Prairie Capital Welcomes Two New Associates

August 13, 2025 – Prairie Capital is pleased to welcome Cara Conniff and Brett Winkel to the investment team as Associates. Cara and Brett will be involved across all phases of Prairie’s investment process, from analyzing new opportunities and conducting due diligence to assisting in the ongoing management of the firm’s portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Prairie, Cara served as an Investment Banking Analyst at Lincoln International, where she focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory in the Consumer Group. She received a B.S. in Finance from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

“I am truly excited to be joining Prairie Capital. From the moment I connected with the team, it was clear that this is a close-knit group that has a long history of successfully growing companies. Prairie’s focus on building meaningful, long-term partnerships with founders really resonated with me, and I’m looking forward to learning and growing with the Prairie team.”

Before joining Prairie, Brett was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Supply Chain & Commercial Services Group at William Blair, where he focused on M&A advisory and transaction execution. He received a B.S. in Finance from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

“What drew me to Prairie, beyond the strong partnership opportunities with its current and future portfolio, were the people. This is an environment that values and fosters professional and personal development. From an outside perspective, you can feel the team’s sense of pride for what they’ve built.”

For more information, please visit:

https://www.prairie-capital.com/professional/cara-conniff/
https://www.prairie-capital.com/professional/brett-winkel/