William V. Glastris, Jr.
West 1978
William V. Glastris, Jr. is a 1978 graduate of West High. He graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1982 and from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management with an MBA in 1984. He lives in Winnetka, IL.
Bill co-founded Chicago-based Prospect Partners, LLC in 1998, one of the leading small company buyout firms in the country. Prospect Partners now manages two funds totaling $270 million. Since 1998 Prospect has acquired 39 companies into 19 platform investments in a broad range of niche industries. Prospect has attracted top US investors including Goldman Sachs & Co., General Motors Investment Management Corp., JP Morgan, Wilshire Associates and The University of Notre Dame.
Bill is currently chairman of five Prospect companies including Marine Accessories Corporation, Knight Packaging Group, Regency Windows, Billiard Brands, Inc. and PAC Holding Company.
Prior to forming Prospect Partners, Bill was a partner at LaSalle Capital Group, lower middle market leveraged buyout firm in Chicago. He and his partners began LaSalle with essentially no capital and acquired 22 companies over seven years. Bill himself originated and completed nine acquisitions with management partners as a principal and as a personal investor.
Previous to forming LaSalle, he began his career in private equity with Golder, Thoma & Cressey, a large private equity investment firm managing over $400 million in three funds, and specializing in consolidating fragmented industries. In six years at Golder, Bill originated seven portfolio company investments for the firm. Bill is a frequent speaker at industry events and is active in charitable and university organizations.
Bill looks back very fondly on his experience at West High, "Parkway West was an extraordinary high school with a caring and committed faculty and great leadership. Those of us who were fortunate to attend the school during our era were provided an educational opportunity that was hard to beat. Thanks in particular to all the honors teachers who gave so much of themselves to their students."