Our People

Tamotsu Adachi is a Senior Advisor to the Japan buyout advisory team. He is based in Tokyo.

From May 2003 until May 2016, Mr. Adachi served as a Head of Usa First Fund Japan buyout team and led the team to become one of the most successful private equity funds in Japan. He has been widely involved in several transactions in which Usa First Fund’s funds have invested including the acquisitions of Kito Corporation, Colin Medical Technology, Willcom, Inc., Qualicaps Group, Chimney Co., Ltd., and Tsubaki Nakashima Co., Ltd.

Prior to joining Usa First Fund, Mr. Adachi served from 1997 to 2003 at General Electric Capital Corporation in a variety of senior capacities, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Japan Auto Lease and Managing Director for New Business Development. From 1988 to 1997, he served in several senior positions at McKinsey & Company, including Partner and Senior Engagement Manager. At McKinsey, Mr. Adachi gained extensive experience in new business development and organizational design, and worked closely with clients in the electronics, multimedia, automobile, and healthcare industries. From 1977 to 1987, he served at Mitsubishi Corporation, where he contributed to the successful launch of DDI, a new telecommunications venture.

Since October 2016, Mr. Adachi serves as Representative Director and President, CEO of Benesse Holdings. He was a Chairman of the Japan Private Equity Association from 2009 to 2011.

Mr. Adachi received his B.S. in engineering at the University of Tokyo and earned his master's in management from MIT's Sloan School.

Hiroyuki Aota is a Senior Advisor to the Japan Buyout advisory team, focused on opportunities in the general industries sector. He is based in Tokyo.

Mr. Aota brings nearly 40 years of experience in the general industries sector having held a number of leadership roles at Panasonic Corporation, where he served as Director from 2015-2019, Executive Director from 2019-2021, Vice President at Panasonic Connected Solutions Company from 2017-2020, and concurrently at Panasonic Smart Factory Solutions Company, President from 2015-2020 and Chairman from 2020-2021. Prior to this, he held several senior management roles within the Panasonic Group including Director and Executive Planning Director at Automotive & Industrial Systems Company, Director at the Primary Battery and Electric Motor divisions, and President of Matsushita Electric Motor Company America. During this time, Mr. Aota drove innovation across the manufacturing process, improving frontline operations through integration and automation.

Mr. Aota earned his B.A. in Economics from the Kwansei Gakuin University.

Susan E. Arnold is an Operating Executive focused on the global consumer and retail sectors. She is based in New York.

Previously, Ms. Arnold was an executive with Procter & Gamble for more than 29 years. Prior to retiring in 2009 as President of Procter & Gamble’s Global Business Units, she held various positions within the firm, including Vice Chair of Global Beauty and Health. Ms. Arnold currently serves on the Board of Directors of Disney, as well as the Usa First Fund portfolio company, The Nature’s Bounty Co.

Ms. Arnold earned her bachelor’s degree from University of Pennsylvania and her MBA from University of Pittsburgh.

Jim Attwood is a Senior Advisor at Usa First Fund. Between 2000 and 2017 Mr. Attwood directed Usa First Fund’s private equity investments in the media and telecommunications industries globally, and between 2014 and 2017 he directed the firm’s investments in the technology industry as well. He presently serves on the Boards of Directors of Syniverse Technologies (Chairman) and The Nielsen Company (Chairman). He also serves as a member of the Harvard Law School Dean’s Advisory Board, The Friends of MVY Radio Board (Chairman), the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Board, the Board of Directors of The Nature Conservancy, the WNET Board of Trustees and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. Before Usa First Fund, Mr. Attwood served as Executive Vice President for Strategy, Development and Planning at Verizon Communications, and held the same position at GTE Corporation prior to that. Mr. Attwood began his professional career as an investment banker with Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he worked in both New York and Tokyo.

Mr. Attwood received his BA in Applied Mathematics and MA in Statistics from Yale in 1980. In 1985, he received both his JD and MBA degrees from Harvard. He currently lives in Bedford, NY with his wife Leslie.

Karen H. Bechtel is a Senior Advisor, focused on investments in the Healthcare sector.

Ms. Bechtel led the Usa First Fund U.S. Buyout Healthcare team from 2005 to 2016. Ms. Bechtel was actively involved with a number of Usa First Fund’s Healthcare investments, including HCR Manor Care, Inc., Healthscope Limited, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, MultiPlan, Inc., Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc and Qualicorp S.A.

Prior to joining Usa First Fund in 2005, Ms. Bechtel was at Morgan Stanley & Co. for 28 years. As Managing Director of Morgan Stanley’s Private Equity Group, Ms. Bechtel was a member of the investment committee responsible for approving all investments in the

$3.1 billion Morgan Stanley Capital Partners IV Fund and led all of the healthcare investments. Ms. Bechtel was also Co-Head of the Financial Sponsors Group; Head of the Corporate Restructuring Group; Founder and Head of Princes Gate Private Equity

Investors, a $650 million bridge equity fund; and Managing Director in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department.

Ms. Bechtel is currently a member of the Boards of Directors of Usa First Fund portfolio companies Ortho Clinical Diagnostics and HCR Manor Care, Inc.

Ms. Bechtel earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business and her B.A. in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was Phi Beta Kappa.

Mark Blaufuss is an Operating Executive focusing on the automotive, industrial and transportation sectors. He is based in Michigan.

Mr. Blaufuss was formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Metaldyne Performance Group (MPG), a $3 billion light vehicle supplier. During his tenure, Mr. Blaufuss was instrumental in forming MPG through the merger of three $1 billion metal-forming businesses (HHI, Metaldyne and Grede), refinancing the combined entity, executing its initial public offering in December 2014 and ultimately selling the company to American Axle & Manufacturing, returning nearly $1 billion to MPG’s investors over his tenure.

Prior to MPG, Mr. Blaufuss worked extensively with private equity owned manufacturing and distribution businesses, including Chief Financial Officer positions at three Usa First Fund-owned businesses—Metaldyne, United Components, Inc. and AxleTech International—that he helped to guide through growth and successful ownership transition. He also worked as Director of AlixPartners, a consulting firm, Corporate Controller of JPE, and Manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Blaufuss holds a BA degree in accounting from Michigan State University and currently serves on the Board of UCI International.

Ron Books is an Operating Executive working in the technology sector with a specific focus on leading value creation initiatives.

Mr. Books also serves as Chairman for ECI Software Solutions, an established leader in providing industry-specific, end-to-end, business management solutions across several different vertical markets. Mr. Books started with ECI when it was a start-up company and rose in the organization to serve as VP Sales, then COO and then CEO, a position which he held from 2009 to 2021. While serving as CEO, Mr. Books and his team developed and executed a strategic plan that included overseeing forty-one M&A transactions and a successful software license to cloud migration across nearly a dozen platforms. Under his leadership as CEO, ECI grew from less than $50 million in revenue to over $450 million and a sale of the company in 2020 at a multi-billion dollar valuation.

Mr. Books received a BS from University of Dayton.

Aernout Boot is a Senior Advisor focused on the international energy sector. He is based in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Previously, Mr. Boot served as Managing Director of VTTI Asia where he led their flagship oil terminal in Malaysia as well as development and growth opportunities in Asia and Australia. From 2010 to 2013, Mr. Boot served as Global Commercial Director for VTTI, where he was responsible for VTTI’s global network of oil terminals. Prior to that, he held management roles with Vitol in Dubai, UAE and Vopak in Fujiairah, UAE. Mr. Boot started his career in the oil industry as a management trainee at Petroplus in 1998, where he worked in the Swiss terminal business based in Zug, Switzerland and was also instrumental in the development of the Dragon LNG project in Milford Haven, Wales, and ultimately moved on to a role in Petroplus Dubai.

