David Allston

Founder
Belt Avenue

Belt Avenue founder David Allston has held senior business development roles at Harbour Group and MiddleGround Capital and has built deep relationships across investment banker, business broker, and trusted advisor networks. Belt Avenue is an outsourced business development firm that enables clients to leverage the firms deep relationships in the market to access deal flow without the requirement of bringing a full-time resource on board. Belt Avenue is currently sourcing opportunities across debt, manufacturing and distribution, healthcare, technology and software, services and consumer markets.

Joe Ambrose

Executive Director - First Bank Center for Family-Owned Businesses
First Bank

Joe is Executive Director of First Bank’s Center for Family-owned Businesses which provides resources to meet the unique needs of generational business owners and their family members. He also has assisted with First Bank’s community reinvestment and development activities across its market areas. Joe is a member of Frist Bank’s Management Committee. In all, he has forty three years of banking experience.

Marilyn Bush

President, Bank of America St. Louis | Market Executive, Business Banking - Gateway Market
Bank of America

Marilyn serves as the President of Bank of America St. Louis. As President, Marilyn is responsible for connecting the banking and investment resources offered through the eight lines of business to companies, families and individuals in St. Louis. She also leads the effort to deploy Bank of America’s resources to address social and economic concerns and build strong communities. Marilyn previously served as St. Louis Market Integration Executive before being named President of St. Louis.

Marilyn is the Business Banking Market Executive for the Gateway Market, serving private sector companies in Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois. In this role, she leads a team of relationship managers who deliver strategic financial advice and solutions to growth-oriented companies to improve cash flow, structure capital projects and manage debt, provide advice on international expansion and maximize company’s enterprise value. As a 37-year veteran of Bank of America, Marilyn has dedicated her career to delivering commercial banking services to both private and public sector.

Kenny Butler

CEO
Butler Merchandising Solutions; Irby Properties

Bo Butters

Principal
CLA

Bo is a Principal at CliftonLarsonAllen LLP with 26 years experience assisting private and public businesses with accounting, tax and consulting issues. He is one of the St. Louis regional leaders for transaction services provided to private equity firms and privately-held companies. Bo has extensive experience serving as the lead partner on due diligence and audit engagements in conjunction with business acquisitions and dispositions.

John Dolan

President & CEO
PFI InStore

John is the President & CEO of PFI Holdings (d.b.a. PFI InStore), which owns and operates four manufacturing companies that produce in-store displays and fixtures for major retailers and brands. A CFB portfolio company with over 350 employees in 7 different manufacturing facilities, PFI InStore closed on their most recent acquisition in December 2020. John has built a reputation in turning around PE held companies in distress with sales focused leadership and rapid managerial development.

Andrew Fehlman

Chief Executive Officer
Solarity

Andrew Fehlman joined Solarity in 2008 and leads the company today as CEO. Solarity’s mission is to make healthcare data accessible to all end users – The Provider, The Patient and The Payer. Solarity's artificial intelligence engine gives organizations across the healthcare spectrum the ability to find and make informed decisions from clinical information at scale. With innovations in artificial intelligence technology, we augment the ability to read, decipher, and understand patient information for more cost-effective and appropriate healthcare. Roughly 80% of healthcare data is unstructured and underused. Solarity helps organizations use all of their data for knowledge about patient health. This ultimately translates into more effective care delivery, lower costs, and streamlined processes.

Since 2008 Andrew's mission has been to earn the business of every healthcare system in America! Today Solarity is in use at (and endorsed by) many of the biggest names in healthcare.

Andrew graduated from Saint Louis University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and concentration in Entrepreneurship.

Daniel Forguson

Founding Partner & Chief Financial Officer
The HFW Companies

Daniel is a founding partner and serves as Chief Financial Officer, working closely with the corporate development M&A team in evaluating and acquiring member firms, and ongoing portfolio optimization. Daniel has 15 years of leadership experience in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry. Prior to joining HFW, Daniel served as Chief Financial Officer and Regional Finance Director for national AE firms.

Neal Furlong

Senior Wealth Advisor
Hightower Wealth Advisors

Neal brings 25+ years of comprehensive planning experience in his role as Senior Wealth Advisor at HighTower, a respected St. Louis-based Wealth Management practice. Neal believes in the importance of fundamentals and discipline (stemming from his college football days); it is the approach he takes to creating financial plans. Focused on business owners, Neal’s experience runs from executive/owner benefits through advanced succession planning and holds his Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) credentials.

Rob Godlewski

Partner & CMO
Chief Outsiders

Rob is a Partner and fractional CMO with Chief Outsiders. He offers progressive global leadership experience and commercial awareness to create growth engines that drive profitability, improve productivity and focus on continuous improvement. Rob brings extensive experience with commercial equipment and consumer packaged goods manufacturers and wholesalers leading all aspects of business operations with focused leadership in marketing, new product development and omni-channel business development.

