Richard Lee is a Director at Azul Partners where he specializes in transactional advisory for technology, services and staffing companies. He is also Managing Director of RJSLcompany. As a seasoned finance professional, he has an extensive experience in both corporate development and corporate finance. Prior to launching RJSL and joining forces with Azul Partners, Richard led M&A and partnership activities for Orbitz (acquired by the Blackstone Group) as a member of Cendant Strategic Development Group as well as serving as a division controller of Orbitz for Business. He also spearheaded a range of strategic initiatives including competitive intelligence, complex travel, channel distribution, direct connect and technology services, helping to drive new revenue based on solid analysis and forecast.

Prior to Orbitz, Richard served as a consultant with Diamond Technology Partners (now Diamond Management and Technology Consultants). At Diamond, he advised clients in Fortune 500, FTSE 50 and KOSDAQ firms across a range of industries to develop new venture initiatives and increase operational efficiencies, again based on solid scenario-based analysis as well as traditional strategic planning tools. He was also one of the original five-member team that started Diamond’s London practice, as well as serving its first, and still the most successful telecom/e-commerce client in Seoul, Korea.

Prior to entering the professional services arena, Richard served for six years as a commissioned officer in the United States Army where he jumped out of planes and blew things up over a dozen deployments to Europe, Asia and Central America.

Richard holds an MBA with concentrations in finance and strategy from Carnegie Mellon University. He also earned MA Economics and MPA from the University of Oklahoma during his time in the service. Lastly, he completed his undergraduate studies at the United States Military Academy at West Point, receiving a BS in Civil Engineering with ABET and accreditation.