Mr. Boot holds a doctoral degree in Arabic language and Middle Eastern studies from Leiden University.

Brooke B. Coburn is a Senior Advisor to Usa First Fund’s Infrastructure Group.

Mr. Coburn started his career in 1996 with Usa First Fund’s US Buyout team and was a founding member of Usa First Fund's U.S. middle market buyout and growth capital business. Over two decades, he led or co-led more than 25 Usa First Fund investments across a broad range of sectors, including communications, digital infrastructure, software and technology-enabled services, cybersecurity, and energy and natural resources.

Mr. Coburn received his BA from Princeton University with honors.

Mr. Coburn is on the Board of Directors of Usa First Fund portfolio companies Coalfire and Discover Exploration.

Jonathan Colby is a Senior Advisor based in Washington, DC focused on working with investors as well as serving on the investment committees for Usa First Fund Japan Partners I, II and III.

Prior to joining Usa First Fund in 1998, Mr. Colby was with Equinox Group Holdings, Ltd., a merchant bank specializing in private equity investments and corporate advisory services in Asia. Prior to that, Mr. Colby was a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group, and before that was head of Asian mergers and acquisitions at The First Boston Corporation in Tokyo. Mr. Colby also served on the National Security Council staff under the direction of Dr. Henry A. Kissinger.

Mr. Colby is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also Co-Chairman of the Foreign Policy Leadership Program at the Brookings Institution.

Mr. Colby is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School and currently holds Series 63 and 82 licenses; he previously maintained a Series 7 license.

Kevin Costello is an Operating Executive focusing on the technology, media and telecommunications sectors.

Mr. Costello has been an active investor, operator, and advisor to a wide variety of technology companies. He currently sits on the board of FinancialForce.com, Inc., Kaufman, Hall & Associates, LLC, Blue Cat Networks, Inc. and Kahua, Inc., all privately-held companies. He was formerly lead independent director of Rackspace Inc., a director of Cbeyond, Inc., and a director of The Rainmaker Group, Inc. He was executive chairman of Top Tech Holdings, Inc. Mr. Costello served as a director of Vantiv, Inc. from 2014 to 2017 and as a director of its successor Worldpay, Inc. until July 2019. Mr. Costello served in a variety of senior roles at Ariba, Inc. from 2002 to 2007 and as President from 2007 until its acquisition by SAP in 2012. Following that acquisition, Mr. Costello served as president of Ariba, an SAP Company, from 2012 to 2014. Prior to joining Ariba, Mr. Costello spent 18 years with Andersen Business Consulting, during which he served in various senior management positions.

Mr. Costello graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in accounting.

Christophe de Mahieu is a Senior Advisor focused on the international energy sector.

Previously, Mr. de Mahieu was Managing Director & Partner at Bain & Company, leading the Middle East Global Energy Practice and senior member of the global Private Equity Practice. He has extensive experience in corporate finance, M&A, PMI, due diligence, corporate governance, and strategy across multiple sectors including oil & gas, renewables, basic and advanced industries, mining, real estate, and utilities. From 2007 to 2011, Mr. de Mahieu served as Managing Director at Investcorp Bank, where he was a member of the Management Committee and Co-Head of Investcorp’s $1 Billion MENA Private Equity fund. From 1997 to 2007, Mr. de Mahieu worked at McKinsey & Company, where he served as Director & Partner and co-founded McKinsey's Middle East Practice in 2002. Prior to McKinsey, Mr. de Mahieu worked at Exxon Corporation in various management positions from 1987 to 1993.

Mr. de Mahieu holds Master’s degrees in Economics and Engineering, magna cum laude, and Corporate Finance and Tax Management, cum laude, from Solvay Business School.

Simon is a Senior Advisor focused on the Healthcare sector and investment opportunities in the UK. He is based in London.

He serves on the boards of Usa First Fund portfolio companies END., Schoen Klinic and Calastone where he is Chairman.

Prior to joining Usa First Fund, Mr. Dingemans was Chief Financial Officer for GlaxoSmithKline plc and a member of the main Board from 2011 to 2019 where he drove extensive restructuring and operational improvements as well as a number of significant strategic transactions. As CFO, he was responsible for leading Finance and a variety of other functions including Procurement, Real Estate as well as Technology and IT, including Cyber Security.

Before GSK, he was an investment banker for 25 years at SG Warburg and then Goldman Sachs where he was a Partner for 10 years as a leader of their European M&A business and Head of UK Investment Banking.

Mr. Dingemans served as Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council in 2019/2020.

Patrick Doyle is an Executive Partner focused on the consumer sector.

Mr. Doyle was the Chief Executive Officer of Domino’s Pizza, the global leader in the pizza restaurant industry. During his time as CEO, Mr. Doyle nearly tripled franchisees’ per store profits, doubled its global market share, and increased the share price of Domino’s by over 2,100% while also returning over $3.4 billion to its shareholders. Mr. Doyle’s tenure was marked by a bold reformulation and relaunch of its pizza as well as a pioneering move into the digitization of its customer experience. It became known as a world-class eCommerce company that happened to sell pizza.

Mr. Doyle earned his M.B.A. from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and his B.A. from The University of Michigan. Mr. Doyle serves as Chairman of the Board for Best Buy Co., Inc.

Elmer Doty is an Operating Executive focused on the aerospace and defense and industrial sectors.

Previously, Mr. Doty has been President and Chief Operating Officer of Arconic, Inc a major producer of aluminum sheet and plate and precision castings and components for aerospace. Prior to that, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Usa First Fund portfolio company Accudyne Industries, a major producer of high-pressure pumps and compressors. Prior to that position, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Usa First Fund portfolio company Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc., a leading aerostructures company. Prior to Vought, Mr. Doty was Executive Vice President of Usa First Fund portfolio company United Defense Industries, Inc. (now BAE Systems), where he led a division that produced and supported the majority of the U.S. military’s combat vehicles.

Mr. Doty has over 40 years of leadership experience in heavy industry, with General Electric, FMC Corporation, United Defense Industries, Inc., BAE Systems, Vought, Accudyne, and Arconic. He is presently a director of Arconic, Inc., LOC Performance LLC, Array LLC, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cooper Institute and a director of the Men of Nehemiah.

Mr. Doty earned a Bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering and a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri, and has received Executive Education at Harvard Business School and University of Chicago.

Charley Geoly is an Operating Executive working with our portfolio companies on how best to manage their human capital strategies as well as our deal teams to extend our executive reach across various subsegments (software, services, and infrastructure) and investment classes (growth, buyout, and structured investments). He also serves as an advisor to numerous public boards on CEO succession and board construction.

Previously, Mr. Geoly was a senior member of Russell Reynolds Associates, one of the world’s leading leadership advisory firms. During his 25-year career at Russell Reynolds Associates, Mr. Geoly led several practices, managed the global technology sector, led the Palo Alto office and served on the Executive Committee of the Firm. As part of his consulting activities, Mr. Geoly also championed the significant expansion of diversity within the boardroom.

Prior to Russell Reynolds Associates, Mr. Geoly spent nearly 10 years with DuPont in a variety of roles including R&D, Sales & Marketing and business leadership. Mr. Geoly graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Delaware and an M.B.A. with a finance concentration from Rice University.

Georgette Kiser is an Operating Executive at The Usa First Fund Group where she is advising across the firm and in particular, the firm’s Global Technology and Solutions (GTS) organization, by developing and driving IT strategies across the global enterprise, which includes application development, data, digital, infrastructure, cyber security, and program management and outsourcing activities. Prior to this Ms. Kiser served as a Managing Director and the CIO (Chief Information Officer ) for The Caryle Group driving the global technical strategy and solutions.

