LEADERSHIP
“There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.”
- Ronald Reagan
Neil S. Waterman III
Chairman and CEO
David McPherson
President
Neil is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Catapult Partners.
Over his career, Neil has founded several entrepreneurial ventures, and has always had a passion for working with fellow entrepreneurs and their emerging businesses.
Neil has served on the Board of multiple organizations throughout his career, and recently co-founded The Legacy Alliance, a private equity firm in Dallas. He is active in the community, having served on the Advisory Boards of the Entrepreneurs for North Texas, The Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas, and the Communities Foundation of Texas. He is a former member of the Dallas Chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (2001-2011), where he served two terms on the Board.
Neil received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and International Studies from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, holds Master of Business Administration degrees from both Tulane University and the Universidad de Chile, and is fluent in Spanish.
Neil resides in Dallas with his wife and three children.
David McPherson is the President at Catapult Partners.
David has counseled CEOs and CMOs with a unique ability to get to the heart of their business challenges, uncover opportunities and position their companies to win.
Prior to joining Catapult, David was a Founder and Partner at McBRANDWORKS. He has over 30 years of brand stewardship skills forged at acclaimed advertising agencies like Hill Holliday, Y&R and Mullen, discovering critical insights that drive bold strategies and big compelling ideas that create results.
David's experience is diverse and includes major brands in financial services, soft drinks, beer, footwear, sporting goods, tourism and technology, and he has developed platforms and brands in the digital world with successful technology startups.
David graduated from Colorado State University with a BS Business Administration in Marketing, and resides in Evanston IL and Lake Geneva WI.
Russ Keene
Managing Director /
Strategic Practice
Jennifer Stoddard
General Counsel
Russell T. (Russ) Keene is a Managing Director of Catapult Strategic Practice, a division of Catapult Partners.
Russ is a seasoned Texas-based public affairs/communications professional with a 40-year career in public policy processes, communication strategy and business development. He is adept in corporate communications and advocacy/public affairs issues management. Russ is a partner in Crossnore Group, the boutique public affairs firm he has operated since 2008.
Russ’ sectorial expertise is in energy, technology, transportation/infrastructure, and healthcare, including regulated, de-regulated and disruptive industries. His clients have ranged from start-ups to municipalities to private equity firm portfolio companies to state and federal government public information campaigns.
Russ advises C-Suites on crisis and reputation management, media relations and message development as well stakeholder/grassroots work, coalition building and strategy for advocacy campaigns.
Corporate clients have included Accenture, American Heart Association, Fluor, Ford, Goldman Sachs, Lyft, PwC, Tenet, Toyota, UKA Group, United Healthcare, Walmart and the governments of Mexico, Japan and Puerto Rico.
Russ’ early career experience includes work in government relations management positions in Fortune 500 companies Enserch Corp. (now Atmos Energy) and Aetna, Inc. Immediately prior to co-founding Crossnore Group, Russ established the Austin office and later co-managed the Houston office of global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller (now BCW) from 2002-08. Russ’ career also includes two Washington tours (totaling seven years) holding positions in the 1988 and 1992 Republican presidential campaigns, five years in policy and regulatory work with the American Gas Association and international business advisory work for two years with Kissinger McLarty Associates (now McLarty Associates).
A Dallas native and sixth-generation Texan, Russ studied business and history at The University of Texas at Austin. Russ serves on three advisory boards at his alma mater, The University of Texas Athletic Department’s Longhorn Foundation and the Moody College of Communication’s Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, and he is serving his second elected, three-year term on the Executive Committee of the University of Texas System’s Chancellors Council.
Jennifer Stoddard is the General Counsel for Catapult Partners and all affiliated Catapult entities.
Jennifer’s focus is primarily on business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, complex entity formations, and finance and real estate transactions. Jennifer is a solutions-oriented attorney, always striving to obtain results rather than present roadblocks.
Over the course of her career, Jennifer’s clients have included complex business entities, entrepreneurs, finance entities, banks and credit unions, private equity, commercial real estate development, automobile dealerships, restaurant groups, commercial construction, intellectual property and asset strategy and protection.
Jennifer also has extensive experience in complex real estate development and holdings, representation of landlords and tenants, 1031 tax exchanges, and Opportunity Zone Acquisition and Fund transactions and compliance.
Jennifer is a graduate of University of Kansas, obtained her law degree from SMU, and resides in Dallas with her family.