James D. Gressett

Co-Founder

Prior to co-founding Century Bridge, Mr. Gressett had a successful career spanning private equity, real estate and public accounting. In 1995, Mr. Gressett founded L&G Partnership as a vehicle to acquire middle market companies. In 1997, L&G acquired 148 Pizza Hut restaurants in California, Oregon and Nevada. The newly created company, PacPizza, is now one of the largest franchisee in the international Pizza Hut system and, in 2000, Mr. Gressett became the company's Chief Executive Officer.

As a result of his involvement with Pizza Hut, Mr. Gressett, in partnership with Dr. Jeffery Jia, subsequently become the first KFC franchisee in China, with stores located in Yangzhou. The two grew the business to become the largest KFC franchisee in China before exiting the investment in 2008.

Prior to his involvement with PacPizza and KFC, Mr. Gressett was instrumental in the formation of Austin-based homebuilding company, Streetman Homes.

In 1983, Mr. Gressett became a partner in a newly formed land development company to develop real estate in Austin, Texas. The company developed approximately 5,000 acres in the Austin area, including the master planned community of Circle C Ranch. In addition, Mr. Gressett developed approximately 400 acres in Keller, Texas, and was also a partner in the development of a 700 acre master planned community in Round Rock, Texas.

In addition to his real estate career, in 1984 Mr. Gressett acquired a 25% minority ownership stake in the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association, which he held until 1994. Mr. Gressett was also a Partner with KPMG Peat Marwick and currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Ivy Funds, a $24 billion mutual fund complex.

Mr. Gressett earned a BBA degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin in 1972.