Lauren Gore

Principal

Lauren Gore is a Principal and Co-founder at LDR Advisory Partners. With a background in law, risk management, and operations, Lauren specializes in the design, implementation, and operation of complex multi-party strategic growth ventures. In addition, Lauren regularly teaches executive and board-level courses in negotiation and decision-making methodologies.

Prior to LDR, Lauren practiced as a Deals & Projects attorney with Baker Botts LLP, with a specialization in large-scale energy transactions and complex deal design. Lauren served in the United States Army as an Airborne Ranger-qualified Infantry Officer with a combat deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was awarded a Bronze Star. 

Lauren serves as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for Combined Arms, a veteran serving non-profit organization committed to uniting veteran service organizations through data and communities. 

Lauren is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also holds a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, where he received the Dean’s Scholar Prize in Deals and was twice listed as one of “The Most Impressive Students at Harvard Law School” by Business Insider. While at Harvard Law School, Lauren taught interest-based negotiation courses with Harvard University’s Program on Negotiations at both Harvard and Tufts Universities. 

Lauren resides in Houston, TX and with his wife Dr. Taryn Hargrove Gore and their two sons, Alex and Crawford. 

Ryan Martin

Principal

Ryan Martin is Principal and Co-Founder at LDR Advisory Partners and Partner and General Counsel at LDR Growth Partners. In addition to corporate governance and legal management, Ryan focuses on strategy implementation, organizational design and management of portfolios and strategic initiatives across LDR Growth Partners and LDR Advisory Partners. Ryan further oversees program strategy, partnership development, fundraising, governance, legal, and management activities for corporate, financial, government and non-profit clients of LDR Advisory Partners. He is the also the Founder of Be Industries, an supply chain portfolio company of LDR Growth Partners.

Prior to LDR, Ryan practiced as an attorney with Vinson & Elkins LLP, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions and securities, including large-scale transactions with private equity, publicly traded, and private companies

Ryan is a member of the Board of Directors for Houston First Corporation, where he co-chairs the Procurement Committee and drives strategic board initiatives. Ryan is also a Board Member and Corporate Secretary of Legacy Community Health, and a Board Member of Houston Botanic Garden, Whitman Controls, and LDR Leadership. He is also the Managing Partner to EVolve Houston.

Ryan is a graduate of Harvard Law School, Louisiana State University Honors College and the Beijing Language and Culture University. Ryan is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and a licensed attorney in the State of Texas. He is a member of the Houston Committee of Foreign Relations and an interviewer for Harvard University.

Ryan resides in Houston with his wife, Elizabeth. Ryan enjoys working, traveling across China, and enjoying Mardi Gras in his native city of New Orleans.

Justin Van Epps

Principal

Justin Van Epps is a Principal at LDR Advisory Partners where he leads the Enterprise Practice Group. Justin brings over twenty-eight years of experience leading change, innovating, and driving impact across industries and organizations — from small start-ups, mid-market firms, and enterprise Fortune 500 corporations, to federal government agencies, and nonprofits.

Prior to LDR, Justin founded a successful management consultancy where he served as a trusted advisor in solving core business problems by collaboratively working with executive teams to develop, refine, and align business strategy with operational execution. Justin also previously led the restructuring of Cisco Systems’ global customer service organization as Senior Manager of HR Operations, resulting in the standardization and transactional structuring that generated over $50 Million in revenue and earned recognition as an industry benchmark. Justin is an entrepreneurial leader with a holistic understanding of business, Justin’s functional experience includes sales, marketing, IT, customer service, operations, human resources, and finance.

Justin is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH, and currently resides in Portsmouth, New Hampshire with his wife and three teenage children. Justin is always looking for an interesting challenge both personally and professionally.

Peter Hills

Director, Enterprise Practice Group

Peter Hills is the Director of the Enterprise Practice Group at LDR Advisory Partners, where he focuses on operational efficiency, new innovation delivery, and supply chain strategy and optimization.  In addition, Peter teaches corporate workshops on personal productivity helping teams and individuals gain valuable time in their day.

