Committee

Matthew Allard is a Partner at Brightstar and a Member of the Investment Committee. He currently serves as Board Chair of Novae, Texas Water Supply Company, Vice Chair of Amerit Fleet Solutions and as a board member of BrightCell, Likewize and WindsorONE, all Brightstar portfolio companies. Matt previously served on the board of QualTek.

Prior to joining Brightstar, Matt was Head of Financial Sponsors at Stifel where he was responsible for leading the firm’s Private Equity client coverage and execution efforts, was a member of the Investment Bank Management Committee and had extensive merger & acquisition and capital markets experience across a range of industries. Matt started his finance career with Citi and Bank of America, and previously held positions in both consulting and operations.

Matt received his MBA from Columbia Business School, Beta Gamma Sigma honors, and a BSE from the University of Michigan with a major in Industrial and Operations Engineering. He is a Trustee of the King School in Connecticut.

Jonathan Barnes has more than 20 years of private equity investing and investment banking experience, including at Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Barnes was a Partner at Halyard Capital, a U.S. lower middle-market private equity fund manager where he spent 15 years. Mr. Barnes helped lead Halyard’s successful investment of over $600 million in the technology, business services, media and communications industries, backed by sophisticated institutional investors such as Goldman Sachs, Abbott Capital and the Bank of Montreal.

Mr. Barnes has a broad spectrum of private equity investing experience across technology-enabled services industries including Human Capital Management, Digital and Direct Marketing and IT/Cybersecurity Services. He has represented Halyard on the board of directors of numerous portfolio companies and has also actively worked with Halyard portfolio companies on negotiating and structuring finance solutions, advising on management changes and restructurings as well as helping find and integrate add-on acquisitions.

Prior to Halyard, Mr. Barnes was an Analyst at Aragon Global Management, a long/short public equities hedge fund affiliated with Tiger Management. Mr. Barnes began his career in Morgan Stanley’s Media Corporate Finance Group and subsequently worked at Consolidated Press Holdings, a Sydney, Australia based private investment company.

Mr. Barnes received an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School and an AB (cum laude) from Harvard University where he played JV lacrosse, among other activities.

Mitch Brill is a Founding Partner at Altium Wealth Management. He has extensive experience in the areas of securities, financial services, estate planning, business exit strategy planning and executive benefits. In 1996, Mitch accepted a position teaching financial advisors and in 2003 he founded his own financial services firm called Elite Strategic Partners. Mitch holds a Masters Degree in the Science of Financial Services. He is a Certified Financial Planner, a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy and has a degree in Exit Strategy Planning. He regularly lectures to professional organizations regarding the creation of efficient financial strategies and portfolios for both individuals and businesses. In 2007, Mitch published the first edition of his book "Keep It, Grow It, Enjoy It, Bestow It". Mitch also co-hosted the nationally syndicated radio show “On the Money”. Mitch graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1989.

Kevin is the founder of Cape Redan Capital, a private investment and advisory firm targeting middle market private equity opportunities. They partner with family offices and a proprietary network of co-investors, to make buyouts, controlling investments and minority investments in established businesses. Kevin also leads M&A for the Churchill Companies, a US-based single family office focused on wholly owned industrial businesses.

Dan Conley invests as an active Angel, and backs Best of the Best CEOs who are leading early stage life sciences Teams. CEOs who deserve assistance to expand, accelerate, and amplify their capitalization efforts, engage Dan as their OnCallCFO for Fundable Teams.

Dan assists both co-investors and CEOs in Due Diligence and Capitalization efforts, as needed, with transparency.

Dan has invested early and backed two Unicorns in diagnostics and therapeutic vaccines, and is backing two more Unicorns in drug discovery tools robotics & automation, and in therapeutic instruments.

Dan’s small yet mighty Conley Family Office backs CEOs whose missions include fighting Blindness, is involved in AntiCancer technologies, and improving Patient Outcomes with superior medical devices.

