Northborne Partners

Jim is a Senior Advisor at Northborne Partners and serves on the firm’s Advisory Board. Jim has over four decades of experience as an adviser and investor and is currently the Managing Member and Chief Investment Officer of Virentes Partners Group, a multifamily office which invests in private companies and alternative assets. He also serves as the CEO of Virentes Hospitality Group, a multi-brand, multiunit ownership and operating company. Prior to Virentes, Jim was a Managing Director at Lazard Middle Market where he led the firm’s consumer and retail practice. Jim joined Lazard in January 2020 from Rendersi, a boutique, consumer industry focused financial advisory and investment firm that he co-founded in 2017 to serve founders, entrepreneurs, and sponsor-owned clients. In 2001, Jim founded and was CEO of The Mercanti Group, an advisory firm which was acquired by Imperial Capital in December 2009. During his time at Mercanti, Jim also was the Managing Partner of CoVestia Capital Partners, a private equity co-investment partnership. Prior to Mercanti, Jim worked as Head of the Consumer and Retail Group at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (DLJ); Head of Investment Banking at Dain Rauscher (RBC); and as a partner at Aurora Capital, a private equity firm formerly known as WSGP. Jim was also a group head at Drexel Burnham in the 1980s. Jim’s clients have included Gucci, Elizabeth Arden, Cabela’s, eyebobs, Under Canvas, Polaroid and Winnebago. Jim is also a board member of several private companies, including Polaroid, and serves as a Trustee of the International Center of Photography. He is a passionate dog owner and loves all things outdoors. Jim is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.