Navigating Private Equity: Maximizing Value Before, During, and After the Deal

Gordie Spater is the CEO of Katahdin Group and was formerly the co-founder and CEO of Kurgo, the leading dog travel product company in North America. Before coming to Katahdin Group, he celebrated a successful exit of the business to Radio Systems Corporation after 16 consecutive years of revenue growth.

Kurgo’s products are sold nationwide from Petco to the local pet store around the corner. The offerings include everything a dog owner and dog need to get out and enjoy the world together from car harnesses, to seat covers to lifejackets for dogs. Kurgo was an 8-time Honoree of the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the US. Prior to founding Kurgo with his brother in 2003, Gordie helped start two other companies.

Gordie lives in Topsfield, MA with his wife Brooke, three children and Labradoodle Winnie. He is a Cum Laude graduate from the University of Vermont and obtained his MBA from the Harvard Business School. Gordie served on the Topsfield school committee for 6 years and currently serves as a Director of W.F. Young and DIGGS.pet.

A technologist with over 25 years of industry experience, Raj Indupuri is responsible for establishing the eClinical Solutions vision and future-looking technology strategy. He is deeply passionate about fostering innovation to revolutionize the Life Sciences industry with ground-breaking technologies that will modernize clinical trials and bring treatments to patients faster. As an industry veteran who has been part of the evolution of Life Sciences and clinical data management for over two decades, Raj has an astute business vision to realize the digital future and enable progress and potential with data and analytics at the core of the company’s innovative products and solutions. Raj is responsible for the overall direction and management of the company and is a Mechanical Engineer with an MBA from Boston University who firmly believes data is the new fuel that will drive human progress.

Dave MacKeen Jr. has held leadership positions within the Technology Staffing industry for over two decades, including the roles of CFO and president, prior to becoming CEO of Eliassen Group in 2010. During his tenure as CEO, Dave has spearheaded tremendous company growth, working in collaboration with his team and utilizing a combination of organic and acquisitive tactics and strategies to stay aligned with changing staffing industry dynamics. Under Dave’s leadership, Eliassen Group has completed its third private equity partnership, with the most recent being Stone Point Capital, positioning Eliassen Group to transformational growth as a leading national strategic consulting and talent solutions firm.

While at Eliassen Group, Dave has enjoyed significant achievements at the regional and national level, including the following:

• Recognition from the Boston Business Journal as 2021’s Citizens Middle Market Executive of the Year
• Staffing Industry Analysts' annual Staffing 100 North America list for seven consecutive years and nine times overall. In 2022, SIA welcomed Dave into the Staffing 100 Hall of Fame

Additionally, Dave serves on several boards including the Bentley Executive Club, Endicott College Board of Advisors, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Van Noy Valor Foundation and Saint John’s Prep Trustee Associate .

Mark Manning serves as a legal and business adviser in a broad set of areas, including mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”), growth capital, and intellectual property (“IP”). Mark regularly facilitates M&A deals across a wide variety of industry sectors on behalf of both buyers and sellers, which provides him with a deep understanding of what drives both sides of a deal and allows him to create practical solutions to issues that get deals done. Similarly, he negotiates growth capital financings on behalf of both emerging business and capital sources. Additionally, he helps clients commercialize their intellectual property, develop inbound and outbound licensing arrangements, and craft appropriate ownership and usage rights for jointly developed IP.

Chris knows how to work through challenges and forge strong relationships. He’s an account manager and has played the key senior strategist role for over 150 web projects. His breadth of technical and business knowledge has driven a wide array of e-commerce solutions, legacy integration projects, and application development engagements. He’s a guy who’s always on the go and often the first to jump in and get his hands dirty helping with a tough client challenge. He totes an M.S. in Computer Information Systems from Bentley College and lives with his wife in Concord, Massachusetts.