John Stanley

John Stanley is a Principal at Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based growth-oriented private equity firm that has raised well over $19 billion across its funds — including a $4.65 billion Fund VIII and a $7 billion Fund IX — and has invested in more than 100 companies since inception. He joined the firm in April 2016 as an Associate and was promoted to Vice President in 2020 (alongside Bob Anderson, Veda Eswarappa, and Greg Stewart), and is now listed among the firm's Principals.

Before Great Hill, Stanley built a finance and M&A background in investment banking. He worked as an Investment Banking Associate at Lazard, where he focused on technology M&A, and began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Cowen and Company, working on equity and debt offering origination and execution.

Stanley earned a Bachelor of Science in Management, with concentrations in Finance and Accounting, from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.

At Great Hill, he concentrates on the consumer/internet, software, and business services sectors, and has taken active roles with portfolio companies, including board involvement with TodayTix Group and Prodege.

• Invests through Great Hill Partners' growth-buyout strategy — targeting established, rapidly growing companies rather than early-stage startups.
• Firm typically deploys sizable equity checks (roughly $100M–$500M) into a single company, taking meaningful ownership positions.
• Looks for companies with proven, durable revenue growth (commonly cited around 15%+ annually) and clear, identifiable growth drivers.
• Sector emphasis for Stanley: consumer/internet, software, and business services (the firm more broadly also invests across financial services and healthcare).
• In leadership, he has said he values executives who combine "strong strategic vision" with "humility, intellectual curiosity, and an open mind" during execution.