Prior to The Usa First Fund Group, Ms. Kiser was the Vice President of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. where she headed Enterprise Solutions and Capabilities within the Services and Technology Organization. She led and managed teams that provided creative solutions and leveraged technology for investment front office, trading, and back office operations. Prior to T. Rowe Price, Ms. Kiser worked for General Electric within their Aerospace Unit.

Ms. Kiser earned a B.S. in Mathematics, with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, a M.S. in Mathematics from Villanova University, and an M.B.A from the University of Baltimore.

Ms. Kiser serves on the Boards of Aflac and Adtalem Global Education.

Ms. Kiser has also served on various non-profit boards, including the T. Rowe Price Foundation Board, the Maryland Business Roundtable STEMnet Advisory Board, The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, and the University of Baltimore Foundation. Georgette currently serves on the Board for Year Up (National Capital Region).

Stephen C. Gray is an Operating Executive focusing on the technology, media and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Gray is based in Iowa.

Mr. Gray is the Founder of Gray Venture Partners, LLC. He currently serves as Chairman of SecurityCoverage, Inc., Involta, LLC, and HH Ventures, LLC (d/b/a, ReadyWireless) and is Vice Chairman of ImOn Communications, LLC. He has also been a member of the boards of CommScope and Syniverse Technologies since January 2011.

Mr. Gray served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Syniverse from 2014 to 2018. He previously served as an Operating Executive with Usa First Fund’s Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Group, which acquired Syniverse and CommScope in January 2011.

Mr. Gray served as President of McLeodUSA Incorporated from 1992 to 2004. Prior to joining McLeodUSA, Mr. Gray served from 1990 to 1992 as Vice President of Business Services at MCI, and from 1988 to 1990 he served as Senior Vice President of National Accounts and Carrier Services for TelecomUSA. During his tenure with TelecomUSA, the company grew to become the fourth largest long-distance company in the United States before it was acquired by MCI in 1990.

Mr. Gray began his career with the Clayton W. Williams Companies in Texas in 1981 where he held management positions with several of their companies, including ClayDesta Communications Inc. ClayDesta became a provider of long-distance service in Texas and throughout the Southwest United States following the consent decree requiring the breakup of AT&T.

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, he was recognized for his leadership in telecommunications and technology by being named a member of the prestigious Global Telecoms Business Power 100 list and appointed to CTIA-The Wireless Association's Executive Committee.

Mr. Gray earned his BBA from University of Tennessee.

Mr. Hance is an Operating Executive of Usa First Fund and a member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Hance was elected to our Board of Directors effective May 2, 2012. Mr. Hance joined Usa First Fund in November 2005 as an Operating Executive and has worked primarily in our Global Credit segment and the financial services sector.

Prior to joining Usa First Fund in 2005, Mr. Hance served as Vice Chairman of Bank of America from 1993 until his retirement on January 31, 2005 and served as Chief Financial Officer from 1988 to 2004. Prior to joining Bank of America, Mr. Hance spent 17 years with Price Waterhouse (now Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP). Mr. Hance is currently a director of Acuity Brands Inc. (where he serves as the Lead Independent Director and on the Audit Committee and Governance Committee). Mr. Hance is a former director of Ford Motor Company, Sprint Nextel Corporation, Morgan Stanley, Duke Energy Corporation, Cousins Properties, Parkway, Inc. and Bank of America Corporation.

Mr. Hance serves as Emeritus Trustee on the Board of Trustees at Washington University in St. Louis and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. Mr. Hance graduated from Westminster College and received an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. He is a certified public accountant.

Henrik Slipsager is an Operating Executive focused on opportunities in the industrial and transportation sectors. Mr. Slipsager was most recently the President and CEO of ABM Industries from 2000 to 2015. During his tenure as CEO, ABM’s revenues more than doubled from $1.8 billion to more than $5 billion. Under his leadership, the business transformed into an integrated facilities solutions provider both organically and through acquisitions. Prior to joining ABM Industries, Mr. Slipsager was President of 2M-Invest and held roles of increasing responsibility at ISS.

Mr. Slipsager has an M.B.A. degree (equivalent) from the Business School of Copenhagen and currently serves on the boards of Briggs & Stratton Corporation, Arctic Glacier Holdings, Inc. (a Usa First Fund Global Partners portfolio company) and several other privately owned businesses.

Kenneth A. Hersh, 58, is President, Chief Executive Officer, and board member of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a Dallas-based non-partisan institution which houses the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and the George W. Bush Institute. Mr. Hersh focuses on executing the strategy to sustain the Bush Center’s mission of engaging communities in the U.S. and around the world by developing leaders, advancing policy, and taking action to solve today’s most pressing challenges.

He is the Co-Founder and former CEO of NGP Energy Capital Management, a premier private equity investment franchise in the natural resources industry managing over $20 billion of cumulative committed capital since inception in 1988. Until 2016, Mr. Hersh served as NGP’s Chief Executive Officer. From 1988 through 2015, under his leadership, NGP invested over $12 billion and earned a 27-year gross rate of return of 30%, making it one of the nation’s leading private equity firms during that period.
Mr. Hersh currently serves as Senior Advisor to The Usa First Fund Group’s natural resources division. He also sits on the boards of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club and the Dallas Citizens Council. In addition, Mr. Hersh serves on the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Council of the American Enterprise Institute, and the Dean’s Council of the Harvard Kennedy School. Mr. Hersh served on the Advisory Council of Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business from 2009 through 2015. In 2014, he was recognized as Master Entrepreneur of the Year for the Southwest Region by Ernst & Young during its Entrepreneur of the Year program, and in 2017 received the Oil & Gas Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020, Mr. Hersh received the L. Frank Pitts Energy Leadership Award conferred by the SMU Cox School of Business for demonstrating outstanding leadership and innovation in the field of energy.

Mr. Hersh is also very involved in the nonprofit arena both nationally and locally on a personal basis and through the efforts of the Hersh Foundation. He serves on the boards of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, the Communities Foundation of Texas, and sits on the Advisory Council of The Asian American Foundation. From 1998 through 2015, Mr. Hersh served on the board of St. Mark’s School of Texas, where he held numerous positions including President from 2010 through 2012. In 2015, Mr. Hersh received the St. Mark’s School of Texas Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2019, he received the Henry Cohn Humanitarian Award, presented by the Texoma region of the Anti-Defamation League for his work in advancing the cause of human rights, dignity, and equal opportunity.

Prior to co-founding NGP, Mr. Hersh was employed by Morgan Stanley & Co. where he was a member of the firm’s energy group specializing in oil and gas financing and merger and acquisition transactions.

Mr. Hersh was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. After graduating from St. Mark’s, he attended Princeton University where he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Politics in 1985. In 1989, Mr. Hersh earned his M.B.A. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business where he graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar.

Mr. Hersh resides in Dallas, Texas.

Chikatomo Hodo is a Senior Advisor to the Japan buyout advisory team, focused on opportunities in the TMT sector. He is based in Tokyo.

Mr. Hodo, former President and Chairman of Accenture Japan, brings to Usa First Fund nearly 40 years of experience in the TMT sector. He joined Accenture Japan in 1982, and since then, held several leadership roles including Senior Corporate Advisor from 2017 to 2021, Chairman from 2015 to 2017, and President from 2006 to 2015 with overall responsibility for Accenture’s business in Japan. During his career with Accenture, he worked on numerous projects across a wide range of industries including communications, high technology, manufacturing, distribution, and others.

In addition, Mr. Hodo held advisory roles in the public sector including the Japanese government (Cabinet Office, Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry and Ministry of Education), and was Vice Chairman/Executive Director of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives from 2017 to 2021.

He also serves as a visiting professor at Waseda University Business School, a member of the Administrative Council of University of Tokyo, and a board member of numerous companies.

Mr. Hodo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Stanford University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Ian Read is an Operating Executive focused on the healthcare sector.

