Navigating Complexity.
Delivering Certainty.

Brett is the Managing Partner of Capital Insight (CI), which he founded in 2007. Brett has developed and maintained many meaningful long-standing client and capital market relationships where he's been responsible for the origination, structuring, executing and closing of over $15 billion of transactions as a principal lender, advisor and principal investor. Prior to CI, Brett was the first employee in 1997 with American Commercial Capital (ACC), a commercial finance and investment banking company focused on multi-unit retail where he ran the origination group and was an integral figure in the growth, success and sale of ACC that was acquired by Wells Fargo & Company in 2001 (dba Wells Fargo Restaurant Finance).

Prior to joining ACC, Brett was a Senior Vice President and commercial loan officer for First Bank and Trust Company of Illinois where he was responsible for origination, underwriting, securitization and execution of commercial and residential loan portfolios. Before joining First Bank, Brett began his career at Grant Thornton (GT), where he sat for the CPA exam and worked in GT's financial advisory practice with a focus on commercial banking and various distressed real estate and loan portfolios as an advisor to the government owned Resolution Trust Corporation.

Brett received his undergraduate degree with a double major in Accounting and Business Administration and minors in Mathematics and Spanish from the University of Kansas.

Akash is a Managing Director of Investment Banking at Capital Insight (CI) and is involved in all aspects of the deal execution process including structuring, executing and closing of transactions.

Akash previously worked for a boutique investment banking firm, JCF Capital Markets in La Jolla (CA), where he was an integral part of the deal origination and execution teams focusing on multiple industries including Technology, Biotech & Life Sciences, and Real Estate.

In 2014, he attained his second master's degree from the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. He also holds a master's and bachelor's in Accounting & Finance from the University of Mumbai, India.

Shriram is a Managing Director of Capital Insight. Prior to joining Capital Insight in 2026, Shriram was the Managing Director of Auspex Capital which he co-founded in 2004. Shriram has more than 25 years of experience advising clients on QSR transactions including sell-side, buy-side, debt placements, valuation, sale leaseback, work-outs and recapitalizations. He has advised clients in transactions totaling nearly $5 billion.

Prior to establishing Auspex, Shriram was a Principal at Trinity Capital LLC, where he was responsible for leading a group of analysts in developing pro-forma project valuations and other complex analyses. He played key roles in approximately $1 billion in financial restructuring transactions. Previously, Shri was Vice President of the Portfolio Management Group at Franchise Mortgage Acceptance Company (FMAC).

Shriram’s views are regularly published in the Restaurant Finance Monitor and other franchise finance publications. He is a graduate of Bombay University, India and holds an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.

Michael is a Managing Director who joined Capital Insight, LLC in February 2026 as a restaurant finance specialist with over 35 years of commercial banking, investment banking and commercial real estate experience that includes syndicated middle market debt, credit management/underwriting, and sale leaseback portfolio acquisitions. As a restructuring and distressed situations expert, he has navigated restaurant Chapter 11 bankruptcies & 363 auctions as a buyer, held Unsecured Creditor Committee seats and completed large workouts as a lender and/or REIT landlord. His years of experience includes time with BMO, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, GE Capital Franchise Finance and CNL/Trustreet Properties, one of the largest restaurant REITs and issuer of securitized restaurant debt. As Director of Acquisitions, he worked for Tavistock Group, a billionaire's family office where he focused on creative investments in restaurants, hospitality, luxury residential real estate, golf courses and loan portfolio acquisitions handling all aspects of origination & investment thesis development, due diligence and closings.

He is respected as a restaurant expert with quotes & articles in the Wall Street Journal, Restaurant Business Online, Restaurant Finance Monitor, and Franchise Times with regular appearances as panelist or host at industry conferences and webinars.

As a food banker, he was formerly the Chairman of the Board of the tenth largest food bank in the US who headed a 100,000 Sq. Ft. new food bank project, negotiated a complicated land assemblage for the new site in Orlando, and initiated a capital campaign for $15,000,000 that used creative New Market Tax Credits to help finance the project.

