Committee

Tax Partner with Louis Plung & Company. Have 35 years experience primarily in tax. Focus area is transaction analysis. Undergraduate California University of PA. Masters in Tax from Duquesne University. Prior to Louis Plung I was regional managing partner and firmwide Director of Tax with a regional firm.

Brad leads Northwest’s commercial business development throughout the Southwest Pennsylvania market, including an experienced team of commercial lenders and relationship managers. Passionate about providing complete banking solutions to businesses across a vast array of industries, Balmert is committed to connecting Northwest’s commercial clients with the financial tools, resources and guidance they need to grow a successful business.

Prior to joining Northwest, Balmert served as senior vice president and market manager at Huntington National Bank.

Brian is the Managing Director of Interchange Capital Partners. In this role he oversees strategic initiatives of the company with a specific focus on the Family Business and Entrepreneur client segment. His focus is on helping owners think through, build and execute on a value acceleration and transition strategy for the shareholders. He believes that at its core exit planning combines the plan, concept, effort and process into a clear, simple strategy to build a business that is transferable through strong human, structural, customer, and social capital. The future of each owner, their family, and their business are addressed by exit planning through creating value today.

Brian is also the President of the Pittsburgh Exit Planning Chapter, which he helped found in 2019. The chapters mission is to give business owners a forum to get educated on true exit planning – how to build a valuable and transferable business through a proven process. He graduated from Penn State with a Bachelors in Psychology and a minor in Business. He is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor and a CFP.

Robert Berdanier is a Managing Director in Riveron’s Business Restructuring & Turnaround Services practice. His focus is on middle-market companies, both distressed and healthy, seeking financial and operational improvement through interim leadership and re-organization. Robert is a seasoned restructuring professional, with significant experience in the manufacturing, distribution & hospitality.

Craig plays a key role in Woodland’s co-investment and fund investment efforts. He contributes a strong combination of operating experience, public market investing, mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, and real estate. Craig received a BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis and MBA from the Katz School of the University of Pittsburgh.

Michael Blehar is a Financial Advisor, Founding Partner & Chief Growth Officer at Fort Pitt Capital Group. As the Chief Growth Officer at the firm, Mike oversees the strategic plans for Fort Pitt Capital’s future expansion. He also provides guidance and mentorship to other advisors at the firm, coaching them on how to provide the best possible outcomes for our clients and clearly communicate our ideas to achieve financial success.

Dave Boyce has been in a chief executive role for more than 12 years, responsible for cultivating successful businesses with meaningful social and environmental impacts, both locally and globally. A passionate, people-first leader, Dave embraces the different perspectives of his diverse employee base, building strong relationships with his union manufacturing employees as well as his corporate teams around the world.

Christopher Brodman is a founding member of Metz Lewis. He is the President of the Firm, a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee and a member of the Corporate Group. His diverse client base values him as a dedicated, practical, and experienced business advisor and general counsel.

He has a wealth of business experience which allows him to help clients identify and achieve strategic business and legal objectives. Chris also has vast experience representing clients in business transactions, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions.

HELPING BUSINESSES TAKE CARE OF THEIR MOST IMPORTANT ASSET, THIER PEOPLE

Teena supplies businesses with a ready-to-use HR infrastructure that helps manage costs, minimize risk, and reduce administrative burden, resulting in more efficiency and profitability. As a Business Performance Advisor at Insperity, Teena offers full-service HR solutions that deliver, such as Recruiting, Insurance and Benefit Services, Payroll & Human Capital Management Suite. Performance Management Solutions, and Retirement 401(K). What makes Insperity different is the breadth of services, the depth of services and the level of care that each client receives...and of course, the people at Insperity who dedicate themselves to helping take care of each client's employees and their families.

Jim is a trusted advisor who brings a “total client approach” to his practice. His firsthand experience working as in-house counsel for a large corporation gives him the practical knowledge necessary to handle any type of commercial transaction. Jim concentrates in the areas of finance, corporate securities, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, shareholder disputes, construction law, antitrust, securities, contract drafting and negotiation, commercial and real estate law, and franchise law.

He represents clients that cover a host of industries including banking, construction, real estate, health care, manufacturing, media, engineering, and franchising. His clients describe him as “creative and committed,” and know they always have their best interest clearly in focus to find not only the legal solution but the practical solution.

The transactions he has handled during his career have been as varied as the clients he has represented.

