Damon Ball joined AEA Investors in 2005 as a member of the Small Business Fund team. Before joining AEA, Mr. Ball was a managing director of Saratoga Partners from 2002 to 2005, where he focused on making industrial investments including Advanced Lighting and Sericol International, which he co-led. Mr. Ball initially joined Saratoga as a senior advisor in 2001. Prior to joining Saratoga, he was managing director of Sextant Partners, an investment advisory firm, during which time he advised Restoration Hardware on their successful refinancing. Previously, Mr. Ball was a senior vice president at Desai Capital Management, which he initially joined in 1988, where he focused on sourcing, negotiating, and achieving successful realizations on a number of successful private equity investments in the business and consumer services industries. Mr. Ball graduated from University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in economics and received an M.B.A. from Harvard University. He currently serves on the board of Restoration Hardware, Inc. and was recently named lead independent director.