Pagden Partners is a strategic investment and operating firm focused on acquiring and growing small businesses with long-term potential.
We look for businesses with enduring value—where strategy, operational excellence, and human leadership intersect.
Pagden Partners was founded to bring a disciplined, purpose-driven approach to small business ownership. We believe great businesses often go unnoticed—and that with the right leadership, systems, and care, they can scale sustainably for the benefit of employees, customers, and communities.
We’re not looking for flash—we’re looking for fundamentals. We believe in businesses built on substance: strong relationships, repeatable systems, and real value. At Pagden Partners, success means honoring what founders have built, investing in people, and growing with integrity.
Keisha McKenzie
Strategic Operator | Market Builder | Purpose-Driven Investor
Keisha McKenzie is the founder of Pagden Partners and brings more than two decades of leadership across strategy, marketing, and business transformation.
Keisha has held executive roles as Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Marketing at high-growth start-ups and at Global Fortunte 500 Technology companies including IBM and Kyndryl.
Keisha began her career at JPMorgan, rising from analyst to Vice President while acquiring experience across investment banking, capital markets, and asset management. This early foundation built her lifelong strengths in financial analysis, strategic discipline, and client-centered thinking.
Keisha holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a BA in Psychology and History from Kenyon College. She lives in Durham, NC
Pagden Partners 