Both financial and operating company executives note that Jeff Balash not only sees challenges and opportunities in businesses that others don’t because of his broad career experience, but also knows how to capitalize on them.

Jeff’s career includes operations in public and private companies, both domestic and multinational, investment banking, private equity, venture, being integral to five early-stage companies and having concluded business on six continents. This embraces originating the idea of and establishing businesses for Avon Products in Nigeria and the Ivory Coast while in his twenties, initiating both the first joint venture between China and a Fortune 100 Company (Campbell’s Soup) and also founding the Transactions Development Group for Drexel Burnham in his thirties and co-founding Telephony@Work, one of the first companies to offer CCaaS and to use “the cloud” in his forties, which was subsequently acquired by Oracle.

SoCoCare, the second edition of this CCaaS company, was acquired by Five9 which enabled Five9 to go public—by converting it from voice only to multi-channel—at a valuation of $320+ million in April 2014 and grow to a market capitalization of approximately $5.5 billion in late 2023, a 17:1 return.

Jeff then raised the A round financing for the third instance of this business, Thrio, which is recognized as a leader in the space and uses AI and NLP. He continues as an advisor to Thrio.

The New York Times #1 bestseller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World explains “that in most fields, especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists—are primed to excel. Generalists…juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see”. This describes what some call Jeff’s “superpower”.

Jeff founded Comstock in 1992. He achieves results that change companies by applying his EQ and IQ.

He gets to know people easily, appreciates their firm’s challenges, culture, and competitive environment to develop breakthrough solutions that can be understood and implemented. Jeff uses Design Thinking to develop innovative strategies, putting customers, employees, and the planet at the center of problem solving. It’s a holistic approach that considers what will consistently deliver the highest value for all stakeholders. This engenders buy-in, execution and durability—true lasting value.

Jeff serves on:

• Board of Directors and chairs the Audit Committee / EmployBridge The largest industrial staffing firm in the US, an Apollo portfolio company
• Board of Advisors / LogicSource BPO for indirect purchasing

Professional History

Previously, Jeff co-founded Anthem Partners, a private equity firm with Sanwa Bank of Japan (then the world’s largest bank) as its capital partner, doing business in the US, Europe, and Asia. Before that he was recruited from Lehman Brothers/NYC to Drexel/BH by Michael Milken to found and manage Drexel’s Transactions Development Group, which identified, financed, and executed investment transactions for corporations, financial sponsors, and family offices. Jeff was also Director – New Markets and Export Operations/Avon Products with operational responsibility for a $400 million business (current dollars) and Assistant to the CEO – Louis Dreyfus & Cie., doing business in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and S. America.

Articles in Leadership Excellence, Educom Review, Worldwide Association of Business Coaches and Boardwise

Education

Harvard Business School / MBA Baker Scholar
Harvard Law School / JD cum laude
Princeton / BA Economics summa

Boardwise / Board of Directors Certificate
MIT SMR / Data and Disruption: Mastering AI and Machine Learning for Finance Certificate
Univ. of Virginia and EIT Digital / Digital Transformation Certificates
Oxford University / Selected as a Churchill Scholar by the English Speaking Union