ANOTHER...

Why New Charter

The Power of People-First
Chris Forte, CEO of Olmec, has always put his team first and that loyalty is mutual; more than half of Olmec employees have been on the team for over 15 years. Forte’s highly tenured team was the priority when considering and ultimately joining an Equity Partnership with New Charter Technologies and Oval Partners.

‘People First’ is not just a buzzword at Olmec. “We’re family. We started working together when none of us had kids, now we have kids going to college,” said Forte. “Making sure that they’re taken care of, and their jobs are secure and that we’re all continuing to work together, was very important to me when taking the next step for the company.”

The New Charter Equity Partnership model empowers owners to run their business while leveraging the broader capabilities and resources of the platform. It was critical to the leadership team at Olmec that the organization maintained its name, culture and values.

ABOUT OLMEC

Olmec is a people-first organization, dedicated to client and employee success. The organization operates in the New Jersey, New York City, and Atlanta metro areas and has been serving clients since 1996. Clients and partners benefit from Olmec’s cybersecurity solutions, hosting, IT support, and other technology services.

One of the factors that makes the New Charter Equity Partnership model unique is that each investor owns a piece of the entire holding company’s members firms, not a percentage of just their own firm.

Chris Forte, Olmec Systems, LLC

They ask how it’s worked out. What they (Oval Partners and New Charter) told me is what it is, they told me how the structure was going to work, how they were going to work with us, and they were true to their word.

~Chris Forte, Olmec Systems, LLC

A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY

Oval Partners and New Charter have created a strategy that is one-of -a-kind in the industry. The unique Equity Partnership model that the New Charter Technologies platform offers was unlike anything Forte had encountered previously, even after more than five years of routinely receiving three to five calls a week regarding merger and acquisition opportunities.

Forte recalls a pivotal conversation with his lawyer, whose vote of confidence gave him the final assurance needed to move forward with the partnership. His lawyer, who has deep M&A expertise, met with Oval Partners before Forte made a final decision. “He came back to me after a conversation with Oval Partners and said, I think if you pull the trigger, you’re going to be really happy. That was really the final step for me,” said Forte.

TRUE TO OUR WORD

One of the factors that makes the New Charter Equity Partnership model unique is that each investor owns a piece of the entire holding company’s members firms, not a percentage of just their own firm. “The second most important thing was the equity part of it,” said Forte. “Where we could rollover shares into the New Charter entity. I’ve heard many horror stories of people say, oh yeah, they offered me shares but it was more of a two-tiered system that really benefited the Private Equity firm more so than the second-tier share holder. The way we are structured is the shares I own are the same shares as every other operating company that participated in the share roll over in New Charter and the PE firm Oval Partners. It truly is a Partnership.”

Six months after joining the platform, Forte can confirm that the New Charter Equity Partnership is executed in the exact way it is presented, “Everyone asks the same thing,” said Forte. “They ask how it’s worked out. What they (Oval Partners and New Charter) told me is what it is, they told me how the structure was going to work, how they were going to work with us, and they were true to their word.” Olmec has fully tapped into the New Charter Partnership and is looking forward to a successful, collaborative, and exciting future.