David Allen

Executive Director
JPMorgan Private Bank

David Allen is an Executive Director and the Market Lead for the Cleveland office of J.P. Morgan Private Bank, covering Northern Ohio. Dave manages a group of professional advisors and specialists dedicated to designing integrated strategies that help families plan, invest, bank and borrow. A native of Cleveland, he delivers a local presence, extensive industry experience and the global capabilities of J.P. Morgan.

Georges Aoun

CEO
Icon Group Hospitality

Georges Aoun is the Co-Founder and CEO of Icon Group Hospitality, where he leads the revitalization and growth of several beloved Cleveland dining brands and venues.

John Bartels

President, Private Wealth
Ancora

Mr. Bartels is President of Ancora’s Private Wealth division and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. As a financial advisor and investment strategist with over twenty years of experience, John leads Ancora’s Private Wealth team, which includes the Estate & Wealth Planning functions, providing the family CFO service concept to high net worth families. Ancora’s clients receive highly customized consultation in the areas of investing, retirement planning, tax compliance, risk management, and legacy planning.

Mr. Bartels founded Independent Advisors in 2000 with the goal of providing world class wealth management to his clients. In 2009, Independent Advisors and Inverness merged, creating a team of specialized and dedicated financial and legal professionals. Prior to founding Independent Advisors, John was a branch manager for Raymond James Financial Services. Before Raymond James, John was an associate with the Estate Planning Team, where he learned wealth management and estate planning techniques for high net worth families. He is currently a board member for North Coast Community Homes and an active member of Vistage Worldwide. John earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from John Carroll University. He is a FINRA registered representative (BrokerCheck).

Bob Campana

CEO
Campana Capital

Bob leads Campana Capital, a private equity, venture capital and real estate development firm. Bob previously served as president of P.C. Campana, master provider for the steel and foundry industries in North America. He is active in the community and serves on the boards of numerous for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including Northwest Bancshares.

Joe Carson

Managing Director I, Investment Banking, Fifth Third Securities
Fifth Third

Joe is a Managing Director with Fifth Third’s Industrials Investment Banking group, a part of Fifth Third Securities, Inc. (“FTS”), and has over 30 years of investment banking and financial advisory services experience working with top tier firms covering public and private companies in the middle market sector. Joe has significant experience in providing financial advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, acquisition financings, defense advisory/hostile takeovers, leveraged buyouts, debt financings, private placements, and public equity offerings (both initial public offerings and follow-ons). Joe has focused most of his career on middle market industrial focused companies.

Prior to joining FTS in 2017, Joe served as Senior Vice President at Caldwell Tanks, in Louisville, KY, a manufacturer of tanks and storage structures that are used for several industrial purposes. Joe headed Caldwell Tanks’ Energy Division. Before Caldwell Tanks, he served as a Managing Director for Western Reserve Partners in Cleveland, where he was co-head of the Industrials Group and executed a multitude of transactions across the industrials vertical.

Previously, Joe was an investment banker with KeyBanc Capital Markets and started his career as a consultant with Ernst & Young’s Financial Advisory Services group. Joe has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Miami University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western University.

Joe Conley

President & CEO
Royce-U.S. Protection Service; Tenable Event Services

Joe began his career in the security industry in 1994 in a sales and operations role with Metro Cleveland Security. He joined Royce Security  in 1996 as Director of Business Development and Operations.  In 2001 he acquired Royce and built it from a small local Cleveland firm into a regional company with over 800 employees and eight branch offices. Growth has been driven organically and through five strategic acquisitions. Joe continues to lead the company’s expansion, operational excellence and vision across the region.

Andrew Connors

Managing Director & Chair Business Owners Practice Group
Hightower Signature Wealth

Andrew R. Connors is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional with 20 years of experience in the personal financial management arena. He has experience in advising family business owners how they can align their personal, family and business goals. His mission and purpose is to positively impact the long-term well-being of closely-held and family business owners by helping them create and maintain multi-generational wealth. He is known for his ability to translate complex financial strategies and concepts into understandable, actionable ideas.

Prior to receiving his MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, Andrew attended John Carroll University where he earned a B.S.B.A. He earned his Certified Financial Planner^TM (CFP^®) designation from the College of Financial Planning.

Benjamin Cooke

Partner, Chair, Business Practice Area
Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP

Benjamin Cooke serves as chair of Hahn Loeser’s Business Practice Area and co-chair of the firm’s Corporate Transactions Group. Benjamin has a wide range of experience representing both private sellers and buyers in M&A transactions and has advised sellers and buyers across a variety of industries. He represents private equity and independent deal sponsors and serves as outside general counsel to private companies both in Ohio and nationally, where he handles all contract and transactional matters including shareholder and corporate governance issues, executive compensation, and business succession planning.

