Omar was born in Monterrey, Mexico where the famous Cerro de la Silla (loosely translated as “Saddle Ridge”) overlooks the city known for its entrepreneurial character. Many of Omar's values can be traced back to his Mexican upbringing. His large extended family taught him the significance of connection, while his parents modeled the importance of taking chances and persevering through challenges. Omar's parents moved their family to Texas when Omar was in middle school. Once in the USA, Omar quickly embraced American culture! Omar added to his passion for sports by adopting a different type of “fútbol” from what he had grown up with, called American Football, making him an avid supporter of college football. Omar is a proud member of the first generation Mexican-American community.

Within months of moving to the USA, Omar started a car wash business in his neighborhood, sparking a lifelong passion for entrepreneurship. Even though he chose to study engineering in college for a strong foundation, he always dreamed of blending his technical skills with his entrepreneurial spirit in the future.

Omar’s biggest accomplishment in college was meeting his wife. They have been together for well over a decade. She is a mental health professional and manages to keep the Garza household sane. The two welcomed their first-born in 2024, making Omar a very proud girl dad!

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Omar began his career as an operator in the O&G industry, working on drilling rigs across Texas and Louisiana. He then transitioned to corporate development, engineering, and valuation roles at Noble Energy (Chevron), and Wood Mackenzie. Omar advised Fortune 500 energy companies while working at Wood Mackenzie. At Noble Energy, Omar led the strategic planning and capital allocation process for over $900 million in capital investments.

Omar joined Kohlberg & Company’s investing team in 2022, based in New York. Kohlberg & Company is a middle market private equity firm with over $11 billion AUM and was founded by private equity industry pioneer Jerome Kohlberg. They invest across the business services, infrastructure services, and healthcare industries. At Kohlberg & Company, Omar developed investing, strategic and operational expertise working with mid-sized companies.

Omar received his MBA from Stanford University and his Bachelor’s & Master’s engineering degrees from Texas A&M University.