The Team

Mr. Scotty D. Cook

In 1996, Mr. Cook founded Founders Equity Group, Inc. and currently serves as CEO and Chairman of the Board. Before launching Founders Equity, Mr. Cook was Director of First Southwest Corporation, a Dallas based investment banking firm where he established the private banking group which provided financial services and advice to high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs and their companies. Prior to this, Mr. Cook spent three years building the Private Client Group division for Bear Stearns & Company.

Mr. Cook has been in the investment banking business for 16 years working in various capacities: originating, negotiating and managing transactions totaling in excess of $3 billion. Mr. Cook serves as an advisory board member to various private and publicly traded companies. Mr. Cook’s particular area of focus has been privately negotiated equity placements for issuers, both public and private. Mr. Cook was an original shareholder in various companies that eventually went public or were purchased and assisted these companies in all aspects of capital structure development and growth. Mr. Cook has managed numerous funds including Founders Special Opportunities I, Founders Environmental Fund II, Founders Mezzanine III, Founders Partners IV, Founders Cash Management V, and Founders Partners VI. Mr. Cook graduated from Texas Tech University with a BBA in finance and economics.

Mr. Larry J. St. Martin

Mr. St. Martin joined Trident in early 2000 and is responsible for reviewing and assessing new deals, negotiating deal structure and terms, completing due diligence and monitoring portfolio companies. Mr. St. Martin currently serves on the corporate boards of two investment companies.Prior to joining Trident, Mr. St. Martin worked for a high net worth investor where he was involved in all aspects of financial activities including managing private and public investments and assisting in acquisitions and private investments.

Mr. St. Martin was also involved in the activities of a successful technology startup and served in various financial positions at a Fortune 100 company.
Mr. St. Martin began his career at a Big 5 accounting firm where his responsibilities included accounting and audit work, due diligence for mergers and acquisitions and implementation of “Best Practices” solutions for publicly and privately held enterprises. Mr. St. Martin is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Louisiana State University.