Since 2005, Thompson Dean has served as cofounding CEO of Avista Capital Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm focused on investments in growth-oriented health care companies. Some of Thompson Dean and Avista's recent business activities include acquiring the extended topicals and dermatology unit of G&W Laboratories. Headquartered in South Plainfield, New Jersey, G&W Laboratories leverages more than 100 years of experience to provide people with a variety of high-quality products. The company's portfolio consists of approximately three dozen topical dermatology products, such as creams, ointments, liquids, and gels.In partnering with G&W Dermatology, Avista named Walt Kaczmarek, a business executive with over 25 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, to serve as CEO. He is working with G&W's established team to oversee existing and pipeline products as well as the company's research and development and manufacturing capabilities. Avista's acquisition of G&W Dermatology does not affect G&W Laboratories' other business activities, including manufacturing operations in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The Avista portfolio currently comprises over $6 billion of investments in approximately 30 health-oriented businesses.
The CEO of Avista Capital Partners, Thompson Dean assists investors, management teams, and owners in innovative financial opportunities, with a focus on investing in leading healthcare companies. Thompson Dean contributes to a number of charities, including serving as a trustee of the Choate Rosemary Hall.Choate Rosemary Hall provides a unique educational experience for students: the opportunity to participate in a rigorous academic curriculum while living alongside teachers in a residential setting. The school traces its roots to 1890, when Mary Atwater Choate founded Rosemary Hall as an all-girls institution. Six years later, her husband, Judge William G. Choate, launched his own educational institution for boys, The Choate School. The two schools shared the same property in Wallingford, Connecticut until 1900, when Rosemary Hall relocated to Greenwich. The move lasted 70 years, but Rosemary Hall eventually returned to its original home in Wallingford. In 1974, Rosemary Hall and The Choate School merged to form the institution it is today.Since the merger, the school has established multiple facilities, including the Kohler Environmental Center, the Worthington Johnson Athletic Center, and St. John Hall. Among its signature academic programs, Choate Rosemary Hall offers its advanced robotics concentration, environmental immersion program, the John F. Kennedy Program in Government and Public Service, and more. Today, the school maintains its commitment to developing an innovative curriculum for generations to come.
