About Bud

Claudius E. Watts IV (“Bud”) is a private investor and founder of Meeting Street Capital, LLC.  Meeting Street Capital is a private investment firm focused primarily on early stage software businesses based in the Southeast.

​

Mr. Watts also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CommScope (NASDAQ: COMM) and as a Senior Advisor to The Carlyle Group. From 2016 until 2020, Mr. Watts served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Carolina Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CARO),

which was sold to United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBSI) in 2020.

​

In addition to his current business activities, Mr. Watts serves as the Chairman of the Boards of The Citadel Trust and The Citadel Real Estate Foundation and on the board of The Citadel Foundation, which he previously chaired for six years. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of The Belle W. Baruch Foundation, Vice Chairman of the Roper St. Francis Foundation, and on the board of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

​

Previously, Mr. Watts was a Partner and Managing Director at The Carlyle Group. He joined the firm in 2000, established its Technology Buyout Group in 2004, and led it until 2014. He retired from the firm in late 2017.

​

Before joining Carlyle, Mr. Watts was an investment banker and Managing Director at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. There, he advised corporations and private equity firms on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and related financings.

​

Prior to attending graduate business school, Mr. Watts served as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. During his service, he was qualified as an instructor pilot in both the F-16 and A-10 aircraft and served in a number of leadership and operations management positions in the United States and abroad.

​

Mr. Watts earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from The Citadel and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.