TOMAS BERGSTRAND
Tomas Bergstrand is the founder of Archipelago Ventures, LLC, a Boston-based private investment firm established in 2008. Archipelago Ventures serve as a vehicle for diversifying assets into privately held investments. Since its founding, Archipelago has made investments in search funds, search fund acquisitions and in select startup ventures in the United States and in Europe.
Prior to Archipelago Ventures, Tomas owned and managed a custom boat building business based in Massachusetts. He also served as chief financial officer at institutional brokerage Enskilda Securities, Inc in New York City and held operational positions for the Swedish banking group SEB in Singapore and the United States. Tomas holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree from Bryant University in Rhode Island.
BRAD BROWN
Brad Brown is a senior member of McKinsey & Company’s Business Technology Practice in North America and is a leader in McKinsey's Big Data and Digital practices. He also leads McKinsey's Center for Business Technology, the Firm's research arm on emerging technology trends. Brad holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Dartmouth College, and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.
THOMAS CASSUTT
Mr. Cassutt has made more than 130 investments in search funds. He is also the CFO of American Security Products, a leading manufacturer of high-security safes. From 1984 to 2011, Mr. Cassutt was Co-President of Nelson Nameplate Company, a manufacturer of membrane switches and product identification based in Los Angeles, California. From 1978 to 1984, he was the Controller of Bristol Corporation, the parent company of 10 manufacturing entities.
Mr. Cassutt currently sits on the boards of American Security Products, Columbia Sanitary Products, Dynamic Growth Dental, and Positive Coaching Alliance. He received a Bachelor of Physics Degree in 1982 from the University of California, Irvine, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate. In 1986, he received an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar and the recipient of the Alexander A. Robichek Award, given each year to the top student in finance.
DAVID DODSON
David Dodson is on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University teaching classes on entrepreneurship and managing growing enterprises. He also is the CEO of Project Healthy Children, a non-profit organization with five offices in Africa and Asia which focuses on micronutrient malnutrition. David has been active for fifteen years in the formation of new businesses through entrepreneurial acquisition. After graduating from the GSB, under the direction of Professor Irv Grousbeck, he wrote the original course material for search funds—then in its infancy. After one year as a case writer, David raised his own search fund, which led to the purchase of Smith Alarm Systems in 1989. He subsequently raised two more search funds to purchase an auto parts retailer and an environmental services firm. During this time, Mr. Dodson became an active investor in and board member of other search funds, investing in over thirty search funds. Mr. Dodson has been a director and investor in nineteen middle market companies. He is on the board of: U.S. Fund for UNICEF (Regional), Project Healthy Children, Penn Warranty, Wind River Environmental, Eyewitness Surveillance, Innflux LLC, and Carillon Assisted Living.
David Dodson currently divides his time between Stanford University and Project Healthy Children (a nonprofit enterprise with operations in Rwanda, Burundi, Nepal, Liberia and Malawi). He is also completing his first novel.
DAVID LAZIER
Mr. Lazier is a private investor who has made more than 130 investments in search funds. He is also the president of American Security Products, a leading manufacturer of high-security safes. From 1984 to 2011, Mr. Lazier served as Controller, Vice President of Sales and then Co-President of Nelson Nameplate Company, a manufacturer of membrane switches and product identification based in Los Angeles, California. From 1982 to 1984, he worked as an engineer for IBM Corporation.
Mr. Lazier currently sits on the boards of American Security Products, Columbia Sanitary Products, Datum Technologies, and Gogotech. He has previously served on the boards of Glendale Memorial Hospital Foundation, the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University.