Melissa D'Elia

Vice President
Heartland Growth Partners

Melissa D'Elia is a Vice President with Heartland Growth Partners. As the Northeast Ohio Market Lead, she is responsible for deal origination and capital formation. She also serves on Heartland’s Community team, leading engagement with industrial business leaders and LPs to align Heartland's portfolio with strategic priorities. Previously she worked in New York at Addepar. Melissa lives in Cleveland.

Alexander Demetriou

President
Scythe

Alex is a Principal and CEO at Scythe, the Demetriou family office. Alex oversees daily operations and drives portfolio growth across multiple sectors. He leads strategic initiatives, manages acquisitions, and ensures execution excellence. With a sharp focus on systems, performance, and team alignment, Alex aims to elevate Scythe’s investments through disciplined management and long-term value creation.

Hardik Desai

Managing General Partner
JumpStart

Hardik connects early-stage technology companies with entrepreneurial resources in Northeast Ohio and performs due diligence on companies seeking capital from funds managed by JumpStart.

Hardik has more than 10 years of experience working at large corporations and startup companies, where he held diverse technical and business roles. Prior to joining JumpStart, Hardik co-founded IR Diagnostyx in Columbus, Ohio. At IR Diagnostyx, Hardik managed operations and product development efforts for company’s diagnostic test platform and helped the company raise initial seed capital from local investor groups. Before working at IR Diagnostyx, Hardik was Business Analyst for Tech Columbus, a tech business accelerator; he also worked extensively in India and the U.K. as an engineer and software associate in the telecom field.

Hardik received his Bachelor of Electronics Engineering degree from Gujarat University in India, and an MBA from The Ohio State University.

Dominic DiPuccio

Partner
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Dominic focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, and public and private equity and debt securities offerings. He represents entrepreneurs, emerging-growth, and seasoned companies (public and private), investors, venture capital, and private equity funds, and real estate sponsors in a wide variety of corporate finance transactions. Dominic is chair of Taft’s Mergers and Acquisitions group.

Fred DiSanto

Chairman & CEO
Ancora

Mr. DiSanto leads Ancora Holdings Group as Chairman and CEO. Ancora is a Northeast Ohio-based financial advisor and money manager. Prior to joining Ancora, Fred served in senior leadership roles at Fifth Third Bank’s Investment Advisors Division, Maxus Investment Group and Gelfand Partners Asset Management. He began his investment career with McDonald Investments.

Courtney Eaton

President
M7 Holdings

As President of M7 Holdings, Courtney focuses on the alignment of M7’s mission, values and investment philosophy within the overall portfolio. Courtney is responsible for the firm’s operations and its assets, which include an array of portfolio companies in a variety of industries and a venture capital portfolio of over 60 technology companies in the US and Singapore.

Tim Eippert

Chairman
Stratus

Born and raised in Ashtabula, OH, Tim graduated from Kent State University before purchasing MC Sign Company and steadily grew its services to include signage, energy, refresh & remodel construction, facilities maintenance services, and brand environments. Tim sold to private equity 4 times, in 2008, 2015, 2017, and 2021 and has remained CEO throughout. The company name is now Stratus.

Bryan Falk

Managing Partner, Cleveland Office
Vorys

Bryan is the managing partner of the Vorys Cleveland office and is a member of the firm’s management committee.

In his day-to-day legal work, Bryan helps northeast Ohio-based businesses with their corporate, finance and real estate needs.  He is the defacto outside general counsel for several privately held, middle market companies headquartered in northeast Ohio.  Bryan has broad and deep business counseling experience and a reputation as an effective legal project manager and problem solver. 

Bryan represents businesses on organization, capitalization, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning and general corporate and governance matters.  His practice also includes representing both public and private companies in the structuring, financing, acquisition, development, construction, and disposition of commercial real estate projects, from global corporate headquarters and R&D facilities, to 1 million+ square foot distribution facilities to mixed-use retail, office and residential developments.  Finally, Bryan represents many national and regional banks in connection with a wide range of secured and unsecured transactions, including syndicated and single bank asset-based facilities, commercial loans, subordinated debt financings and all types of commercial real estate loans, including tax credit and opportunity zone structures.

For the past several years, Bryan has served on the United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cleveland (UCP) Board of Directors.  In that role, Bryan serves on the executive and strategic opportunities committees, and is chair of the organizations governance committee.  He also represents the agency in community and professional activities and works to support UCP’s mission to empower children and adults with disabilities to advance their independence, productivity and inclusion in the community. 

Bryan is also an active member of the Association for Corporate Growth, the Commercial Finance Association, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the American Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.

