Our Team

Dennis E. Murphree - General Partner
Dennis E. Murphree
General Partner
Edward M. Perry - General Partner
Edward M. Perry
General Partner
Steven M. Dauphin - General Partner
Steven M. Dauphin
General Partner
Elliott M. Bouillion - General Partner
Elliott M. Bouillion
Affiliate Partner
William E. Reiser, Jr. - Venture Partner
William E. Reiser, Jr.
Venture Partner
   

Patrick E. Murphree
Patrick E. Murphree
CFO
Darlene R. Kilburn
Darlene R. Kilburn
Fund Administrator
Latasha Keith
Latasha Keith
Executive Assistant
 
       

History

Since the mid 1970's, Murphree Venture Partners principals have been the lead investor in, a substantial investor in, or the CEO of over 85 entrepreneurial, high growth companies. Over that period, we have produced returns for our investors that surpass most key industry benchmarks.

We have done this by being calculated risktakers, not gamblers. We invest alongside strong syndicate partners in businesses and industries we understand. We invest close to home to better underwrite and assist the management teams of our portfolio companies. And we regularly employ the lessons that come from being in this business for over 30 years.

Advisory Board

J. Philip Ferguson
Former CIO and President of the AIM Mutual Funds, Houston

Mr. Ferguson retired from the AIM Funds (approximately $149B under management) on March 1, 2007 after a distinguished career in funds/asset management. Prior to AIM, he was one of four founders of Beutel Goodman Asset Management ($2.5B under management). Previously, he held senior positions at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers in Houston . Mr. Ferguson is currently on the board of UTIMCO, which manages the endowment for Texas state universities.

Frank Hevrdejs
Co-founder and Managing Partner, The Sterling Group Houston

Mr. Hevrdejs runs The Sterling Group, Houston 's oldest and largest P.E. buy-out firm. They have done $7B of transactions since he and the late Gordon Cain founded Sterling in 1982. Mr. Hevrdejs was with the M&A groups of Deloittle, Haskins and Sells; Baker Hughes Corp.; and McLaughlin Associates prior to his association with Sterling.

Richard Benkendorf
Co-founder and Managing Principal, Technology Impact Partners, Austin.

Mr. Benkendorf spent many years at IBM Corporation where he served in a number of senior executive positions all over the U.S. After IBM, he was head of M&A and strategic investments at Ameritech Corporation in Chicago . As a principal in both T.I.P. and Concentric Partners, Mr. Benkendorf has managed over $125MM in venture capital investments throughout the country.

Gary Petersen
Co-founder and Sr. Managing Partner, EnCap Investments, Houston.

Mr. Petersen is one of the four founders of EnCap, one of the largest private energy investment funds in the U.S. at $5B. The newest EnCap fund is $2.5B and invests in a wide variety of private equity energy deals. Prior to EnCap's founding in 1988, Mr. Petersen was the CFO of Nicklos Oil & Gas and was a long time member of the energy banking team at Republic Bank Corporation.