Management

Robert S. (Bob) Smith
(240) 395-2411

Bob is a Managing Director of National Capital Merchant Banking. He has spent most of his career working with middle market companies and their financing, and brings that experience to bear in identifying the financing needs of our partner companies and structuring financings that support the success of the business and the growth of the owners’ equity.

Bob is a member of the Board of Directors of Tower Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWGP), where he serves as the Chairman of the Investment Committee, and was previously on the Board of CastlePoint Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPHL) which merged with Tower in 2009. Bob was previously the founder of Sherier Capital, LLC, a business advisory firm focused on middle market companies. Earlier, Bob was the Chief Operating Officer of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. (FBR), where he was instrumental in growing FBR to $1.7 billion of shareholders’ equity, $2 billion of third party assets under management, and more than 500 employees. He was intimately involved in the IPOs of FBR and its affiliate FBR Asset and the merger of FBR and FBR Asset, as well as dozens of client IPOs, secondary offerings and advisory assignments. Bob was a founding member of FBR’s investment banking commitment committee, asset management valuation committee, group risk management committee and the public holding company’s strategic management committee. Before joining FBR initially as its General Counsel, Bob was an attorney with, and subsequently a partner of, the law firm of McGuire Woods. He began his career as a lawyer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Bob holds an LL.B and Diploma in Legal Practice from Edinburgh University, and an LL.M from the University of Virginia. He served for several years as an adjunct member of the faculty of the University of Maryland University College Graduate School of Management and Technology.

 

Charles R. Wasaff
(240) 395-2410

Charlie is a Managing Director of National Capital Merchant Banking. Charlie brings to the merchant bank significant industry knowledge, operational insight, and long-standing industry relationships. He is experienced in promoting operations excellence in lower middle market companies, and fostering efficiency through the application of advanced systems within expanding and entrepreneurial environments. He has applied his insights in the development of detailed quantitative investment models that yield expected returns in applying the merchant bank’s investment strategy. This strategy is characterized by financings that support improved business operations, thereby achieving critical mass and improved, sustained equity returns. Charlie leads the merchant bank’s value creation process by aligning our partner companies’ market needs, strategy, and organizational structure with knowledge-based execution.

In addition to investing in, and acting as an advisor to, several companies and governmental entities in aerospace, defense and wireless communications, Charlie was previously Vice President for Space Programs of Loral Corporation. Prior to its acquisition by Loral, Charlie served as Group Vice President for Space Missions for Ford Aerospace Corporation, with over 5000 assigned personnel. In this position, he improved Group revenue by 20%, profits by 30%, and increased after-tax-return-on-assets from 9.7% to 12.3%. While assigned as Group Vice President for Space Missions, Charlie also served as Ford Aerospace’s Vice President, Corporate Business Development, where he was tasked with development and planning associated with the strategic growth and direction of the company. Prior to Ford Aerospace, he was with BDM Corporation, where, after its acquisition by Ford Aerospace, he was Executive Vice President for BDM’s Operations with over 3,500 assigned personnel. Earlier with BDM, Charlie served as Senior Vice President for Advanced Studies and Market Development, where was also responsible for overseeing business development, marketing and sales for the entire company.

Charlie holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical Engineering from Notre Dame University and a PhD in Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Darren S. Womer
(240) 395-2400

Mr. Womer brings 25 years of transactional investment banking experience to National Capital Merchant Banking. Since 1983, Mr. Womer has personally managed over 120 successfully completed middle market investment banking transactions. Notable deals include the sale of defense contractor TAMSCO to ESSI (subsequently acquired by DRS), sale of public safety software firm Crisnet to Motorola, acquisition of the educational software firm Pulliam Group by Educational Testing Services.

He joined National Capital in 1994, as a Managing Partner and completed a buyout out of the firm’s founding partners in January 1999. In addition to managing and supporting select Investment Banking engagements, Mr. Womer provides strategic supervisory support to each investment banking engagement.

Mr. Womer co-founded NCC Merchant Bank a direct investment affiliate of NCC in 2005 along with Charles Wasaff.  Mr. Womer is also a Director and strategic advisor to Clear Government Solutions, Inc. a government contractor focused on Identity Management and Physical and Logical Access Control Solutions and Liquid Maize, LLC, a Denver based Biofuels company.

Mr. Womer is a 1982 graduate of the University of Maryland with a B.B.A. in Accounting. He serves as mentor to graduate students at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and for multiple years been selected to serve as a business case competition judge to the Smith School. He is also actively involved in coaching a variety of local youth sports teams