Bryan received his J.D. cum laude from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and his B.A. from Miami University.

Frank Fantozzi

President & Founder
Return on Life Wealth Partners

Frank Fantozzi is the President and Founder of Return on Life Wealth Partners, an independent registered investment advisor (RIA) providing families and businesses in Northeast Ohio and nationwide with access to a full suite of wealth management and corporate retirement services. An accomplished business owner and board member, his broad experience includes entrepreneurship, business growth and non-profit fundraising.

Kate Faust

Partner
Rockwood Equity Partners

Kate leads Rockwood’s deal sourcing efforts — building strong relationships with intermediaries and advisors, developing proprietary sources, and growing our Rockwood River Guide® network. She also oversee our CRM and other platforms that support origination, marketing, and social media. Day to day, she’s evaluating new opportunities, managing deal flow, supporting add-on strategies, and serving on our investment committee.

Kate was named one of Opus Connect’s 2023 Top 25 Women in M&A. She was one of Merger & Acquisition’s 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid–Market M&A and chaired the Capital Roundtable conference on Best Practices for Sourcing Private Equity Investment Opportunities. Kate was previously on the Board of SYNEO.

Prior to Rockwood, Kate was the first female Chief Financial Officer at SIFCO Industries, a publicly traded aerospace and energy forged components manufacturer. She also held leadership positions at Argo-Tech Corporation, a maker of aerospace engine fuel pumps and systems, airframe fuel pumps and systems, and ground fueling equipment for commercial and military aerospace markets before it was recapitalized by Vestar Capital and Greenbriar Equity Group and then ultimately acquired by Eaton Corp.

In addition to operating roles, Kate has held investment management positions at Greenstar Capital, a lower middle market private equity and management consulting firm, as well as Morningside Ventures (now 5Y Capital), a family office focused on early stage healthcare and information technology investments.

She holds an MBA from Ohio State University’s Max M. Fisher College of Business and graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in economics from Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College.

Kate oversees the Caroline Kramer Faust Foundation and is a long-standing supporter of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara. She has served on numerous boards supporting nature, biomimicry, education, women in leadership, and the next-generation.

Umberto P. Fedeli

President & CEO
The Fedeli Group

Since 1988, Umberto P. Fedeli has led The Fedeli Group, an Ohio-based insurance and financial services firm. It specializes in insurance, risk management, employee benefits, workers' compensation consulting, surety, environmental risk management, and estate planning.

Todd Federman

Managing Director
North Coast Ventures

Todd is the Managing Director of North Coast Ventures - a Cleveland-based venture firm with 500+ individual LP investors, and $100M+ deployed across 80+ startups. Previously, Todd consulted for AOL and DiamondCluster, and co-founded the One With Nature line of body care products carried in 4,000 retail locations. Todd holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Kent State University and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Marc Fleagle

Managing Director
Copper Run Capital LLC

Based in our Cleveland office, Marc focuses on executing M&A strategies and new business development. Marc leverages his expertise in sell-side transactions to lead middle market and lower middle market privately-held businesses through the sale process.

Michael Fletcher

Market Manager
Vistage

I am a Vistage Market Manager for the Northeast, focused on building strong peer advisory groups for CEOs and business leaders. I partner with high-performing executives and experienced Chairs to expand the Vistage community, foster leadership development, and help leaders make better decisions that strengthen their companies, teams, and communities.

Bob Girton

Managing Partner
August Grace Advisory, LLC

Bob Girton is a private equity investor and portfolio operator. He founded August Grace Advisory and works across owner-operator and PE-backed environments in industrial, chemical, materials, and life sciences businesses. He partners with CEOs on strategy, transformation, and commercial execution, translating direction into measurable outcomes, strengthening commercial systems, and building durable growth engines during pivotal moments of change.

Abhi Goyal

CEO
Blink Signs

At the helm of Blink Signs and BlinkSwag, my focus on new business development and social networking has been pivotal in steering these ventures toward market leadership. The team's collaborative efforts have fostered innovation, resulting in products and services that resonate with a diverse clientele.

Kelly Greene

VP, Corporate Development
Park Place Technologies

Kelly Greene is VP of Corporate Development at Park Place Technologies, where she has led 30+ global acquisitions over the past decade, consistently exceeding growth targets. With expertise in M&A strategy, customer experience, and human capital, she brings a well-rounded approach to deal-making, ensuring successful integrations and long-term value creation.

Scott Gundlach

Master Chair, Vistage Worldwide
CEO, Family Business Coaching LLC

Scott facilitates Private Advisory Boards for approximately 50 CEOs in NE Ohio. He spends over 1,000 hours per year conducting one-to-one coaching sessions as well. Scott has won the Vistage Star award 4 out of the last 5 years recognizing the Top 20 Vistage Chairs in the world.

