Speakers

Steven J. Siwinski joined High Road in 2014 and is responsible for working with portfolio company management teams to formulate and implement financial best practices, value creation initiatives, and add-on acquisition integration plans across High Road’s portfolio companies with the goal of achieving excellence in financial operations.

Steve brings to High Road a unique combination of private equity, corporate finance, public accounting and advisory experience. Prior to joining High Road, he was a Finance Operating Partner at Marlin Equity Partners where he led due diligence and transition activities on new investments, provided interim financial leadership to portfolio companies, and advised portfolio company CEOs, CFOs and boards on strategic initiatives. Prior to Marlin, Steve was the Vice President of Finance and Strategy at The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN) where he was a member of the senior management team, advised the chairman and CEO on corporate-wide strategic initiatives, and served as a divisional CFO.

Steve was also a Managing Director at FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) where he worked on the GM bankruptcy and led various advisory projects for private equity firms. Steve began his career at Ernst & Young, where he was a Partner in the transaction advisory services practice and worked with private equity firms and their portfolio companies.

Steve received a B.S. in accounting and finance from Fairfield University and an M.B.A. in finance and management strategy from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

He is a CPA in New York and Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the Fairfield University Dolan School of Business Advisory Board. Steve has spoken on private equity, corporate finance and M&A related topics for a variety of industry and educational organizations.

John is a Partner at MiddleGround where he is responsible for overall management of the firm and management of the Investment Team with Lauren Mulholland.  John started his career as an hourly line worker at Toyota Motor Corporation and held numerous management and executive positions over an 18-year career.  John made the move to private equity in 2007, joining Monomoy Capital as an Operating Partner.   In 2010, John was named the Head of Operations and built out the Operations Group over the next six years with Scot Duncan.  In 2016, John became a Partner in the firm and Co-Head of Private Equity.  Throughout his career, John has worked on numerous transactions and served on the Board of Directors of 16 companies (3 as Chairman of the Board) across both middle market and Fortune 100 companies.

John is the only one of us who is a published author.  You can buy his book  "Toyota Kaizen Continuum: A Practical Guide to Implementing Lean" here.  John really needs the extra $3.00 as he is saving up for a new boat.  He has four children with his wife, Leslie, and is a proud grandfather.  If you spend enough time with John, you know there are two things that are sure to happen: someone will ask him to share his “Elon Musk” story and he will convince you that you need to buy something special for your pet from his wife and daughter’s business, Southern Barker.  Did we mention John is saving up to buy a new boat?!

Dan Gaspar joined TZP Group as a Partner of TZP Small Cap Partners I in October 2017. Dan began his career in 2001 as an investment banker in the Global Media and Communications Group at Morgan Stanley, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions. In 2005, he joined Trimaran Capital Partners, where he focused on buyout investments across the media, restaurant and transportation industries. In 2007, Dan co-founded CN Private Equity Partners (later known as Gotham Equity Partners). At CNPE, Dan was responsible for sourcing and leading investments in several business services and consumer products companies. In 2011, Dan joined High Road Capital Partners, where he was later promoted to Partner. At High Road, Dan focused on leveraged buyouts of lower-middle-market companies across a variety of industries, including consumer products, industrial services, healthcare services and manufacturing. Prior to joining TZP, Dan served on the boards of eleven public and private companies.

Dan currently serves on the Board of Directors of Advocate Solutions, LLC and Dynamic Communities TopCo, LLC and serves as a member of the TZP SC I and TZP SC II investment committees.

Dan received a B.S. in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. in finance from Columbia Business School, graduating Beta Gamma Sigma.

Marc Herdegen joined New State Capital Partners in 2018 with more than 20 years of experience in leadership and management, product development, investment, and strategy consulting. Marc has led global organizations, launched new products, developed growth strategies, and advised executives across a range of industries.
Prior to New State, Marc was a Senior Director at Honeywell International responsible for leading multiple product lines, with full P&L responsibility.  As an enterprise General Manager, Marc had primary responsibility for developing and implementing strategies to drive revenue growth and operating income expansion for the flagship integrated avionics product lines in Honeywell’s Aerospace Strategic Business Group.

Previously, Marc was an executive at I-Group LLC, a private investment company where he sourced, screened, and managed investments in a variety of industries. Prior to this, Marc was a consultant at Bain & Company, where he worked on industrial, medical, retail, and financial services projects, primarily for private equity clients. Marc started his career as an aviation officer in the United States Army, where he was an AH-64D Longbow Apache attack helicopter pilot, and aviation maintenance and logistics expert.  Marc was awarded the Bronze Star and two Air Medals during his service as a Company Commander in Iraq.

Marc received his undergraduate degree in Economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Slade Kobran is a Chief Outsiders Managing Partner based in the Greater NYC Area. He works closely with CEOs, private equity investors, and operating partners to bring revenue and EBITDA growth to companies across industries by providing seasoned senior marketing executives on an interim, fractional, or project basis. Responsible for building and supporting a team of world-class marketers who deliver new growth to clients, Slade also works directly with companies on strategic planning and execution to grow more profitably, develop the organization and maximize marketing ROI.  Slade has more than 25 years’ experience in growing businesses in technology, business services, professional services, and other industries. Throughout his career he has delivered results for companies as small as $2 million and as large as $8 billion.