Taylor Hall

Chief Legal Officer
Permanent Equity

Taylor Hall is Chief Legal Officer/Managing Director at Permanent Equity, a midwest-based private equity firm seeking long term investments in enduring companies with durable value propositions, strong leadership, and ambition for the future. At Permanent Equity, Taylor leads all transactions, from diligence to documentation to integration. Taylor also supports all portfolio companies with their legal and operational needs. Previously, Taylor was in private practice as a corporate attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions, with experience representing a broad array of buyers and sellers in a wide variety of both private and public transactions.

Keith Harbison

Founder
Alitus Partners

Keith was founder, chairman and president of Pretium Packaging, growing it into one of the largest plastic bottle manufacturers in North America. After selling it, he founded Alitus Partners, which provides small business owners with the capital and operating expertise to enhance growth and support infrastructure development. Alitus has a long-term strategy and invests in control positions in lower middle-market businesses involved in manufacturing, processing, industrial services and business services.

Hal Hardin

Business Performance Advisor
Insperity

For 25 years Hal has worked with small and mid-market business owners helping them maximize their investment in people. He has experience working with early stage start-ups through multi-location mid-market operations. He has helped companies implement workforce development, streamline administration, improve compliance and contain the cost of benefits. His experience includes business ownership and management in publishing, advertising and telecommunications.

Gus Haug

Managing Director
Cequel III

Since joining Cequel III in 2011, Mr. Haug has worked on corporate development, M&A, strategy, and finance initiatives for Cequel III and its past and present portfolio companies, including Suddenlink, TierPoint, StayLock, and the Cequel Family Office. In his current role for TierPoint, he also leads the product pricing team. Gus Haug serves on the board of directors of ATIS and previously served on the board of directors of DxContinuum, before its successful sale to ServiceNow in January 2016. Before joining Cequel III, Mr. Haug worked at U.S. Bank in the Media and Telecom lending group, then moved to the leveraged finance group. Mr. Haug earned a BSBA in Finance and MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. He continues to be involved with the institution, serving on the executive committee of the W Club, which supports school athletic programs, and guest lecturing in finance classes offered through the University’s Olin Business School.

Michael Hein, AIA

CEO
The HFW Companies

Michael is a registered architect and CEO of HFW Companies. Michael is responsible for driving the company’s vision and culture, fostering big ideas, mapping the strategic plan, and removing obstacles that threaten to disrupt the company. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from City College of New York and a Master of Architecture from The Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Kent Heintz

Director, Commercial Banking
BMO Harris

Rachel Huddleston

Director of Commercial Finance
UniGroup

Missy Kelley

Chief Growth Officer
Anders CPAs + Advisors

Missy is a seasoned professional with over 22 years of experience in strategic growth roles within Fortune 500 companies in the consumer-packaged goods and pharmacy benefits management sectors. Her expertise lies in driving innovation, market expansion and strategic planning. Missy’s strategic insights and leadership capabilities have been instrumental in creating lasting impacts on both the corporate and public sectors. Her unique blend of corporate experience and non-profit leadership has enabled her to approach challenges holistically, fostering innovation and growth across different contexts. Missy holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, a B.A. in Psychology from Truman State University, and was named to the 2018 Class of Most Influential Business Women by the St. Louis Business Journal.

Meg Kellogg

Tax Principal
BDO USA LLP

Meg Kellogg is a Tax Principal at BDO. She has 31 years of tax experience, including over 28 years in public accounting. Meg’s extensive experience includes serving privately held flow-through entities with tax planning and compliance, in addition to her experience with consolidated entities and income tax accounting. Meg has served clients in a variety of industries including construction, telecommunications, retail and manufacturing.

Dr. Han Ko

President & CEO
USAKO Group

With over three decades of experience in international tech investment, business scale-up and commercial real estate, Han Ko is a seasoned leader in the field. Leveraging his technology background, Han has successfully launched and managed multiple ventures in both the United States and Asia. His expertise spans venture capital investments in technology and innovation, as well as commercial real estate.

In recent years, Han and his company have solidified their presence in the global market, including significant $10M investment agreements with reputable high tech companies in various parts of the global market in high tech AI platform, visual image processing and ESG solutions, which were recognized by both the South Korean government and the U.S. market. Additionally, USAKO Group has invested in numerous high-tech companies specializing in AI, healthcare, biotech, fintech, blockchain and ecommerce.

