment Officer of the US equity team at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), responsible for the portfolio management and investment research process of the US Equity strategies. Prior to that, Sean was Chief Investment Officer of the Value Equity business from 2009-2017. He helped drive assets from less than $2 billion to $40 billion at the peak. Sean joined GSAM as a Vice President in 2000, was named Managing Director in 2005, and Partner in 2008. He was selected for the Goldman Sachs Managing Directors Leadership Program in 2008, which takes the top 40 Managing Directors across the firm through an intensive 6-month training and leadership program, including visits to Normandy and Gettysburg. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he spent six years as a Research Analyst at Merrill Lynch Asset Management, now BlackRock, focusing on technology, telecommunications, and REITs.

Sean earned a BS in Finance from Drexel University in 1993 and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the NYU Stern School of Business in 2003. Sean serves on the Board of Trustees of Drexel University and The Dwight School in New York.

SCOTT KOLAR, CFA

SCOTT KOLAR, CFA
Co-Lead – Connacht Small Cap Core; Sector Captain: Technology

Scott Kolar spent 17 years as a technology sector investor at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM). At GSAM, Scott managed tens of billions of dollars of institutional client assets, launched and managed the Goldman Sachs Tollkeeper mutual fund, and headed up a team of global technology analysts spread throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. Scott was named a Managing Director in 2004 and later put in charge of the Growth Team Non-Large Cap business. Prior to GSAM, Scott built the technology infrastructure for Liberty Investment Management, a startup asset manager later acquired by Goldman. Prior to Liberty, Scott worked his way through Harvard College building networks, databases, and applications right as the World Wide Web was coming to life. He was also a middle linebacker for the Crimson. After retiring from GSAM in 2013, Scott co-founded an institutional equity investment business for Fortress Investment Group. Upon completion of the Fortress engagement, Scott was recruited to turn around a Tampa Bay area commercial LED lighting company as its interim CEO. Upon successfully restructuring that company, in late 2015 Scott joined Silvant Capital Management, then a unit of Ridgeworth Investments, as the sector portfolio manager for technology. Ridgeworth was later acquired by Virtus Investment Partners. Scott graduated from Harvard College in 1994 with an AB in Government. He is a CFA charterholder.

DAN ZIMMERMAN, CFA

DAN ZIMMERMAN, CFA
Co-Lead – Connacht Small Cap Core; Sector Captain: Financials

Prior to joining Connacht Asset Management, Dan Zimmerman served as a Portfolio Manager and Analyst for Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) in New York through February 2019. Dan served as Co-Portfolio Manager of the Goldman Sachs Small/Mid Cap Fund from 2014-2019. He was named Managing Director in 2015. From 2008-2019, Dan covered a multitude of sectors and industries for the broader Fundamental Equity unit as an Analyst within GSAM including the financials sector, business services, fintech, transportation, and agriculture industries. Prior to joining GSAM in 2008, Dan worked in Goldman Sachs’s Global Investment Research division for over 5 years initially as a Junior Analyst covering the telecommunications sector and left as a Senior Writing Analyst covering the mortgage & specialty finance sector, which included notable coverage of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Dan started his career as an Investment Banking Analyst for BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, VA. Dan graduated from the University of Richmond in 2002 with a double major in Finance and Accounting and minor in Political Science. He is a CFA charterholder.

JOHN LARKIN, CFA

JOHN LARKIN, CFA
Chief Operating Officer / Chief Compliance Officer

John Larkin joined Connacht Asset Management as the Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to joining Connacht, John worked at Susquehanna International Group (SIG). Upon joining SIG in January of 2010, John formed the Event-Driven/Special Situations desk. He managed this team for his entire tenure at SIG that created research and made markets in risk arbitrage, litigation, corporate actions and levered equities. In 2013, John was named Co-Head of US Equity Sales and in 2014 John was named an Associate Director of Research. John began his finance career at Citigroup in 1998 in US Research Sales before co-founding Citigroup's Equity Proprietary Investments group that managed approximately $1B of gross long/short equity exposure. John holds a BA from the University of Vermont, an MBA from Cornell’s Johnson School of Business, and is a CFA charterholder. Prior to business school, John served two two-year terms in the Vermont House of Representatives.

