The Chicago Athletic Association, Chicago

The whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Our Team

Agman team members are highly ethical and pragmatic. While we expect individual excellence we celebrate our collective success.

Scott Silverman

Scott Silverman

Founder, Chief Executive Officer

H. Scott Silverman is a Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Agman. Agman practices an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach to investing, with an emphasis on high conviction and long duration positions in highly differentiated businesses.

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Scott has served an instrumental role in many businesses, including as founder and initial investor. A number of these companies have been acquired or publicly listed, generating billions of dollars in shareholder value and thousands of jobs.

In both business and philanthropy, Scott has sponsored initiatives focused on diversity, sustainability and community. In the Agman family of companies, for instance, more than half of the team members and nearly a third of leadership includes women, minorities and veterans.

Prior to founding Agman, Scott worked at Atlas Venture and BCG. Scott received a doctorate from the University of Oxford as a Keasbey Memorial Scholar. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with High Honors from Dartmouth College and first in his class from The Latin School of Chicago.

Scott resides in Chicago and Aspen with his wife and two children. He is a Board Member of the University of Chicago Medical Center, as well as a member of YPO (Chicago / Aspen).

Little Known

  • Three times a loser in championship water polo matches - high school, college and graduate school.
Jeff Silverman

Jeff Silverman

Co-Founder

Jeff Silverman is a co-founder of Agman. After reading all the biographies he recognized, a 12 year old Jeff started over at 'A' before being inspired by Bernard Baruch – a financier, arbitrageur and advisor to Presidents.

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In the more than 45 years since graduating from MIT with a degree in Management, Jeff has applied value-investing principles to interests in commodity futures, real estate and private equity.

Jeff applies the same intensity and creative synthesis that made him successful as an investor to his civic and philanthropic pursuits. Jeffrey currently serves as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Israel’s premier think tank, the Institute for National Securities Studies (INSS). He recently joined the Advisory Committee for MIT’s Center for International Studies and is a member of both the Political Science and Economics Visiting Committees at MIT.

Jeff is especially proud of his support for both an international competition envisioning peace The Jerusalem 2050 Project, and an effort he spearheaded to enhance global energy savings through the Silverman Evergreen Energy Fund. This fund has generated a projected 10 year savings of $50 million at MIT and has the potential to generate far greater savings when extended to other institutions. Jeff also currently serves as an advisor and mentor to PhD students at MIT President Rafael Reif’s new Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative. Previously, Jeff served on the Board of Directors of the CME (Nasdaq: CME) as a popularly elected Director from the Exchange Community and also chaired various committees, including Technology Oversight and Strategic Planning.

For his many contributions to Israel and the Friends of the IDF, Jeff was recognized as the Chicago FIDF “Man-of-the-Year” with the 2009 Binyamin Netanyahu Award.

He currently resides in Miami Beach and regularly travels to Israel and Europe.

Chris Kauffman

Chris Kauffman

Chief Financial Officer

Chris is Chief Financial Officer at Agman, and joined the firm in 2014.

Chris is responsible for the overall financial management of the firm and participates in various operational and family office oversight functions. He is particularly focused on developing and directing strategic initiatives in support of Agman’s medium- and long-term growth.

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Chris also manages Agman’s direct public equity strategy, a role he has held since joining the firm.  In 2017, he founded and was Chief Investment Officer of Agman Capital, a concentrated, long-biased equity fund.  In 2021, Agman Capital merged with Agman, enabling Chris to expand his firmwide responsibilities.

Prior to joining Agman, Chris served in various strategic management, operational, and financial roles in both private industry and public accounting.  Chris is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and received his B.A. in Accounting and Finance from Cedarville University.

Mark Plandowski

Mark Plandowski

General Counsel

Mark serves as General Counsel for Agman.

Mark joined Agman in 2018 to apply his legal expertise across the firm’s activities.

Prior to joining Agman, Mark was an attorney with Greenberg Traurig, LLP, where he advised companies in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and various related matters associated with corporate transactions. While with Greenberg, Mark assisted Agman in the successful acquisition of over 130 quick service restaurants.