David Heller

President & CEO
The NRP Group

David Heller is founder of The NRP Group, a Top 10 U.S. multifamily developer with 65,000+ homes built and 30,000+ units managed nationwide. A CPA and former Arthur Andersen manager, he has led major real estate investments and earned national industry awards. He serves on numerous civic, housing, and philanthropic boards and is deeply committed to community leadership.

Elias Hussney

Vice President
National Christian Foundation Ohio

Elias brings years of experience in banking, private equity, lending, and wealth management to the role of relationship manager for the National Christian Foundation, in Northeastern Ohio.  He most recently served as the senior vice president and relationship manager overseeing wealth, trust, mergers and acquisitions, investments, banking, lending, insurance, and mortgage activities for a large legacy book of family office, institutional, and high net worth individual clients. He has also served high net worth clients with Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, US Bank, and Commercial Lending Group.

Elias holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from Cleveland State University. 

Jonathan Ives

Managing Director
SCG Partners, LLC

Jonathan is a Managing Director at SCG Partners, a Cleveland-based $200 million family office. Jonathan leads the private equity and corporate development efforts for the firm, including deal sourcing, managing deal flow, analyzing and executing on acquisition opportunities, and developing and maintaining intermediary relationships. SCG focuses on control buyouts of family/founder owned lower middle market companies that provide inspection, maintenance and repair services primarily in the real estate and insurance industries.

Chris Jones

Managing Partner
Align Capital Partners

Chris Jones is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ACP. He sits on the firm’s investment committee and is actively involved in all aspects of the firm’s strategic and investment objectives. Over the past twenty years of his private equity career, Chris has completed more than 55 private equity transactions for more than $3 billion in value.

Prior to founding ACP, Chris was a Partner at The Riverside Company. During his 13 years at Riverside, Chris led five platform company investments and was a leader in the firm’s Business Services specialization.

Prior to Riverside, Chris worked for Chicago-based private equity firm Keystone Capital, and prior to that, obtained early mergers and acquisitions experience in National City Corporation’s Investment Banking Group and as a CPA at Ernst & Young.

Alexandra Jorgensen

General Counsel
MIM Software Inc., A GE HealthCare Company

Alexandra Jorgensen is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of MIM Software Inc., a GE HealthCare Company, where she leads the legal function and advises on matters at the intersection of healthcare and technology. In her role, she supports MIM Software’s global mission to deliver practical and innovative imaging solutions across a range of clinical specialties, including Radiation Oncology, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Urology, Neuroimaging, and Cardiac Imaging. The company’s platforms span desktop, mobile, and cloud-based technologies, serving healthcare providers, research institutions, and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

Before joining MIM Software, Alexandra served as Associate General Counsel at Akron General – Cleveland Clinic, where she navigated the complex legal landscape of a large healthcare system. Her interest in healthcare law was sparked early in her career at Brouse McDowell, LPA, where she advised clients on a broad spectrum of healthcare and corporate legal issues.

Alexandra’s experience reflects a strong commitment to advancing healthcare through legal insight, strategic guidance, and a deep understanding of the evolving technological landscape in medicine.

Ansir Junaid

Chairman & CEO
Junaid Group

Founder and CEO of Junaid Group, Mr. Ansir Junaid has been recognized for his leadership and experience in global manufacturing, supply chain, real estate, and mergers & acquisitions both domestically and internationally. He is actively involved in numerous corporate and civic boards, prioritizing focuses on medical research, economic growth, and the empowerment of youth and women through expanded access to education and healthcare. Philanthropic work through the Junaid Family Foundation supports those same missions, with notable examples including grants to local organizations helping resettle refugees in Cleveland and a collaboration with Kirk Humanitarian Foundation and the Government of Pakistan to improve maternal health outcomes by providing groundbreaking multi-micronutrient supplementation to over 2 million women.

Jayne Juvan

Partner and Chair of the Tucker Ellis Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities & Capital Markets Practice Groups
Tucker Ellis LLP

Kurt Kappa

Chief Lending Officer
First Federal Lakewood

Kurt Kappa is the Senior Vice President, Chief Lending Officer at First Federal Lakewood, the largest depositor-owned community bank headquartered in Ohio with assets of $2.5billion. In this role, Kurt oversees all commercial, consumer lending, treasury management and investment services lines of business.

