J Tilley

J. Blake Tilley joined Cotton Creek Capital as an Associate on its investment team in April 2018, a hire the firm announced via press release on April 10, 2018, describing itself as "a Texas-based lower middle market private equity firm." In that role he would have supported deal sourcing, diligence, and portfolio work on the firm's control investments in mature operating companies.

Before Cotton Creek, Tilley was a Financial Analyst in the Global Industrials Group at Robert W. Baird & Co., the investment bank, where he focused on mergers-and-acquisitions transactions and equity offerings across the industrial sector — experience directly aligned with Cotton Creek's industrial, manufacturing, and distribution focus.

He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Texas Christian University's Neeley School of Business.

Cotton Creek Capital itself was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas. It is led by founding partners including Smith A. Brownlie III and James E. Braden, with Antonio J. DiGesualdo as Managing Partner. The firm pursues buyouts, recapitalizations, buy-and-builds, and corporate divestitures, and as of 2026 reports a team of roughly 15–16 professionals.

• Invests at the firm (Cotton Creek) level — Tilley participates as an associate, not as a check-writing principal or angel.
• Target profile: established lower-middle-market businesses with EBITDA of $5M–$15M; equity checks of $10M–$40M per deal.
• Deal types: control buyouts, recapitalizations, buy-and-build roll-ups, and corporate carve-outs/divestitures — not minority startup financing.
• Sectors: manufacturing, value-added distribution, industrial and industrial services, specialty chemicals, building products, food & beverage, and business services; selectively healthcare services, consumer staples, infrastructure, and aerospace MRO/distribution.
• Stated approach (firm): "operational focus" — partnering with management teams to build execution plans aligned with each company's specific goals, drawing on senior professionals with 15+ years of privately-held-business investing and advisory experience.