Jim’s experience includes serving as counsel to a bank in a structured financing transaction for the gaming industry and as counsel for the purchaser of a computer service company. In addition, he has been and continues to serve as general counsel for various companies, handling their mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions and general corporate and securities counseling. He has also served in the roles of custodian and special master appointed by the court in matters involving disputes among stakeholders.

Bill Coleman is a Senior Vice President on Aon's Transaction Solutions team. Bill is responsible for the development and implementation of transactional-based risk solutions, including the deployment of insurance capital for M&A transactions through representations and warranties, litigation, tax and other contingent liabilities insurance. Bill is based in Pittsburgh and is further supported by a New York-based team of professionals in North America and colleagues in London, Hong Kong, Sydney and Bermuda who focus exclusively on transactional risk transfer. Prior to joining the Aon Team, Bill was an attorney at Sidley Austin LLP, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions, with a significant focus in the energy sector.

Growth oriented technology executive and board member with 20+ years of experience in PE backed companies and angel/VC funded start-ups. Served as President of Net Health for two decades, author of the book Refounder: How Transformational Leaders Take What's Broken and Make it Better (Per Capita, 2021)

Jeff’s primary areas of practice are mergers and acquisitions, general corporate, commercial and real estate finance and real estate law. He regularly represents private equity groups, small, middle-market and large corporations, lenders, borrowers and real estate developers in a variety of transactional matters and matters involving general corporate advice. Jeff has been selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America.

Josh works with business leaders on ownership transactions and liquidity events, including sell-side and buy-side engagements and transactions, such as management buyouts, succession and exit planning, ESOP formations, capital sourcing and leveraged recaps. Prior to leading Footprint Capital, Josh was vice president at Insource Spend Management Group. He led Insource through two synergistic acquisitions and ultimately, its sale.

Brian is a co-founder and Partner at Continuim Equity Partners, a Private Equity firm in Pittsburgh, PA. Brian leads Continuim’s relationship-based approach to identifying and acquiring successful, family-owned industrial businesses within the region. Brian previously led the business development effort for PNC Mezzanine Capital and served as a Commercial Lender for PNC Bank.

Jonathan founded Defiant Capital Group and is the Chief Investment Officer. He has over a decade of financial markets experience and leads the firm's investment process across all asset classes, including portfolio construction, manager due diligence, and deployment of client capital. He previously served as the Director of Portfolio Strategy & Research for a $900mn multi-family office, and prior worked in Investment Banking in New York City at Goldman Sachs and Jefferies.

Jeff Deane is an audit partner at FORVIS. He is a member of firm's National Commercial Services Group. He has more than 30 years of experience in providing assurance and consulting services in various industries. In addition to domestic companies, he also serves both inbound and outbound international companies, with specific areas of emphasis being Europe and Asia.

Brad Domitrovitsch has 20 years of expertise in analyzing, identifying, and developing new market opportunities. His entrepreneurial background spans multiple industries including recycling, transportation, real estate, and environmental services. Brad brings his experience and skill set to provide value to his shareholders first, while putting to work a suite of environmental solutions with demonstrated success. He holds a B.S. in Economics and obtained his MBA from Moravian College with distinction of Valedictorian.

Ronald is President of the Pittsburgh Region of First National Bank. He is responsible for integrating FNB’s successful cross-functional business model and for developing small business, middle market and corporate banking opportunities in the Company’s headquarters market. Donatelli also oversees FNB's Asset-Based Lending group, which operates across the Company footprint.

Donatelli joined FNB in 2009 to lead its Asset-Based Lending division and has had oversight for various corporate banking groups within the organization, including Syndications and International Banking Services. He has more than 40 years of financial services experience, having held a range of leadership roles with asset-based lending groups at major banks in the Pittsburgh area.

A graduate of LaRoche College, Donatelli is active in the community as board chairman for Bridgeway Capital and chair of the Watson Institute/First National Bank Pro Am golf tournament committee.

Confluence Advisors is a middle market investment banking firm focused on representing families, founders, corporations, and private equity firms in business sale and capital raise transactions. Since the inception of the company in 2009, Confluence has transacted more than $2B in transaction volume across a variety of industries including distribution, chemical, testing/measurement, manufacturing, healthcare, industrial services, software and business services.