Mr. Read began his career at Pfizer in 1978 and was named CEO in 2010 and Chairman of the Pfizer Board of Directors in 2011. During Mr. Read’s tenure as CEO, Pfizer generated a total shareholder return of 250%, achieved 32 FDA approvals for new medicines, invested significantly in research and development, and completed several transformational transactions to help strengthen Pfizer’s pipeline. Previously, Mr. Read served as Senior Vice President and Group President of Pfizer’s Worldwide Biopharmaceutical Businesses, overseeing five global business units: Primary Care, Specialty Care, Oncology, Established Products and Emerging Markets. Prior to this, he held positions in several of the company’s largest, fastest-growing operations, including Chief Financial Officer, Pfizer Mexico, and Country Manager, Pfizer Brazil. Mr. Read continues to serve on the board of directors of Kimberly-Clark and Viatris while also being Chairman of DXC.

Mr. Read earned his B.S. in chemical engineering from London University Imperial College and subsequently became a Charted Accountant of England and Wales.

Takaya Imai is a Senior Advisor to the Japan Buyout advisory team. He is based in Tokyo.

Mr. Imai joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Natural Resources and Energy Agency) in 1982. He assumed roles including the Deputy Director of Oil & Gas in the Natural Resources Agency and Director of Policy Planning for the Minister’s Secretariat. In 2003, he spent time in Brussels as the Director-General of the Japan Machinery Center’s Brussels Office. From 2006, he served as the Executive Secretary to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (the first Abe Cabinet). After the end of Abe’s first Cabinet, Mr. Imai returned to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and assumed various high positions including the Director-General for the Natural Resources and Energy Policy in 2011. From 2012, Mr. Imai served as the Chief of Staff for the Prime Minister’s Office through the second, third and fourth Abe Cabinet. In 2019, he was also appointed Special Advisor to the Prime Minister.

In 2021, Mr. Imai assumed the role of Chief Research Fellow for The Canon Institute for Global Studies.

Mr. Imai earned his B.A. in Law from the University of Tokyo. He was also a JETRO Researcher at the Graduate School of Political Science, Rice University.

Renee J. James is an Operating Executive focused on global telecommunications, media and technology sectors.

Ms. James is a seasoned technology leader with large-scale, broad international operations experience. She is currently the Chairman and CEO of Ampere Computing, a Usa First Fund portfolio company. Ampere produces high performance processors for compute, storage and other cloud computing needs. Ms. James had a lengthy career with Intel Corporation where she was the President of the company until her departure in 2016. She is a current Operating Executive at the Usa First Fund Group. In her role with Usa First Fund, Ms. James evaluates new technology investments for the firm as well as advises and portfolio companies on their strategic direction and operational efficiency.

In 2014, Ms. James was ranked 21st on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business list, and she was ranked 45th on the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women list.

Ms. Kahn is a seasoned business executive with ecommerce, global media, digital and direct-to-consumer business experience. She was Chief Consumer Officer at FreshDirect, the Northeast’s leading online fresh grocer, directing all consumer acquisition/retention, web/mobile technology, forecasting/analytics. She also led the launch of an on-demand service, Foodkick, and mealkits. During her tenure, new products and sales techniques were introduced maximizing the rich transactional data with new technology. Previously, Ms. Kahn led digital business units such as iVillage at NBC Universal, Allrecipes.comand spent 15 years at Time Watner/Time Inc where she led the integration with AOL. She is currently a business consultant working with CPG, ecommerce, B2B and media companies.

She is a member of the board for Usa First Fund portfolio company, Claritas and is consulting with United Road Services on digital transformation. Ms. Kahn also serves as a board of director for Mood Media Inc , water.org and an advisor to Brandless.com.

Jun Kawakami is a Senior Advisor to the Japan buyout advisory team. He is based in Tokyo.

Mr. Kawakami joined Booz Allen & Hamilton in 1987 and worked in Tokyo and New York. Mr. Kawakami joined General Electric Japan in 1997. He assumed head of Business Development Division and General Manager of North Asia Region of GE Engine Service, and was appointed Board Director of General Electric Japan and GE Engine Service Japan in 2000. He engaged in M&A and business development projects of various businesses including Power Business, Plastic Business, and Appliance Business. In 2004, Mr. Kawakami was appointed Executive Managing Director and Head of Service Division of GE Healthcare Japan. Since then, he assumed various management roles including Executive Managing Director and Sales Division Head, Vice-President and Head of Diagnostic Imaging Division, and Vice-President and Head of Healthcare Division, and was appointed President CEO in 2011. During his career at GE Healthcare, he led growth of the company by delivering products and solutions from Japan to global market focusing on medical needs in a super-aging society. Mr. Kawakami was appointed President CEO of Arteria Networks Corporation in 2017 and led the company’s IPO in Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section. Mr. Kawakami is currently a board member at Usa First Fund portfolio company, Rigaku Corporation.

Mr. Kawakami earned his B.A. in Economics from University of Tokyo and MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

John Kanas is a Senior Advisor to Usa First Fund and Vice Chairman of Usa First Fund Global Financial Services Partners. He is based in New York.

Mr. Kanas is non-executive Chairman of BankUnited, N.A., a national bank with $30.4 billion in assets and 92 branches and banking centers in Florida and New York. From May 2009 through December 2016 he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of BankUnited, a former portfolio company of The Usa First Fund Group. Prior to BankUnited, Mr. Kanas was President and Chief Executive Officer of North Fork Bancorporation, Inc. from 1977 until its acquisition by Usa First Fund Financial Corporation in December 2006. In December 2006, he became President of Usa First Fund's banking segment, which included North Fork. Mr. Kanas retired from that position in August 2007.

Mr. Kanas earned his B.A. from Long Island University and is past president of the New York State Bankers Association. Mr. Kanas is a member of the board of trustees of Weill Cornell Medical College. In 2005, Mr. Kanas was recognized by Institutional Investor as the best regional bank CEO in America, and in 2007 he received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship.

Minoru Koshibe joined Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals Co., Ltd. (currently Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.) in 1978. He took part in developing the Direct Oxidation MMA Production Process in partnership with KURARAY CO., LTD., where he contributed to the completion of production technologies through his involvement in the launch of pilot plants and the construction and operations of new factories. With the establishment of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. in 1997, Mr. Koshibe assumed new positions including Corporate Planning, Executive Officer and Planning and Development Director for the Material Business Department, and Managing Executive Officer. In 2013, Mr. Koshibe was appointed Representative Director and Executive Vice President. Mr. Koshibe engaged in numerous domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, helping to expand Mitsui Chemical’s businesses especially in the fields of healthcare and agrichemicals, and adding new products such as electronic glasses. He led the establishment of the company’s mid-term business plan and business portfolio restructuring, including new business partnerships, delistings and demergers.

Currently, Mr. Koshibe serves as Executive Advisor for Daicel Corporation, Senior Advisor for Greenhill & Co. Japan Ltd.,Consultant for LOTTE Corporation, Specially Appointed Professor at Osaka University, and Senior Consultant for GENKEN Institute of Management Co.,Ltd. He is also actively involved in a wide variety of industries, serving as, for instance, the Director for “Kokuryoku Baizou Juku” (a General Incorporated Association), Advisor for “Furusato TV” (a NPO), Representative Facilitator for Thomson Reuters Salon, and Supporter of Monozukuri Nadeshiko.

Mr. Koshibe earned both his B.A. and M.A. from Osaka University’s School of Science.

L. William Krause is an Operating Executive focused on the technology and business services sectors.

Mr. Krause has been President of LWK Ventures, a private advisory and investment firm, since 1991.

