Kelsey Abrahams

Kelsey joined Polaris Growth Fund in 2026 as director of sourcing.

Prior to joining PGF, Kelsey spent almost 10 years at Catalant Technologies, a platform that provides enterprises and private equity firms on-demand access to seasoned consultants, operators, and teams. As the Director of the Private Equity group, Kelsey and her team helped leading private equity firms and their portfolio companies access high-end talent for consulting and operational work.

Kelsey began her career at Goldman Sachs in Boston where she was an analyst on the Equity Sales desk, supporting relationships with Boston’s largest mutual funds and hedge funds.

Kelsey received a B.A. in government from Dartmouth College. While at Dartmouth, she was a member of the women’s lacrosse team. Kelsey lives in Boston with her husband, Mike and two young boys.

Davis Clifford

Davis joined PGF in 2026 to help grow the Strategic Acceleration Team, partnering with founders and management teams on value creation efforts.

Prior to joining PGF, Davis was Director of Strategy at LLR Partners, where he worked closely with investment and management teams to develop and implement value creation plans for growth-stage businesses. In this role, he partnered with portfolio leaders on high-impact strategic initiatives, including M&A strategy, market entry, voice-of-customer programs, competitor deep-dives, and select AI-focused efforts.

Previously, Davis worked at L.E.K. Consulting, where he focused on growth strategy and transaction support for PE-backed investments in the technology sector. He began his career at Accenture, where he managed transformation programs and M&A integration efforts, helping translate strategy into action.

Davis received his MBA from Cornell University and a BBA in Finance and Economics from the University of Georgia.

Outside of work, Davis lives in Boston with his wife. He enjoys getting out on the golf course, exploring new restaurants, and is a loyal supporter of his Georgia Bulldogs.

Eliza Drake

Eliza joined Polaris Growth Fund in 2026 in the role of operations assistant. Prior to joining PGF, Eliza worked as a Business and Office Manager for an online retailer and an interior design firm.

Eliza holds a BA from Trinity College and an MS from Bank Street College of Education. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her husband, Chris, and their three sons, often on the sidelines of a sporting event.

Melanie Bis

Melanie joined Polaris Growth Fund in 2025 and is a vice president on the team. She currently represents PGF on the boards of Amplifire and ARInsights and works closely with other PGF companies including SETWorks.

Prior to joining Polaris, Melanie spent over three years at Kinderhook Industries, LLC, a middle-market investment firm based in New York City. At Kinderhook, she was responsible for evaluating and executing investment opportunities across a range of industries, including industrial manufacturing, automotive, and environmental services.

Melanie began her career as an analyst at Lazard, where she focused on mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare sector.

She graduated summa cum laude from Cornell University with a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management, concentrating in Finance and Accounting.

Outside of the office, Melanie enjoys playing golf, skiing, traveling, and spending time with her five nieces and nephews in Boston.

Gabriel Papa

Gabriel joined Polaris Growth Fund in 2025 as an associate, where he focuses on later-stage growth equity investments in the software and technology-enabled services sector.

Prior to PGF, Gabriel started his career as an Analyst at Aeris Partners, where he advised on M&A transactions in the vertical software sector.

Gabriel holds a B.S. with a concentration in Finance from Babson College.

Outside of work, Gabriel enjoys traveling, hiking, cooking, and eating (especially Italian food).

Sam Felker

Sam joined Polaris Growth Fund in 2025 and serves as an analyst on the team.

He was previously a private equity analyst intern with Borgman Capital and a search fund analyst intern with Three Pillars Capital.

Sam received his B.S. in Communications Studies with minors in Business and Data Science from Northwestern University.

Outside of work, Sam enjoys spending time outdoors and is an avid Green Bay Packers fan.

Eshna Parth

Eshna joined Polaris Growth Fund in 2025 and serves as an analyst on the team.

She was previously an investment analyst at Cartan Capital and a wealth management intern at BNY Mellon. Eshna received her B.S. in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University, where she concentrated in Finance and minored in Human-Computer Interaction.

Outside of work, she likes to spend time exploring the city, staying active, and reading.

Steve Matthews

Steve serves as Operating Partner at PGF on the Strategic Acceleration Team, leveraging his extensive software industry CEO and executive leadership experience to bring an operating perspective to the PGF team as well as management teams across the portfolio. He currently serves on the boards of Avolve Software and LCvista, and also previously served on the board of Iridium Technology (BigHand/LLCP).

Prior to joining the firm in 2024, Steve spent the past 10 years as CEO of TRG Screen, the leading provider of enterprise subscription management solutions to the financial, legal and professional services sector. He led TRG Screen through a period of significant growth from a combination of organic expansion and multiple add on acquisitions. Steve worked closely with PGF (TRG Screen’s initial private equity investor) prior to successful exits to Pamlico Capital in 2018 and more recently to Vista Equity Partners in 2023. Steve remains an active board member at TRG Screen.

Steve began his career with PwC in London and Boston where he focused on M&A before embarking on his software journey with ICAP and then Thomson Reuters, where he held multiple executive leadership positions in London and Boston.

Steve earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Exeter in the UK and is a qualified chartered accountant. He lives in the Boston area where he and his wife have raised their 2 adult daughters and enjoys golf, skiing and travel.

Bayard DeMallie

Bayard joined Polaris Growth Fund in 2023 and serves as a senior analyst on the team. He focuses on growth equity investments in software and technology-enabled services businesses.

Bayard received his B.A. in Computer Science from Amherst College.

Outside of the office, Bayard enjoys playing golf, water skiing and rooting for New England sports teams.

Michael Ball

Mike joined the Polaris Growth Fund team in 2023 as an associate, where he focuses on later-stage growth equity investments within the software and technology-enabled services sectors.

Before joining PGF, Mike started his career as an Analyst at Citi, working within their Leveraged Finance Group.

Mike holds a B.S. in Management with concentrations in Finance and Business Analytics, as well as a minor in History from Boston College.

Outside of work, Mike enjoys playing hockey and golf, spending time on the water both fishing and boating and passionately supports Boston and BC sports teams.