As a second-generation commercial real estate investor, Han's background has equipped him to navigate and capitalize on strategic opportunities. USAKO Group, headquartered in the USA with an office in Seoul, South Korea, maintains a global partnership status and network, particularly in the South Korean market.

Driven by his passion for bridging the U.S. and South Korean markets, Han has spearheaded initiatives such as "Go Global with USAKO Group," in collaboration with the S. Korean Government, bringing multiple businesses to the Greater St. Louis market.

Beyond his entrepreneurial pursuits, Han is deeply engaged in the economic development community and mentoring entrepreneurs, actively contributing to various EDO organizations and educational institutes. Currently, he serves as a board member of the St. Louis County Commission as a Commissioner, MO District of Export Council, Asian American Chamber of Commerce, and Southwest Illinois Investment and Trade Council. He has also served as a board member of a S. Korean presidential advisory council for the past 2 decades. In addition, he serves as a part-time faculty at a U.S. university in teaching and mentoring technology and investment. Through his dedication, Han continues to play a pivotal role in advancing regional economic growth, fostering international partnerships and grooming the next generation of entrepreneurs. 

Amy Kohl

Founder & CEO
AK Operations

After a decade of running sales and marketing operations in pursuit of grabbing market share as quickly as possible, Amy pioneered a strategy to effectively leverage automation to enable reps and maximize the conversion of the funnel. A utility player in all her start-ups, she quickly fell in love with mastering lead-to-pipeline generation. In the summer of 2018, AK Operations went from a “someday” idea to a “let’s do it” plan. And she’s never looked back!

Since founding the company in 2018, Amy has rapidly earned a proven track record for developing aggressive programs that have generated millions of dollars in incremental revenue for their 100+ customers. She has since added 10 women to join her team and coined SharpChicks to describe them due to their extreme level of hustle, smarts, and competitive nature.

The vision to do nonstop good work for good people has made AK Ops a Dream Partner. The mission to support sales teams with meaningful campaigns, enablement, and revenue-centric insights has made AK Ops a Marketing & Sales Powerhouse.

Lee M. Koury

Managing Partner
Smart Business Network Inc.

Lee is managing partner of Smart Business Network Inc., a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Aspire deal-making conference 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. 

Kurt Leinauer

VP/General Manager
Lohr Distributing Co., Inc.

Chip Lerwick

Managing Director | Missouri Market Leader
Aon

Chip Lerwick is the Aon Missouri Leader with offices in St. Louis and Kansas City with responsibility for managing Missouri colleagues across Risk, Retirement and Health solutions to deliver the full range of Aon’s capabilities. Chip has over 25 years of experience in business development, sales management and general management working with middle market to Fortune 25 companies with a proven track record delivering results through the alignment of key resources and capabilities to meet business objectives.

Brian Lord

CEO
iSite Media LLC

Brian Lord is co-founder and CEO at iSite Media. Brian leads the vision and growth of iSite's video signage network inside the most recognizable professional and D1 college sporting venues is the country. Previously, he worked for the world renown talent agency Creative Artist Agency (CAA) in their NFL devision and then followed that by a carrier as an entrepreneur, including a successful exit as co-founder of Chicago based Select Energy Partners.

Jason Mannello

Director - Private Markets
Hermann Companies

Jason is the Director of Private Markets with Hermann Companies, where he focuses on performing due diligence on potential investment opportunities and monitoring the performance of current partnerships. He is a Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder. Before joining Hermann Companies, Jason spent 15 years at RubinBrown LLP, holding the positions of Analyst, Manager, and then Partner. During this time, Jason developed expertise in corporate finance, business valuation, economic analysis, business development, and strategic planning – skills which he brings to our organization and are valued by our investment partners.

Mark Mantovani

Retired Chairman, Pres & CEO of Ansira
Mantovani Holdings, LLC

Mark served as Chairman, President and CEO of Ansira from 2000 to 2017 where he led the business from a 50 person, $5.5M revenue stream to one of the three largest independently owned digital marketing businesses in America with more than 800 employees and approximately $130M in revenue. During that period, he led the Company’s transition through multiple recapitalizations, private equity partnerships and acquisitions. Prior to assuming control of Ansira, he was co-founder and principal in the St. Louis law firm of Behr, Mantovani, McCarter and Potter, P.C., where he advised clients on general corporate law, mergers and acquisitions and related matters. Most recently, he was a Senior Fellow in the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative.  

Mike McLeod

CEO
RapidFire Safety & Security LLC

Mike is CEO & Founder of RapidFire Safety & Security and is a career operating executive in the life safety and security industry. He is an innovative, strategic, and values-driven leader with a mission to inspire and empower teams to surpass objectives. With expertise in mergers and acquisitions, Mike has acquired and successfully integrated over 75 businesses.

