Committee

Joseph Angotti is a Principal at Grouse Ridge Capital, where he manages the firm’s early-stage venture investment strategy, primarily targeting pre-seed to seed-stage companies with a generalist approach, and leads M&A efforts focused on asset-intensive sectors.

Prior to joining Grouse Ridge Capital, Joseph worked at Ernst & Young and Mylan.

He holds an MBA and MS in Finance from West Virginia University and a BS in Chemistry from Fairmont State University.

Thomas Bakaitus, Jr. is a CPA, MST and is a partner with Louis Plung & Company. Tom has over 30 years of Tax and M&A experience, where he uses his expertise for tax-based transactional planning & analysis. His contributions in the financial due diligence process are on both the sell-side & buy-side. In the acquisition process, Tom also plays a key role in entity structuring.

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.

Mike Blume is a partner at Tail End Capital Partners. He is responsible for all aspects of investment management, including sourcing and executing new investments, monitoring existing portfolio company performance, and leading employee training and development.

Before joining Tail End, Mike spent three years on the investment team at Incline Equity Partners, where he was responsible for evaluating and executing new investments and managing existing portfolio companies.

Before Incline, Mike spent two years in PNC's Asset Backed Finance group, focusing on the origination, structuring, and execution of securitizations. Mike graduated with a BBA in Finance cum laude from the University of Notre Dame.

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.

Rob Brown has a background in both operating management and investing. He has led organizations to multiple Private Equity and Strategic transactions totaling over 1 billion in proceeds to his investors.

Currently his investment portfolio includes Technology Managed Services, Marine and Boating industry along with Healthcare. He co-founded and serves as the President of DataStrike.

Kristine is an experienced senior leader with strong business acumen leading transformational and bolt-on acquisitions and complex commercial transactions. She led inorganic growth initiatives for in-house industrial and transportation company, Wabtec (NYSE: WAB and Fortune 300) and for private equity clients across diverse industries. Kristine is experience working with public company boards, executive leadership teams, and operational teams to drive legal and commercial strategy. Diversity and inclusion advocate with a passion for equity in the workplace and leader of the Asia Pacific Forum - Americas, Employee Resource Group.

The Chamber provides access to and promotes opportunities for minority business owners in the region and is one of the nation’s largest African American chambers of commerce. The organization has grown from 28 members in 1998 to over 640 members: now the 7th largest chamber in W. PA.

Dan began his insurance career in 2004 at AIG. Since starting at Henderson Brothers in 2006, Dan has worked with numerous organizations on their risk management and insurance programs in the private equity, real estate, transportation, construction, manufacturing, energy and technology industries. Dan was promoted to the Managing Director of Property & Casualty in April of 2022. Dan has oversight and responsibility of managing and growing the Commercial and Personal Lines divisions of Henderson Brothers. Henderson Brothers is one of the largest privately held insurance brokers in the United States, serving clients domestically and internationally.

Bill Coleman 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 and infrastructure sectors.

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.

Nick Conti is a Vice President at private equity firm 3 Rivers Capital. Nick makes investments in family and founder owned businesses, which merges his passion for investing and working with private companies. Prior to his current role, Nick spent time helping large corporations complete acquisitions and venture capital investments and providing strategic advice to private companies in financial services.

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.

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.

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.

Michael's focus is on helping clients manage the complexity of significant wealth and liquidity events. He offers a broad range of services designed to address the needs of successful business executives and entrepreneurs. Michael’s clients look to him and the team for specialized support and careful planning in the context of their unique circumstances. Together, they harness their talents and those of Merrill Private Wealth Management to advance client goals in multiple contexts.

Michael and the team also have significant and unique experience in the distinct planning and financial management issues faced by families where a member has a medical disability, severe illness or special needs. The Duckworth Haggerty group is a seventeen-person team that serves 100 core families. 

Michael joined Merrill in 2008 with 15 years of experience in the private client advisory group of a large commercial bank. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Pittsburgh. Michael is the immediate past President of the board of directors for the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. He and his wife Tracy live north of Pittsburgh with their three children.

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.

John is responsible for PiovanGroup’s North America Region.  John has been a leader of group companies for more than twenty-nine years. He has served as CFO of Rapid Granulator, IPEG Group, and PiovanGroup North America and was COO before being promoted to CEO of the North America Region.

