Edward S. Barr, Founder and President, is responsible for Portfolio Management. He is also Manager of Sandfly Management Partners, the general partner to Sandfly Partners, Ltd, a hedge fund partnership with approximately $40 million in assets. Prior to founding E. S. Barr & Company in 1992, Ed was Executive Vice President at First Security Bank prior to its sale to Bank One (now JP Morgan Chase). In that capacity, he was responsible for corporate finance matters, including Mergers & Acquisitions as well as establishing and managing a holding company’s regional bank equity portfolio. Ed also previously managed several hundred million dollars of fixed income assets for First Security, including Treasuries, Agencies, Municipals, Mortgage-Backed Securities, and Collateralized Mortgage Obligations. Ed is Chairman of the Triangle Corporation, a philanthropic organization responsible for initiating, privately funding, and building three parks in Lexington. He is also past Treasurer and a current Trustee of Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. Ed graduated from the University of Kentucky with a B.B.A. in Finance in 1981.
Josh Buckman joined E. S. Barr & Company in April 2019 and is responsible for researching individual holdings as well as portfolio management. Prior to joining E. S. Barr & Co., Josh worked in investment banking as an associate at Deutsche Bank in New York. Josh is a summa cum laude graduate of Transylvania University with a B. A. in Economics and Business Administration. While attending Transylvania University, he was a member of the varsity tennis team.
Debbie Gallagher has been with the company since 2000 and is responsible for client service and account reconciliation, cost basis reporting, and performance tracking. After graduating with a B. A. from the University of Kentucky, Debbie began her career with Second National Bank, where she gained experience in customer service, bookkeeping, and office management. Debbie is a former Treasurer and current member of the Junior League of Lexington.
Margaret joined E.S. Barr & Company in June 2017 and is engaged in all facets of the company, with an emphasis on compliance. Prior to joining E.S. Barr & Company, Margaret worked as an associate attorney at McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland, PLLC in the firm’s estate planning and administration practice group, and later at Little English, LLC, where she assisted with production and manufacturing. Margaret is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, and a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law with her Juris Doctor.
Ryan Kelsch joined the company in 2014 and is responsible for Client Service and Business Development. Ryan previously worked as a Commercial Credit Analyst at U.S. Bank in Lexington, where he was responsible for analyzing and risk-rating companies. Ryan is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Transylvania University with a B.A. in both Accounting and Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance. Ryan serves on the Audit Committee of the YMCA of Central Kentucky.
John Maddox, Partner, joined the company in 1994 and is responsible for Client Service and Business Development. John was previously Vice President in Commercial Lending at First Security Bank and Bank One. While attending the University of Kentucky, he was Captain of the UK football team and graduated with a B.B.A. in Finance.