Gary Graphia

Prior to joining Bernhard Capital, Gary was Of Counsel for Kean Miller LLP. He re-joined the firm in 2013 and practiced in the business, corporate, and litigation strategy groups. A partner in the firm until 1999, Gary then served as chief legal officer and corporate secretary of The Shaw Group, Inc. from 1999 until 2007. After building and managing one of the largest corporate legal departments in the region, he was elevated to Executive Vice President for Corporate Development and Strategy, where he was responsible for a number of administrative and functional departments. During his tenure, Gary oversaw a number of high-profile projects including Shaw’s acquisition of Stone & Webster, its acquisition of IT Group, and its investment in Westinghouse. In 2008, he became Chief Operating Officer until he retired from Shaw in May 2012. Gary has effectively and creatively managed regional, national, and global projects involving teams of in-house counsel, outside counsel, corporate leadership, and major financial institutions, Wall Street banks, global accounting and audit professionals, insurers, and credit rating agencies. He has overseen numerous corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, and public capital market transactions. Gary has served as a director of portfolio companies for Oaktree Capital. Gary also served his home state of Louisiana as Executive Counsel to Governor Bobby Jindal.

Gary received his B.S. in Finance from Louisiana State University in 1984. He earned his J.D. with honors from the LSU Law Center in 1991, where he was managing editor of the Louisiana Law Review, a member of the Order of the Coif, and a member of Phi Kappa Phi.

Current Board Activity:

National Water Infrastructure

Green Meadow