VERONICA FARLEY, CPA

VERONICA FARLEY, CPA
Chief Financial Officer

Veronica joined Connacht Asset Management as the Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Connacht Asset Management, Veronica spent the last 18 years at York Capital Management, most recently as Managing Director and Senior Controller of Accounting. She managed a department of fifteen accounting professionals which were responsible for fund accounting, financial reporting, valuation, and regulatory reporting. York Capital Management’s alternative investment platform is comprised of multi-strategy, equity long/short, opportunistic credit, private equity, hybrid private equity, CLOs, UCITS funds, and fund of funds. Prior to joining York Capital Management, Veronica was a Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers. During her tenure at York Capital Management, she also served as an adjunct professor at Fordham University from 2008 – 2011 where she was responsible for developing curriculum and conducting undergraduate lectures on various accounting and auditing topics. She graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University in 1999, with a BS degree in Accounting.

PRIYA DVIVEDI

PRIYA DVIVEDI
Chief Administrative Officer

Priya joined Connacht Asset Management as the Chief Administrative Officer. Prior to joining Connacht Asset Management, Priya worked at Allianz Global Investors on the Business Management and Strategy team which focused on strategic projects, sales enablement, and RFP management. Prior to joining Allianz Global Investors, Priya spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in various roles including as Business Unit Manager for the Fundamental Equity Product Management team where she focused on hiring and developing analyst and associate level talent, and improving operational efficiency within the function. Her final year at Goldman Sachs was as the COO of Recruiting where she assisted with the implementation of new technology and redesign of the campus recruiting strategy for the firm. She graduated from Smith College in 2002 with a degree in Anthropology.

DON MIMNAUGH

DON MIMNAUGH
Operations Manager

Don joined Connacht Asset Management as the Operations Manager. Prior to joining Connacht Asset Management, Don worked at Kazazian Asset Management for four years, most recently serving as CFO and Director of Operations. His responsibilities included managing the daily operations processes, trade execution management, fund accounting and administration, and financial and performance reporting for the fund. From 2012 to 2016, Don worked at JPMorgan Chase as an Associate in the Corporate and Investment Bank’s Private Equity Real Estate Services division. Don graduated Magna Cum Laude from Syracuse University in 2012 with a BS degree in Finance and Accounting.

JONATHAN NEITZELL

JONATHAN NEITZELL
Data Science Advisor

Prior to advising Connacht Asset Management, Jon was the Chief Data Officer at Goldman Sachs Fundamental Equities, the first appointed role in the Asset Management division. Jon is also the founder of Anduril Partners, an investment and advisory firm focused on scaling high potential early-stage technology companies. Jon has over 18 years of technology and financial services experience as a portfolio manager, Chief Data Officer, and serves on several board and advisory roles. Jon earned a BA in Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas in 2000 and an MBA from the University of Chicago in 2008. He has also completed the Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy executive program from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

BRENDAN McGOLDRICK

BRENDAN McGOLDRICK
Research Analyst

Brendan joined Connacht Asset Management in December 2021 as a Research Analyst. Brendan previously worked at Six Columns Capital as a TMT Investment Analyst covering global internet, fintech/payments, media, and cable. From 2015 to 2019, Brendan was an Equity Research Associate covering internet at Susquehanna International Group. Prior to this, he served as a Commercial Credit Analyst at M&T Bank. Brendan graduated from Washington and Lee University in 2014 with a degree in Business Administration, Accounting Concentration.

CONTACT US

3 Columbus Circle
Suite 1544
New York, NY 10019

Phone: (917) 397-1025
Fax: (917) 397-1175
Email: info@connachtam.com

We'll do our best to get back to you within 6-8 working hours.