Corporate Governance

David R. Brooks is Chairman of the Board, President, CEO and a director of Independent Bank Group, Inc., a Texas-based bank holding company with over $8 billion in assets. Independent Bank operates banking offices throughout Texas and Colorado. Mr. Brooks has more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry and previously served as the Chief Financial Officer at Baylor University.

Mr. Brooks served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Noel-Levitz, Inc., a national higher education consulting firm from 2007-2014.  He also served on the Board of Trustees at Houston Baptist University from 2006-2015 and as Chairman from 2010-2012. Mr. Brooks joined the Capital Southwest Corporation Board in 2014, serving as the Chair of the Audit Committee from 2015-2017 and now serves as Chairman of the Board.

Christine S. Battist is a financial executive with broad and diverse experience in public and private companies. Ms. Battist has over 30 years of financial experience including establishing finance infrastructure and leading transformational growth through IPO, mergers and acquisitions and capital market transactions along with leading investor relations and establishing internal audit. She was Chief Financial Officer of Avison Young, a private commercial real estate services firm from 2018 to April 2023. Previously, Ms. Battist was the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer from 2012 to 2016 at Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp. (NYSE: SBY), a public real estate investment trust. Prior to this, from 2011 to 2012, Ms. Battist was Managing Director at Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO), a public real estate investment trust focused on residential mortgage-backed securities. From 2005 to 2011, Ms. Battist held various financial roles at The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS), a Fortune 500 agribusiness company. Ms. Battist holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from St. Norbert College and is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas.

Mr. Diehl joined Capital Southwest in 2014 as Chief Investment Officer. He was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in 2015 and led the relaunch of the firm as a lender to middle market companies. Mr. Diehl chairs the firm’s investment committee and leads all aspects of the firm’s investment activities and strategic direction. He brings over 20 years of experience in sourcing, structuring and managing investments in a variety of industries. Mr. Diehl came to Capital Southwest from American Capital, Ltd., which he joined in 2001 and where he had acted as Managing Director and Co-Head of the Sponsor Finance Group since 2007. While at American Capital, he closed investments in 15 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions, representing over $1.1 billion of invested capital. Mr. Diehl’s investment experience has been in a variety of industries, including industrial manufacturing, healthcare, business services and consumer finance. His investments have been in the form of various securities and structures including first lien, unitranche, second lien and subordinated debt, as well as preferred and common equity in both control and non-control positions. Mr. Diehl earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree, with majors in Environmental/Geotechnical Engineering and Economics from Vanderbilt University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Diehl lives in Dallas with his wife and three children.

Jack D. Furst, Founder, Oak Stream Investors, is a distinguished private equity investor. Oak Stream Investors makes investments in real estate, oil and gas, fixed income securities and public and private equities. Jack is an Adjunct Professor at The University of North Texas where he teaches finance and investments. He has over 25 years of private investment experience completing over $50 billion in transactions which resulted in attractive returns for investors. Jack was a founding Partner in HM Capital Partners (formally Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Incorporated). The Firm, established in 1989, specialized in private investments of companies primarily serving the energy, financial services, food, manufacturing and media sectors of the economy.

Prior to founding HM Capital, he was a partner at Hicks& Haas Incorporated (a private investment firm) from 1987 to 1989. From 1984 to 1986, he was a merger and acquisition/corporate finance specialist for The First Boston Corporation in New York. Before joining First Boston, Jack was a financial consultant at Price Waterhouse in Phoenix. He received his BS degree with honors from the College of Business Administration at Arizona State University and his MBA degree with honors from the Graduate School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Thomas is a private investor who provides leadership for, and invests in, organizations that demonstrate social impact.  He is also President of the Thomas Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit grant-making corporation.  During his tenure as a Vice President with Capital Southwest Corporation from 2006 to 2012, Mr. Thomas made, enhanced and monetized investments in stand-alone private companies and add-on opportunities, oversaw the portfolio valuation process and  ensured compliance with all regulated investment company and business development company requirements. Previously Mr. Thomas served as a pilot and in numerous leadership positions in the United States Air Force, achieving the rank of Major.  He has served on the board of eleven private companies, currently serves as a director of Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ: WIRE) and is a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow.  Mr. Thomas graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and has a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Ramona Rogers-Windsor is a senior finance executive with over 38 years of experience across multiple segments of the financial services industry including global investment management, public accounting audit, life insurance financial risk underwriting and retail brokerage.

As Managing Director and portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ramona led corporate and municipal bond portfolios, generating a track record of success through rigorous analysis, identifying critical market drivers and recognizing untapped opportunities. Ramona maintains active involvement in finance industry organizations such as the Society for Municipal Analysts, the CFA Institute and the NFMA.

Ms. Rogers-Windsor spent 23 years in fixed income investment management with Northwestern Mutual, most recently as Managing Director and Portfolio Manager from 2012-2019. Prior to her role in asset management, from 1990 through 1996, Ms. Rogers-Windsor developed financial underwriting standards for life and disability insurance and consulted on large cases for Northwestern Mutual, culminating in her role as Underwriting Standards Financial Officer. Ramona’s early career was with Robert W. Baird & Co., a Northwestern Mutual subsidiary, in trading and sales and at Arthur Andersen, LLP as an auditor.

In March 2021, Ramona joined the Cohen & Steers Funds board and since December 2020, has served as a Board Trustee for Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Her past non-profit board experience includes Milwaukee Film, The Girl Scouts of Milwaukee, and University School of Milwaukee.

Ms. Rogers-Windsor holds a B.S. in Accounting from Marquette University, a U.S. CPA license and is a CFA Charterholder.