Sean Kelley

Managing Director, Business Development
Gridiron Capital

At Gridiron Capital, Sean focuses on developing new business partnerships, marketing, communicating with business owners, and managing investment sourcing and exit planning. Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Sean served as vice president at BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, Virginia. His responsibilities at BB&T included executing mergers and acquisitions advisory for middle-market businesses, as well as establishing and strengthening business development relationships with middle-market investors. Earlier in his career, Sean worked at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

Jerry Kelsheimer

President & CEO
Medic Management Group

Jerry Kelsheimer serves as President & CEO at Medic Management Group, where he oversees daily company operations and sets the company’s overarching business strategy. He joined Medic Management Group in 2018.

In his role, Jerry is responsible for strategic planning, corporate development, and supporting clientele in achieving their business objectives. He leverages his expertise to help increase clients’ financial returns, enhance revenue cycle efficiency, manage risks, and improve patient outcomes and satisfaction.

With more than 30 years of experience in the professional services industry, Jerry is a proven leader known for a client-first attitude and delivering exceptional results. Throughout his career, he’s been responsible for creating remarkable client experiences; driving revenue, profitability, and market share; and generating and maintaining a high-performance workplace culture. Areas of expertise include process development, capital markets, change management, talent acquisition and development, project management, team building and motivation, financial budgeting, sales/risk management, product development, and corporate finance.

Prior to his current role, Jerry served as Managing Director and Principal of Exodus Capital Partners where he assisted privately owned companies and their shareholders. His career also includes senior leadership roles as Region Chairman, CEO, and President of Fifth Third Bank, Northeastern Ohio and President, Northern Ohio Region, Huntington National Bank.

Jerry earned his Bachelor of Science in finance from Indiana University and is a graduate of the Huntington Executive Leadership Program at Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. He presently serves on the boards of University Hospitals Health System, The Center for Health Affairs, Rudolph Libbe Group, Inc., and GMI Industrial Corporation. He is a former director or trustee of other organizations including The Greater Cleveland Partnership, Destination Cleveland, Cleveland Development Advisers, Cuyahoga Community College, United Way of Greater Cleveland, the Tri-C Foundation, and Foundation Software, Inc.

Robert Kingsbury

Managing Director
MCM Capital Partners

Robert Kingsbury is a Managing Partner at MCM Capital, a lower middle market private equity fund based in Cleveland, OH focused on acquiring niche manufacturing and value-added distribution companies. His responsibilities include deal evaluation and execution, management of portfolio companies and managing Limited Partner relationships.

Prior to joining MCM, Mr. Kingsbury was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 8th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent six years playing professional baseball as an outfielder in the Pirates organization, participated in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and was a 2008 inductee into the Fordham University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Lee M. Koury

Managing Director
Smart Business Network LLC

Lee is managing director of Smart Business Network LLC, a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Dealmakers Conferences throughout the U.S. He plays a key role in establishing corporate policies and developing long-term strategy and growth plans. Previously, he founded and chaired the Growth Group at national law firm Arter & Hadden LLP (now Tucker, Ellis & West), which focused on working with middle-market and high-growth technology companies. 

Brian Krusz

Co-Founder & CEO
Command Core Solutions

Brian Krusz is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of CommandCORE. Brian Krusz is a seasoned entrepreneur, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and growth strategist with deep expertise in operations, leadership, and multi-site facility management.

Prior to founding CommandCORE, Brian founded Sgt. Clean Car Wash, an express exterior cash wash chain where he helped scale the company into one of the fastest-growing car wash chains in the Midwest, recognized five times on the Inc. 5000 list and honored twice as a Vet50 Award winner - celebrating the fastest-growing veteran-owned businesses in the country. Brian remains a member of Sgt. Clean Car Wash as a partner and Real Estate Advisor.

Brian spent eight years in the United States Marine Corps and graduated from Kent State University with an undergraduate degree in Business Management.

Kevin Leonard

President & COO
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Stouffer Realty & The Preferred Realty

I am a big picture thinker, innovator, and revenue-generating powerhouse with 18+ years of experience in Real Estate, development, investing, mortgage, title and insurance. I am tactical, driven, and persuasive and have proven to thrive in the most challenging economic landscapes. As a readily adaptable and well-networked senior executive, I position my brands for success and keep ahead of the competition. I make the most of cutting-edge technologies for automation, productivity, and accountability. Analyzes and synthesizes data to forecast opportunistic trends in the market. As a growth-minded leader of leaders, I influence stakeholders to buy into my vision through a deep commitment to success.

Mario Mastroianni

Managing Director, Enterprise Business Development
Clearstead

Mario joined Clearstead in 2024 as Managing Director, Enterprise Business Development. In this role, he is a member of the firm’s Sales and Marketing team and develops opportunities and supports the firm’s organic growth. He brings over 20 years of experience in business development and sales in Financial Services.