Dan also backs CEOs who are using their Unfair Commercial Advantages to make products which equip, protect & treat Wounded Warriors, 1st Responders, and the most vulnerable in society

As [email protected] he coordinates the 38-year-young, non-profit, For Purpose Entrepreneurs University programs www.EntreUniv.org — where Angels Coaches + Expert convene monthly for CEO Forums to help educate & train Entrepreneurial CEOs who are learning & implementing Best Practices as they start, capitalize, and grow their technology-based enterprises.

Courtney De Beaucourt is a Vice President at Aon Connecticut. She’s worked at the company for 15 years in a variety of capacities and currently is a Relationship Director in Commercial Risk and Human Capital for her Private Equity clients providing them with guidance and expertise for their various insurance needs including Transaction Liability, Due Diligence, Cyber Risk Prevention & Mitigation, Portfolio Management, and more. Courtney has a Bachelor of Arts from Claremont McKenna College.

Carrie DiLauro joined HRCP in 2009 and oversees all operations management, administrative functions, investor relations, and marketing initiatives. She brings over twenty years of experience in organizational processes, data-driven system improvements, fiscal responsibility, and global manufacturing.

Prior to joining HRCP, she was a fund administrator at a bio-tech hedge fund. She began her career running production for textile manufacturing facilities around the world.

Carrie received a B.S. from Cornell University and a Master of Liberal Arts, Finance from the Extension School at Harvard University.

Deb Donley is the Founder and Chief Experience Officer of Vocon. Since its inception in 1987, Debbie has grown the company to include a 250+ team of workplace strategists, designers, architects, graphics and branding specialists. Vocon is a Top 100 architecture and design firm, with a coast-to-coast clientele of Fortune 500 companies and an award-winning record of designing work environments that reflect cultures, personalities, strategies, and operational needs. Debbie believes in marrying design with workplace strategy to create offices that are ripe for creativity and collaboration and perfect for supporting clients’ evolving needs across a broad spectrum of fast-moving industries.

An expert in helping businesses navigate the pandemic-related disruption of offices and workplace culture, Debbie led the charge with Vocon – adapting to change and uncertainty through the strategic transformation of space. Debbie also set a standard for the industry by confronting the demands of an ever-changing planet through sustainable, flexible, efficient, and resilient building design. She is committed to inclusivity in employment, nurturing top-level talent and hiring diverse industry-leading experts. Throughout her career, Debbie has sought to create a culture of authenticity, acceptance, and inclusivity, enabling employees to bring their true selves to work. This effort has been widely recognized, with Vocon receiving numerous accolades, including the firm’s 19-time designation as one of Cleveland’s Best Places to Work.

Debbie measures success by the relationships the firm builds with clients. These critical connections are fostered by firm Principals’ active participation throughout every stage of a project’s life cycle. Debbie is a mother of three and is proud of the way that Vocon actively encourages employees to lead balanced lives with clear priorities. She is an active volunteer in the community, pursuing professional development opportunities with groups such as In Counsel With Women, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Group Plan Commission, and the Cuyahoga Community College Foundation. In addition, Debbie is a member of the University School Board of Directors and the Elon University Parent Council.

Dan Eisemann serves as Senior Vice President at Fairfield-Maxwell leading deal execution and sourcing efforts as well as supporting portfolio company senior management Mr. Eisemann has over twenty years of experience in principal investing, mergers & acquisitions, restructuring and performance improvement. He has served as an investor, operator and strategic advisor to management teams, lenders, large public companies, private-equity-owned portfolio companies, private-family-owned companies and start-ups. Prior to joining Fairfield-Maxwell in 2015, Mr. Eisemann served as a Senior Vice President of Asgaard Capital, a boutique investment bank. Mr. Eisemann has also previously worked at FTI Consulting and Alvarez & Marsal advising clients across various industries on turnaround and restructuring.

