Mr. Plunkett serves as Chief Investment Officer and Head of Hilltop Opportunity Partners, the merchant banking direct investment arm of Hilltop Holdings (NYSE: HTH). Before joining Hilltop, Plunkett co-founded and ran Hilliard Street Capital, a Blackstone and Bridger seeded long/short hedge fund and served as a partner with Atlas Capital. He has also worked for the Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Group, with Hicks, Muse, Tate, and Furst in Mexico City, and with Cardinal Investment Company in Dallas. He started his career as a business analyst with McKinsey & Company. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the New York-based private equity fund Argand Capital and as lead director and co-owner of a Dallas-based bakery company and a Hong Kong-based global toy company. Plunkett earned a B.B.A. and B.S. from Southern Methodist University, graduating magna cum laude with honors and received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School where he served as co-president of his class. He is also a U.S. Fulbright Scholar.