Francisco De Jes S

Francisco De Jesus is a finance and private-equity professional based in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. He earned both of his degrees at Suffolk University in Boston — a B.S. in Economics and an M.S.F. (Master of Science in Finance). His early career was in institutional banking and community-development investing on the East Coast, including a role as a Principal at Bank of Boston Corp. and as a Partner at Fleet Development Ventures LLC (FleetBoston's community-development venture arm). He later served as a Senior Vice President at Bank of America, N.A. from roughly 1997 to 2004.

De Jesus subsequently moved into private equity in Texas, holding partner/senior roles at Pacesetter Capital Group (a Dallas-based, minority-focused private-equity and venture investor) and at 21st Century Group, LLC. 21st Century Group is a Dallas-based, SEC-registered investment adviser that has historically made control investments in lower-middle-market companies across sectors such as packaging, paper and forestry products, food and non-branded consumer products, healthcare services, and business services. His email at the "21stcgfund.com" domain (21st Century Group Fund) reflects his continuing affiliation with the firm's fund entity.

In parallel with his investing work, De Jesus is President and CEO of Universal Display & Fixtures Company (UDFC), a role he has held since around 2013. Founded in 1962 and headquartered in Lewisville, Texas, UDFC is a global custom designer and manufacturer of semi-permanent and permanent retail merchandising displays, with 300+ employees and facilities in Texas, Mexico, China, and Taiwan, serving brands such as Starbucks, Hershey, and PepsiCo. He has also served on the board of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

*(No publicly published personal thesis statement or stated check size was found; the above is inferred from firm descriptions and his career record — treat stage/check-size specifics as unconfirmed.)*

• Through 21st Century Group, invests in lower-middle-market companies with defensible market positions, identifiable growth prospects, and strong management teams — typically as control (buyout) investments rather than seed/angel checks.
• Core industry preferences (per firm/aggregator descriptions): packaging, paper products, forestry, food, non-branded consumer products, healthcare services, and business services, with additional activity across manufacturing, distribution, services, and media.
• Investment style is operator-informed — his own role running a 300+ employee global manufacturer (UDFC) suggests a hands-on, operations-and-growth orientation rather than a passive minority stake.
• Earlier career reflects a thread of community-development and minority-focused growth capital (Fleet Development Ventures; Pacesetter Capital Group), which may inform his interest in underserved-market and Hispanic-owned businesses.