Speakers

Mr. Van Raalte is a co-founder of Corinthian Capital and oversees and directs the investment activities of the firm, including transaction sourcing, structuring, operational strategy, and managing relationships with limited partners. Currently Mr. Van Raalte serves as Chairman of the Board of Friedrich Air Conditioning Co., Ltd., and Best Lighting Holding Company, Inc. and previously served as Chairman of Sabre Industries, Inc., Audio and Video Labs Holdings, Inc., and Wolf-Gordon Holdings, Inc. Friedrich Air Conditioning Co., Ltd. was awarded an M&A Advisors Award for Equity Financing Deal of the Year in 2013. Mr. Van Raalte has overseen the growth and successful realization of numerous private equity investments for over two decades.

Prior to co-founding Corinthian Capital, Mr. Van Raalte was a co-founder, Senior Managing Director and member of the investment committee at Lincolnshire Management for over 19 years where he led the deal origination group and participated in transaction financing, due diligence, and portfolio management. Previously, Mr. Van Raalte was an officer in the Special Buyout Finance Division of Manufacturers Hanover Trust, with the responsibility of underwriting leveraged loans for leading private equity firms.

Mr. Van Raalte holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Vermont and an M.B.A in Finance from New York University.

Mary Kathleen Flynn serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Mergers & Acquisitions, which she joined in 2011. MK oversees the brand’s content on all media platforms, including website, e-newsletters, videos, slideshows, podcasts and print. She covers private equity and overall M&A trends and writes the Private Equity Perspective column. Previously, she was a Senior Editor/Senior Video Producer at The Deal; an On-Camera Reporter at CNN and MSNBC; a Senior Editor at U.S. News & World Report; and an Associate Editor at PC Magazine. She can be reached at marykathleen.flynn@sourcemedia.com; on Twitter at @MKFlynn; and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/marykathleenflynn.

Chris Lund joined HRCP in 2002. He is a partner of the firm and a member of the investment committee.  Chris currently serves as the Chairman of Unifiller Systems and Horizon Bradco and as a director of PNE, Inspire Automation and Sound Seal Holdings, Inc.  He has previously served as a director of Magnatech International and All Island Media.  Prior to joining HRCP, Chris was with GE Equity and Chase Manhattan Bank and began his career at Chemical Bank's management training program.  Chris earned a B.A. (Cum Laude), from St. Lawrence University and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College.

Dara is Vice President of Corporate Development at Kadant Inc. (NYSE: KAI)- a leading global supplier of highly engineered critical components used in process industries.  Prior to her role at Kadant, Dara co-founded NewDelta Partners - a Boston-based investment banking and strategic advisory firm.  Before NewDelta, Dara was a Principal at 3i, a global private equity firm with $11B in assets, where she was based in London.

She has successfully led multiple fundraisings, M&A transactions and IPOs and has worked with the Boards of many companies to help them achieve growth.   Dara also brings an international perspective and has worked with companies in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Dara received her MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and her BA from Harvard University.

Ted is a member of the firm’s private equity and manufacturing leadership teams and has extensive experience with commercial and financial due diligence, competitive analysis, benchmarking, supply chain, and strategic planning across several industrial manufacturing end markets including automotive, plastics, and metals. He joined the management consulting practice at Plante Moran in 2011 after spending more than a decade working directly for industrial manufacturers in various capacities, including market strategy, business development, and program management.

Ted has spoken at a number of industry events, including Associate for Corporate Growth (ACG), Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), Manufacturers Association for Plastics Processors (MAPP), Plastics News, and Precision Metal Formers Association (PMA). Topics have included industry trends and their impacts, business model analysis, and machine rate analysis. B.S. in accounting from Michigan State University.

Michael Fieldstone is a Partner at Aterian Investment Partners and serves on the Investment Committee, where he is actively involved with the investment and portfolio company activities of the firm. Aterian invests in leading, lower middle market businesses that typically have situational complexities or require operational support. Aterian seeks to acquire businesses generating $25 million to $500 million in annual revenues with strong, proven franchises across multiple industries. Mr. Fieldstone has extensive experience investing in complicated situations including corporate carve-outs, restructurings both in and out of bankruptcy, and strategic investments with the objective of enhancing value for all stakeholders.

Prior to founding Aterian in 2009, Mr. Fieldstone was a Principal at Sun Capital Partners, a $10 billion operationally-focused private equity firm, where he joined in 2001. While at Sun, Mr. Fieldstone was involved with over 50 transactions, including acquisitions, mergers, recapitalizations, financings and exits representing over $500 million of capital deployed and over $3.0 billion in financings. Mr. Fieldstone's career in value-oriented investing and special situations started in 1999 as a Principal at Apollo Management where he was involved with the diligence of several investments including the closing of the $1.0 billion acquisition of Resolution Performance Products, a specialty chemical company of Shell Oil.

Mr. Fieldstone began his career at Salomon Smith Barney as a generalist in the Mergers and Acquisitions Investment Banking group. Mr. Fieldstone graduated cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Finance and Accounting.

Mr. Ranson joined Blue Wolf in 2008 as a Partner and is a member of the Investment Committee.  He is active in the firm’s investments in forest products, building products, energy services and industrial & engineering services and his areas of expertise include bankruptcy and restructuring, financing structures, and development of corporate strategy at middle market companies.

Prior to joining Blue Wolf, Mr. Ranson served as a Portfolio Manager at GoldenTree Asset Management, L.P., an alternative asset management firm, and as a Vice President at American Capital.  He began his career as a Financial Analyst with Chase Manhattan’s Leveraged Finance department and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University.