Mr. Gardiner W. Garrard is the Chairman of the Board of Managers of Covey Equity. Gardiner came to work for The Jordan Company in 1974 and served as the President of the company from 1975 until 2009. He served as a law clerk for the Honorable Griffin B. Bell, practiced law and worked in the apartment development business before coming to The Jordan Company. Gardiner has also served on the Boards of Total System Services Inc. (now Global Payments), Synovus Financial Corp and several local charitable, civic, and non-profit organizations.
Gardiner attended Woodberry Forest School and earned his BA in English from the University of North Carolina and obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law.
James H. Blanchard Vice Chairman
Mr. James Blanchard joined Covey Equity in 2011 and currently serves as Vice Chair of the board. He began his career as President of Columbus Bank and Trust Company (CB&T) in Columbus, Georgia. Under his leadership, spanning over 40 years as Chairman of the Board and CEO, CB&T became Synovus Financial Corp., a multi-billion dollar southeast regional financial services company. While there, he also helped create TSYS, the largest third-party credit card processing company in North America.
Mr. Blanchard has been active throughout his career leading many local, state and national non-profit and civic organizations. He has served on corporate boards such as AT&T, Chick-Fil-A, W. C. Bradley Co. and Global Teen Challenge and invested in leadership development through many organizations including the Jim Blanchard Leadership Forum, John Maxwell’s Leadership Foundation and Ken Blanchard’s Lead Like Jesus National Advisory Board. He currently serves as Chairman of the Maxwell Leadership Foundation.
Awards include:
“Most Respected CEO” in the state, Georgia Trend magazine, 1997
“Georgian of the Year,” Georgia Trend magazine, 2003.
“Most Influential Georgians Hall of Fame,” George Trend magazine, 2006.
Lifetime Achievement Award, Technology Association of Georgia, 2007.
2010 FinTech Lifetime Achievement Award, Technology Association of Georgia.
Georgia Trustee, Office of the Governor and the Georgia Historical Society, 2016.
Mr. Blanchard earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Georgia.
Robbie Raybon Acquisitions
Robbie joined as the Head of Acquisitions for Covey Equity in 2015 and oversees all acquisition and investment activity for Covey including all deal sourcing, structuring, due diligence, and execution for the Covey portfolio. Robbie started his career as an investment banker at Citigroup Global Markets in Palo Alto, Ca. as well as Croft & Bender in Atlanta, Ga, before transitioning to private equity investing.
Robbie holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.
Rand Jones General Counsel
Rand Jones is General Counsel of Covey Equity and oversees all legal activity, including corporate and employment matters.
Rand was a former partner/shareholder in the law firm of Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker & Ford, P.C. where he worked for over 13 years. He is a current and active member of the State Bar of Georgia. In addition to his legal career, Rand has been involved in the development and operation of multiple franchise businesses throughout the southeast.
Rand is actively involved in his local community. He is a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church and a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of the Chattahoochee Valley. Rand holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Georgia and a Juris Doctor from Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law.
Meika Hilsman CFO
Meika Hilsman is the Chief Financial Officer for Covey Equity. She began her career in public accounting at Deloitte & Touch, LLP. Over the course of her 20+ year career, Meika has served in a variety of accounting and finance related roles for public, private and not-for-profit organizations. For much of her career, Meika was engaged as a consultant for Synovus working on long-term engagements, including internal and external reporting, forensic accounting, and regulatory compliance.
Meika holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Vanderbilt University and a Masters of Accounting from the University of Georgia.
Dick Norman Financial Modeling & Valuations
Dick joined Covey as a full-time analyst in 2011. He oversees valuations, financial modeling, due diligence, reporting, and portfolio monitoring. Dick also works with a related company, Jordan Capital AM, in an associate role for their hedge fund, involved in trading, research, and portfolio monitoring. He is a St. Paul United Methodist Church member and a board member of the Swift-Illges Foundation.
Dick holds a Bachelor of Science in Management with certificates in Finance and Accounting from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charter holder and a member of the CFA Society of Atlanta.
Katie Kirkland Investor Relations
Katie Kirkland handles investor relations for Covey Equity. Katie began her career as an accounting intern for Covey Equity and now oversees investor communications and financial reporting for the portfolio. She also manages internal financials and reporting.
Katie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Columbus State University and a Master of Accounting from Auburn University.
Paul S. Amos, II Director
Paul S. Amos, II is a Director of Covey Equity and serves as a board member to Covey’s portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Covey, Paul served as the president of Aflac, the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States and the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance in Japan. Amos oversaw corporate strategy for Aflac Inc. and was responsible for Aflac’s corporate venture capital operation. He also directed Aflac Japan, which is Aflac’s largest earnings contributor. He previously served as president and Chief Operating Officer of Aflac U.S. Before joining Aflac, he worked in the corporate legal division of a Washington-based merger and acquisition firm.
Amos earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Duke University; a Master of Business Administration from Emory University; and Juris Doctor from Tulane University.
Gunby J. Garrard President
Gunby Garrard is the President of Covey Equity and is one of its founding members. Gunby oversees all aspects of Covey Equity, but his primary focus is on portfolio company oversight, sourcing new capital to fund acquisitions and the management of the relationship with existing investors. He started his career at Total Systems Services (TSYS) and worked there until 2003. In 2003, Gunby left TSYS to work with his father at their family business, The Jordan Company (TJC) based in Columbus, Ga. In partnership with his father, Gunby invested in Phoenix Stamping Group, LLC which began the formation of the organization known today as Covey Equity, formerly known as JBA Capital.
Gunby holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business with a focus in Finance from the University of Georgia and a Master of Business Administration from Emory University. He is also a graduate of Woodberry Forest School.
William R. Blanchard Director
Billy Blanchard is a Director of Covey Equity, where his primary role involves oversight for a portfolio of Covey Equity’s companies. He started his career at Synovus where he worked for 23 years, until 2017. During his time at Synovus, Billy held a number of roles including commercial lender, Executive Vice President of Retail Banking, as well as President and CEO of the Synovus flagship bank, CB&T, and Regional CEO of Synovus’ multi-bank Middle Georgia region.
Over the course of his career, Billy has been actively leading numerous community organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Development Authority, and Columbus 2025.
Billy holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Berry College.
