Our Team
Our team is comprised of entrepreneurs who have very specific experience in professional services, specifically in marketing and communications. We’re former agency owners and operators. We’re private equity professionals. We’re business psychologists. We’re advisor and we’re coaches. Our goal is to share our experience and our journey so you can make better decisions for your agency, and yourself.
MURAD SABZALI, Partner
Murad brings more than 20 years of experience as an agency founder, owner, and operator. In 2003, he founded CG Life and guided its growth through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, ultimately leading to a successful exit in 2023. Murad earned his bachelor’s in marketing from Northern Illinois University and is pursuing his master’s of liberal arts at the University of Chicago.
STEVE JOHNSON, Partner
With over 30 years of leadership in the agency world, Steve has held senior roles spanning operations and strategy. Before co-founding AgencyEQ, he served as Managing Partner at CG Life and, earlier, as Chief Operating Officer at Slack & Company. He holds a bachelor’s in public relations from Illinois State University.
JOE KUCHTA, Partner
Joe offers more than 35 years of experience building and scaling agencies. He previously served as President and CEO of GA Communication and The Sandbox Agency (now Merge), leading each firm through significant growth and numerous successful acquisitions. He earned his bachelor’s in advertising and communications from the University of Illinois.
JEFF PIPER, Senior Advisor
Jeff brings more than twenty-five years of private equity, board directorship and investment banking expertise, specializing in professional, service-based businesses and communications agencies. He is currently a partner at both LXP and Semper Fi Partners, previously holding a leadership role at Svoboda Capital. Jeff earned his bachelor’s in finance from the University of Illinois and his master’s of business administration from Northwestern University.
DAVID RANSBURG, Senior Advisor
David has over 25 years of experience as a consultant, psychologist, and operator, with a focus on family businesses and organizational performance. He is currently a partner at The Convergent Group and previously worked with The Family Business Consulting Group and The Family Institute at Northwestern. David holds a bachelor’s in economics from Stanford University and a master’s in psychology and master’s of business administration from Northwestern University.