Prior to joining Clearstead, Mario was a Sales Executive of Life Insurance for Oswald Companies and held various other sales positions throughout his career. He earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Juniata College and holds the Certified Exit Planning Advisor designation.

Stephen McHale

CEO Founder
Graici

Stephen McHale’s mission is founding and building data and technology companies that transform industries. A hallmark of his career is the acquisition of his first three companies by industry leaders. Since 2021, Steve has dedicated his experience and resources to building his fourth company, UnifyWork (now Graici), a platform company delivering AI technology that transforms work. UnifyWork is the first for-profit spin-off of Unify Labs, a 509(a)3 venture impact non-profit that Steve co-founded in 2017 with the mission of Powering Inclusive Prosperity.

In 2009, Steve co-founded Explorys in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic. As Chairman of the Board and CEO, Steve led the Explorys team as they invented and brought to market a big data solution to improve healthcare outcomes. Through his leadership, the company amassed the world’s largest clinical database, spanning hundreds of thousands of healthcare providers and more than 60 million patients in the United States. Explorys was acquired by IBM in 2015.

Prior to Explorys, Steve founded and led Everstream, a media analytics company acquired by Concurrent, an Atlanta-based publicly traded company. And, the first company he founded, USConnect, a North America-focused systems integration company was also acquired by a publicly traded company.

Steve is committed to supporting entrepreneurship and invention. He serves as the Managing Partner of 23Bell Ventures, an invention capital firm, himself has 4 issued patents, and is a member of the Texas A&M Innovation Council. He chairs the board of Arrive Health, a leader in prescription decision support, and serves on the board of Axuall, a company specializing in workforce credentialing and intelligence.

Steve is as involved with his community as he is with his work serving on the boards of the Centers for Families and Children, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, The Cleveland Food Bank, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Clinic.

He is an LP in all of the North Coast Angel & Venture Funds and is a member of the Entrepreneurs Organization. Throughout his life and work, Steve has been widely recognized as a leader in technology innovation and a champion of community thriving.

Megan Mehalko

Co-Chair, Corporate Practice Group
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP

Megan Mehalko represents public and private companies in domestic and international mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, domestic and cross-border strategic alliances, joint ventures, general business counseling, distressed/insolvent company acquisitions and restructurings, and with corporate governance and securities law issues, ESG, and compliance matters. In addition, Megan is a member of Benesch’s Executive Committee, Professional Development Committee and Finance Committee.

Al Melchiorre

President
MelCap Partners, LLC

Al Melchiorre is President and founder of MelCap Partners, a middle market investment banking firm that he founded over 22 years ago, Over the past few years, MelCap has been recognized as boutique investment banking firm of the year multiple times by The M&A Advisor. MelCap's clients are predominately privately-held, family owned businesses going through a once in a life-time transaction.

Corrie Menary

Partner
Kirtland Capital Partners

Corrie Menary joined Kirtland in the summer of 2004 as an intern and returned full-time in June of 2005.  Prior to joining Kirtland, Corrie was an analyst in National City Bank's Debt Capital Markets group and worked in the bank's credit underwriting department.

She received her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and a master’s in business administration from Michigan State University.

John Micklitsch

President
Ancora

Mr. Micklitsch joined Ancora in 2006 and currently serves as the firm’s President after previously serving as Chief Investment Officer. In addition to these responsibilities, John manages multi-asset class separate accounts for the firm’s high net worth and institutional clients. Prior to joining Ancora, John was lead portfolio manager for the small cap value strategy at Allegiant Asset Management, the institutional money management division of National City Corporation. During his tenure, he was responsible for assets in excess of $1 billion, including the strategy’s publicly traded mutual fund and separate accounts. In 2003, he joined Fifth Third Asset Management, where he researched and managed small and micro cap stocks for the firm’s mutual funds and individual accounts. John began his money management career in 1996 at the firm of Robert E. Torray & Company Inc. where he was an analyst and head trader on the firm’s $5 billion large cap value strategy.

John has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, an MBA from Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School of Business and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designations. He also serves on the boards of Biltmore Trust and Baldwin Wallace University, where he is Vice Chair. John sits on the investment committees of the United Way of Greater Cleveland and Bluecoats Inc.

Michael Moran

CEO & Managing Partner
Walnut Ridge Family Office

Mike Moran leads Walnut Ridge, a multigenerational family office for the founders of GOJO/PURELL. He leads a team that managers a large portfolio of investments, oversees controlling interest in operating companies, and manages philanthropic foundations. Previously, he was with Linsalata Capital Partners and KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Kevin Nelson

Market Executive
Northwest Bank

Kevin has a long-standing and successful career in banking, currently serving as Northwest Bank’s Ohio Region president. He leverages his knowledge and expertise to direct all of Northwest’s business development efforts in Ohio to meet the commercial, small business and personal finance needs of the bank’s customers.

