Our Team
Tom Donaldson
Tom is the Managing Partner and a Founder of the firm. He focuses his time on all aspects of the firm including its potential and existing portfolio investments as well as the firm's financial services to its clients.
Prior to founding Blystone & Donaldson, Tom was with Investors Management Corporation (IMC) and its predecessor, Morehead Capital Management, where he focused on executing transactions, managing investment risk and portfolio business operations. Previously, Tom was a partner with McGuireWoods where he represented investment funds and their portfolio companies. Tom's broad experience includes most aspects of structuring, financing and operating public and private companies in a wide variety of business operations.
Tom currently serves as a director on the corporate boards of Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AENT), Legion Brewing Holdings, LLC, The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, LLC and Group 6 Holdings, Inc. He has also previously served as a director on the boards of Arcadia Beverage, LLC, Fleet Feet, Inc., IDOC, LLC and Chop't Creative Salad Co., among others.
Tom serves as director and President of Creative Player Foundation, which provides funding for after school programs for underprivileged students. Previously, he served on the Boards of the Charlotte Sports Commission and the Charlotte Regional Partnership.
Tom received his MBA and law degrees from Villanova University and his undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University.
John Blystone
John is a Founder of the firm and has extensive experience in managing and operating both domestic and international business operations. He has substantial expertise in acquisitions, divestitures, and financial and business operation analysis. He served as Chairman, President & CEO of SPX Corp. Prior to leading SPX, he served in various managerial and operating roles of General Electric Company (GE), including his last position as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nuovo Pignone and Europe Plus Pole, a GE Power Systems company. He also served as the Chairman of the Board at Freedom Group, Inc. as well as Chairman of Remington Arms Co. Inc. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WOR).
Mr. Blystone graduated from the University of Pittsburgh.
Jason Houseman
Jason provides financial solutions and is a trusted advisor to a variety of middle market companies.
Prior to Blystone & Donaldson, Jason was a Senior Vice President at various regional and super-regional financial institutions with a focus on serving middle-market businesses. He has worked with clients to structure transactions in support of mergers & acquisitions, capital procurement, working capital financing, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, recapitalization transactions, cash-out dividends/distributions, and other strategic-level transactions. Jason has delivered a wide array of financial services, either directly or through partners and provided business strategy, risk management, credit structuring and industry observations.
Throughout Jason’s experience, he’s had success working with executives and sponsors in several industries, including manufacturing, energy, technology, transportation, distribution, and services.
Jason graduated with a BA in Political Science from The State University of New York at Buffalo and earned a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University at Buffalo School of Management.
Nathan Edgerly
Prior to working with Blystone & Donaldson, Nate was the Chief Financial Officer of Investors Management Corporation (“IMC”), where he led all company development and M&A activities. Additionally, Nate served in various executive leadership roles within its portfolio of partner companies. Before his role at IMC, Nate was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Morehead Capital, a middle market private equity firm. Nate began his business career working with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Charlotte, NC providing strategic tax and M&A advice to many of the region’s leading middle market businesses and investment firms.
Nate has previously served on the boards of directors of Arcadia Beverage Company, Fleet Feet Sports, Prometheus Group, Chop’t Creative Salad Company, and IDOC, among others.
Nate received his MBA from Duke University and his Master of Accounting and undergraduate degrees from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nate is a CPA licensed in North Carolina.
Paul Porter
Paul specializes in M&A transactions and analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a wide variety of companies. In that role, he performs due diligence and advises on potential business risks and opportunities of the firm's clients and portfolio companies as well as potential targets in various industries.
Paul is a licensed attorney and former CPA. He most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer of Adara Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: ADRA) and was a Partner with McGuireWoods. His 30 years of experience in corporate transactions (primarily, M&A, restucturings and capital finance) and financial statement review provides valuable insights regarding the firms portfolio companies and clients.
Paul received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame, and has a BSBA in Accounting from University of Arkansas (CPA).
Katie Walsh
Katie brings a wealth of experience to her role as the Admin & Office Manager at Blystone & Donaldson. Prior to B&D, Katie had a background spanning 8 years in the food & beverage and travel industries. Katie thrives in dynamic environments, adeptly blending organizational skills with a passion for fostering positive workplace culture.
In her downtime, Katie enjoys spending time with her family, including her daughter, fiancé, and two dogs. Her dedication to both her professional and personal life reflects her commitment to success and fulfillment in every facet of her journey.
Tom Meador
Tom Meador provides the firms strategic solution and restructuring clients with his extensive operational, accounting and financial analysis experience. Prior to Blystone & Donaldson, Tom has most recently served as Vice President at Dragonfly Capital, a Charlotte based Investment Bank serving middle-market companies. In 2018, Mr. Meador founded the Cloud Accounting firm Gradient Accounting, where he focused on providing CFO suite functions to e-commerce and digitally native business. Prior to founding Gradient Accounting, Mr. Meador was a management consultant in the Financial and Operation Process Improvement team at RSM based out of Boston with a focus on Public SaaS and Aerospace clients. Upon graduation, Mr. Meador completed a two year, global operations leadership development program with Avery Dennison.
Mr. Meador earned undergraduate degrees in Finance and Supply Chain Management from The University of Tennessee.
Nate Massey
Nate Massey focuses his accounting and financial analysis experience with the firms strategic solutions and restructuring clients. Prior to Blystone & Donaldson, Nate has served as Vice President at Dragonfly Capital, a Charlotte based Investment Bank serving middle-market companies. Prior to Dragonfly, Mr. Massey was a analytics manager with Hopjump and Associate at Oliver Wyman in Boston.
Mr. Massey earned a BS degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Collateral and Economics & International Business from The University of Tennessee.