Built at Tulane, grown in New Orleans: Black Bay’s alumni roots run deep

Approaching its 10-year anniversary, private-equity firm Black Bay Partners has emerged as a New Orleans success story, growing to 17 team members, raising three funds totaling more than $850 million as of February 2026, and becoming a prominent locally headquartered asset manager. Founded in 2016 by three Tulane alumni, the firm reflects a shared commitment to Tulane and to New Orleans that continues to shape how it operates and grows. 

“Tulane is really an important part of our story,” said Partner Tom Ambrose (B ’09), who earned his bachelor’s degree in finance and economics, plus an energy specialization, from Tulane. 

Ambrose launched Black Bay alongside fellow Tulane graduates Managing Partner Michael LeBourgeois (B *00) and Partner Guy Cook (B *06), who both received their MBAs from the A. B. Freeman School of Business. 

“We wanted to partner with companies that are doing something innovative in the energy and chemical industries — something better, faster, cheaper, safer,” Ambrose said. 

Ambrose said that when he graduated from Tulane, he initially left New Orleans because there simply weren’t many opportunities at the time. He began his career in Houston but felt pulled back to New Orleans, returning in late 2011 to team up with LeBourgeois. After several years managing the energy portfolio for their prior firm (based in Washington, D.C.), LeBourgeois and Ambrose partnered with Cook to form Black Bay and build the firm in New Orleans. 

Over the years, Black Bay has maintained a steady pipeline of Tulane interns and hires. One of those hires is Principal Sam Scofield (B ’15). Scofield earned his bachelor’s degree in finance, along with an energy specialization from the Tulane Energy Institute, before beginning his career in investment banking in Houston. He returned to New Orleans to join Black Bay.

“Tulane is really an important part of our story.” — Partner Tom Ambrose (B ’09) 

At Tulane, Scofield balanced rigorous academics with Division I athletics as a starting safety on the Green Wave football team. A two-time Academic All-American, team captain and All-Conference Defensive Player, he learned early how to manage competing demands, developing discipline while still engaging fully in both campus and city life. “My peers, from every corner of the country, cared deeply about academics, business school, learning, succeeding, getting the best internships, but they also enjoyed themselves and weren’t locked in the library all night,” he said. 

Black Bay Partners has continued to draw from that same Tulane pipeline, welcoming additional alumni, including Senior Associate Grant McClure (B *18), who has a master’s degree in energy management, and Associate Charles Liu (B ’19), based in Black Bay’s recently opened New York office. Liu joined Black Bay about one year ago after working on Wall Street. 

Operating outside a traditional finance hub, Scofield said, has shaped how the team approaches its work. “Being here, we think about things a little bit differently. We act a little bit differently. Sometimes we can be more creative.” 

That sense of place has also become a recruiting advantage. Ambrose recalled one colleague who was excited to relocate to New Orleans to join Black Bay in part because he plays jazz trumpet in his spare time. “How many private equity guys are doing gigs at the Maple Leaf?” Ambrose said. 

More broadly, New Orleans has proven to be an asset for the firm’s growth. Frequent flights keep the team closely connected to portfolio companies, while the city itself has become a draw for investors and portfolio company management teams — particularly during Black Bay’s annual meetings, which they often schedule around Jazz Fest or French Quarter Fest. “People are generally excited to come spend time in New Orleans,” Scofield said. 

Since its launch in 2016 and as of February 2026, Black Bay has raised three private equity funds: a $224 million first fund, followed by a $209 million second fund and a recently completed third fund totaling $425 million. The firm’s investor base is largely comprised of endowments and foundations across the country. 

As Black Bay has expanded, so too has New Orleans’ broader private equity and investment ecosystem. “There’s a community that’s been growing that wasn’t as prevalent in 2016 when we started,” Ambrose said. “It’s been fun to watch.” 

The firm was featured last year in a Times-Picayune | The Advocate article examining the growing “local investment ecosystem that is turning heads outside of Louisiana.” 

For the firm’s founders, that growth has reinforced their belief that the supposed constraints involved with building something lasting in New Orleans are, in fact, opportunities. 

After raising capital at college campuses and investment offices across the country, Ambrose said that exposure has only deepened his appreciation for what makes Tulane distinctive and inseparable from New Orleans. 

“Tulane is a really unique place,” Ambrose said. “It’s an academically oriented school in this old and incredibly interesting city that you’re a part of. Tulane is uniquely tied into the city because it’s a small enough city that Tulane has a very material impact, but it’s a big enough city that it’s not just a college town. There is no other school in the country like that — the culture, the soul, the history, the food! No one’s even close.”