John Bahr
John was born into the world of retail. He learned the family grocery and home furnishings business through hands-on training in stores and dinner-table sales recaps and strategy discussions. His fascination with consumer innovation and retail operations has stayed with him during the 20 years he has spent advising, funding, and running branded consumer companies.
Forming AHR Growth Partners with Chris gave John the opportunity to continue doing what he loves: discovering great consumer and retail brands, and helping them to achieve their potential.
John has been a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting, an investment banker with William Blair & Company, a private equity investor with Castanea Partners and a marketing and e-commerce executive with VRP, a nutritional supplement company.
John completed his undergraduate studies at Emory, and got his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He, his wife and their two children make their home in Boulder.
Chris Spahr
In the early ‘90s, while working on a consumer IPO at William Blair & Company, Chris discovered a passion for the industry, and he has never looked back. His career has afforded him opportunities to engage with a wide range of consumer, ecommerce, retail and franchising brands, including many that have grown to become household names.
In 2015 Chris formed AHR Growth Partners with John to be able to partner with promising brands at an earlier stage. As an entrepreneur himself, Chris appreciates the unique challenges growing companies face, the importance of properly resourcing key strategic and financial initiatives, and the role that flexibility and creativity can play in driving successful outcomes.
Chris earned a B.A. in History, cum laude, from Cornell University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He spent almost 20 years in consumer investment banking at William Blair & Company and one year at Partnership Capital Growth prior to its acquisition by Piper Jaffray. Chris started his career as an Analyst in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs & Company.
Chris is a recent empty nester who lives with his wife in the Chicago suburbs.
Tom O’connor
Tom’s background provides a rare combination of investment expertise, operational acumen, and technical proficiency. After starting his career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, he became a principal at Kinderhook Partners, where he specialized in long-term private and public investments in software and other growth companies.
Tom’s desire to gain hands-on experience led him to immerse himself in computer science and start a job at OpenFin, a small and fast-growing software firm. There, he embraced various roles spanning engineering, product development, and strategy. This invaluable experience provided Tom with a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to build and operate a successful software business.
In 2023, Tom joined AHR Partners, with the goal of extending their successful investment model into the software space. He is committed to empowering software companies and guiding them towards success in an ever-evolving landscape.
Tom earned a B.S. in Economics from Duke University and currently resides in Austin, Texas, where he enjoys the company of his loyal golden retriever Libby.
Padraic Donahue
Paddy joined the AHR team in 2021 and is primarily focused on project execution and company outreach. Having worked in the Consumer & Retail space throughout his career, Paddy shares the team’s passion and enthusiasm for working with entrepreneurs and growing businesses in the industry.
Prior to joining AHR, Paddy spent two years at William Blair & Company on the Consumer & Retail Investment Banking team. He began his career at Deutsche Bank as an analyst in the Consumer Retail & Business Services Investment Banking Group.
Paddy holds a B.A. in Economics with Distinction from Cornell University and currently resides in downtown Chicago.
SARAH Langlas kinman (AHR Emeritus)
As the child of two small business owners, Sarah has a genuine understanding and interest in working with and learning from entrepreneurs. Sarah joined the team in 2015 with a focus on engagement execution. Prior coming to AHR, she spent two years at Robert W. Baird as an Analyst in the Technology & Services Investment Banking group. Sarah also spent one year as a Senior Analyst with Baird Capital, where she worked on corporate development M&A and private equity investments.
Sarah earned her BBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Iowa, where she captained the varsity soccer team. She and her husband live in Dallas with their two children and golden retriever.