Bison Partners Professional Team represents a wide range of backgrounds in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, corporate development, commercial and investment banking, domestic and international corporate management, turnaround management and entrepreneurial startups. Our team has an average of more than 20 plus years experience across a broad range of functional roles and industry sectors.
The Bison Partners Team collectively has served in the roles of private equity and venture capital investment principal, borrower and lender, consultant, corporate financial, senior executive and entrepreneurial manager and investment banking advisor. Bison's team has been on both sides of the table and brings that dual perspective to bear on behalf of its clients. The team has direct experience in the middle market company segment, Bison's target client market.
Senior financial manager and transactor with 25 years of public and private company experience in corporate finance and banking, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, treasury operations and general and financial management. Acted in the role of investor, corporate manager and banker in the fields of private equity and leveraged finance.
- Senior Marketing Officer, Acorn Capital Group LLC (“special situation” asset based specialty finance company acting as an asset based lender to restructuring and transitional middle market companies)
- CFO, All Financial Group LLC (specialty finance company in the insurance products market)
- CFO-iMIC Division, Mitsubishi International Corporation (US private equity and venture capital investment group of the global
Japanese trading and investment company)
- Co-Founder, Red Diamond Capital Partners
(New York-based $150 million buyout/growth equity fund affiliated
with Mitsubishi International Corp)
- SVP-Finance & Administration, EBMatch.com
(early-stage Internet company in the B2B e-business services sector)
- VP-Finance, MHC Investments LLC
(private equity sponsored startup company in the
recreational/sports sector)
- Vice President & Treasurer and Corporate Development
executive, American Banknote Corporation
(NYSE-traded multinational holding company with operating subsidiaries
in the plastic transaction/smart card manufacturing, specialized
security printing and fulfillment services businesses)
- Corporate and leveraged finance banking, Citibank
and The Bank of New York
- CMAA, Certified Mergers & Acquisition Advisor
- Member- Turnaround Management Association - NY/CT Chapter
- Member—Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors - National Chapter
- Member—Association for Corporate Growth—CT Chapter
- BA—Economics, Hamilton College
- MBA—Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College
Financial Advisory Services
Senior investment banking transactor, financial advisor and corporate financial manager with over 25 years experience with major Wall Street firms as well as serving as a CFO of a private equity owned regional telecommunications company. He also founded a corporate finance boutique, Harding Capital, focused on middle market M&A and capital raising advisory services. Served as an advisor on more than 70 transactions including public and private debt and equity financings, mergers, acquisitions and private sales and recapitalizations for a broad range of industrial manufacturing and business service companies. As a CFO, responsible for and assisted in the completion of three add on acquisitions, the introduction of new and enhanced service offerings, revenue growth and profit improvement initiatives and several debt and equity recapitalizations.
- Managing Partner- Harding Capital LLC (middle market corporate finance advisory firm)
- SVP & CFO – Country Road Communications LLC (private equity owned independent telephone company (ILEC) operating in four states)
- Director, Head of Packaging Industry Group – SG Cowen Securities Corp. (international clients in the paper, forest products and packaging industries)
- Associate Director, Natural Resource Group – Bear Stearns & Company (clients in the packaging, energy, waste management and specialty chemicals industries)
- Director, Industrial Coverage Group – Smith Barney Inc. (clients in the paper, forest products, packaging, auto parts, consumer products and imaging industries)
- Associate, Merger & Acquisition Group – PaineWebber Inc. (clients in the aerospace and defense industries)
- Analyst, Corporate Finance – Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. (clients in the health care, business services and general manufacturing industries)
- BA- Political Economy, Williams College
- MBA- Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College (Edward Tuck Scholar)
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Senior portfolio manager, research director and investor with over 17 years experience in the public and private markets. Expertise in the power and energy sectors as well as general industrials with a focus on equities, fixed income securities, commodities and debt and private equity placements. Investor in the middle market private equity markets.
- Founder & Managing Member – Courtfield Capital LLC (private investment firm)
- Managing Director & Global Research Director – Duquesne Capital Management (multi-strategy hedge fund)
- Managing Director & Senior Analyst – Zimmer Lucas Partners (hedge fund focused on power and utility sectors)
- Analyst, Equity Research – Morgan Stanley Inc.
- Analyst – Value Line Inc.
- Former Member Wall Street Advisory Group – Edison Electric Institute
- BA – Economics, Bucknell University
- MBA – Lehigh University (Martindale Scholar)
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Senior general management, investment, investment banking and private equity professional with over 20 years of experience across debt and equity markets and industry sectors from small middle market to investment grade companies. Co-founded and co-managed a private investment bank focused on raising equity and mezzanine capital and providing financial advisory services as well as private placement of asset-backed securities for larger issuers.
