65 Equity Partners

Orlando Ashford

Orlando Ashford is an Operating Advisor (Human Capital) at 65 Equity Partners.

Orlando is a seasoned executive and board leader known for driving transformation and fostering strong organizational cultures. With a career spanning over three decades, he has led complex global organizations through periods of rapid change and innovation, bringing a unique blend of strategic insight and people-centric leadership. As an Operating Advisor with 65 Equity Partners, Orlando helps companies to scale with purpose, drawing on deep expertise in human capital, brand revitalization, and organizational development.

His leadership impact has spanned across industries—from sports and apparel at Fanatics to professional services at Marsh & McLennan and Mercer, and consumer goods at Coca-Cola and Motorola. Most notably, as President of Holland America Line, Orlando spearheaded a cultural and operational transformation that elevated guest experience and business performance. His work consistently reflects a strong commitment to aligning strategy, talent, and culture to unlock sustainable growth.

A recognized voice in leadership and workforce strategy, Orlando is also the author of two books and a frequent speaker on issues of people, culture and organizational excellence. He currently chairs the board of Perrigo and serves on the boards of Array Technologies, State Farm Auto and Life advisory boards and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A Distinguished Alumnus of Purdue University, he holds both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Organizational Leadership and Industrial Technology.

Richard Neff

Richard Neff is 65 Equity Partners’ Senior Advisor for North America.

Richard is an experienced services executive accomplished in delivering operating performance across growth, reset and turnaround opportunities and scaling from lower middle market to complex enterprise level platforms, in both private equity and public company environments.

Richard’s professional background spans financial, healthcare and tech-enabled services businesses, with significant global exposure. In an extended GE career, his leadership roles ranged from new product development, such as launching the first private label credit card in Switzerland, to acquiring, running and divesting of large, diversified service organizations in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.

Richard holds a BA from Rutgers University and an MBA from Columbia University. He has served on multiple service company, bank and association boards and has achieved Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification.

Jason Chen

Jason is a Senior Vice President at 65 Equity Partners, based in San Francisco.

He joined 65 Equity Partners from AIMPERA Capital Partners, where he focused on making equity investments in privately-owned real assets and infrastructure businesses. Prior to that, Jason worked at Baird Capital Partners as an associate investing in middle-market industrial companies. Jason started his career as an Analyst in the Global Industrials and M&A team at Citigroup.

Jason holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of California, Berkeley.