About Us
Our Story
Ashland Forest Capital Partners was founded on a partnership that began over 35 years ago. Peter and Tom grew up together just a few blocks apart — on Ashland Avenue and Forest Avenue — and over time, their friendship evolved into a professional partnership, shaped by their experience in investing and business leadership. Over the past decade, they have invested together across a range of opportunities, developing a shared philosophy and disciplined approach to investing. Their longstanding trust, complementary strengths, and unified vision provide a strategic advantage in sourcing, evaluating, and executing high-conviction investments.
Our Team
Peter Bernick
Peter Bernick is a Founding Partner of Ashland Forest Capital Partners and brings extensive experience in private equity, family office investing, and sports ownership. His career spans two decades of sourcing, structuring, and supporting private investments across a range of industries.
Prior to co-founding AFCP, Peter served as Chief Investment Officer of Polished Nickel Capital Management, a Chicago-based single-family office. There, he oversaw investment strategy, capital allocation, and portfolio management for the Lavin and Bernick families. He also led the office’s direct private equity arm, River Forest Capital Partners, which completed more than 30 investments over a ten-year period across the consumer sector.
Earlier in his career, Peter was a Senior Analyst at Consolidated Capital Trading, where he focused on investment analysis and portfolio strategy. He began his career as an Analyst at ABN AMRO Bank, gaining experience in corporate finance, lending, and capital markets.
Peter is also the majority owner of the Chicago Hounds, a professional Major League Rugby team, and serves on the Major League Rugby Board of Directors and as Chairman of Rugby United Marketing Holdings, the league’s commercial subsidiary.
Since 2020, he has served on the Investment Committee of the Northwestern Memorial Healthcare Foundation, helping oversee stewardship of its endowment.
Peter holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a BS from Vanderbilt University.
Tom McCauley
Tom McCauley is a Founding Partner of Ashland Forest Capital Partners and brings two decades of experience in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and special situations investing across both public and private companies.
Prior to co-founding AFCP, Tom spent over a decade in senior investment roles at Driehaus Capital Management, a $20 billion asset management firm. From 2018 to 2025, he led the firm’s Alternative Investments team, where he focused on event-driven and special situations strategies across public and private companies. In that role, Tom was responsible for sourcing, diligence, and management of investments, as well as overseeing all aspects of the platform’s operations, including team leadership and strategic planning. He also served as Chair of the firm’s Investment Management and Research Committee from 2017 to 2025. During his tenure, Tom sourced, evaluated, and structured more than 100 direct investments across the consumer discretionary sector, with a focus on gaming, leisure & hospitality, sports, and experiential businesses.
Earlier in his career, Tom was an Investment Analyst at CFI Partners, a $1.5 billion special situations fund, where he focused on distressed and opportunistic investments. He previously worked at Merit Capital Partners, a $1.7 billion private capital fund focused on middle-market private equity and mezzanine investing. He began his career as an Analyst at ABN AMRO Bank, gaining broad exposure across M&A advisory, corporate banking, and capital markets.
Tom holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS from Tulane University. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.
Strategic Advisory Board
AFCP’S Strategic Advisory Board is composed of leaders in intellectual property law, venture capital, private equity, and M&A — many of whom have built and supported successful companies across the sports, entertainment, and technology landscapes. Their insights add to our investment process and expand our reach across key sectors.
CONTACT US
We welcome conversations with founders, operators, executives and investors building the future of sports.