Before coming to the group, John spent nine years as a CPA with KPMG and one year with RSM. John received his BS in Business Administration and Accountancy from MacMurray College and his MBA from Northern Illinois University. John was also an adjunct Assistant Professor in the MBA program at Rockford University.  John is a CEPA, CSCA, CM&AA, CM&AI, CGMA, CMA, and CPA and sits on several company’s fiduciary Board of Directors.

Deborah Fell is Managing Partner for Chief Outsiders and brings a background of consistent value creation through sales and marketing plans, people, processes, organizations, tactical ability and measurement visibility. She identifies blocks and gaps, as well as the right fractional sales and/or marketing leader for immediate and enduring success.

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.

Ryan is a Principal at the technology advising firm Transform Labs, a Strategy Guide with the strategy consulting firm Simply Strategic, and the Managing Principal at the funding advisory firm Customer Raise. Previously, he was a part of starting and growing several companies. Ryan has written two books about starting and managing 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).

Meredith is a faculty member and Entrepreneur in Residence at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. She has developed the Family Business Initiative at Carnegie Mellon, which brings together family business owners and entrepreneurs from an array of industries and geographies.

Meredith Meyer Grelli founded, led, and sold two craft beverage companies, Wigle Whiskey and Threadbare Cider & Mead. Wigle Whiskey was Pennsylvania’s first direct to consumer spirits company since Prohibition.

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).

One of the most recognized brands in the world, Zippo was founded in the fall of 1932 by George G. Blaisdell in Bradford, Pennsylvania. Since then, the company has manufactured over 650 million windproof lighters. Donald Hall serves as a member of the board of Zipcorp and its subsidiaries. In February 2024, he was promoted to CFO and executive vice president of the Enterprise Project Management Office to drive strategic plans. Hall has been instrumental in corporate strategic planning, product and market diversification, and development of the Asia Pacific market. He is recognized as a strong and effective business partner across diverse industries, skilled in building and motivating high-impact teams driven to grow both the top and bottom lines while optimizing working capital.

Michael joined Riverarch Equity Partners in February 2022. Prior to joining Riverarch, Michael worked for Stryker Corporation, a leading global medical technology company, in various commercial leadership roles nationally based in Pittsburgh, PA and San Jose, CA. Prior to that, Michael was in the United States Marine Corps and supported training operations in North Carolina during Operation Enduring Freedom. Michael received a BA from the University of Pittsburgh in Communications/Rhetoric. He is currently focused on business development and relationship management for the firm.

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.

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.

John Lewis is a founder of his law firm, dedicates his focus to assisting clients in building their business value, including M&A, succession planning and corporate governance. John's passion comes from his childhood involvement in his father's trucking business, including being thrust into running the business and selling it when his father suddenly died when John was 29.

Ian is the Vice President of Finance at Orabio, Inc., with extensive experience as a technology executive. He was employee #1 at Nextel Communications, contributing to their $35B exit. Ian also served as CEO of Airviz and CFO of a Carnegie Mellon biotech startup that went public in 2021. Over his 30+ years, he has led finance and operations at multiple successful early-stage companies, generating billions in value.

With over 24 years of experience taking care of clients, Warren strives to put others first and deliver the type of attention, care and follow through that he would want for his own family. He’s a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh B.A. and Duquesne University M.B.A. Warren integrates his education, business knowledge and his relentless drive to help others when crafting risk management coverages and scenarios that mitigate and transfer operational risks away from clients’ financial accounts and into comprehensive insurance solutions.

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 the Founder & CEO of MILHEM DTL, LLC. The company was founded in Pittsburgh in 2020 as an Advisory firm in Digital Transformation as well as M&A services. Ray has 40 years of experience in 4 countries: US, Canada, UAE & Kuwait. He worked @ large Fortune 500 companies like Cisco, Nokia, Motorola, Boeing and ANSYS. He also worked at start-ups.

Ray is an Angel Investor & partners with regional companies like Aspirant, TECUM & Gleason Advisors.

Ron Mumbray is President and CEO of Fluid Sealing International and Anchor Seals Inc., part of the Anchor Holding Group. Ron has over 40 years of experience in the mechanical, industrial engineering and fluid sealing industries. Mr. Mumbray has played an important role in steering both companies overall direction, overseeing operations, and ensuring continued success.

