Deal Resilience: Navigating Murky Economic Waters

Dustin is an award-winning business journalist, bestselling author, and the chief content officer of Smart Business. Over the past 30 years, he has interviewed thousands of business and civic leaders, and helped more than 50 CEOs and entrepreneurs transform their ideas into books. A trained investigative politics reporter and former digital media entrepreneur, Dustin joined Smart Business in 1997 after serving as an editor at several daily newspapers.

Jared Leishman is an experienced and respected leader in contract manufacturing. Most recently, Jared was CEO of Innovations of Nutrition and Wellness (INW), a platform of six contract manufacturers of nutritional supplements, personal care and liquid products.

Prior to INW, Jared served as CEO of Capstone Nutrition (Capstone), a global frontrunner in nutritional supplement manufacturing. Under his leadership, Capstone experienced a rapid growth trajectory, increasing its EBITDA more than 400% from 2019 until its acquisition by INW in May 2021, backed by Cornell Capital. Jared joined Capstone in 2005 when it was known as Cornerstone Research & Development, Inc. During his tenure, he served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and ultimately CEO.

Before joining Capstone (f/k/a Cornerstone Research & Development), Jared worked in key finance positions at Deloitte LLP and Fidelity Investments. He's a Certified Public Accountant and has a BA and MBA in Accounting & Finance from Westminster College.

Tony is the Global Head of Corporate Development and a founding investor at the industry leading sports marketing firm, rEvolution. Tony recently led the Event Solutions business at Apollo backed, Notified. As CEO of PRA (PRA), Tony transformed the business through 19 acquisitions to lead its sector in the Americas. Tony is a graduate of Harvard Business School – Owner/President Management program, and holds a BS in Accounting from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

Tom Meredith is a Partner at Brightstar and Member of the Investment Committee. He currently serves as Board Chair of ReMarkets, Vice Chair of Likewize and BrightCell, all Brightstar portfolio companies.

Tom’s career spans more than 35 years and includes extensive experience in corporate finance, manufacturing, finance operations, and global financial markets. Prior to joining Brightstar, Tom was Vice Board Chair of Likewize, which was sold to Softbank in 2014. He was a Co-founder and Chair of the Board of Managers of Meritage Capital, an investment management firm specializing in multi-manager hedge funds.

Prior to establishing Meritage in 2003, Tom served in various senior positions at Dell, including CFO, SVP of Business Development and Strategy, and Managing Director of Dell Ventures. Prior to joining Dell, he was VP and Treasurer for Sun Microsystems and Co-Founder and GM of Amdahl Capital Corporation.

Rob Novak, CFA, is a Managing Director in Business Restructuring Services and is based out of Chicago. He has substantial experience in crisis management, operations improvement, debt refinancing/restructuring and has held multiple C-level positions.

Prior to joining BDO, Rob co-founded Bankruptcy Claim Exchange to advise creditors on maximizing value, and he worked in the Commercial Restructuring group of Alvarez & Marsal where he advised on numerous in and out-of-court restructurings over more than ten years. Rob also served as CFO with Midwest Gourmet Foods, a gourmet foods retailer and restaurant concept in Chicago.