Team

LaMar Lyons

LaMar Lyons is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Burch Capital Partners. From sourcing to diligence to structuring, Mr. Lyons is responsible for all parts of the transaction lifecycle. Over his almost 40 year career in financial services, he has worked on over 106 public and private transactions for government entities and emerging growth companies.

Prior to founding Burch Capital Partners, he was Executive Managing Director of Rideau Lyons, a boutique broker dealer. He was responsible for Rideau being recognized in the 25th anniversary issue of Black Enterprise (June 1997, in its annual listing of the leading black-owned firms in a host of industries) as the number two African-American owned investment banking firm.

Mr. Lyons began his career in the investment banking industry working for the likes of L.F. Rothschild and Morgan Stanley. While at Rothschild, he was a member of the Housing, Transportation and the General Corporate Finance Group and at Morgan Stanley in the Housing, Transportation and Infrastructure Group. Mr. Lyons has an extensive public sector background having worked for Los Angeles community based organizations such as: Advance Foundation, which served emotionally and physically challenged youth, and Community Childcare Development Services (CCDS), which provided pre-school care for children and support for senior citizens. Mr. Lyons continued his service in the public sector by working for a California US Senator, a State Legislator (he assisted in passing the Martin Luther King holiday legislation in California and was the first Black Chief of Staff to a California State Assemblyperson) and a Los Angeles City Councilman.

He serves on the Board of Directors for the Burch Capital Partner internship program at UCLA, which offers undergraduate and graduate students exposure to the challenges of pulling growth back into the inner central cities, the full re-deployment of inner city infrastructure, the taking advantage of the inner-city workforce, the purchase power assets of the inner core of the inner-city, capital formation and economic development. The Burch Group with the UCLA internship program will coordinate with: 1. local and regional comprehensive job centers, 2. community colleges skill development, 3. pre- apprenticeship and 4. job readiness training.

Mr. Lyons received a BA in Philosophy and Mathematics from UCLA, where he was ASUCLA Student Body President as well as the recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Service Award, and a JD from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. where he received the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Student Bar Association.

Cliff Johnson

Clifton L. Johnson is a Founder & Managing Partner with Burch Capital Partners. Prior to joining Burch, Johnson was employed at Union Bank in Wealth Management as a Vice President and Senior Account Relationship Manager. Johnson has been employed in the banking and financial services industry for 47 years. His focus with Burch will be on deal sourcing, execution and structuring.

Johnson is an Advisory Member of the Investment Committee for the California Community Foundation and an Advisory Board Member of the Foundation’s Centinela Fund.  He also currently serves as a vital board member of the Magic Johnson Foundation.

Throughout his banking career, Johnson was extraordinarily active and committed to a number of civic and community organizations.  Appointed as a Public Member of The California State Board of Accountancy, Johnson was the first African American to serve on the Board in its 103 year history. He is a past board member of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and a past President and founding member of the Los Angeles Urban Financial Services Coalition, formerly the Los Angeles Urban Bankers Association. He is a founding member of the Los Angeles Urban Financial Services Coalition, formerly The Los Angeles Urban Bankers Association. He was also the recipient of the Los Angeles Urban League 2002 Community Responsibility Award.

Johnson received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Banking and Finance from the University of North Texas at Denton and attended graduate school at Pepperdine University.