Brian Paul

Operating Partner
North Park Group

Brian has had success in scaling industrial start-ups (5x in 4 years during COVID), leading turnarounds of $100m+ divisions, and driving profitable growth of small & mid-sized organizations. With success in both B2B and DTC his experience in professionalizing closely held family businesses has helped him gain insight into their internal dynamics, succession planning, and change management.

A.J. Petitti

President
Petitti Garden Centers

Sacha Polakoff

CEO
North American Kitchen Solutions, Inc.

Sacha Polakoff is an entrepreneur and a change agent leader for private equity in the past 10 years. In his most recent role as CEO at North American Kitchen Solutions (NAKS), a restaurant ventilation systems company, since 2017, he professionalized the business, participated in the sales of the business in 2022, and had 3 successful bolt-on acquisitions.

Ryan Richards

Partner
CW Industrial Partners

Ryan Richards is a Partner at CW Industrial Partners (CWI), an industrial focused, lower-middle market private equity firm based in Cleveland, OH. In this role, Ryan’s primary responsibilities include identifying and evaluating new investment opportunities and partnering with the senior leadership teams across CWI’s portfolio to drive strategic growth initiatives.

Steve Ross

President
Squire Ridge Company

Steven is President of Squire Ridge Company, a private equity firm with committed capital that acquires lower middle market companies for long-term ownership.  Mr. Ross serves as a board member on a number of privately held businesses including Louver Shop, EnviroScience,  Allegheny Performance Plastics, and Proformex, Inc.   Steve is Co-Chair of the Advisory Council for the Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors Northeast Ohio chapter and is a member of the Cleveland Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG).

Phil Ryan

Partner - Co-Lead Private Equity Services
Cohen & Co

Phil Ryan is a partner in Cohen & Co's Cleveland office and co-leads the firm’s national Private Equity industry services group. In his Private Equity Market Leader role, Phil helps develop, implement and execute the firm's strategy towards private equity firms and owned businesses. He helps provide tailored, industry-focused solutions across the private equity ecosystem, including at the fund level, operating company level and M&A advisory.

Diana Selzer

Senior Vice President - Corporate & Institutional Banking Regional Executive
S&T Bank

Diana Selzer is a Senior Vice President and Corporate & Institutional Banking Regional Executive with S&T Bank, where she partners with middle-market companies to structure strategic financing for growth, acquisitions, and complex transactions. With extensive experience in commercial banking, she is known for building trusted relationships and helping businesses execute their most important opportunities.

Greg Skoda, Jr.

Managing Director
CBIZ

Jeffrey Stern

Principal
The O.H.I.O. Fund

Jeffrey Stern is a founding Principal at The O.H.I.O. Fund, where he focuses on investment opportunities across Ohio’s economy.

Before joining The O.H.I.O. Fund, Jeffrey co-founded Axuall, a Cleveland-based healthcare technology company that has raised over $40 million in venture capital to streamline credentialing processes across the healthcare industry. At Axuall, he led product strategy, compliance, and partnerships.

Jeffrey also hosts Lay of The Land, a podcast featuring 250+ interviews with Northeast Ohio founders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs. The show has surpassed 100,000 downloads, was named Best Podcast of the Year (2025) by Cleveland Scene, and received the Community Impact Award from the Greater Cleveland Partnership. He is also a founding advisor to The Ohio Angel Collective and serves as a board advisor for Signal Cleveland.

Originally from Manhattan, Jeffrey chose to make Cleveland his home—inspired by Ohio’s history of entrepreneurship and its potential to lead a new wave of American industrialization and innovation. He holds dual degrees in Information Science and Economics from Cornell University.

Brian Stovsky

SVP, National M&A Practice Leader
Oswald Companies

Brian Stovsky joined Oswald Companies in 2017 within Oswald’s Large Accounts and Private Equity practices. Brian became the Business Development Leader of Oswald’s Private Equity Practice in 2020, leading and managing the new business and transactional due diligence teams, and became the practice leader for the Private Equity and M&A vertical across all Unison Risk Advisor companies nationally in 2024. Brian is responsible for creating and maintaining new relationships with equity investors, strategic acquirers, their portfolio companies, and other acquisitive companies throughout the US as well as collaborating with all Unison Risk Advisors companies relative to Private Equity and M&A opportunities.

