Houston, Texas

We acquire great businesses, and build on them, for the long term.

Zenaida Partners is an operator-led holding company. We acquire established, profitable Texas businesses from owners ready for the next chapter, and lead them ourselves with a lasting commitment to their employees and customers.

Start a confidential conversation What we look for

For business owners

Your business keeps its name, its people and its reputation.

We are experienced executives, not a fund on a clock. Our partners bring backgrounds in engineering, operations, finance, product development, sales management, business development, corporate strategy and entrepreneurship, across software, medical devices, chemicals, trading and venture capital.

Long-term ownership

We intend to own and operate the businesses we acquire indefinitely. There is no exit timeline and no plan to flip them.

Continuity for your team

We start by learning what made the company successful. We keep the people, customer relationships and culture that got it here.

Operators, hands on

We lead each business ourselves and invest in technology, disciplined management and growth: new markets, new services and complementary add-on acquisitions.

What we look for

Profitable, well-established companies with a durable edge.

We are industry agnostic within the preferences below. We are especially interested in businesses that benefit from technology, or that already hold an advantage through proprietary technology or know-how.

EBITDA
$1M+, profitableSteady or growing earnings matter more than size
Operating history
5+ yearsEstablished track record
Location
TexasHouston area preferred
Situation
SuccessionFounder or owner retirement

Larger opportunities: for the right fit, we also consider businesses with $5M – $25M EBITDA and more than 10 years of operating history.

Industries we like

  • Manufacturing and precision manufacturing
  • Commercial and industrial services
  • Logistics, distribution and warehousing
  • Analytical services: labs and testing
  • Businesses related to automotive
  • Businesses related to healthcare

What matters to us

  • Barriers to entry and a durable competitive advantage
  • Recurring revenue or long-term contracts
  • Loyal, long-standing customers
  • Room to grow through new markets, services or acquisitions

Not a fit

  • Turnarounds
  • Restaurants and hospitality
  • Retail and consumer-facing businesses
  • Consulting, staffing and recruiting firms
  • Pure real estate plays

How a sale works with us

A straightforward, confidential process.

  1. Introductory call

    An informal conversation about you, your business and your goals.

  2. Confidential review

    We sign an NDA and review summary financials and operations.

  3. Letter of intent

    A clear proposal on price, structure and your role after closing.

  4. Due diligence

    A focused review, organized to keep disruption to your team low.

  5. Closing and transition

    We close and work alongside you through a planned handover.

Every conversation is kept strictly confidential. We are glad to speak directly with owners, and we also work with brokers and advisors.

Team

The partners

Benjamin A. Hertzog, PhD

Managing Partner

Engineer, inventor and serial entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience building companies and helping businesses define and execute growth strategies. Former Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company and founding CEO of Procyrion.

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Ben combines hands-on technical experience with a background in management consulting, investing and executive leadership. At McKinsey & Company he advised senior executives on corporate strategy, operational performance, product development, innovation management and growth.

As founding CEO of Procyrion, he helped turn an idea into a clinical-stage company, building its first prototypes in his garage and raising $30 million through four financing rounds. He has also held leadership roles in venture investing and technology commercialization, including work with Johnson & Johnson, and is an inventor on 12 granted U.S. patents.

His approach emphasizes understanding what has made a business successful, respecting the owner’s legacy, supporting its people, and applying technology and disciplined management where they deliver meaningful improvements.

Ben holds a B.S. in Engineering Science from Trinity University and a Ph.D. in Medical Science from Brown University. He lives in Houston with his wife Stephanie and their two sons, and is an avid outdoorsman and vintage car enthusiast and racer.

Nicolas Philippe

Managing Partner

Technology executive, engineer and operator with nearly 30 years of experience building software products, leading engineering teams and running day-to-day operations, from early-stage startups to global enterprises.

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Nicolas began his career in financial markets at Crédit Agricole and Finacor in London, building real-time pricing systems for swaps, FRAs and bonds. He then spent a decade at Sun Microsystems and Oracle leading teams that designed and deployed identity and access management systems for large organizations.

As Director of Engineering at ForgeRock, he led the Identity Management product line and helped build the platform that carried the company to its 2021 NYSE IPO. Most recently, as Head of Engineering and then CTO of Mperativ, he ran engineering and daily operations, defined the company’s AI strategy, and helped lead the business through its 2026 acquisition by Lative. Since 2016 he has also owned and operated his own software firm, NPVTech.

Nicolas brings an operator’s mindset: respect for what has made a business successful, disciplined processes and reporting, and the practical use of technology and data to make a good company more efficient, more resilient and ready to grow.

He holds a B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in Finance from Université Joseph Fourier (IMAG) in Grenoble, France. He grew up in the French Alps, lives in Houston with his wife Tammira, and is an avid runner and hiker.

ZENAIDAZēnaïs · “of Zeus”

Our name

Zenaida is the genus of doves native to the Americas, including the mourning dove and the white-winged dove familiar across Texas. The name comes from the Greek for “of Zeus.”

We liked what it holds together: the steadiness of the dove and the strength of its namesake. It describes how we want to own businesses, calmly and for a long time.

Contact

Thinking about the future of your business?

Whether you are planning a sale now or a few years from now, we would welcome a confidential conversation. Brokers and advisors with a fitting opportunity are welcome to reach out as well.

Based in
Houston, Texas