Slade joined Chief Outsiders in 2012 after 2 year’s as Chief Marketing Officer at Infogroup, where he transformed an internal advertising department into a strategic marketing organization supporting the company’s growth initiatives across multiple divisions. Prior to Infogroup, Slade was Senior Vice President and Director of Global Marketing at Opinion Research Corporation, and Vice President of Marketing at InfoUSA National Accounts.  From 1993 through 2006, Slade held executive roles at ADP, including Vice President, Marketing, Planning and Business Development for the company’s Time & Labor Management group, and VP of Marketing for ADP’s Major Accounts Division. Prior to ADP, Slade held roles in product management, field marketing and sales management at Dun & Bradstreet.

Slade earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Rider University. He has also completed executive education courses at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School.

Claudine Cohen is a principal in CohnReznick’s Advisory Group’s national Transactional Advisory Practice (TAS). She leads the Northeast TAS practice   With more than 25 years of business experience, Claudine has developed an expertise in providing transactional advisory services, serving as an adviser to public and private companies, both domestically and internationally.  She works with private equity investors, family offices alternative investment funds, lenders, family offices and strategic investors.

Claudine’s specific advisory activities include: strategic advisory, quality of earnings analyses, identifying revenue sources and profitability drivers, examining operating cost structure and sustainability factors, investigating business models including cash flow and financial projections, reviewing quality and realization of assets and liabilities, identifying working capital requirements and negotiating positions, post-close working capital verification, and adjustment mechanisms.  Claudine has advised on a number of different buy - and sell-side transactions, including standalone platforms; carve-out of business segments, product line, or facility; bankruptcy auction processes; mergers; and industry consolidations.

Claudine was named to Mergers and Acquisitions 2019 list of the most influential women in mid-market M&A, and Crains NY 2018 most notable women in consulting. She has authored several articles and Thought Leadership, The Deal and other publications focusing on buy and sell-side due diligence, working capital and purchase price allocation.

John J. Broderick, Operating Partner, joined Argosy in 2016 and is responsible for evaluating potential investments, performing due diligence, and working with portfolio companies to grow shareholder value. John has over 25 years of experience as a manufacturing executive, the last ten years working with private equity backed companies in the lower middle market. His diverse experience and first-hand knowledge of best practices provide him the capacity to quickly assess the needs of a business and lead significant change in a variety of markets, organizations and environments. Prior to joining Argosy, John was Operating Partner at Argo Management Partners, a private equity group based in Chicago. In 2006, he created the Argo Business System, a set of tools developed by world class professionals and organizations, which has been deployed in several portfolio companies. Prior to Argo, John held leadership positions with Danaher Corp, Siemens and Sandvik, and was responsible for Sales, Finance, IT, Human Resources, R&D, Engineering, Project Management, Marketing, Customer Service and Operations. Mr. Broderick holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University, an MBA in Industrial Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University and post graduate degree from Seton Hall University in International Business.

Mr. Hermann joined Court Square in June 2013 as a Resource Partner. His expertise spans manufacturing, distribution, software, and business services industries. His specific company experience includes Founder and CEO of icarz, a SaaS distribution management software company for durable goods distributors, CEO of General Automotive, the largest switch and lock manufacturer in North America (sold to Echlin/Dana Corp), consultant at Zolfo Cooper performing interim CEO turnaround assignments around the world, Bain and Company, and, immediately prior to Court Square, Managing Director at Thomas H. Lee Partners. Mr. Hermann serves on the board of the Paper Mill Playhouse.

He is a magna cum laude graduate of Amherst College and has an M.B.A. from the Stanford Business School.

Chris Lund joined HRCP in 2002. Chris currently serves as the Chairman of Horizon Bradco, Inc. and a director of Sound Seal Holdings, Inc., Inspire Automation, Unifiller Systems and PNE Corporation. 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 in 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.

Jared focuses primarily on Business Services investments. He has led or participated in Bertram's investments in Bearcom, CreativeDrive, Spectrio, Author Solutions and Spireon. Prior to Bertram, Jared was with Oak Hill Capital Management where he evaluated investment opportunities across a broad range of industries. Prior to Oak Hill, Jared worked as a generalist in the Investment Banking group at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Education: Stanford University: MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business;     Princeton University: Bachelor of Arts in Economics, cum laude

Glenn is responsible for internal talent acquisition and portfolio company search execution across multiple industry verticals. Responsibilities include both extensive direct sourcing as well as overseeing select vendor relationships. Experience also includes assessment of executive management teams, succession planning and project management in support of human capital initiatives. Current industry experience includes gaming, luxury hospitality, consumer durables and consumer packaged goods. Z Capital is a global alternative asset manager with private equity and opportunistic credit strategy expertise.