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Nick Leopard
Chief Executive Officer & Founder at Accordion
Nick Leopard is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Maestro, a software company aimed at enhancing value creation in private equity-backed firms. He co-founded Maestro in 2017 as part of Accordion, a financial consulting firm he established in 2009. Under his leadership, Maestro has developed a SaaS platform designed to streamline portfolio operations and improve collaboration between private equity sponsors and management teams.123
Background and Career
- Education: Nick graduated from Saint Joseph's University, where he was also a captain of the Division I Lacrosse team.2
- Professional Experience:
- Accordion: As CEO and Founder, he has expanded Accordion to serve over 200 private equity firms and their portfolio companies, focusing on financial consulting and technology solutions.23
- Previous Roles: Before founding Accordion, Nick worked with BHC Interim Funding as part of their investment team and was involved in investment banking at Bear, Stearns & Co. LLC. He began his career at CapitalSource Finance, where he built extensive relationships within the finance sector.23
Achievements
- Nick has been recognized in various publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Bloomberg. He was also named one of The M&A Advisor’s “Top 40 Under 40” and was a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award.23
Personal Interests
In addition to his professional endeavors, Nick is known for his light-hearted anecdotes, including an impressive high school record of consuming 60 Chicken McNuggets per week.2
Highlights
If you know me, you know that I never unplug. But tomorrow will be different. I, and all of Accordion Partners, will be disconnecting from our work on June 19th to connect with our country’s current state and our history — to gain a greater understanding of the racial injustices that continue to permeate all aspects of society, especially Corporate America.
As a CEO in the financial services space, I’m acutely aware of the lack of Black professionals in our industry. And it’s not lost on me that it’s rooted in a lack of opportunity: a systemic form of inequality that has largely benefited folks who look like ME. Until now, I’ve cared deeply about this — but, professionally, I haven’t been as vocal as I should be.
That ends today. As the leader of a small but mighty organization, I’ll be using my platform to drive meaningful, sustainable change for the Black community.
Closing our doors to honor Juneteenth is a critical first step — but there will be many steps to follow. We (as a company, industry, and country) have a long way to go to dismantle racial injustice, but I’m committed to doing all I can to bring us closer. #blacklivesmatter #juneteenth