Ken is a technology and safety visionary, who has spent 25+ years pioneering IoT innovations. As the founder of I.D. Systems (now PWFL:NASDAQ), he has 40+ patents that have revolutionized efficiency and worker safety for the biggest and most demanding companies in the world. He is now leveraging his industry relationships and expertise to bring best-in-class safety solutions to dogs and dog lovers.

Darren Gleeman is the managing partner of MBO Ventures, an ESOP Investment Bank. An ESOP is a tax advantaged way to sell your company to the employees. When selling to an ESOP, the owners can defer their cap gains on the sale, the IRS subsidizes the sale, the company can run 100% income tax free, and the owners can receive warrants to buy a chunk of the company back in the future.

Christopher Graham is the Founder/CEO & CIO of Crown Capital, a private investment firm investing in a diverse range of leading lower middle-market companies. His data-driven investment thesis, business strategy, operations system, and mission to rebuild economic opportunity have proven impactful to thousands of employees and dozens of communities where Crown Capital operates.

Dean Graves is Freeman Clarke’s US CEO. Dean will apply his strategic talent and deep experience in growing already successful businesses to the US arm of the company, where there is enormous demand for fractional IT leaders in mid-market companies. Before Freeman Clarke, Dean was Managing Partner of Praxis Group Consulting, a firm that provides due diligence and oversight services to private equity houses. He was President and COO of Environmental Data Resources (EDR), a company sold in 2018 to Silverlake Partners and Battery Ventures. At EDR, he oversaw daily operations, including business and product development, as well as designing and implementing a successful five-year strategy and business plan.

Adam regularly represents private equity funds and their portfolio companies in a wide range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and preferred equity investments. Adam is also active in the private investment fund area, representing both financial sponsors and institutions in secondary transactions, and co-investments. Adam also advises early- and growth-stage companies and investors in venture and growth capital financings and serves as outside general counsel to emerging growth and established operating companies.

In addition, Adam represents theater owners as well as filmmakers, publishers, writers and illustrators in intellectual property matters.

Rob Grimaldi is chief operating officer of Viscogliosi Brothers, a leading investor and innovator in the med-tech space, and co-founder and CEO of Ad Infinitum Cell Preservation Technologies, a firm creating novel cryopreservation solutions for medical research applications. He has been directly involved in many entrepreneurial led companies across multiple sectors from seed and venture stage to exit/IPO.

Sarah is a Director of Business Development at Trivest. Trivest is a private equity firm focused on the support and growth of founder-led & family-owned businesses in the middle market. Sarah is responsible for business development initiatives at the firm, including the origination and evaluation of investment opportunities. She is based in New York and covers the Northeast region, managing Trivest’s deal relationships in that geography. Prior to Trivest, Sarah spent 10 years at The Riverside Company.

At Gridiron Capital, Sean focuses on developing new business partnerships, marketing, communicating with business owners, and managing investment sourcing and exit planning. Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Sean served as vice president at BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, Virginia. His responsibilities at BB&T included executing mergers and acquisitions advisory for middle-market businesses, as well as establishing and strengthening business development relationships with middle-market investors. Earlier in his career, Sean worked at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

Slade is Chief Outsiders’ Managing Partner focused exclusively on the Private Equity sector. Based in the Greater NYC area, he works closely with Private Equity Operating Partners and other value creators to quickly identify and engage the Chief Outsiders resources best suited to meet the needs of investors and portfolio company management alike. Slade is actively engaged in the Private Equity community through groups such as ACG and PEI, and has worked with dozens of PE firms and their portfolio companies over the last five years.

Lee is managing partner of Smart Business Network Inc., a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Aspire deal-making conference throughout the U.S. He plays a key role in establishing corporate policies and developing long-term strategy and growth plans. Previously, he founded and chaired the Growth Group at national law firm Arter & Hadden LLP (now Tucker, Ellis & West), which focused on working with middle-market and high-growth technology companies. 

Robert Koven is Managing Director at Leonis Partners, a New York City and London based Middle-Market Technology Investment Bank.

