Our Team
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Joe Popolo is the Founder of Charles & Potomac Capital, LLC, a private investment firm focused on investments in technology, healthcare, media, energy, and real estate. With more than 50 investments in VC and PE funds, operating businesses, and credit and energy funds, Charles & Potomac provides capital and management expertise to leading businesses around the globe. He served as C&P’s CEO from 2019 until 2025.
From 1997 to 2019, Joe helped transform the Freeman Company into the world’s leading live event brand experience company. As its president for eight years and CEO for 11 years, Joe and his team transformed Freeman and tripled it in size to $3 billion in revenue, expanding Freeman into new services and geographic markets, while leading 7,500 employees in 25 cities on four continents. Responsible for over $1.5 billion in M&A activity over his career, in 2018, Joe led the team that marketed and sold Freeman's Encore Event Technology subsidiary to Blackstone, creating the world's largest venue-based audio-visual company. Joe also served on Freeman’s Board of Directors for 18 years and chaired its Finance Committee.
Joe was Chairman of the board of Pinnacle Live, LLC from August 2021 until May 2025, and a board member of Ondas Holdings ($ONDS) from April 2023 until May 2025. Joe also served as a director for Ondas Networks, and was a member of the advisory boards of JEGI CLARITY, Samesurf and Advisory Research Inc. On March 24, 2025, Joe was nominated by President Trump to be the 73rd United States’ Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Joe graduated from Boston College with a BS in Finance and from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA in Finance and Economics, subsequently receiving a Dean’s Award of Distinction from the Booth School of Business in 1997. He is active in many educational, philanthropic, and charitable organizations, including the Shea Center for Entrepreneurship at Boston College, The National Leadership Council of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, The Papal Foundation and Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR).
Joe served as a trustee for Boston College and a member of the Executive Board of the Cox School of Business at SMU. He is an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award winner, and the Dallas Business Journal recognized him as a winner of its Most Admired CEO Award. In 2018, he was recognized with the John P. Curley ’13 Award honoring an outstanding alumnus and supporter of BC Athletics. In 2022, Joe and several BC alums founded the Friends of the Heights, Boston College’s official NIL collective. In 2024 Joe was awarded the Governor William P. Clements, Jr. Award by the Dallas Entrepreneurial PAC (DALENPAC).
Joe and his wife Chris reside in Dallas.
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Prior to joining Charles & Potomac Capital, Rehkemper was Chief Financial Officer for Freeman, a leader in the live event brand marketing industry. As CFO, he led the global Finance, Accounting, Tax, Treasury and Real Estate functions.
Previously, Rehkemper held CFO roles at Sensity Systems and API Technologies and was on the management team for International Rectifier as its Vice President of Finance, was CFO and Vice President of Finance at Alliance Fiber Optic Products and was the Corporate Controller at Calient Networks.
Rehkemper also provided financial leadership for Hewlett-Packard, where he was the Controller for the Network Server Division, which experienced significant growth during his tenure.
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Eirann is responsible for advising on political matters.
Eirann holds two BAs from the University of Georgia and a Master of Applied Leadership and Management from Arizona State University's Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Eirann's experience includes research, strategy development and stakeholder engagement.
Eirann is based in Washington D.C.
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Kit Popolo is Portfolio Manager for Charles & Potomac Capital, where she oversees the firm’s investment activities and relationships. She leads sourcing, due diligence, and underwriting across private equity, venture capital, real estate, and direct investments, while managing ongoing partnerships with fund managers and co-investment partners.
Prior to joining Charles & Potomac Capital, Popolo worked in management consulting and held investment roles across public and private markets.
She earned her MBA from Columbia Business School, where she was a member of the selective Value Investing Program and graduated with Dean’s Honors. She holds a BSBA in Finance & Accounting from Boston College, where she competed as a Division I Varsity rower.
Kit is based in New York City.
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With 25 years of operating experience in a variety of technology sectors, Travis Merrill serves as a Senior Operating Advisor, supporting Charles & Potomac’s investment sourcing, diligence, and portfolio company support efforts. Since 2023, Merrill has been advising private equity, venture capital, and technology companies on corporate and competitive strategy, go-to-market operations, geographic expansion, and organizational design and is an active angel investor and Limited Partner in numerous venture capital funds.
Previously, Merrill served as Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer at Resideo Technologies, Commercial Business Unit President and Chief Marketing Officer at FLIR Systems, Vice President and General Manager at Samsung Electronics, among other roles. Merrill began his career in the telecommunications industry and has spent five years living and working in Asia.
Merrill graduated from Wabash College magna cum laude with a B.A. in English where he also competed in varsity basketball and track & field, earned an M.S. in Telecommunications from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Merrill resides in Bainbridge Island, WA.
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Amy Dalton is an Executive Assistant at Charles & Potomac and assists with the day-to-day operational, strategic and planning responsibilities. She joins Charles & Potomac with 25 years of extensive experience supporting C-level executives. Prior to joining Charles & Potomac, Amy spent 15+ years supporting General Partners and Investment Professionals in the Venture Capital and Private Equity industries.
Amy graduated from St. Edward’s University with a B.A. in Organizational Communication.
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