ACG NY Operating Partner Roundtable

David Muhlenkamp is a Managing Director and heads Lindsay Goldberg’s portfolio operations efforts, where he assists families, founders, and management teams to achieve their growth and value creation objectives. 

David brings nearly two decades of experience in management and operations, most recently as an Operating Partner for The Jordan Company.  David’s operations and board director experience spans multiple private equity investments and sectors, including industrials, logistics and transportation, healthcare, food service, energy, and chemicals. 

David previously had worked at Citigroup and Booz Allen Hamilton after serving as an officer in the United States Army. He holds a BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

Manuel Padilla is the Vice President, Risk Management & Insurance for MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, a holding company with interests in a diversified portfolio of public and private companies.  Holdings included leading market entities in a wide range of industries, including, cosmetics, film and digital entertainment, casino gaming and lottery systems, banking services, military equipment and biotechnology.  Mr. Padilla has been employed with MacAndrews and its affiliated companies since 1992.  His duties at MacAndrews include analysis, procurement and management of a variety of risk management functions, including settlement activities on first party and third party claims.  He graduated cum laude from the College of Insurance in 1992 earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Certificate in Multiple Lines Underwriting.  Between 1982 and 1988, Mr. Padilla served in the United States Navy, primarily engaged in shipboard engineering functions and serving on the USS Carl Vinson, the USS Kitty Hawk, and the USS Mount Baker.  He also served as the Asst. Master at Arms for Fighter Squadron 124 located in San Diego, California.  He is a member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and was formerly the Commander for Division 11 located in Brooklyn, NY.

Amber Shook joined SK Capital in 2019 as the Director of Operational Excellence and Synergies, where she provides guidance to SK Capital portfolio companies for the end to end supply chain. Amber is passionate about collaborating with the portfolio companies to unlock true value across the supply chain.

Prior to joining SK Capital, Amber was the Director of Global Supply Chain for Catalent Pharma Solutions.  In addition, Amber has held a variety of management positions for DuPont, Michelin, Coca Cola Refreshments.  Amber’s experiences include Operations Management, Global Supply Chain, and Operational Excellence. 

Amber earned a B.S. Chemical Engineering from Drexel University, and an MBA from University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School.  Amber is also APICS CSCP certified, and a qualified Six Sigma Black Belt.

With 29 years of experience in the Employee Benefits sector, David Neikrug has a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by HR during an M&A transaction. Today, David advises executives and key stakeholders (employers, payors, vendors, investors) to identify and deliver value to the HR workstream.

Together with the investment community (PE/VC/Family Offices), David supports organizations throughout the entire M&A lifecycle ensuring sound due diligence, seamless integration, day-one readiness and post-day-one synergy capture along the HR workstream. David understands ever-changing deal dynamics and has been involved in integrations within and across industries such as hospitality, retail, manufacturing, consumer products, financial services, and pharmaceuticals. He is well versed in the legal and regulatory environments which allow him to ensure his clients remain informed and compliant. 

Following the acquisition of David’s prior firm by PE-backed Capital H Group, David established Optimatum in 2007 to deliver the rigor of vendor management to the HR workstream. David is based in New York.