I drive value creation for ownership groups based on past experiences with private equity, family offices, high net worth individual shareholders, and U.S. subsidiaries of foreign public companies. Specific tools have been developed and assembled in my toolkit to build and grow value for owners in both the tangible side of adjusted EBITDA and the intangible drivers of market price multiples.

Jeff has focused his career on providing accounting, auditing and consulting services to privately held companies and not-for-profit organizations. His experience includes furnishing compliance services such as audits; providing due diligence and investigation services related to business acquisitions; performing fraud investigations; developing and compiling projected and forecasted financial statements; and evaluating, selecting and implementing information systems for companies.

BlueTreeVC is an active investor in early-stage, high-growth companies in the Pittsburgh region and around the country. We invest in companies where we can provide both capital and expertise to help accelerate their growth.

As the Executive Director for BlueTreeVC, Sree focuses on identifying and evaluating investment opportunities, working with other investors as well as other parts of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Specifically we focus on leveraging our groups unique skills and experience, specifically in sales, marketing, and operations, to help companies to avoid or overcome early obstacles.

Sree leverages his experience and training as an engineer and IP attorney to help portfolio companies develop and implement an IP strategy. For high-growth companies, he helps them focus the allocation of resources (both capital and time) on assets that will drive business value.

GrayMatter co-founder and CEO Jim Gillespie has been leading industrial digital transformations for more than 30 years.

Jim focuses on curating technology and guiding the digital process, enabling assets and people to become smarter and more visible. GrayMatter co-innovates with companies in manufacturing, water/wastewater, power and oil and gas markets to deliver custom fit operational technology programs and solutions ranging from process control, MES, predictive analytics and other trends.

Jim is on the board of the Carnegie Science Center and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (Engineering) and Duquesne University (MBA).

Stephen J. Gurgovits, Jr. is the Managing Partner and co-founder of Tecum Capital, a $500+ million private investment firm based in Pittsburgh, PA, which oversees pools of committed capital focused on mezzanine debt, subordinated notes, and private equity, along with a separate strategy via a multi-family office platform for control equity investments. In his current role, Mr. Gurgovits, Jr. is responsible for providing strategic, operational and investment management leadership to the funds, including its overall planning, fund raising, growth and execution of strategy. Mr. Gurgovits, Jr. previously served on the board of directors of Auburn Gear, Uncle Charley’s Sausage, Oberg Industries, Gibraltar Cable Barriers, Western Allegheny Capital and is currently on the board of directors for Primetac and the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Corporate Growth (ACG).

Lisa Haley is the Market Executive for Middle Market Banking. Prior to this role, she was the Northeast Regional Executive for Treasury Services.

With over 20 years of banking experience, Lisa joined JPMorgan Chase in 2018, having managed the risk function for PNC’s Treasury Services Group. She was also the Sales Market Manager for Greater Chicago responsible for all new treasury business development and portfolio management for PNC’s Middle Market, Commercial, and Public Finance clients within the Corporate Bank.

Lisa was selected as one of the Top 15 Businesswomen in Illinois in 2017, a 2016 Fellow for Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC), and Chicago United’s 2013 Business Leaders of Color.
Lisa received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Brown University and a Master of Business Administration from Kellogg (Northwestern University).

Gabriela (Gaby) is a serial entrepreneur, innovator, experienced CEO, and founder of two high-growth successful SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) technology companies that were ultimately sold to Fortune 500 companies. Gaby possesses a unique combination of passion, curiosity, and discipline, making her one of the few women in STEM who has led bootstrapped companies to successful exits. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Gaby earned her MS in Information Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh and her BS in Computer Systems Engineering from the Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas.

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. 

Toby sources investment opportunities for Stellex. Prior to joining Stellex in 2021, Toby was a principal at Calibre Group, a merchant bank which provides advice and capital to manufacturing companies. Before Clalibre, Toby was a Managing Director in the Industrial Investment Banking Group of Seaport Global. Toby also served as financial advisor and negotiator at the United Steelworkers Union. Toby received hs BA in philosophy and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

While business valuation and intangible asset valuation are highly complex and technical areas, Josh knows clients want an easy-to-understand explanation of his conclusions. He ensures they not only understand what his analysis is, but why.

Josh has over 20 years of public accounting experience providing dispute advisory, forensic accounting and valuation services for a wide array of purposes. In addition to business valuations, he performs valuation services related to intangible assets, purchase price allocations, intellectual property, oil and natural gas rights in Marcellus Shale formation, and goodwill impairment testing. Josh’s experience encompasses serving clients across a range of industry sectors, including healthcare, oil and gas, restaurants, manufacturing, retail, professional services, technology, biotechnology, wholesale and distribution, and advertising.