- Chief Operating Officer, AllFinancial Group LLC (specialty finance company in the insurance products market)
- Principal, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Ironwood Capital, Ltd. (private investment bank focused on the middle market) and affiliated with Ironbridge Mezzanine Fund (SBIC licensed mezzanine fund)
- Portfolio Manager, Smith, Whiley & Co. (middle market mezzanine fund)
- Investment Analyst, Aetna Insurance Bond Investor Department
- National Account Manager, Brulin & Co. (nationwide manufacturer of industrial cleaning and process chemicals)
- Registered Securities Representative (Series 7 & 63)
- Advisor—mortgage brokerage, market research and corporate gift companies
- BA—Criminology, University of California at Berkley
- MBA—Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College
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Senior corporate finance executive with over 25 years experience in leveraged finance, corporate banking and international capital markets. Industry experience includes auto and transportation, consumer products, diversified manufacturing companies and precious metals both in the private and public company sectors. Capabilities in due diligence assessment, transaction structuring and strategic business evaluation.
- Partner, KN Associates LLC (private merchant bank)
- Director, Credit Suisse First Boston (corporate and leveraged finance banking)
- Senior Vice President, Credit Suisse (corporate and investment banking in NY and Switzerland offices)
- Vice President, Chemical Bank (corporate banking)
- BA—Industrial Psychology, University of Virginia
- Executive Management Courses—Harvard University & NY Institute of Finance
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Senior merchant banking, corporate development and corporate counsel with over 40 years experience working as an investor, investment banker, senior advisor and legal counsel with large public and middle market private companies. Expertise in institutional financial markets, private equity investing and corporate acquisitions, business strategy and operations and corporate governance issues.
- Partner, KN Associates LLC (private merchant bank)
- Chief Executive Officer, Greenwich-based Merchant Bank
- Advisor, Boston-based Corporate Finance Firm
- Managing Director, Chase Investment Bank
- Corporate Development Executive, Thyssen Bournemisza Group, Inc.
- Corporate Development Officer, General Foods Corporation
- Vice President & General Counsel, Continental Can Company
- Associate General Counsel & Assistant Secretary, Dun & Bradstreet Corporation
- Associate Attorney, Shearman & Sterling
- Former Adjunct Faculty Member, Boston University School of Management
- BS—Economics & Engineering, Yale University
- LLB—Law School, Columbia University
Business Consulting Services
Senior management executive with over 20 years experience managing P&Ls and building businesses and management teams, upgrading products and processes and improving profit margins at Fortune 100 (GE) and middle market private equity owned portfolio companies. Broad experience in strategic and business improvement initiatives, customer relationship and revenue development and corporate acquisitions and post-closing business integration. Managed businesses in the manufacturing and marketing of capital goods, electrical devices/equipment and high-volume durable products serving the utility, transportation and consumer markets.
- President & COO – Truck Accessories Group ($160MM revenue private equity owned manufacturer of pickup truck bed caps/camper shells and tonneau covers with 1,200 employees and six manufacturing plants)
- SVP, Operations – NorthWestern Growth Corporation ($6 billion publicly-held utility in propane, telephone, HVAC and plumbing services markets)
- President – AEC Sterling Corporation ($140MM revenue private equity owned manufacturer of industrial process equipment used in the plastics/extrusion markets with 1,000 employees and seven manufacturing plants in the US and one plant in Italy)
- General Manager – GE Meter Business ($160MM revenue international manufacturer of electrical meters with 1,400 employees and four manufacturing plants in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Philippines and JV and licensees in Mexico, Brazil, Taiwan & Pakistan)
- SVP,Fleet Operations - GE Railcar Services Corp. ($700MM revenue GECC division that managed and leased 140,000 railcars to railroads and private shipping companies with 50 employees and 900 repair shops)
- President – GE Railcar Repair Services & Wheel Services Corp. ($130MM revenue division providing railcar maintenance/rebuilding and wheel remanufacturing services with 900 employees and sixteen repair/remanufacturing facilities)
- President – Crown Coach Inc , a GECC subsidiary ( $35MM revenue manufacturer of buses and specialty chassis for the school, municipal and state bus, RV and specialty coach markets with 300 employees)
- Manager, Manufacturing & Engineering - Midwest Electric Products, a GE subsidiary ($30MM revenue manufacturer of specialty outdoor electrical equipment for the marine, RV, industrial panel/control and residential air conditioning markets with 220 employees)
- Manager, Sales/Project/Manufacturing Engineer & Supervisor – GE Distribution Transformer and GE Apparatus Service divisions
- GE Manufacturing Management Program (MMP)
- GE Executive Development Courses – Management Development, Business Management, Executive Development
- CPIM (American Production & Inventory Control Society Certification)
- BSME- Mechanical Engineering & BS- Industrial Economics, Union College
- MBA- Louisiana Tech University
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Senior management executives and consultants focused on providing companies with pre and post-closing merger integration advisory services, growth strategy/business model development, operational performance improvement and executive management and human resource support. Messrs. Recardo and Waldron are the principals of The Catalyst Consulting Group, a management consultancy serving middle market companies and their business units. The firm provides a variety of “best practice” methodologies and analytical tools to assist companies that need to increase revenues and develop new business opportunities, improve financial and operational results and address cash flow shortfalls and financial constraints.
