Experience
Company Name Frontenac Private Equity
Dates EmployedJul 2016 – Present
Employment Duration1 yr. 2 mos.
Location Birmingham, Alabama Area
Frontenac and I have partnered together to jointly pursue new investment opportunities in the consumer enthusiast markets, including outdoor and auto enthusiasts. We aim to create a solution that provides liquidity for selling shareholders, plus growth capital, operational resources, and executive support required to achieve the company’s vision. Our complementary operating and financial skills make us differentiated partners.
Our ideal target company characteristics include: a niche industry leadership position, an established track record with customers, a compelling value proposition and differentiation in the market, and revenue of $20 - $150 million with $3 - $15 million of EBITDA.
Categories include, but are not limited to:
- Fishing ➢ Cycling
- Trail Sports ➢ Camping
- Hunting ➢ Camping
- Water Sports ➢ Snow Sports
- Wildlife Viewing ➢ Auto Accessories
Frontenac is a leading private equity firm, based in Chicago. The firm focuses on investing in lower middle market buyout transactions in the food, industrial, and services industries. Frontenac works in partnership with proven operating leaders, through our executive-centric approach called CEO1ST, to identify, acquire, and build market leading companies through transformational acquisitions and operational excellence. The firm has built a leading franchise working with over 225 owners of mid-sized businesses, almost always families or founders, as they address complex transition issues of liquidity, management enhancement, and growth planning. For more information, please visit www.frontenac.com.
- Vice President & Executive Consultant
Company NameMeridian-NorthStar Partners
Dates Employed2015 – Present
Employment Duration2 yrs
LocationBirmingham, Alabama Area
Responsible for acquiring, maintaining, and delivering project deliverables at the executive level with consumer facing clients. Spearheading the development of the Sporting Goods practice within the firm. The 25+ year practice is a provider of cutting-edge business solutions focused on product innovation, strategy development through retail execution.
www.northstarpartnersinc.com
sCommerce (subsidiary of Meridian-NorthStar) is a new social media marketing business which uses innovative, affiliate based celebrity endorsements with electronic promotional incentives to drive incremental sales for brands and consumer facing companies. Business was successfully launched and then merged with Meridian-NorthStar partners in 2015.
- President and General Manager
Company NamePradco Outdoor Brands
Dates Employed2012 – 2015
Employment Duration3 yrs
LocationBirmingham, Alabama Area
Hired to lead transformation of privately owned company with large portfolio of over 25 brands. Led development of strategic plan to reestablish organization as consumer oriented company and reinvigorate brands. Held full accountability for multimillion-dollar P&L and business with 7 locations and profit centers. Led an organization of 450+ employees with 12 direct reports.
•Generated record-setting double-digit sales and net operating gains in first 2 years in role.
•Consolidated 5 distribution centers into 1 centralized 260K square foot location; achieved 30% shorter lead time for customer orders and cut costs by 18% through integration of technology and operations.
•Positioned company as Wal-Mart Supplier of the Year for outstanding promotional business results.
•Established online presence, leading creation of 12 new websites with ecommerce functionality for top brands; increased direct to consumer sales by 300% and grew social media engagement by several hundred thousand.
•Rationalized portfolio through deep consumer research across all brands; enabled appropriate prioritization of brands and ability to drive ROI on marketing investments more effectively.
•Closed/divested 2 underperforming brands and reallocated resources into driving marketing growth of others. Successfully acquired Bandit Lures to add to fishing portfolio.
•Removed fragmentation throughout company and aligned operations and brands to leverage strength of portfolio to connect with customers in key markets.
•Significantly improved organizational culture by utilizing collaborative leadership approach; reduced employee turnover by 20% and increased workforce diversity by 50%.
PRADCO Outdoor Brands’ portfolio ranges from top hunting brands such as Moultrie, Summit, Code Blue and Knight & Hale and lure brands Rebel, Yum, Booyah and Lindy www.pradcooutdoorbrands.com. PRADCO is a wholly owned subsidiary of EBSCO Industries, Inc. of Birmingham, Ala.
Company NameYakima Products
Dates EmployedApr 2011 – Aug 2012
Employment Duration1 yr 5 mos
LocationBeaverton, Oregon
Responsible for global sales, marketing and product management.
• Doubled top-line sales from 2007 to 2011 and delivered 800% EBITDA growth.
• Globally expanded Yakima from North American Business to 35 countries over 5 years, achieving international sales accounting for 20% of total company revenue.
• Overhauled brand’s marketing message and brand positioning; eliminated direct competition with new brand position that provides emotional tie that captured the consumer experience.
• Overhauled pricing structure and promotional events by influencing change organization-wide.
• Identified competitive target and led due diligence efforts for acquisition of complimentary brand, Whispbar launched globally; played key role in acquiring Rack N’ Roll Trailers.
• Established key partnerships with Subaru, Zipcar, and various other companies, driving brand visibility.
• Created thousands of new points of distribution through strategic selling and new value proposition.
- Vice President, Sales and Business Development
Company NameYakima Products
Dates EmployedJul 2007 – Oct 2011
Employment Duration4 yrs 4 mos
LocationBeaverton, Oregon
Company NamePure Fishing
Dates EmployedJun 2005 – Apr 2007
Employment Duration1 yr 11 mos
- Vice President U.S. Sales
Company NamePure Fishing
Dates EmployedAug 2002 – May 2005
Employment Duration2 yrs 10 mos
LocationSpirit Lake, IA
- National Customer Marketing Manager
Company NameWrigley
Dates EmployedOct 2001 – Aug 2002
Employment Duration11 mos
LocationChicago, IL
Company NameSchering-Plough Healthcare Products
Dates Employed1997 – 2001
Employment Duration4 yrs