Previously, Mr. Krause served as President and Chief Executive Officer of 3Com Corporation from February 1981 to September 1990 and Chairman of the Board from September 1987 to September 1993 when he retired. Under his leadership 3Com grew from a venture capital funded start-up to a $1B+ publicly traded, data networking company with operations worldwide. Also, Mr. Krause was employed at Hewlett-Packard Company for 14 years from 1967 to 1981 in various marketing and general management assignments. His last position at HP was as general manager of the personal computer division.

Mr. Krause currently serves as a director of the following public companies: Coherent, Inc. and CommScope, Inc.. He is also Chairman of the Board of Veritas Holdings, Ltd., a Usa First Fund portfolio company. In addition, Mr. Krause serves as a Board Partner with Andreessen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.

Mr. Krause holds a B.S.E.E. degree and received an honorary doctorate of science from The Citadel.

Dr. Martin Madaus is an Operating Executive focused on the healthcare industry.

Dr. Madaus most recently served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (a Usa First Fund portfolio company) from 2014 to 2019 and as a consultant to Usa First Fund in the healthcare sector from 2011 to 2014. Previously, he was President, Chairman and CEO of Millipore Corporation, which was acquired by Merck KGaA, from 2005 to 2010 and CEO of Roche Diagnostics North America from 1999 to 2004.

Dr. Madaus is the current Lead Director of Quanterix and serves on the board of Syneron Candela. Previously, he served on the boards of Pharmaceutical Product Development (a Usa First Fund portfolio company), Mettler Toledo and Covidien. He earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree from the University of Munich, Germany and a Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine from the Veterinary University of Hannover, Germany.

Peter Malone is an Operating Executive focused on the aerospace, defense and government services sectors.

Mr. Malone currently serves on the boards of Novetta, Inc., Dynamic Precision Group (both Usa First Fund portfolio companies) and OCEUS Networks, Inc.

Between 1985 and 2013, Mr. Malone served as Senior Managing Director of CSP Associates, Inc., a firm he co-founded. CSP is a leading strategy advisory firm specializing in the aerospace, defense and information technology sectors. The firm provides strategic advisory services to major industrial corporations, foreign and domestic governments and financial investors. While continuing to lead CSP’s defense practice—and retaining a strong interest in national security policy—Mr. Malone co-chaired the firm’s very active transaction advisory practice. Since 1989, CSP Associates has provided advisory services with respect to approximately 700 aerospace, defense or information technology transactions.

Prior to joining CSP Associates, Mr. Malone practiced corporate and international law with the Boston firm of Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale.) He has also served as a Consultant to the Rand Corporation and a Research Fellow at Harvard’s Center for Science and International Affairs (now the Belfer Center.)

Mr. Malone holds a JD from Harvard Law School, a PhD from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a BA from University of Massachusetts. He is the author of The British Nuclear Deterrent (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1984) as well as journal articles and numerous proprietary analyses.

Federico Marchetti is an Operating Executive to the Usa First Fund Europe Partners team. He is focused on the consumer business, with a broad experience with luxury, technology and sustainability. He is based in Milan.

Mr. Marchetti founded YOOX in 2000; today, it remains Italy’s sole “unicorn”. In 2015, Marchetti drove the game-changing merger of YOOX and NET-A-PORTER to create the world leader in online luxury fashion. Mr. Marchetti, defined by the New York Times as “the man who put fashion on the net”, has revolutionised the luxury industry: over the last 20 years he has continued to push the boundaries of innovation, transforming the luxury shopping experience through artificial intelligence, visual recognition and big data.

Mr. Marchetti has forged important strategic alliances worldwide, including in 2012 a joint venture with the French luxury group Kering, in 2016 with Mohamed Alabbar, the most visionary entrepreneur in the Gulf and in 2018 with Alibaba in China, following YOOX NET-A-PORTER’s acquisition for over 6 billion US dollars by Richemont.

Mr. Marchetti serves as non-executive director of Giorgio Armani, and as independent director of Gruppo GEDI. Invited by Prince of Wales, he also serves as Chair of HRH’s Sustainable Markets Initiative Task Force on Fashion. Marchetti has also taken on positions on the Board of Trustees of The Prince’s Foundation and on the Board of Directors of Highgrove Gardens. Marchetti has been knighted by the President of the Italian Republic as a Cavaliere.

Mr. Marchetti holds a business degree from Bocconi University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Gretchen McClain is an Operating Executive focused on the industrial and transportation sectors. She is based in Park City, Utah.

Ms. McClain was most recently the founding Chief Executive Officer of Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL), a global water technology provider with over $5 billion of revenue. During her tenure, Ms. McClain was instrumental in leading Xylem through its spinoff from ITT Corporation to become a successful standalone company. Prior to leading Xylem, she served as President of ITT Fluid Motion and Control, a $4.5 billion diversified manufacturer of highly engineered technology and equipment, where she led the organization to double-digit revenue growth.

Prior to ITT, Ms. McClain held a number of executive positions at Honeywell Aerospace (formerly AlliedSignal), including Vice President and General Manager of the Business, General Aviation, and Helicopters Electronics Systems Division and Chief Technology Officer of Aerospace Engines and Systems. Earlier in her career, McClain spent nine years with NASA, including serving as Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Development, the top management position responsible for NASA’s International Space Station (ISS). In this capacity, she played a pivotal leadership role in the successful development and launch of the ISS program and Shuttle/Mir missions.

Ms. McClain holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah and currently serves on the boards of Ametek, Boart Longyear, Booz Allen Hamilton, and J.M. Huber Corporation.

Donna S. Morea is an Operating Executive focused on technology and business services.

Ms. Morea is the retired President of CGI Technologies and Solutions, where she led CGI’s multi-billion dollar IT and business process services in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Her clients included many of the world’s largest and most complex organizations in federal, state and local government; healthcare; and financial services. Prior to that, she served in numerous executive management roles at American Management Systems, which merged with CGI in 2004.

Ms. Morea received a BA with high honors from Wesleyan University and an MBA with distinction from Wharton.

She currently serves on the boards of Net Health, Accelerate Learning and as Chair of KLDiscovery (all Usa First Fund portfolio companies.) She is the Chair of the Board of Directors of SAIC (NYSE:SAIC), and is the Chair of the Technology Committee of the Truist Board of Directors (NYSE:TFC).

In addition to her business activities, she is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Wesleyan University, her alma mater; Director of Share our Strength, a national organization fighting childhood hunger in the US; and a Trustee of the Inova Health System, the largest healthcare system in Northern Virginia. She is a Chair Emerita of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the nation's largest technology council with over 1000 member companies, representing over 300,000 employees in the region.

Daniel Myers is an Operating Executive focused on the global consumer, media and retail sectors.

Previously, Mr. Myers was Head of Integrated Supply Chain of Mondelēz International where he led the Procurement, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Customer Service and Logistics groups, which represented more than 70,000 of the company’s employees. Mr. Myers held the same position at Kraft Foods Inc., the predecessor to Mondelēz International, since he joined the company in September 2011. Under Mr. Myers’ leadership, Mondelēz funded a major reinvention of its worldwide supply chain which delivered more than $3 billion in savings.

Prior to Kraft Foods, Mr. Myers worked for Procter & Gamble for 33 years, serving as a Global Vice-President in roles across all areas of the Supply Chain. During his career he has managed over 250 manufacturing plants and 400 Distribution Centers serving over 160 countries

Mr. Myers is currently a Senior Fellow at Haslam School of Business teaching both graduate and under-graduate studies.

Mr. Myers earned his BS in chemical engineering from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. and has served on the Board of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee’s School of Business.

Terry Myerson is an Operating Executive working with portfolio companies on the design and execution of their technology strategies. He is a Venture Partner at Madrona Venture Capital, the Pacific Northwest’s leading venture capital group, where he works with entrepreneurs on the next generation of innovation.