I am a big picture thinker, innovator, and revenue-generating powerhouse with 18+ years of experience in Real Estate, development, investing, mortgage, title and insurance. I am tactical, driven, and persuasive and have proven to thrive in the most challenging economic landscapes. As a readily adaptable and well-networked senior executive, I position my brands for success and keep ahead of the competition. I make the most of cutting-edge technologies for automation, productivity, and accountability. Analyzes and synthesizes data to forecast opportunistic trends in the market. As a growth-minded leader of leaders, I influence stakeholders to buy into my vision through a deep commitment to success.

Dean Marshall is a Managing Director at The Peakstone Group, where he is responsible for transaction origination and execution. Dean has extensive experience in merger and acquisition and strategic corporate development. He provides sophisticated advisory services, including M&A and capital raising, to entrepreneur and family-owned businesses.

The Peakstone Group helps business owners exit their businesses at the highest value with the best terms. Peakstone is a Chicago-based investment bank comprised of former Wall Street investment bankers and business executives from a broad range of industries. Combined with a high-touch local market presence, Peakstone delivers world-class execution step by step throughout the transaction process.

Michael M. Matesic, President & CEO of Idea Foundry, Inc., is a seasoned business executive experienced in working with businesses at a variety of stages. Over the last 21 years at Idea Foundry, he has invested in and participated in the development of over 300 equitable-based small businesses and innovation-based start-ups, creating jobs in the region. Beginning in 2010 Mike led the company’s global expansion, operating in China, Russia, Mexico, Vietnam, Chile and recently throughout Africa. He frequently presents on a variety of business topics from Entrepreneurship to Social Impact and Investment.

Previously, Mr. Matesic was Chief Executive Officer for two start-up companies and Chief Financial Officer for MetalSite, Inc., participating in the rapid growth of the company and public registration process. While at MetalSite, Mr. Matesic led the startup of the company’s subsidiary, ScrapSite.

Before that he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Anker Coal Group and its subsidiaries where he was responsible for Human Resources, Information Technology, Tax and Finance functions. During his ten years with Anker Coal, Mr. Matesic led a successful registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Al Melchiorre is President and founder of MelCap Partners, a middle market investment banking firm that he founded over 22 years ago, Over the past few years, MelCap has been recognized as boutique investment banking firm of the year multiple times by The M&A Advisor. MelCap's clients are predominately privately-held, family owned businesses going through a once in a life-time transaction.

Ray Milhem is a Global Technology Executive with almost 40 years of experience. Ray has worked @ Cisco, Nokia, Motorola, ANSYS and other companies in various Management & Executive roles. Ray grows revenue and contains costs by leveraging his vast experience, scaling solutions, and integrating technology for startups, mid-size and Fortune 500 companies in the technology and telecom sectors.

His expertise includes strategic planning, engineering, product management, technology operations, P&L, M&A, and staff leadership in the US, Canada, Kuwait & Dubai (UAE). He has spoken and presented at many US & Global conferences. Ray is a Strategic Advisor to various companies focusing on North America and the Middle East, specifically GCC countries.

Kit is Director and Executive-in-Residence at Project Olympus where she provides start-up advice, business strategy planning, connections to industry experts, advisors and the business community to student, faculty and staff startups. She is a Program Leader for the National Science Foundation’s iCorps programs and an Amazon Alexa Innovation Fellow.She is a member of BlueTree Allied Angels and serves on the Screening Committee. Kit is an Advisory Board member of Chatham University's Center for Women's Entrepreneurship, and a Board member of the Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs Forum.She was a Senior Vice President at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development working on education and economic development initiatives. Prior to that, she was Chief Operating Officer of Mellon Lab which was responsible for creating revenue-producing businesses for Mellon Bank. She also provides consulting services to promote economic growth to Chambers of Commerce, individual entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations.Kit is a Board member of the Women's Center & Shelter for Domestic Violence, and an Advisory Board member for Standing Firm. She is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh XIX.

