Steve King

Experience

1. Founding Partner

   Prairie Capital

   Jul 1997 — Present

   Steve King co-founded Prairie Capital in 1997. Prairie focuses exclusively on acquiring lower middle market, entrepreneur-owned companies operating in high growth sub-sectors within business services, consumer products, education, health care, and technology.Steve successfully transitioned overall management responsibility for Prairie concurrent with the closing of Prairie Capital VII in 2021. However, Steve remains active on Prairie\'s investment committee and serves as a board member for several Prairie portfolio companies. Steve is also on the Board of First Busey Corporation (Nasdaq: BUSE), and Acceleration Academies, a nationwide provider of high school dropout recovery services he helped establish in 2014. Prior to Prairie Capital, Steve led the formation of ANB Mezzanine Corporation (then a subsidiary of First Chicago Corporation), serving as its President from 1994 to 1997. Previously, he was Vice President and Division Head at American National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago. Steve graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in Finance. He received his MBA from the University of Chicago and his JD from Loyola University. Steve has long been active in various civic and community organizations with a particular interest in education. He is currently on the Board of Trustees of the Big Shoulders Fund, and on the Board of Catholic Charities of Chicago and the Academy of Urban School Leadership. Steve was the founding Board Chair of Arc of Hope and The Academy at St Joan of Arc. He was the former Chair of The Eleanor Foundation and Boys Hope Girls Hope of Illinois, as well as a former Trustee of Loyola Academy. Steve is a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow and past chairman of NASBIC/Small Business Investor Alliance.

Education

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - College of Business

  BS

  1980 — 1984