James Myers is the Vice President of Business Development at BEAM Collaborative, where he connects local businesses to corporate contracts and leads mergers and acquisitions. Previously, he served as Senior Director at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, fostering relationships with businesses and policymakers. A Pittsburgh 40 Under 40 honoree and recipient of the Pittsburgh Courier Men of Excellence award, James holds a B.A. in Business Management from Carlow University.

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.

Ven is the President & CEO, Innovation Works and the Managing Director, Riverfront Ventures.

Mr. Raju has more than 20 years of experience in venture capital and private equity investing  having led/co-led all facets of the investment process, including origination, due diligence,  transaction structuring and portfolio management with strategic and operational oversight via  board of director and executive-level participation.

Previously, Mr. Raju served as managing director at Northwell Ventures, the corporate venture  arm of Northwell Health (one of the largest health systems in the country). At Northwell Ventures,  Mr. Raju led the investment team to deploy capital to early and growth stage companies in health  tech, digital health and med tech verticals. Prior to that, Mr. Raju served as partner at Chestnut  Street Ventures, a vertical agnostic growth equity fund. At Chestnut, Mr. Raju led the investment  team to deploy growth equity capital in health tech, internet of things (IOT) computing devices,  software as a service (SaaS), AI/machine learning, robotics and life sciences companies. Prior to  that, Mr. Raju served as partner at Choate Capital, where he led middle market direct investments  totaling more than $800 million in equity. Over the course of his career, Mr. Raju has helped to  shepherd a number of companies to a strategic/public exit including Domo, Bloom Energy,  Accolade, Freshly, Relayr and Unity Biotechnology. Mr. Raju began his career as a strategy consultant, advising Fortune 100 clients in mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Raju serves as adjunct faculty member at the Lebow School of Business, Drexel University and guest lecturer at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Raju also serves on a number of for profit and nonprofit boards.

Kevin joined Robinson Fans Holdings in 2022 after 18 years in banking with PNC Bank and Huntington Bank with a primary focus on Asset Based Lending. As the CFO of Robinson Fans Holdings (and its subsidiaries Robinson Fans, Inc., Robinson Machine Company and Robinson Service), Kevin is responsible for the accounting department, payroll and benefits, purchasing and information technology.

With over 20 years of experience, learning the business from some of the best mentors in the world, Kevin founded Totum in 2019 to continue the journey of providing clients with unparalleled service and expertise. Always dedicated to assisting occupier clients by helping them make sound real estate decisions that drive overall business success his first passion and specialization is in corporate tenant advisory services assisting occupier clients on their decisions throughout the United States. Kevin is a creative expert that is client centered and experienced in strategic planning, project management, site selection, and lease negotiation and has developed a unique and dynamic approach to corporate real estate that not only protects the client’s interests but also generates the best financial results.

Dedicated family man, friend and volunteer, Kevin is passionate about being “all in” on every aspect of his life, whether business, family or pleasure. Dedicated involvement includes but not limited to Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), NAIOP, and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cleveland, Ronald McDonald House, Blessed Francis Seelos Academy and Leadership Pittsburgh (XXXV).

Reid Segar is the District Manager for Insperity based in Pittsburgh, PA. Insperity is a professional employer organization (PEO) providing a range of human resources and business solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. By outsourcing HR functions to Insperity, businesses can focus more on their core, revenue-generating operations while ensuring their HR needs are handled efficiently and in compliance with regulations.

Rama Subba Rao Mithipati is a seasoned financial executive with extensive experience in corporate finance, business development, and investor relations. Currently serving as Executive Vice President and Corporate Secretary at Aquatech International since July 1996, responsibilities encompass annuity projects, corporate development, fundraising, and oversight of banking and investor relationships.

Prior roles include Group Chief Financial Officer, focusing on corporate finance and mergers, and Financial Controller for the Indian subsidiary. Additionally, Rama is a member of the Business Advisory Council at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, offering insights on the macroeconomic environment.

Educational credentials include multiple advanced degrees in accounting and finance, along with certifications as a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Accountant, and Company Secretary.

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.

Clark Stapelfeld currently serves as President and CEO of New Pig Corporation and its parent company New Pendulum Corpora­tion.

With New Pig since 2003, Clark is a member of the company’s Board of Directors. He also serves on several community boards including the Blair Chamber of Commerce, ABCD Corporation and the PSU-Altoona Advisory Board.

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.

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.