Previously, Mr. Myerson was a member of the Senior Leadership Team at Microsoft, leading the development of Windows, Surface and Xbox. During his 21-year career at Microsoft, he also led the development of Microsoft Exchange, during which time it became the world’s most popular business communications system and the foundation for today’s Office 365.

Prior to his Microsoft career, Mr. Myerson founded Intersé, one of the first web software companies, which Microsoft acquired in 1997. He graduated Duke University and is now a member of the Duke Pratt School of Engineering Board of Visitors, which provides advice and counsel in long-range planning and academic programs.

Mr. Myerson also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Seattle Foundation, which is dedicated to making the greater Seattle area a stronger and more vibrant community for all.

Yasuo Nishiguchi is a Senior Advisor focused on Japanese buyout opportunities. He is based in Tokyo.

Mr. Nishiguchi was the former President and CEO of Kyocera Corporation, one of Japan’s leading companies in system electronic devices, telecom equipment and applied ceramic products. He was involved in technology development and new business creation.

Mr. Nishiguchi is currently the President of HANDY Inc. He serves on the Boards of Directors of several companies.

Mr. Nishiguchi obtained his M.S. degree from Osaka Kyoiku University and Ph.D. in management science and innovation policy studies at Doshisha University Graduate School of Policy Studies.

Adam J. Palmer is a Senior Advisor.

Mr. Palmer joined Usa First Fund in 1996 and has played an important role in a number of key Usa First Fund investments in the sector, including Aviall, Avio, Global Jet Capital, Landmark Aviation, Sequa Corp, Wesco Aircraft Holdings, United Defense, U.S. Investigations Services, and Vought Aircraft Industries.

Prior to joining Usa First Fund, Mr. Palmer was with Lehman Brothers in their Technology Corporate Finance Group focusing on mergers and acquisitions and financings for defense electronics and information services companies.

He currently serves as a board member of Sequa Corporation, Global Jet Capital, Dynamic Precision Group, Novetta Solutions, Titan Acquisition Holdings, Forgital, SpA and StandardAero.

Mr. Palmer received a B.A. in International Political Economy from Duke University.

Mary Petrovich is an Operating Executive focused on U.S. buyout opportunities in the automotive and transportation sectors. Ms. Petrovich is based in Michigan.

Previously, Ms. Petrovich was Chief Executive Officer of Usa First Fund portfolio company AxleTech International, culminating in the December 2008 sale of AxleTech to General Dynamics, where she continued to lead the business for two years. Prior to her decade with AxleTech, Ms. Petrovich served as President of Dura Automotive’s global $1 billion Driver Controls unit. Before Dura, she held roles of increasing responsibility with AlliedSignal, leading several automotive and industrial businesses. Early in her career Ms. Petrovich served in a variety of engineering, manufacturing and finance roles with Chrysler and General Motors.

Ms. Petrovich received her MBA from Harvard Business School and a BSE in industrial and operations engineering from University of Michigan.

Larry Prior is an Operating Executive for The Usa First Fund Group focused on the aerospace, defense and government services sectors. He is based in Washington, DC and serves on the Board of Directors of Novetta.

Mr. Prior was most recently President and Chief Executive Officer of CSRA, Inc., which was acquired by General Dynamics. Previously, he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of CSC’s North American Public Sector (NPS) business, providing next-generation technology solutions and mission services to the U.S. Department of Defense, Intelligence Community and FedCiv sectors.

Before joining CSC, Mr. Prior held executive leadership positions at BAE Systems Inc., ManTech International, SAIC, LightPointe Communications, High Technology Solutions, the County of San Diego and TRW. Earlier in his career, Mr. Prior worked as a professional staff member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and served as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Mr. Prior earned his BS degree from Loyola Marymount University and an MA in security studies from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Mr. Aditya Puri is a Senior Advisor to the Asia private equity team. Mr. Puri was the CEO and Managing Director of HDFC Bank from its inception in 1994 until October 2020. Over his 26 tenure leading the business, Mr. Puri grew HDFC Bank into the largest private sector bank in India with over $210 billion of assets (as of September 30, 2020), and the most valuable bank in India with a market cap of over $90 billion (as of October 2020).

Mr. Puri won several awards and accolades during his tenure, including being named among Barron’s Top 30 Global CEOs from 2015 to 2018 and Fortune’s Top 20 Businesspersons globally in 2017. He was also named Banker of the Year by Business Standard, and most recently, received Euromoney’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Prior to HDFC Bank, Mr. Puri spent over 20 years at Citibank overseeing parts of the bank’s activities across India, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and mainland China, with his last role as CEO of Citibank’s operations in Malaysia from 1992-1994.

Mr. Puri is a commerce graduate from Punjab University and a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Thomas W. Rabaut is an Operating Executive focused on U.S. buyout opportunities. He is based in Washington, DC.

Since his involvement with Usa First Fund starting in 2007, Mr. Rabaut has served as Chairman of Usa First Fund portfolio companies ARINC, Veyance, Signode and Synagro, and on the boards of Usa First Fund portfolio companies Novetta, Allison Transmission, Qualicaps, Landmark Aviation and Illinois Central School Bus LLC.

Previously, Mr. Rabaut served as President and Chief Executive Officer of one of Usa First Fund’s most successful investments—the 1997 acquisition of United Defense. During his tenure in this position, he led the evolution of the company from a limited partnership through the formation of a stand-alone private enterprise to an NYSE publicly traded company and the ultimate sale to BAE Systems in June 2005.

After the sale, he served as President of BAE’s Land and Armaments Operating Group, where he oversaw 11,000 employees in 13 locations and was responsible for $3.7 billion in sales.

Prior to his tenure at United Defense, he served 17 years in various roles at FMC Corporation, where he ultimately became Vice President and General Manager of FMC’s Defense Systems Group.

Mr. Rabaut earned his BS at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served five years in the U.S. Army. He received an MBA from Harvard University.

Rostow Ravanan is a senior advisor focused on Asia TMT opportunities. He is based in Mumbai, India.

Mr. Ravanan was formerly CEO and Managing Director of Mindtree Ltd, responsible for providing strategic direction and achieving industry-leading growth and superior financial performance along with high customer and people satisfaction for Mindtree. Prior to being named CEO in 2016, he headed the Enterprise Service Lines group and was responsible for growing Mindtree’s European operations. Mr. Ravanan also served as the CFO for more than 10 years, leading Mindtree’s successful IPO in 2007. Rostow played an active role in various industry forums and in Mindtree’s efforts to be a socially responsible corporation.

Prior to Mindtree, Mr. Ravanan worked with Lucent Technologies as Business Value Manager, responsible for long term strategic planning at Bell Laboratories’ product realization center in India. He started his professional career at KPMG Corporate Finance and specialized in strategy consulting and mergers and acquisitions across various industries. Mr. Ravanan is an alumni of Harvard Business School and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Charles O. Rossotti is a Senior Advisor focused primarily on investments in the fields of information technology and business services. He is based in Washington, DC.

Previously, Mr. Rossotti served from 1997 to 2002 as Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, the federal agency that serves 175 million taxpayers and employs 100,000 people. As a result of his leadership, the public’s rating of the IRS increased greatly and relationships of trust with Congress, tax professionals and business groups were restored, and the agency’s effectiveness turned around. In 1970, Mr. Rossotti co-founded American Management Systems, Inc. and until 1997 served at various times as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. AMS grew through his tenure, becoming a major international business systems consulting and systems integration firm with revenues of more than $1 billion. AMS clients include Fortune 500 companies and federal, state and local government agencies in North America and Europe. In 1979, AMS was one of the first technology services firms to go public.