He is a passionate, but "recovering" former restaurant owner/operator/creator, cook, server, and humble dishwasher who worked his way through college earning a B.A. degree in Economics with a Finance concentration from Rutgers in NJ. Michael is based in Austin, TX with his wife Victoria and their two Longhorn sons, Liam and Finn; Hook ’em!

Jared is a VP at Capital Insight (CI) and works collaboratively in the structuring, execution and closing of transactions.

Prior to joining Capital Insight, Jared started his finance career with a wealth management firm that focuses on high-net-worth individuals and families. Joining the firm immediately after graduating in an entry-level Portfolio Administrator position, Jared quickly progressed, helping the firm grow significantly, and was eventually promoted to Portfolio Manager. As Portfolio Manager, Jared oversaw and executed the active management of client invested assets with a value of over $500M.

Jared graduated from the University of Arizona in 2018, obtaining a finance degree from the Eller College of Management and is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation.

Pragyan "Prag" Rajkhowa is an Analyst at Capital Insight, where he supports the structuring, execution, and closing of transactions within the firm's Investment Banking practice.

Prag has a solid foundation in Private Equity, Venture Capital, and institutional investing. Before joining Capital Insight, he interned at a middle-market private equity firm, working across healthcare services verticals such as EHR/EMR, behavioral health, and senior living. He also served as an extern at a San Francisco–based venture capital fund focused on renewable energy and energy infrastructure innovation. His experience spans market diligence, valuation modeling, capital structure analysis, and strategic investment assessment across both growth equity and buyout strategies.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Economics, with a minor in Finance, from the University of California, San Diego.

Richard Upton is a Managing Director at Capital Insight, leading the firm's Healthcare Investment Banking practice with over 30 years of deep industry expertise. Rich is the General Partner at Harbor Light Capital Partners, a venture capital firm he co-founded in 2008 that focuses on early-stage investments in the healthcare and technology sectors across the United States. He also serves as Fund Manager of the Harbor Light Alternatives Fund, a multi-asset private investment vehicle structured as a fund-of-funds.

Mr. Upton currently serves as Chairman of the Board at Anuncia Medical, a developer of noninvasive medical devices for neurological conditions. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Longevity Health Holdings (Nasdaq: XAGE), a publicly traded company advancing clinically validated solutions for healthy aging and regenerative aesthetics. He also serves on the boards of Alcyone Therapeutics, a therapeutics platform addressing complex neurological diseases, and Medicinal Genomics Corporation, a genomic technology company supporting safety and innovation in the cannabis industry.

His prior board roles include Courtagen Life Sciences, a diagnostic company specializing in neurological and metabolic disorders; Eggrock, Inc., a manufacturer of prefabricated medical infrastructure acquired by KHS&S Contractors; and Home Diagnostics, Inc. (Nasdaq: HDIX), a diabetes management company acquired by Nipro Corporation.

Before founding Harbor Light, Mr. Upton was the Founder and President of Upton Advisors, a boutique investment bank serving middle-market and emerging healthcare companies nationwide. Earlier in his career, he was a Vice President in the healthcare investment banking divisions of Bear Stearns and Salomon Brothers, advising on a broad range of strategic and capital markets transactions.

Mr. Upton holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a BA in Economics and English from Amherst College. He is also a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy.

Archie Bishov serves as the founding leader of Capital Insight's Canine Engagement activities, where he oversees office wellness, emotional intelligence initiatives, and tactical tail-wagging and canine interaction. A Goldendoodle with executive instincts and a deep understanding of human behavior, Archie has earned his reputation as the firm's most intuitive team member.

A certified service dog with extensive field experience (from beach recon to boardroom observation), Archie maintains a rigorous travel schedule—often seen monitoring market conditions from the driver's side mirror or clearing his head along the California coast.

With a natural aptitude for calming nerves and commanding rooms (often without saying a word), Archie plays a vital role in supporting both client engagements and internal strategy sessions. Whether attending due diligence meetings or napping through conference calls, Archie remains a steadfast reminder that the most valuable insights often come from quiet observation—and unconditional loyalty.

Outside the office, Archie is a proud supporter of the Chicago Bears, a coastal runner, and a relentless seeker of snacks.