Who We Are.
Challenge Group International (CGI) is a Houston-based capital investment and strategic advisory firm committed to helping businesses unlock their full potential. Since our inception, we’ve supported public and private companies across industries with innovative, results-driven guidance to grow, restructure, and scale with confidence.
Our clients range from early-stage ventures to established enterprises, and our tailored solutions are built on decades of industry experience, deep market insight, and a commitment to value creation.
Our Mission and Values.
At Challenge Group International, our mission is simple:
To build value, drive growth, and deliver trusted, expert guidance across every engagement.
We are guided by these core principles:
Integrity
We operate with honesty, discretion, and unwavering ethical standards.
Partnership
We collaborate closely with our clients to understand their vision and needs.
Performance
We focus on practical solutions that create measurable business impact.
Flexibility
Every client and challenge is unique. Our solutions are never one-size-fits-all.
Our Leadership.
Our leadership team brings together decades of experience across investment banking, private equity, real estate, energy, and business development. Our managing partners are hands-on leaders who directly advise clients, drawing on deep expertise in capital markets, legal strategy, operations, and entrepreneurship.
We bring industry-specific insight and tactical precision to every engagement—driving execution from strategic planning through to transaction close.
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Managing Partner
Andy Martin is the Founder and a Managing Partner of CGI. He was formerly a NASD/FINRA licensed registered Representative for over 30 years holding Series 7 and 63 licenses as well as a Series 24 Principal. Currently he acts in the capacity of either a principal and/or general partner, fund manager, and/or shareholder-board member of companies where he is involved.
Martin has assisted numerous corporate and individual clients as a business advisor and entrepreneur for over 35 years. During this period, he formed a series of entrepreneurial ventures of his own and was associated with others. These include:
Martin & Scott, Inc.
An advertising agency and design firm, specializing in advertising, marketing and public relations fields. Clients included national home builder Perry Homes, Popeye’s fried chicken franchises for the state of Texas, national chartered banks, and publicly traded companies.Littlepage, Martin & Moudy, Inc. Martin sold Martin & Scott in the mid-80s to his partner and embarked on an investment banking and money management advisory career with LMM and MGSI Securities, Inc. while obtaining his NASD securities licenses that were registered through MGSI.
Institutional Investors Consulting Company.
Joining IICC as its President in 1992, Martin focused the company on consulting with private and public pension funds, family offices, and high net worth investors with alternative investments. The company practiced in various investment sectors including venture capital, hedge funds, and real estate. He was an officer and director of both its real estate subsidiary, IICC Realco, Inc., and the FINRA broker/dealer for IICC, Tradeco, Inc.Stonegate Securities, Inc.
Martin resigned from IICC in 2002 to join forces with the firm of Stonegate Securities, Inc., which is headquartered in Dallas, serving as Managing Director of its investment banking energy group in Houston.Amerifund Capital Group, LLC.
In late 2002, Martin formed several other entities in the holding company industry, including his own FINRA broker/dealer, Amerifund Capital Securities, LLC.Tanglewood Capital Partners, LLC.
In 2010, he merged his Amerifund relationships and long term clients into Tanglewood Capital Partners, LLC, where he was a principal and managing director.Enverde Ventures, LLC.
Martin currently serves as Chairman of Enverde Ventures LLC, a Houston based holding company for green waste management and disaster related businesses.Challenge Group International, LLC.
CGI is a family office holding company with interests in media, real estate, environmental, oil & gas, and alternative energy investments.In addition to the above, Martin has served on many boards of privately held companies including more recently as an advisory board member of BBB Tank, a regional tank building company in the energy sector. He is also currently a founder and organizing board member of Ehaul Logistics, LLC, a national Web & Applications based shipping/carrier logistics company.
Martin began his civic endeavors during the late 70’s and early 80’s as President of the Houston Junior Chamber of Commerce, one of the youngest to be elected to the position at the time. Active in political and charitable endeavors as well, he served under Texas Governor Clements’ administration as an appointed commissioner of the Private Industry Council (CETA) for the State of Texas. By the early 90’s, he was Chairman of the Board of Community Partners, a 501C (3) organization assisting high school students in distressed areas of Houston and mentoring African-American adolescent men. He also served on the Boards of The Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo during this period and helped to create the Development Board of the College of Technology at the University of Houston, serving as its first Chairman. In 2012 he joined the Board of Directors of Recenter, a 501C (3) non-profit foundation in Houston that provides non-medical alcohol and drug rehab for men and women ages 18-65, and is now serving his second term as Chairman heading up the final completion of Recenter’s new $22 million Fred & Susan Dailey headquarters building.
Andy attended the University of Houston on a Division I NCAA football scholarship
and graduated in 1977 with a degree in business administration. He has been active
in his local church for over 50 years, most recently serving as Chairman of the Board. He has been married to Cathleen Martin for over 40 years and has five children and is the proud grandfather of seven grandsons and one granddaughter. -
Managing Director, Real Estate
Andrew J. Martin Jr. is the Managing Director of real estate development and brokerage services for Challenge, with over ten years of experience in the industry. He is a Texas licensed real estate broker and serves as a founding shareholder and executive officer of Challenge Group International, LLC.
He was formerly with Templar Development where he served as Marketing and Sales Director. He held similar positions at Quest Realty, Inc. The primary focus of both companies was to develop income properties in North and South Austin with a heavy concentration in the professional sector. This included medical condos, office parks, and mixed retail development, with over 400,000 square feet of projects completed. Martin was directly responsible for marketing and securing tenants for the projects along with negotiating leases and long-term investment sales.
He graduated from Texas State University with a BS degree in Business in 2003. He also attended the University of Houston on a NCAA scholarship and was a nationally recognized pole vaulter and decathlete. He is married and the proud father of two sons.
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Managing Director, Accounting
Millicent Martin is Managing Director of all financial and accounting operations for the Martin family holding company and serves as the CFO for Phoenix Disaster Recovery, LLC. She previously served as the controller for a $120 million pharmaceutical holding company, which owns and operates compounding pharmacies serving customers in 23 states. While there, she was responsible for integrating multiple disparate accounting systems into one fully operational corporate financial platform.
Martin was formerly with National Oil Well Varco, a NYSE listed company, as an intercompany accountant for two years. Prior to that she was employed with Seitel, the largest Onshore Seismic Data Library Company in North America, as an operations accountant and staff accountant. Earlier she worked with S4 Energy, a technology venture investment of Waste Management.
She received her undergraduate degree from The University of Houston and both her Master of Science (M.S.) in Corporate Accounting and her M.S. in Information Technology and Management from The University of Texas, Dallas.
Millicent was a NCAA Division I scholar athlete in college and a nominee for Academic All-American. She is also the proud mom of two boys.
Our Approach.
We take a pragmatic, partner-oriented approach to every engagement.
Whether advising on a capital raise, forming a new board, or guiding a complex real estate transaction, we prioritize clarity, precision, and execution.
Understand Your Business
Every partnership begins with listening. We immerse ourselves in your business model, market dynamics, and growth goals.
Design the Right Strategy
We craft custom strategies grounded in deep financial insight, operational expertise, and industry intelligence.
Execute with Excellence
Our team works closely with you to implement solutions, mitigate risk, and ensure forward momentum—without overcomplicating the process.
We’re more than advisors.
We’re your strategic partner in growth.
Whether you're scaling operations, seeking capital, or entering new markets, we bring the insight and execution to help you get there.