Jim Nickel is Managing Director and Head of the Pennsylvania Region for CIBC US in Pittsburgh. Over his 30-year banking career, Jim has focused on providing relationship-driven commercial banking services to middle market companies. He joined CIBC in 2017 through the acquisition of The PrivateBank, the Chicago-based bank he joined in 2014 to spearhead the founding of a Pittsburgh office. Prior to that, he was with TriState Capital Bank and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. He began his career with PNC in Pittsburgh. A native of Pittsburgh, Jim has a finance degree from Bucknell University and a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

A native New Yorker, Nadyli is the executive director of Ascender, an incubator and a hub that helps founders start and build their companies. She also serves on the advisory boards for SXSW Pitch and Canada’s Inventures Startup Pitch, identifying promising startups worldwide. Additionally, Nadyli is on the Community Forge advisory board, building an equitable economy for underrepresented residents through entrepreneurship.

Sean is a Market Manager and leads a team of Relationship Managers who help clients achieve their goals by structuring and implementing comprehensive and customized banking solutions. These solutions include creative structures for working capital lines of credit, owner occupied real estate financing, equipment financing, and industry leading Treasury/Cash Management solutions.

Michael Snyder is part of the majority ownership of Air Ground Xpress located in Clinton, PA. He has been a part of AGX since 1985 starting as Driver / Manager. During his time at AGX, he has overseen numerous expansions in service and locations. In 2014 he was a minority part of a buyout of AGX. In 2019 he along with James Dailey and Patrick Hobbs took majority ownership. He continues to oversee growth and expansion of the company.

Robert “Bob” Stein is executive director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence. He leverages his contacts and experience to the benefit of IEE members. For 13 consecutive years, he’s earned the title of Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Smeal College of Business and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. He also holds a certificate in Executive Leadership from the Harvard Business School.

As a highly experienced private equity professional, I bring a range of capital choices to business owners, management teams and advisors. Utilizing growth capital, non-control capital, majority-stake equity partnerships, full acquisitions, and debt for small and middle-market businesses, I can help your company or client. Tapping into 16 years of experience at The Riverside Company, I lead the firm’s Origination initiatives with deal source firms and referral sources based throughout the Midwestern United States. Together with a team of 16 Origination professionals across North America, we collectively establish new stand-alone companies, also called platform companies; and find and complete add-on acquisitions which enable Riverside's portfolio companies to expand by adding new product lines, service offerings, or geographies.

Bob Whalen is the President and CEO of HB Global, LLC. Headquartered in Harrisburg, PA. HB Global is the ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) holding company that provides direction and support for nine leading mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contracting companies throughout the United States.

Bob’s personal mission is to change lives through employee ownership, which empowers employees and gives them a stake in the wealth that is created by the entire team through organic growth and acquisitions. His employee-centric vision has created a strong organizational culture propelling HB Global’s year-after-year success.

Bob earned his BS in Agricultural Economics and MBA from Cornell University and holds an MS in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. He serves on the board of directors at the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Hospital and Morefield Communications and encourages his employee owners to also serve and support the local communities in which they live.

Kevin is a shareholder in the Corporate and Commercial, Energy and Natural Resources, and Emerging Technologies groups of Babst Calland. Mr. Wills’ practice includes representing business clients in mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; drafting and negotiating a wide variety of contracts, real estate agreements, commercial leases and software development and licensing agreements; advising clients on business planning and structuring matters; advising clients seeking certification as disadvantaged business enterprises; and advising clients involved in contract disputes.

Penny serves as the office managing partner in the firm’s Pittsburgh office. She is an accomplished lawyer with nearly 20 years of experience representing financial institutions, private credit funds, and borrowers in a broad range of lending transactions.

Penny focuses her practice on debt financing and secured transactions, including the structuring and origination of asset-based and acquisition financing, leveraged finance, mezzanine finance and large syndicated transactions. Secured lenders as well as companies in the security alarm, medical alert, and other industries with a recurring revenue model, rely on Penny’s expertise in those sectors. Penny also advises domestic and international banking clients and investment firms in the areas of microfinance and impact investing.

Notably, McGuireWoods was “Highly Commended” in Financial Times’ Accessing New Markets and Capital category for Penny’s representation of Developing World Markets in connection with the origination, placement and investment of proceeds from a first-of-its-kind off-grid, renewable and climate action note (ORCA).

Penny’s leadership roles at the firm include chairing the Pittsburgh Women’s Leadership Forum, co-chairing the firm’s Women in Private Equity & Finance initiative, co-chairing the firm's Asset Based Lending team, serving on the ESG Executive Committee and serving on the National Recruiting Committee.