VSS Capital Partners, a private investment firm investing in the healthcare, business services and education industries, hired Eric Kim as principal and Sai Parepally as vice president. Leveraging their experience in the healthcare, IT and financial services sectors, the executives will work collaboratively with VSS’ investment professionals to source new transactions, perform due diligence and support portfolio company management teams.

“We are pleased to welcome Eric and Sai to our team as we continue to reinforce our leadership position in the lower middle market. Eric and Sai are bringing their investing and operational skill sets and vertical industry relationships to VSS,” Jeffrey Stevenson, managing partner at VSS, said. “We look forward to their involvement as we actively source new investment opportunities with businesses that can pursue their next phase of growth with our strategic guidance and flexible capital solutions.”

Kim brings operating and investing experience to VSS. Prior to joining the firm, he led cross-functional teams at Optum, a technology-enabled health services business, to identify new product opportunities and manage product development from concept to commercialization. Prior to joining Optum, he served as vice president at New Leaf Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on the healthcare industry. Before New Leaf, Kim was an associate at Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm, where he analyzed investments and advised portfolio company management teams.

Kim started his career at the consulting firm McKinsey, where he evaluated financial and strategic issues for Fortune 500 companies.

Parepally brings several years of M&A and corporate finance experience to the team at VSS. Parepally was previously an associate at Consonance Capital Partners, where he was involved in sourcing and evaluating new investments in the healthcare sector as well as overseeing operations at portfolio companies. He started his career in investment banking at Lazard and Moelis, where he provided M&A and general corporate advisory services for companies across several verticals, including healthcare, technology and media.

“I am thrilled to join VSS and pursue new opportunities at this firm with a long history of investing in businesses in the lower middle market,” Kim said.

“I look forward to working closely with the team to identify promising businesses, unlock potential value and help position their portfolio companies for long-term growth,” Parepally said.