James Parker

Co-Founder
Leonid Capital Partners

James Parker, Co-Founder of Leonid Capital Partners, helps lead the firm’s strategic investments supporting U.S. national defense and space contractors. With more than 25 years of experience in finance and investing, he has led initiatives across fundraising, mergers and acquisitions, portfolio management, and direct lending spanning multiple industries. Under his and Chris

Lay’s leadership, Leonid Capital Partners has deployed hundreds of millions of dollars through multiple funds and SPVs. Prior to co-founding Leonid Capital Partners, James held senior leadership roles at both public and private companies, overseeing restructuring, corporate finance, acquisitions, and investments, including guiding a company through a successful public listing as CFO.

Earlier in his career, James spent more than a decade as an engineer and program manager in the aerospace and defense sector, supporting programs requiring TS SCI clearance for both the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics from Rice University.