With two decades of M&A experience advising on over 100 deals totaling more than $250 billion in transaction value, Robert and his team bring experience into middle market technology investment banking and private capital investing. Leonis has grown quickly and emerged as a leader in middle market technology M&A and capital raising by assembling a highly qualified team with deep technology domain expertise and by offering a customized solution with unconflicted advice. The firm was named Technology Investment Bank of the Year by Global M&A Network in 2021 and Robert was named M&A investment Banker of the Year for 2020 – 2022 by the M&A Advisor. Prior to founding the firm in 2013, Robert worked in New York in the Global Investment Banking M&A groups at JPMorgan, Lazard Freres and Lehman Brothers.

A native of Atlanta, GA, Robert attender Dartmouth College where he earned his B.A. in Mathematics and Economics and his MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business. Robert resides in Greenwich, CT with his wife Rachel, daughter Isabelle (7), and son Ben (4).

Robert Landis is a Founding Partner, Origination in the New York office of The Riverside Company, a private equity firm investing in premier companies at the smaller end of the middle market. Robert joined Riverside in 2002 and has over 42 years of commercial and investment banking experience gained at Deutsche Banc Alex Brown (18 years) and its predecessors, and at Citibank/ Chemical Bank.

At Deutsche, he created and led the Aerospace and Defense Group in North America. He previously headed the firm's North American corporate finance group as it transitioned to an investment bank in the mid 1990's 1992-1987). the Multi-National Group. Prior to that, Robert was a Major (ret.) in the U.S. Army, serving 6 years active duty and 14 years active reserve with the 42nd Infantry Division, NYARNG.

James C.H. Lee is a partner in the Corporate Department and a member of our Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups. James has extensive experience advising private equity funds, venture capital funds, private investment firms, high-net worth family offices, and their respective portfolio companies in a variety of domestic and cross border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, growth equity investments, AIV structure transactions, recapitalizations, reorganizations, acquisitions and divestitures, and debt and equity security investments. His transaction experience is across a targeted spectrum of industries, including healthcare (medical devices/distribution and medical services) and digital healthcare, manufacturing/aerospace, industrial, industrial-tech and distribution, advertising technology, Internet of Things, SaaS based services, internet-based products and services, fin-tech, and oil and gas supply-chain and related services.  

In addition, James advises senior executives, senior advisors, boards of directors, and private equity funds on corporate governance matters, portfolio company operations and management, and executive compensation arrangements and separations. He also advises private equity funds in connection with fund formation, launch and management matters, and advises private investment funds in the formation, offering and management of special purpose investment vehicles, including pledge-capital arrangements.

For the past 25 years, Dan has been helping startups and large companies shape their online product strategy. His startup work includes launching Foursquare, Rent The Runway, The Skimm, Blade and Skift. He's also redefined the digital strategy and designed the experiences for more staid organizations such as The New York Times, CNN, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, TD Ameritrade, The Tate Galleries, Saturday Night Live, Eurobank, Booking.com and The Wall Street Journal. One of his most noted projects was creating the original strategy and user experience for Hulu. Prior to Charming Robot, Dan co-founded the design agency Hard Candy Shell. He is the host of the podcast Story in a Bottle and the author of Audible Original book The Barstool MBA. Dan received his Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and his Bachelor of Arts from Colby College in English and Performing Arts. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Ken’s consulting has produced over $1Billion in incremental revenue for his clients. As Chairman, CEO and owner of several successful companies, Ken brings 35 years of real-world experience to consulting and coaching C-suite executives, high-potential leaders and fast growth entrepreneurs across a broad spectrum of industries committed to growing their companies and organizations. He brings transformational methodologies to align and empower teams with a greater sense of fulfillment and purpose.