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Before his legal career, Mark worked for CME Group, Inc., the largest derivatives exchange operator in the world. As an Associate Director of Operations, Mark spent time in London and Chicago overseeing trading operations in CME’s electronic derivatives markets.

Mark received his J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, his MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, and his B.S. in Economics and Business Management from Cornell University.

Little Known

  • Cornell University - Swim Team Captain
Yonatan Dotan

Yonatan Dotan

Operating Partner

Yonatan is an Operating Partner with Agman, leading the firm’s real estate practice.

Agman's portfolio is comprised of over $1 billion in AUM held in multifamily, hospitality, and commercial real estate, including operating companies specializing in development, asset management, property management, brokerage, and construction services.

Yonatan is the CEO of Metonic Real Estate Solutions and serves on the board of Seldin, LLC. He joined Agman in 2017, initially focusing on acquisitions for Ampler, a multi-unit quick service restaurant business with more than 450 units, before moving over to lead the real estate team.

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Prior to joining Agman, Yonatan was an analyst with the Scion Group, the largest privately held owner / operator of student housing communities in the United States.

Yonatan received his BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of YPO Nebraska and is a licensed real estate broker in Illinois.

Josif Ilisoi

Josif Ilisoi

Vice President

Josif is a Vice President with Agman and plays a leading role in the firm's private capital investments.

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Josif is actively involved in Ampler, the firm’s multi-unit quick service restaurant business, where he initially served in senior finance and business development roles with broad responsibilities across acquisitions and capital planning. Today, Ampler is one of the largest and best performing restaurant operators in the country.

Josif also serves on the boards of Aurenity, a technology enabled E&S managing general agent, and Virtus, a specialty insurance brokerage.

Prior to joining Agman, Josif was an analyst with Goldman Sachs in their investment management division, supporting institutional and high net worth clients in constructing and implementing investment strategies. Following Goldman, Josif taught in rural Tanzania through an NGO.

Josif received his BS in mathematics from Whitworth University.

Nick Davies

Nick Davies

Operating Partner

Nick is an Operating Partner at Agman.

He joined the firm in 2021 to support Agman’s rapidly expanding insurance platform. He serves on the Board of Directors for Virtus and Omaha National and is responsible for the identification and development of new opportunities.

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Prior to Agman, Nick served as President of Brit Global Specialty Americas, spanning property, casualty, professional liability, and reinsurance in the US and Bermuda. As a member of Brit’s group executive, he was involved in strategic, financial, and cultural oversight for one of the largest syndicates in the Lloyd’s market. Nick also served as Chairman of Brit USA, Brit Bermuda, and Commonwealth Insurance.

Nick received his B.A. from King’s College London. He holds an ACII (Chartered Insurer) qualification and is a board member of City of Hope’s National Insurance Council. He is also a member of YPO (Chicago and Ocean Reef) and The Economic Club of Chicago.

Little Known

  • Former house music DJ
  • Master scuba diver and coral restoration enthusiast
Steve Wiborg

Steve Wiborg

Operating Partner

Steve Wiborg is an Operating Partner at Agman and has been affiliated with the firm since 2016.

Prior to joining Agman, Mr. Wiborg served as Chairman, Executive Vice President and President of North America for Burger King Corporation, as part of the 3G Capital sponsored acquisition. At BKC, Steve played an instrumental role in defining and implementing the tremendously successful turnaround strategy, including a public listing of the company (NYSE: QSR).

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Previously, Steve was President and Chief Executive Officer of Heartland Food Corporation, at the time, one of the larger franchise operators in the country. He held the position of Chief Operating Officer from 2003 to 2006 and was named President and Chief Executive Officer in December 2006. Prior to joining Heartland, Steve was an owner and operator of 56 Hardees restaurants.

Steve is a former director of Carrols Restaurant Group (Nasdaq: TAST) and currently serves as Executive Chairman of Ampler Restaurant Group, which he co-founded with Agman in 2016