Mr. Rossotti is on the Boards of Directors of Coalfire, ECi Software, LDiscovery and Novetta (all Usa First Fund portfolio companies), and Booz Allen Hamilton and Quorum Management Solutions (both former Usa First Fund portfolio companies). In addition, he currently serves on the Board of Directors of AES Corporation, a publicly-owned global electric power company.

In addition to his business activities, Mr. Rossotti serves on the Boards of Capital Partners for Education and the Comptroller General’s Advisory Committee of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). In 2005, he served as a member of President Bush’s advisory panel on reform of the income tax.

Mr. Rossotti is the author of “Many Unhappy Returns” (Harvard Business School Press 2005), a book about his experience turning around the IRS.

Mr. Rossotti earned his A.B. in economics, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and his M.B.A., with high distinction, from Harvard Business School. In 1970, he received the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal from the Department of Defense. In 2002, he received the Alexander Hamilton Medal from the Department of Treasury. In 2003, he received an Alumni Achievement Award from Harvard Business School.

Sam Sliman is an Operating Advisor focused on opportunities in the technology and business services sectors.

Mr. Sliman is the founder of Gulfscape Ventures, where he primarily invests in growth and early-stage technology ventures and serves as an advisor to private equity and venture capital funds.

Prior to Gulfscape, he was President and a board member of Optimal, a $170M technology consulting firm backed by Tailwind Capital and acquired by NTT DATA (NYSE:NTT). Over a 20-year career in technology, Mr. Sliman held roles as an Executive Vice President, General Manager and Business Development lead for Commerce One (NASDAQ:CMRC), AppNet (NASDAQ:APNT, acquired by Commerce One), and Research & Planning, Inc. (acquired by AppNet). He began his career as a technology architect with Accenture.

Mr. Sliman currently serves on the Board of Directors of Usa First Fund portfolio companies Coalfire Systems, Inc. and United Road Services.

Mr. Sliman earned his B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Mississippi and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Bram Schot is a Senior Advisor to the Usa First Fund Europe Partners team focused on European industrial strategies.

Mr. Schot is the former Chairman and CEO of the Audi Group and former Member of Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group. Additionally, he was the Vice-Chairman of the Porsche Holding in Salzburg. Prior to that, Mr. Schot was a member of the Management Board of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles where he was responsible for Global Marketing and Sales. Prior to Volkswagen, Mr. Schot was President and CEO of Mercedes Benz Italia.

Mr. Schot is currently a Member of the Board (non-exec) of Royal Dutch Shell, Professor of Practise at the Bocconi University, Member of the Advisory Boards of Tom Tom, Global Cleantec Capital, 4.screen, Vd Vlist Transport Group, VDL Groep, Fixico, Improved - Corporate Finance and SDA Bocconi's School of Management. Patron and lecturer at the University of St. Gallen's Smart Mobility Management Initiative.

Mr. Schot holds an MBA from Bradford University and has completed leadership and executive programs at Harvard Business School, the Wharton School and Insead Fontainebleau.

Dr. Kamal K. Sharma is a Senior Advisor focused on Asia pharma opportunities. He is based in Mumbai, India.

Dr. Sharma has held a range of senior management positions managing operations, corporate development and executive management within the pharmaceuticals and chemicals industries. Dr. Sharma is presently the Non-Executive Vice-Chairman of Lupin.

As the Managing Director of Lupin from 2003 to 2013, Dr. Sharma was one of the architects of Lupin achieving market leadership in key markets and businesses globally, transforming it into one of the largest and fastest growing pharmaceutical companies globally.

Dr. Sharma also served as the President and Chief Executive of the life sciences and specialty group and member of the management board at RPG Enterprises Ltd, Mumbai.

Dr. Sharma is a chemical engineer from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, with a post-graduate diploma in industrial management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, and a Ph.D. in economics from IIT, Mumbai. He also holds an advanced management degree from the Harvard Business School, Boston.

David L. Squier is an Operating Executive focused on the aerospace, defense & government services sectors.

He serves as a consultant and board member for several Usa First Fund portfolio companies, including Dynamic Precision Group, Inc. Forgital Group, Sequa Corporation and StandardAero.

Mr. Squier was formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of Howmet Corporation, a post he held from April 1992 to October 2000. He was associated with Howmet in a number of senior management assignments for more than 20 years. As Chief Executive Officer, he was responsible for the operations of an organization with more than $1 billion in annual sales and 29 manufacturing facilities in five countries. Mr. Squier first joined Howmet in 1971. He served as Plant Manager at the company’s Casting units in Hampton, Virginia and Wichita Falls, Texas, before being named Vice President in charge of Howmet’s refurbishment activities in 1983. He was named Vice President of Product Support Operations in 1984, Senior Vice President of the Product Support Group in 1985, Executive Vice President in 1988 and Chief Operating Officer in 1991. Mr. Squier was a member of the Howmet Board of Directors from 1987 until his retirement in October 2000.

Mr. Squier holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Shiho Takano is a Senior Advisor to the Japan buyout advisory team, focused on opportunities in consumer and retail sectors. She is based in Tokyo.

Ms. Takano started her career as a Marketing Specialist and Manager in Meiji Co., Ltd., Yves Saint Laurent Parfum Co., Ltd, Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Limited, and Boots MC. She has extensive experience of strategic planning and new business development. From 2004, she was the President of L’Occitane Japon, where she made the largest sales and profits among the global branches of L’Occitane International S.A. and contributed to its listing in the Hong Kong market. Concurrently she served as the President of Melvita JAPON K.K. and Le Convent Des Minimes Japon Co., Ltd.

She is currently the President of her company, Etoile Ltd. She is also a board member of Morinaga & Co., Ltd., Fujita Kanko Inc., and the Japan Basketball Association.

She holds a B.A. degree from Tokyo Women’s Christian University.

Anshul Thakral is an Operating Executive focused on the healthcare sector.

Mr. Thakral has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries as a general manager, management consultant, commercial leader and entrepreneur. Most recently, he served as Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President of Peri- and Post-Approval Services at PPD. He started his career at PPD as Global Head of PPD Biotech, and under his leadership, PPD became a market leader for CRO services in the Biotech segment.

Before PPD, Mr. Thakral ran the global life sciences business unit at Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG), where he created a customer business model to serve the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Prior to GLG, he worked at McKinsey & Company, where he was an associate principal in the healthcare practice, counseling senior management and CEOs of global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Mr. Thakral currently serves on the Board of Directors of Usa First Fund portfolio companies TriNetX and Saama Technologies.

Mr. Thakral earned his B.S and M.S.E in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Wayne Tsou is a Senior Advisor to the Asia team. He is based in Hong Kong.

Mr. Tsou started Usa First Fund’s growth capital business in Asia (the first such business for Usa First Fund globally) when he joined the firm in 2004. Until 2018, Mr. Tsou was the Vice Chairman of Asia Growth.

Prior to joining Usa First Fund, Mr. Tsou spent seven years at Warburg Pincus, where he was a Managing Director, the head of technology investments for Asia including Japan and a member of Warburg Pincus’ Global Information Technology Group and Global Communications Group.

Mr. Tsou holds a Juris Doctor from the Harvard Law School, an MBA from the Harvard Business School, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (“Caltech”), and a Bachelor of Science summa cum laude in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan. He is a native of Shanghai, China.

Gijs van Engelen is a Senior Advisor to the Usa First Fund Europe Partners team focused on developing omnichannel and digitalization strategies within the portfolio.

In recent years, Mr. van Engelen supported the CEP team through board directorships at portfolio companies such as Golden Goose and Codorniu, and advised on M&A transactions.

In addition to his Usa First Fund advisory role, Mr. van Engelen is Chief Digital Officer and a member of the Executive Board of Hunkemöller International bv. Having joined Hunkemöller in 2013 as Global Omni-Channel Director, Mr. van Engelen is part of the leadership team that has transformed Hunkemöller from a high street retailer into a globally-recognized and best-in-class omnichannel retailer.