Meahgan is the Head of Business Development and Originations for Palladium Equity Partners. Prior to Palladium, Meahgan was Vice President and Head of Global Business Development for KPS Mid-Cap. Meahgan also serves as a limited partner for Dash Fund – a micro-cap venture capital fund looking to invest in the next phase of industry leading entrepreneurs. As Head of Business Development, her primary focus is on new investment generation and intermediary, founder, executive and corporate relationship management across North America and Europe. Furthermore, Meahgan assists portfolio companies with add-on acquisition strategy development and the sourcing of tuck-in opportunities.

Jack McGovern is the Area Managing partner with SeatonHill Partners, LP for the Northeastern U.S. where he is responsible for new business, engagement oversight and Partner management.

Jack is a senior executive with deep experience in multiple industries and including healthcare services and technologies, FinTech, consulting, manufacturing, and technology. Jack has held the roles of CEO and CFO for numerous private and public companies and was a significant contributor to various corporate boards, including the Chairmanship of a public company and multiple audit committees. Earlier in his career, he was a senior member of Merrill Lynch Interfunding, Inc. an investor in middle market leveraged buyouts.

Jack has extensive experience and relationships within the Investment Banking, Private Equity and Banking industries with many successful debt and equity raises. Jack also has an extensive background in mergers and acquisitions including negotiation, closing and post-closing integration. He is known as a big picture strategic thinker adept at leading successful ventures within high growth, fast paced environments.

Jack holds an MBA degree from Columbia University and a BS in accounting from Monmouth University. He is a CPA in the state of New Jersey (inactive).

Dzung Nguyen is Market Executive for Business Banking at Bank of America. In this capacity she manages a team of relationship managers providing mid-sized corporate clients the full breadth of banking solutions including Lending, Cash Management, Foreign Exchange, and International Banking.

Dzung is also Business Banking National Leader for the Emerging Growth and Technology segment. She works with relationship managers in key markets across the country providing banking coverage for technology and environmentally sustainable companies.

Dzung obtained her undergraduate degree from Bucknell University and MBA from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. She holds FINRA licenses 24, 7, and 63.

Samantha Ory is the Co-founder and CIO of Private Equity firm Aesthetic Equities. Aesthetic Equities invests within the consumer sectors. Prior experience includes working at Private Equity shop Generation Equity Capital, and Morgan Stanley. Samantha Received her MBA in Finance and Economics from The Heller School at Brandeis University and her BBA from Parsons School of Design.

Oscar N. Pinkas is a leader of the firm’s Global Restructuring & Bankruptcy Practice, and a member of the Corporate and Finance Practices. He focuses on transactions (front-end and back-end) as well as turnarounds and workouts, including in-court practice and estate representations. His clients include investors, purchasers, lenders/noteholders, companies, indenture trustees and collateral agents, and creditors’ committees.

Oscar has been named one of The Best Lawyers in America, a Top Restructuring & Turnaround Professional, and an Emerging Leader in M&A, Financing and Turnaround. In addition, many transactions or restructurings Oscar has led have received awards due to the outsized results obtained. Those accolades equally show the breadth and depth of skill and experience of his practice groups at the firm, with Greenberg Traurig’s Restructuring and Bankruptcy Group named “The Elite” and Corporate/M&A Group named “Highly Regarded” by Chambers USA.

Mr. Remmel is a Director at Aterian Investment Partners and heads the firm's business development function. He was previously a Vice President at Aterian where he assisted in the evaluation, execution, and due diligence of investment opportunities.

Mr. Remmel was formerly a Senior Associate and Associate at Torque Capital Group, and before that an analyst at Wells Fargo in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications investment banking group.

Mr. Remmel graduated Cum Laude from Washington and Lee University where he received a B.S. in Business Administration.

Oliver Roe is dedicated to advising and encouraging small business owners to improve the return on investment they are already making on their employees and their business. With a focus on organizations that have a "getting better" agenda with employee size ranging from 10 to 150 employees, Oliver finds solutions that allow business owners & leaders to focus on profit generating activities.

