John J. Pinto
Manager & CIO
John serves as Manager and Chief Investment Officer of Hinsdale LLC. Hinsdale was formed in 1992 by John’s father, Joseph J. Pinto, and in 1996 John joined him as Co-Manager. John is also Portfolio Manager of SOJE Fund LP, a highly concentrated micro-cap long-only portfolio John founded in December of 2008. Additionally, John manages SOJE Green Fund LP, a series LP fund that allows investors to invest alongside Hinsdale LLC and/or SOJE Fund in cannabis companies on a deal-by-deal basis. From June of 2011 until April of 2012, John also served as Chief Investment Officer of Gilder Office for Growth (GO4G). GO4G, a single family office, and Hinsdale LLC joined forces during this period to embark on a multi-family office venture which was abandoned by both families in April 2012.
In April of 2002, John co-founded Brightleaf Partners LP with Evan L. Jones. Brightleaf began operations in June 2002 with a $3 million portfolio and, at its highest point, reached approximately $95 million in AUM. Upon a redemption request from its largest investor (Duke University Management Company) in October of 2008, John and Evan wound down Brightleaf in December of 2008. Brightleaf Partners was a concentrated long-short equity fund focused on micro and small capitalization companies in the consumer sector.
Prior to co-founding Brightleaf Partners, John served as President of TSI Soccer, a $35 million revenue division of dELiA*s. He ran TSI Soccer from August of 1998 until its strategic sale in 2001. As President, he oversaw over 50% revenue growth through increases in catalog and online sales and by doubling its retail store base. Prior to joining dELiA*s, John worked as Vice President, Investment Banking for George K. Baum & Company. John also worked in business and strategy development for Yellow Logistics Services (a subsidiary of Yellow Corporation) and as an analyst at The World Bank. John received his B.A. from Yale University (1987) and an M.B.A. from the Anderson School at the University of California at Los Angeles (1993). John is a CFA Charterholder.
Jason Barbera
Investment Manager
Jason joined Hinsdale LLC in July 2016 and serves as Investment Manager. Jason is also Investment Manager of SOJE Fund LP and SOJE Green Fund LP. From January 2015 to May 2016 Jason was a Senior Associate with RCP Advisors, a Chicago-based, lower middle market private equity investment firm with over $6 billion in committed capital across primary fund-of-funds, secondary fund-of-funds, and co-investment funds. In addition to investment due diligence, Jason was responsible for managing GPScout, a tool for providing due diligence advisory services to limited partners.
Prior to working for RCP Advisors, Jason was a founding member of Atlas Diligence, a start-up private equity advisory firm providing clients with access to due diligence on private equity funds. Jason joined the company at its inception in June 2011 and held various roles, eventually being named Vice President, before Atlas Diligence was bought by RCP Advisors in December 2014. Jason received his B.S. in Business Administration and B.A. in Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2011).
Silas Collins
Investment Associate
Silas joined Hinsdale LLC in May 2019 as an Investment Associate. Prior to Hinsdale, Silas worked at Square 1 Bank as a portfolio analyst in their technology banking group. At Square 1, Silas was responsible for due diligence, structuring, and underwriting of senior debt facilities for high-growth venture-backed companies. Additionally, Silas assisted in the management of a $120 million portfolio by monitoring performance trends, underwriting debt restructures, and analyzing the credit risk profiles of existing portfolio companies. Prior to Square 1, Silas lived in Jackson Hole, WY, working within the hospitality industry at the Four Seasons Hotel. Silas holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Colorado with a concentration in Quantitative Finance and a minor in Mathematics.
Ashley Hester
Operations & Office Manager
Ashley Hester serves as Operations & Office Manager of Hinsdale LLC, a position she has held since 2012. From 2011 to 2012 she served as Office Manager of Gilder Office for Growth (GO4G) where she worked with John Pinto. Prior to GO4G, Ashley became involved in the Durham Crisis Response Center (DCRC) as a North Carolina State funded therapist in 2010 until funding for the program became threatened in 2011. Previously, from 2005 to 2008, Ashley was the Office Manager for Brightleaf Partners, a concentrated long-short equity fund focused on micro and small capitalization companies in the consumer sector, which was co-founded by John Pinto.
Ashley received her Bachelors from North Carolina Wesleyan College, her M.S. in Criminological Theory from the University of Cincinnati (2009), and her M.B.A. from Campbell University (2013).