Prior to LDR, Peter was Chief Operating Officer for New Chapter, the premium vitamin and supplement subsidiary of Procter and Gamble, where he was responsible for the global supply chain; the technical, operations, and IT organizations; as well as all product launches.  His specialties include driving gross margin improvement, optimizing inventory levels and launching products with excellence. New Chapter capped a 29-year career with Procter & Gamble in which Peter developed extensive leadership experience in manufacturing, end-to-end supply chain, logistics, operations, and product launch while working on many iconic billion-dollar brands including Bounty, Charmin, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, and Vicks.

Peter is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, where he was a member of both the Cross Country and Track and Field teams.

Outside of work, Peter is a cyclist and endurance athlete, high school Nordic ski coach, and beekeeper who lives outside of Keene, NH with his wife and two active teenage children.

Matt Johnson

Associate

Matthew “Matt” Johnson is an Associate at LDR, where he focuses on market research and analysis, project management, partnership delegation, and deal advisory. Since joining LDR in 2018, Matt has produced numerous market intelligence reports, providing clients with valuable industry insights that have informed new partnerships, market entries, acquisitions, and growth strategies. Matt has also played a key role in supporting deal advisory initiatives, including LDR Growth Partners’ acquisition of the Whitman Controls Corporation. 

Matt is a graduate of Duke University where he studied Economics and Sociology. While attending Duke, Matt competed on and captained the Varsity Swimming and Diving Team, where he broke three school records, which he still holds.

Outside of work, Matt pursues diverse hobbies, including music and video production, professional e-sports, and competing in triathlons. In 2019, Matt completed his first half-ironman race, many more of which are to come. 

Jasmin Jones

Associate

Jasmin Jones is an Associate at LDR, where she focuses on market research and analysis, project management, and business development. Since joining the team at LDR, Jasmin has built a track record of working on dynamic projects involving competitive market research, strategic expansion, and program and partnership management.  

Prior to joining LDR, Jasmin worked as a strategic account manager for a high-growth technology company, and as an investment management analyst at Goldman Sachs across teams with $10 billion in assets. 

Jasmin is a graduate of Brown University, where she studied Liberal Arts as well as multiple disciplines across urban & ethnic studies.

Outside of work, Jasmin enjoys activities like yoga, meditation, creative writing, and exploring unique cuisines from the cities she visits. 

Katheryn Abou-Chakra

Associate

Katheryn “Kate” Abou-Chakra is an Associate at LDR, where she focuses on industry research and analysis, project management, and marketing strategy. Katheryn brings advanced industry knowledge working alongside automotive manufacturers and consumer fleets, as well as deep subject-matter expertise in the energy, sustainability, and mobility industries.

Katheryn is a graduate from the Automotive Business School of Canada. She also holds an MBA from the University of Calgary, where she specialized in Global Energy Management and Sustainable Development. Prior to pursuing her graduate degree, Katheryn held a Fleet and Marketing Coordinator role at a top tier automotive manufacturer, where she managed a national fleet.

During her free time, Katheryn enjoys exploring the outdoors, testing new recipes on willing friends, and painting.

Harry Tenenbaum

Associate

Harry Tenenbaum is an Associate at LDR, where he focuses on program management, technology implementation, and market research & analytics. Harry brings deeps industry knowledge working in technology assurance, cybersecurity, emerging technologies, and political risk.

Prior to joining LDR, Harry worked in Technology Assurance for a Big 4" accounting firm, where he managed attestation efforts for multiple SOC Reports as well as Internal and External IT Audits.

Harry is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where he studied Management Information Systems with an emphasis on emerging technologies and cyber security.

During his free time, Harry enjoys his time outdoors hiking, biking, fishing, and playing tennis, and his time indoors cooking, watching Crimson Tide football, and maintaining his hydroponic garden.