Visiting ETA Advisors

Alex Hodgkin has spent his career in the shoes of the entrepreneur, strategist, and capital markets specialist, having developed his finance acumen as an investment banker serving companies large and small, and his entrepreneurial skills as the cofounder of a multi-service financial advisory firm.

During the first part of his career as an investment banker with Salomon Smith Barney and later Headwaters MB, he completed engagements involving strategic alternative reviews for multinational corporations, liquidity strategies for middle market entrepreneurs, sell side advisory assignments, equity and subordinated debt offerings in the public and private capital markets, and fairness opinions.

As an entrepreneur, Hodgkin cofounded Intrinsic, a financial advisory firm that he has helped grow from a kitchen table concept to one of the largest firms of its kind in the Rocky Mountains, servicing some of the most well-known and well-respected institutional investment firms and privately-held companies in the region.

As a steadfast supporter of entrepreneurship through acquisition, he has been instrumental in the creation of Chicago Booth’s ETA program, where he currently serves as entrepreneur-in-residence and senior advisor for ETA.

Hodgkin earned undergraduate degrees in economics and electrical engineering from Claremont McKenna College and the University of Colorado, respectively, and an MBA from Chicago Booth. He is also a CFA charterholder.

Darrin Shillair is President at Specialty Sales, acquired through a self-funded search in 2018. Specialty Sales is a stocking distributor of hoses, tubing, fittings and other components serving the water treatment, agriculture, food & beverage & car wash industries.  Darrin has an MBA from Chicago-Booth and a BSE from University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Catherine Littell is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she teaches Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition. Her courses draw on both investor and operator perspectives to help students evaluate, acquire, and grow small businesses.

Beyond the classroom, Catherine is the Co-Founder of Legacy 41, an investment firm focused on acquiring and building exceptional lower middle-market companies through a long-term buy-and-build approach. Prior to co-founding Legacy 41, she worked with Halstatt Legacy Partners, the SMB direct investment arm of Halstatt, a multi-generational family office. 

Catherine has spent much of her career in the entrepreneurship through acquisition ecosystem, including a self-funded partnered search and working closely with entrepreneurs and small business owners on financing, growth, and operational scaling. Earlier in her career, she held leadership positions with Redbox Automated Retail and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

Catherine earned her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she concentrated in entrepreneurship, and holds a BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell University.

Frederico supports Spectra’s investment and asset monitoring activities. His responsibilities include conducting investment analysis and research, as well as preparing reports, memoranda, and other essential documents in support of Spectra’s investment and due diligence activities. Frederico holds an MBA from Chicago Booth and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo. He is fluent in English and Portuguese.