Primary Job Title Managing Partner Primary Organization 
Early Stage Partners
Gender Male
Investor Type
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Jim Petras has been Managing Director of Early Stage Partners since inception, and of Capital One Partners since 1993. Jim has been involved in virtually all of the transactions at Early Stage Partners and Capital One Partners.
Prior to forming Capital One in 1993, Jim in 1988 formed Cleveland-based Wolfensohn Ventures, L.P., a $50 million
investment fund. Wolfensohn Ventures sourced, structured, and managed middle market equity investments and was funded by Australian billionaire and media entrepreneur, Kerry Packer, and recent World Bank past-President, James D. Wolfensohn.
Jim also founded and staffed a successful venture unit based in Cleveland for Citicorp. While at Citicorp Mr. Petras, through a succession of executive positions, managed a region of Citicorp’s leveraged lending business with offices in three states, a loan portfolio in excess of $1,240,000,000 and a team of over 100 professionals.
Mr. Petras served as Chairman of the Board of SIMCALA, Inc., and interim Chairman of the Board and presently a director of Pasta Montana, a $17 million start-up manufacturer of pasta products. He serves on the boards of portfolio companies Five Star Technologies, Excera, OPTEM, Simbionix, Thin Battery Technologies, and EcoSmart.