Prior to joining Oswald, Brian worked as an associate for PwC in their audit practice as well as Edgepoint, a sell-side investment banking firm in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cheryl Strom

Partner
The Riverside Company

As a highly experienced private equity professional, I bring a range of capital choices to business owners, management teams and advisors. Utilizing growth capital, non-control capital, majority-stake equity partnerships, full acquisitions, and debt for small and middle-market businesses, I can help your company or client. Tapping into 16 years of experience at The Riverside Company, I lead the firm’s Origination initiatives with deal source firms and referral sources based throughout the Midwestern United States. Together with a team of 16 Origination professionals across North America, we collectively establish new stand-alone companies, also called platform companies; and find and complete add-on acquisitions which enable Riverside's portfolio companies to expand by adding new product lines, service offerings, or geographies.

RJ Valentine

Chief Financial Officer
Foundation Wellness

RJ Valentine is an accomplished operator of private equity and publicly traded companies, and entrepreneur. He currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Foundation Wellness, a global manufacturer of health and wellness products. In late 2024 Foundation Wellness was sold in a successful sponsor to sponsor transaction from Gridiron Capital to Bansk Capital.

RJ has led mid-market companies for over 25 years and has completed approximately 30 buy-side/sell-side transactions around the globe for a total deal value of $1.5B. Using his foundational background as a CPA he has prepared and executed multiple exits in private equity and publicly traded companies. He has also served as a board member of private equity and privately held companies.

Andy Vollmer

Managing Director and Co-CEO
BellMark Partners, LLC

Andy is Managing Director and Co-CEO of Bellmark Partners, LLC, and head of the firm’s Cleveland office. Andy has over 28 years of investment banking experience, having personally completed well over 100 M&A, special committee, and board advisory assignments. Previously, he was with KeyBanc Capital Markets, where he was head of the sponsor coverage, consumer & retail and M&A investment banking groups.

Chip Weinberg

Managing Partner
Weinberg Capital Group

Mr. Weinberg is the current Managing Partner of Weinberg Capital Group. Prior to joining Weinberg Capital, Mr. Weinberg served as Managing Director of Global Acquisitions and Business Development for Hawk Corporation (AMEX: HWK), a manufacturer of specialized components used in the aerospace, industrial and specialty consumer markets. Additionally, Mr. Weinberg was an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Ohio under the term of Attorney General Lee Fisher.

Ed Weinfurtner

Executive Chairman & Co-Owner
Great Day Improvements

Amy Willey

Member, M&A Group
McDonald Hopkins

Amy Willey is a Member in the firm’s Business Department and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group. Her practice is focused on representing both strategic buyers and sellers including private companies and private equity funds in various types of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, leveraged buyouts, distressed acquisitions and dispositions, and investments. 

In addition to her merger and acquisition practice, Amy works extensively with family and privately owned companies on a variety of general corporate matters, including commercial contract negotiation, structuring business organizations, compliance and operational issues and business succession planning. Amy also works with companies in structuring and consummating venture capital and securities offerings. 

She has a strong passion for helping entrepreneurs and businesses on corporate social governance matters to help impact-driven companies continue to grow the revenues while having a positive social impact by assisting with business initiatives ranging from social finance and impact investing to organizational matters for “b corporations.” Amy brings this passion to her M&A practice by helping both buyers and sellers to ensure cultural alignment and integration planning in their transactions, and works as general outside counsel for companies with the dual objectives of profit and purpose. 

Amy earned her J.D., cum laude, from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2013. She also received a Master of Elementary Education, summa cum laude, from Arizona State University in 2009 and a B.A. in political science from Yale University in 2007, where she served as a coordinator for Dwight Hall, the largest campus-based student-run service organization in the country.  Following her undergraduate studies, she joined Teach for America as a corps member where she taught fifth grade and computers in Phoenix, Arizona, where she helped facilitate professional development programs and district curriculum development

Sean Williams

CEO
Foundation Wellness

Results driven CEO with over 20+ years experience in both big and small consumer products companies including leadership roles with 3 different billion dollar brands. Has been part of teams that have driven breakthrough results in both North American and International roles. Strategic and inspirational leader who gets the most out of the teams by driving accountability, teamwork and optimism with a passion to win and have fun.

Claude Zoghzoghi

President
Seasoned Brands

Claude Zoghzoghi serves as President at Seasoned Brands, where he oversees the holding company that incorporates a regional restaurant group of more than 50 locations in four different states, including Aladdin’s, Taza, Sittoo’s, Boaz, and others. Additionally, he manages their 50,000 sq ft. commissary and food hub in Cleveland.

Claude joined the group in 2017 with a focus on strengthening the financial infrastructure and preparing the company for growth and expansion. Over the past five years, the company has experienced significant sales growth and is planning to expand its regional footprint in the Midwest.

Seasoned Brands has not only grown in terms of locations but also in its commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. The company has implemented innovative strategies to enhance the dining experience, streamline operations, and foster a culture of excellence among its employees.