Mr. Recardo is the founder and Managing Partner of Catalyst Consulting and has over 25 years of experience as both a corporate executive and management consultant. He has worked as an executive for Fidelity Investments and Arthur Anderson & Company in its strategy and change management group. He has worked with over 100 companies in the manufacturing, high tech, financial services, life sciences, publishing and business services industries. Mr. Recardo’s former clients include: Asea Brown Boveri, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Pennsylvania Power & Light, Pfizer, PPG Industries, Yale University, VNU, Lehigh Portland Cement, Schick Wilkinson Sword and Southern California Edison. His areas of expertise focus on strategic planning and merger integration, work redesign/operational improvement, human capital management and planning. Mr. Recardo is a published author of four books addressing corporate performance management, balanced scorecard methodology and organizational and executive team design as well as articles in professional journals.
Mr. Waldron is a Consulting Principal of Catalyst Consulting and most recently served as the Chief Talent Officer and Partner for Porter Novelli, a leading international public relations firm, where he led the firm’s knowledge development, organizational/leadership strategy, learning and human resources functions. Prior to Porter Novelli, he served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for APL Logistics, a global logistics technology company; VP-Human Resources for Starwood Hotels & Resorts; SVP-Human Resources for Young & Rubicam and Burson-Marsteller and international human resource positions with Chase Manhattan Bank and Salomon Brothers. Mr. Waldron has significant experience in the marketing communications, financial services, consumer products, travel and hospitality and logistics technology industries where he provided executive management and leadership development and human resources planning for organizations involved in acquisitions and divestitures, management transitions and IPOs.
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Senior management executive with over 30 years experience acting in the role of Chief Operating Officer, General Manager, EVP-International, VP-Sales and Board member for public and private companies in the $30MM to $750MM revenue range. Managed manufacturing operations in the US with international JV alliances, responsible for corporate and business development strategy, analyzed pricing strategy and product line/customer profitability and developed product marketing programs. Experience in the high performance material/advanced composite, microwave communication/radar systems, capital equipment distribution, plastics, packaging, ceramics and metals industrial markets in North and South America, Japan, India, Hong Kong and Europe.
Mr. Willams currently serves as the CEO of Entrepreneurial Resources Group (ERG), a 16-member management and business consulting firm focused on domestic and international public and privately-held companies seeking CEO, COO, CFO and sales/marketing resources and support. ERG provides operational performance improvement, M&A integration, strategic planning, transitional/turnaround and interim management, sales/marketing/pricing analysis, working capital/cash flow management and financial advisory services.
- Senior Executive positions at HK Porter Corp., Carborundum Corp., AB Electrolux, Keene Corp., Arlon Corp. and Kevlin Corp.
- BSME- Penn State University
- Advanced Study – University of Pittsburgh
- National Association of Corporate Directors Program
- Stryker Management Center Management Program
- Western Michigan University – International Marketing Program
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Senior management executives with over 25 years experience in assisting early stage and middle market businesses in developing business strategy and alliances, marketing new products and services, arranging growth capital financings, recruiting management personnel and advising the senior executive team. Messrs. Marks and Zink are the founders and principals of the Westchester Business Accelerator, a management and business consultancy serving the strategic/business planning, sales/marketing and financing needs of middle market companies primarily in the metro NY region.
Mr. Marks founded JDR Marketing, a direct marketing and telemarketing company serving Fortune 500 customers and sold the business to NCO Group. He has provided business mentoring services for early-stage companies and has assisted in the venture financing process frequently serving as an angel investor in seed-stage companies. Mr. Marks has a BSE- Economics from Rutgers University, Cook College.
Mr. Zink most recently served as Vice President of Yahoo! where he was responsible for East Coast operations including sales, strategic alliances and business development and successfully grew the region’s revenue base. Mr. Zink also served as a publisher of a number of magazines in the entertainment, travel and design industries as well as a worked with independent media organizations to develop new publications, software, trade shows, interactive services, television programs and other marketing services.
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