Uplift Investors Appoints Evan Trent as Chief Strategy Officer

Key Terms

m&a financial

M&A, short for mergers and acquisitions, involves one company combining with or purchasing another company to grow, streamline operations, or gain competitive advantages. For investors, M&A activity can signal potential for increased value, new opportunities, or changes in market dynamics, making it an important factor to watch in the business landscape.

dual-sided networks technical

A dual-sided network is a business model that connects two distinct groups—like buyers and sellers, app users and advertisers, or drivers and riders—so each side becomes more valuable as the other side grows. For investors this matters because these platforms can scale quickly, create strong competitive advantages and steady fees once a large, active user base forms, but they also depend on balancing both sides and can be vulnerable if one side leaves.

functional outsourcing technical

Functional outsourcing is when a company hires an outside firm to handle a specific business function—such as payroll, IT support, customer service, or manufacturing—instead of doing it itself. For investors, this matters because outsourcing can lower costs, speed up services, or shift risk much like hiring a specialist instead of keeping that skill in-house; it can affect a company’s profit margins, operational flexibility, and long-term competitiveness.

Appointment follows Uplift’s first platform investment, Orion Legal MSO, announced in January 2026

DARIEN, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Uplift Investors (“Uplift”), a services-focused investment firm dedicated to creating scalable success and lasting partnerships, today announced the appointment of Evan Trent as Chief Strategy Officer. Based in Chicago, Mr. Trent will lead the firm’s M&A and Integration Value Creation Center, partnering with portfolio companies to execute M&A, integration, and transformation initiatives, while also overseeing the internal deployment of Uplift’s strategic plan.

Mr. Trent brings more than 25 years of experience leading growth and enterprise value creation across private equity–backed, startup, and publicly traded companies. Prior to joining Uplift, he held multiple senior leadership roles at Covista (NYSE: CVSA), including President of Elevate and Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, where he led major acquisitions and divestitures, launched a healthcare workforce venture, and established the company’s first Transformation Office. Earlier in his career, Mr. Trent served as CFO and COO of Harbor Global; Global Head of Strategy and Corporate Development at Heidrick & Struggles (NASDAQ: HSII); and held operating and portfolio leadership roles at Sterling Partners, including SVP of Corporate Development at School of Rock.

“We are pleased to welcome Evan to the Uplift team at this formative stage in our firm’s growth,” said Brad Skaf, Managing Partner at Uplift. “Evan’s experience working within our sectors of focus to build repeatable processes for integration and strategy deployment will be instrumental as we institutionalize and scale our approach to value creation across the portfolio and within Uplift.”

“I am thrilled to join Uplift as the firm continues to expand its platform and capabilities,” said Mr. Trent. “Uplift’s differentiated investment model creates a strong foundation for executing a disciplined, repeatable value creation strategy. I look forward to partnering with Will, Doug, and Brad to drive meaningful impact across our portfolio.”

Uplift’s investment strategy is built on a distinct “5-5-5 Framework” to target companies operating at the intersection of five business models: dual-sided networks, functional outsourcing, professional services, route-based services, and information services; with five services sectors: knowledge and talent solutions, legal services, technical trades, financial services, and industrial services; seeking to capitalize on five scalable value creation initiatives: organizational design and team development, go-to-market excellence, talent acquisition and optimization, technology, data, and AI enablement, and M&A and integration.

About Uplift Investors

Uplift Investors is a business-model-centric, services investment firm dedicated to creating scalable success and lasting partnerships. Headquartered in Darien, Connecticut, the firm takes a specialized approach to private equity investing, focusing on micro-sectors at the intersection of five business models and five services sectors. Uplift partners with management teams and provides functional resources to catalyze distinct competitive advantages to elevate its partner companies. For more information, visit www.upliftinvestors.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260310064764/en/

Joshua Rosen

Prosek Partners

Pro-Uplift@prosek.com

Source: Uplift Investors