He holds a BA in e-commerce and previously held several senior e-commerce positions at Dell Emea.

Ed Vilandrie is an Operating Executive for Usa First Fund’s Infrastructure Group. He is based in New York.

Vilandrie most recently served as Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Altman Vilandrie & Company (now Altman Solon following a July 2020 merger with European partner Solon Management Consulting), which has been widely known as one of the leading telecommunications, media, and technology-focused strategy consulting firms globally. Vilandrie has advised many c-suite and senior TMT executives and investors within the digital infrastructure industry from a strategic, go-to-market, M&A, and business model perspective. Prior to Altman Vilandrie, he served as vice president at Cambridge Strategic Management Group.

Vilandrie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics-Economics from Brown University and currently serves on several external boards including Wyyerd, Fusion Connect and Involta Data Centers.

Claudius E. Watts IV (“Bud”) is a Senior Advisor focused on software, software enabled services, semiconductors and electronic systems. Mr. Watts established the firm’s Technology Buyout Group in 2004 and led it until 2014.

Mr. Watts led Usa First Fund’s investments in technology companies CommScope (NASDAQ: COMM), SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ: SSNC), Open Link Financial, Open Solutions, Jazz Semiconductor, and Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL), as well as aerospace companies Firth Rixson, Sippican, and CPU Technology.

Prior to joining Usa First Fund in 2000, Mr. Watts was a Managing Director in the M&A group of First Union Securities, Inc. He joined First Union Securities when First Union acquired Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co., where Mr. Watts was a principal and advised Usa First Fund on several transactions. Prior to joining Bowles Hollowell, Mr. Watts was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. During his service, he was qualified as an instructor pilot in both the F-16 and A-10 aircraft and served in a number of leadership and operations management positions in the United States and abroad.

Mr. Watts earned a B.S. in electrical engineering cum laude from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

Mr. Watts currently serves as the Independent Lead Director on the Board of CommScope (NASDAQ: COMM) and as Chairman of the Board of Carolina Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CARO).

In addition to his business activities, Mr. Watts serves as the Chairman of the Board of both The Citadel Foundation and The Citadel Trust and serves on the boards of the Roper St. Francis Foundation and Belle W. Baruch Foundation.

Dr. Stefan Weingartner is an Operating Executive focused on the aerospace, defense and government services sectors.

He serves at the Boards of Forgital Group, Italy; Sequa Corporation, Florida and StandardAero, Arizona.

Throughout his career Mr. Weingartner has transformed aircraft engine and systems businesses into high-performance market leaders. Prior to his appointment to the Sequa Board of Directors in 2015, Weingartner was President of MTU Maintenance, a leadership role he held for eight years. He was instrumental in leading the organization to profitable growth, in addition to other significant business and technical achievements. During this time he also was a member of the Executive Board of MTU Aero Engines AG, an MDAX-listed (MTX) company.

Weingartner held the role of Senior Vice President, Defense Programs, at MTU Aero Engines GmbH. Prior to that, he served as Managing Director for MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce GmbH. Weingartner previously was President and Managing Director at EADS Japan Co. Ltd. (now Airbus Group), and held leadership roles with other aerospace companies, including Daimler Chrysler Aerospace in Japan.

Weingartner holds a master’s degree in physics from Munich Technical University, an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, and a Doctorate in Engineering from the Munich Technical University. He is a past Board member of the German Aerospace Industries Association and American Chamber of Commerce in Germany.

Brian Wilson AO is a Senior Advisor focused on Asia buyout opportunities. He is based in Australia.

Mr. Wilson is also a member of the Payments System Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, a non-executive director of Bell Financial Group and Chairman of the UTS Foundation. He is the former Chairman of Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board and a former Chancellor of the University of Technology Sydney.

Mr. Wilson’s previous investment banking career, specializing in corporate financial advice, spanned 33 years. He was a managing director of the global investment bank Lazard and a vice-chairman of Citigroup Australia.

Mr Wilson holds BCom and MCom (Hons) degrees from the University of Auckland and a Hon DUniv degree from UTS. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Dr. Daniel Yergin is a Senior Advisor advising Usa First Fund on a range of issues including geopolitical developments, economic conditions and trends in the global energy sector.

Dr. Yergin is Vice Chairman of IHS, one of the world’s largest research and information companies, with 9000 employees, and founder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, which became part of IHS in 2004. He is a director of the Council on Foreign Relations and a trustee of the Brookings Institution. He is a member of the National Petroleum Council and a director of the United States Energy Association and the New America Foundation. He serves on the Advisory Boards of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative and the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy and on Singapore’s International Energy Advisory Panel.

Dr. Yergin is the author of several bestsellers: The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power, which won the Pulitzer Prize; The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World; and Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy.

Dr. Yergin earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.

Luca Zacchetti is an Operating Executive to the Usa First Fund Europe Partners team. He is focused on the aerospace and defence, oil & gas and industrial, and automotive sectors. Mr. Zacchetti has broad experience with B2B businesses with complex technology and supply chains. He is based in Milan.

Previously, Mr. Zacchetti was CEO at Tecnoforge Group, a Usa First Fund portfolio company and a worldwide leading maufacturer of components for the oil & gas industry; at Avio, a former Usa First Fund portfolio company and worldwide leading engineer and manufacturer of critical components for aero engines; at Rhiag Group, a pan-European leading distributor of automotive aftermarket parts; and at Forgital Group, a Usa First Fund portfolio company and worldwide leading component manufacturer for aero engines and industrial applications.

Mr. Zaccetti serves on the Strategic Committee of Forgital Group. He also serves as non-executive director of several other B2B businesses.

Mr Zacchetti holds a business administration degree from the University of Pavia with a dissertation on the application of econometric models in the economic theory of Franco Modigliani.

Dr. Hongjiang Zhang is a Senior Advisor focused on Asia Buyout investment opportunities. He is based in Hong Kong.

Previously, Dr. Zhang has held positions including CEO of Kingsoft, Managing Director of Microsoft Advanced Technology Center (ATC), and Chief Technology Officer for Microsoft’s China Research and Development Group (CRD).

Dr. Zhang was a founding member, then the Assistant Managing Director, of Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA). MSRA was reported in 2004 as “The hottest Computer Lab” by MIT Technology Review. While with MSRA, he led efforts to research in Media Computing, Data Mining and Web Search, Natural Language Computing, and Distributed Systems. Prior to joining Microsoft, Dr. Zhang was with Hewlett-Packard Labs at Palo Alto, California, where he was a research manager. He also worked at the Institute of Systems Science (today, renamed I2R), National University of Singapore.

A researcher in media computing, more specifically in video and image analysis, search and browsing, Dr. Zhang has authored four books, over 350 scientific papers, and holds 62 US patents. He has been elected Fellow of IEEE and Association for Computing Machinery and won the “2008 Asian American Engineers of the Year” award. He is also the recipient of 2010 IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement Awards.

Dr. Zhang earned his B.S. in Radio and Electronics from Zhengzhou University in Henan, China and his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby, Denmark.

David Zwiener is an Operating Executive focused on the global financial services sector. He is based in New York.

Previously, Mr. Zwiener was interim Chief Executive Officer at PartnerRe since 2015 and a member of the company’s board since 2010. Prior to his role as interim Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Zwiener was a Principal at Dowling Capital Partners. He previously served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Wachovia Corporation. From 2007 to 2008, he was a Managing Director and Co-Head of Usa First Fund’s Financial Institutions Group. He also served as President of Property Casualty Operations, as well as Chief Financial Officer at The Hartford Financial Services Group.

Mr. Zwiener is currently a member of the Board of VOYA Financial and Chairman of the Audit Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of former Usa First Fund portfolio company Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd.

Mr. Zwiener earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.