Ward McNally

Founder, Co-CEO, and Managing Partner

Ward McNally is the Founder, Co-CEO, and Managing Partner of McNally Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm. The firm partners with founder-, family-, and management-led businesses in aerospace and defense, and industrial technology and services. A member of the family behind Rand McNally, Ward founded McNally Capital in 2008 with a firsthand understanding of what it takes to protect a company’s legacy through growth, a perspective that continues to shape the firm’s approach to investing in and building enduring businesses.

Throughout his career, Ward has advised, invested alongside, and partnered with over a hundred founders, family offices, and business owners with the dedicated purpose of creating long-term value. He currently serves as Chairman of current McNally portfolio companies, including FedData, Orbis Operations, Xcelerate Solutions, Endurion, Patriot Group International, and TENICA Global Solutions. He previously served as Chairman of ITS Logistics and Advanced Micro Instruments and as a board director of Genesys Aerosystems and Altamira Technologies.

Prior to founding McNally Capital, Ward spent ten years as a partner at private equity firms including The Edgewater Funds and Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company, Inc. (“HKW”). Earlier in his career, he worked at Benedetto, Gartland & Company, where he focused on private placements for private equity funds, and was a member of the M&A team within Caremark International’s Physician Resources Division. Ward began his career at Bank of America in its Financial Engineering and Risk Management Group.

Ward holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of The Arts and Sciences Foundation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Midwest Regional Board of the Business Executives for National Security. Ward is a former member of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Visitors. He is also a member of the Young President’s Organization.

Ward spends his free time with his two favorite people – his wife and their daughter. Ward is an avid hockey fan and enjoys traveling and playing golf.