TED MCCARTHY
Ted McCarthy has been an owner/operator of private companies since 1982. He is currently the owner, Chairman and CEO of Sensorex, a Southern California manufacturer of sensors used to measure water quality. Sensorex is a global provider of sensors to instrument manufacturers, distributors, catalogs and end users. Prior to purchasing a company, Mr. McCarthy worked for Citibank's consumer business in New York, Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles. He has served on the boards of several private companies and charitable organizations. He received a BSME from Villanova University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
MICHAEL MILES
Mr. Miles has 25 years of experience building, growing and operating recruiting businesses. In 1988, Michael co-founded SeatonCorp, a leading provider of recruiting, vendor-on-premise staffing and end-to-end supplier management solutions for strategic users of contingent labor. Michael currently serves as Chairman of the business, and under his leadership, SeatonCorp has grown from a staff of two to one of Crain’s “Largest Privately Held Companies” in Chicago, with more than 1,600 employees. SeatonCorp has achieved consistent, organic growth resulting in a 20%+ compounded annual growth rate over a 25-year period, earning more than $475 million in revenue during 2012. In 2010, Michael joined the private equity firm, Lake Capital, as an Operating Executive and currently oversees the firm’s investment in Addison Group. Michael is also a board member for Workplace Answers, InnFlux and CareerPlace. In 2012, Michael founded the Business StartUp Incubator educational program at Barrington High School.
He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Arizona State University.
JOSEPH NIEHAUS
Joseph Niehaus is currently a Managing Director with Housatonic Partners, a Boston based private equity fund with $1 billion in capital under management.
Mr. Niehaus was a Managing Director at Hellman & Friedman before joining Housatonic Partners in 2001. During his twelve-year career at Hellman & Friedman, he was involved in several of the firm's recurring services, media and communications investments including Eller Media, Falcon Cable, and Mitchell International. Earlier in his career, Mr. Niehaus was employed in the Merchant Banking and Mergers and Acquisitions departments at Morgan Stanley & Co.
Mr. Niehaus is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Harvard Business School. He is a Director of Aircraft Fasteners International, LLC; California Communications, LLC; Continental Fire & Safety Services, LLC; Convergent Broadcasting, LLC; HemaSource, Inc.; ResponseLink, LLC and South Florida Media Group, LLC.
GERALD RISK
Gerald Risk is an active entrepreneur and investor. He is Vice-Chairman of Asurion, the world’s leading provider of handset protection and other value added services to the wireless industry. He previously served as President and as CFO. Since joining Asurion in 1999, Gerald has been a key member of a management team that has grown the business 200-fold. Today, Asurion serves over 150 million consumers globally. Gerald is also an active private investor and currently serves on the board of a number of private companies.
Gerald holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. Gerald also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce with honors from Queen’s University in Canada where he was on the Dean’s list.
ANDREW SALTOUN
Andrew Saltoun is the President and CEO of Integra Partners, a New York-based durable medical equipment, prosthetics, and orthotics supplies benefit management company. Prior to joining Integra, Andrew was the managing partner of Duane Street Capital, a private investment firm. He has also held roles at Vestar Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs, & Co. Andrew has been successfully involved with numerous entrepreneurial growth companies, including Bonobos, New Media Learning, Second Time Around and Axial Markets. Andrew holds a Bachelor’s degree from Emory University and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
WILLIAM THORNDIKE
William Thorndike founded Housatonic Partners in Boston in 1994 and has been Managing Director since that time. Currently, Housatonic Partners manages over $1 billion in capital. Prior to that, Mr. Thorndike worked with T. Rowe Price Associates and Walker & Company, where he was named to the Board of Directors.
Mr. Thorndike is a graduate of Harvard College and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
He is a Director of Access Information Management; Alta Colleges; Continental Fire & Safety Services, LLC, Carillon Assisted Living, LLC; Liberty Towers, LLC; OASIS Group Ltd.; QMC International, LLC; White Flower Farm, Inc., a Trustee of Stanford Business School Trust, the College of the Atlantic (Chair) and a founding partner at FARM, a social impact investing collaborative. He is the author of The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success.
KENT WEAVER
Kent Weaver is Chairman and CEO of Progressive Home Care, a Northern California-based home health care agency. Previously, Kent held executive positions for KnowledgeLINK, a venture-backed technology services company that enables channel marketing process management. Prior to this, he served as regional CFO and business analyst in Pepsico's Pizza Hut Division. Kent began his career with Ernst & Young. Kent received his MBA from UCLA and a BS from the University of Southern California.