As a Business Performance Advisor with Insperity (NYSE: NSP), Oliver consults business owners and executives on offering Administrative Relief, Better Benefits, Reducing Liabilities and providing a systematic way to Improve Productivity . Whether you have ten employees or 5,000, Insperity’s business solutions are tailored to helping you run your business more efficiently.

Oliver has a rescue dog named Nino, and is an avid sports fan; supporting the Knicks, Yankees, Rangers and especially the Jets. Traveling is a great passion of his, having tri-citizenship in the US, UK and Canada; as well as being born in England.

Rafael is a Principal at Emigrant Capital Corp. and has responsibilities for deal origination, transaction execution, and portfolio management. Prior to joining ECC in 2016, he was an Investment Professional at Prospect Capital Management, a $5 billion publicly traded business development company where he was responsible for originating, executing and managing private equity and debt investments in a variety of industries.

Prior to joining Prospect, he was an Analyst at Rockwood Equity Partners, an operationally orientated private equity fund, where he was responsible for transaction sourcing, analysis, due diligence and financing of lower-middle market industrial and service companies.

Rafael received a B.A. in Business Administration from Augustana College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Matt is the Chief Marketing Officer of Vytalize Health, a leading value-based care platform helping primary care doctors strengthen relationships with their patients through data-driven, holistic, and personalized care. Vytalize helps over 5,000 providers and manages over $4 billion in medical spending. Matt previously was the Founder and CMO of MedPilot, which Vytalize Health acquired after helping navigate over 1 million patients through their healthcare experience.

Experienced banker with broad and extensive background in all aspects of lending. Industry expertise includes: media, communications, business services, transportation, mining, power generation and manufacturing. Deep lending experience in leading origination, structuring, capital markets and portfolio management teams. Demonstrated success in growing lending groups focused on origination, portfolio management, private equity coverage and syndications.

Specialties: Origination, private equity coverage, capital markets, leveraged loans, investment grade loans, structuring, credit, relationship management, work-out.

Tom has spent the last 22 years at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch where he considers himself an “Intra-Preneur”. He is the founder of a 9 person boutique within the company called Singh & Associates.

He and his team specialize in pre-exit planning for business owners looking to sell their company in 12-36 months. By using their Proprietary financial Modeling Process, they run various simulations and prescribe strategies to help owners maximize their desired outcome.

He also oversees the Avalon location of Merrill Lynch managing 9 Billion of client assets and has been named the top 13 “Best in State Wealth Advisors” list by Forbes Magazine – 4 years in a row.

Mark Vecchio, the Chair of Venable's New York Corporate Practice, is an attorney representing clients in corporate a commercial transactions, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions for privately held companies. Hi clients include entrepreneurs, family offices, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, private equity firms and institutional investors. He is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Law School and Columbia Business School, where he teaches a course entitled Strategic International Commercial Transactions.

Adam advises CFOs and CEOs of closely held businesses with annualized revenues from $10─$100+ million. His industry experience includes working with private equity firms, hedge funds and international investors in U.S. real estate, high-growth technology companies and restaurant and hospitality groups.

A founder of Pine Street in 2004, Tim is involved with all activities at the firm, including deal sourcing, deal structuring, portfolio management, fundraising and administration. Tim currently serves as a board member on Pine Street portfolio companies Express Medical Transporters, Filterworks USA, NPL HomeCare, and DeIorio Foods, and is a board observer on Pine Street portfolio company Alexis Russell.  He is also active as a board member of several other for profit and not for profit entities. Tim's career has included a variety of roles, including as Chief Operating Officer and board member of Colonial Data Technologies, a $75 million revenue publicly traded provider of telecommunications equipment; Chief Financial Officer of First Albany Companies Inc., a $300 million publicly traded investment banking and brokerage firm; and more than 12 years as a senior investment banker providing advice and capital raising services to small and middle market companies in various industries. Tim began his career as a corporate and securities attorney at Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York City. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany and Albany Law School.