Tom Meredith

Partner
Brightstar Capital Partners

Tom Meredith is a Partner at Brightstar and Member of the Investment Committee. He currently serves as Board Chair of ReMarkets, Vice Chair of Likewize and BrightCell, all Brightstar portfolio companies.

Tom’s career spans more than 35 years and includes extensive experience in corporate finance, manufacturing, finance operations, and global financial markets. Prior to joining Brightstar, Tom was Vice Board Chair of Likewize, which was sold to Softbank in 2014. He was a Co-founder and Chair of the Board of Managers of Meritage Capital, an investment management firm specializing in multi-manager hedge funds.

Prior to establishing Meritage in 2003, Tom served in various senior positions at Dell, including CFO, SVP of Business Development and Strategy, and Managing Director of Dell Ventures. Prior to joining Dell, he was VP and Treasurer for Sun Microsystems and Co-Founder and GM of Amdahl Capital Corporation.

Bill Morgan

Managing Member & Owner
Process Control Solutions, LLC

Bill currently owns and operates a turn-key provider of systems integration services and distributor of process equipment in the Midwest. Prior to PCS, he purchased the assets of a distressed St. Louis based manufacturing company which he later sold after a complete turn-around. Additionally, Bill was a senior executive for a diversified, privately held middle market manufacturing company having key roles in Corporate Operations and serving on the Executive Staff of various business units within the portfolio. He has an MBA from the University of California and has been a board member for multiple businesses.

Dr. Ronda Sauget

Strategic Consultant
Validus Business Strategies, LLC

Ronda Sauget, D.Mgt, M.B.A, serves as a Strategic Consultant. In this role, she provides clients with competitive intelligence, strategic planning, contingency preparation, crisis/communications management, market research, business leadership, financial modeling, and executive coaching expertise to help drive business growth and bottom-line success.

She has over 26 years of experience working across industry sectors and in consulting roles helping business, industry, and organizational clients. Prior to joining the firm, she has served in prominent executive leadership positions, including executive director and CEO of an economic development agency in southwestern Illinois where she solidified over $1 million in continency funding development, represented 9 counties, developed strategic direction for some of the region’s largest infrastructure projects, and positively impacted over 700,000 residents. She has expertise in healthcare, industrial development, multi-modal transportation, supply-chain logistics and distribution, workforce development, broadband technology innovations, agriculture, manufacturing, and regional infrastructure project management.

In 2019, she received St. Louis Business Journal’s Most Influential Business Women’s Award. She led a nation-wide effort on Military and Spouse Licensure and Reciprocity, serves as a Air Mobility Command Civic Leader Alumni Member, and currently participates in the Air Force Civic Leader Program, Headquarters Pentagon, Washington, DC. She serves on Focus STL BOD, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacology President's Council, SIUE Technology and Innovation Park BOD, and FBI Springfield Citizen's Academy Association BOD. She has also participated with the Titan 100 STL Nomination Committee and Hall of Fame 2023 Judge.

William Schmidt

General Partner
Cultivation Capital

Bill has 30 years of experience in medical device and healthcare information technology sectors. He founded, built and sold a highly successful digital health company called LDM Group. LDM developed a proprietary software platform designed to drive behavioral adherence. This platform was fully integrated into both EMR/EHR and retail pharmacy dispensing systems to enable patient interaction.

Prior to LDM, he held various executive leadership positions, most notably at UnitedStates Surgical Corporation (now Covidien, owned by Medtronic) and Catalina Health Resource.

Bill serves on numerous portfolio company boards as well as for the St. Louis ZooAssociation and St. Louis Community Foundation. He is on the Competition Committee for Arch Grants. A sports enthusiast, he is an active coach in Special Olympics and enjoys coaching soccer as well.

Jack Senneff

Managing Director
Thompson Street Capital Partners

Jack serves as a Managing Director at Thompson Street Capital Partners, a St. Louis-based private equity firm focused on investing in founder-led middle market businesses in the Healthcare & Life Science Services, Software & Technology Services and Business Services & Engineered Products sectors. He leads the firm’s Deal Origination and Portfolio Support teams. Prior to joining Thompson Street, Jack served in the United States Army as an Infantry officer in Ranger, Airborne, and Mechanized units. He also subsequently managed a regional service sales force with Cintas Corporation, a national facilities service provider. Jack is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned his MBA from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Tom Shaner

St. Louis Market President
CIBC

Kevin Short

Managing Partner & CEO
Clayton Capital Partners

Kevin is managing director and CEO of Clayton Capital Partners, a St. Louis-based investment banking firm specializing in merger and acquisition advisement. He is author of "Sell Your Business For An Outrageous Price," which synthesizes his experiences selling mid-sized companies for twice the industry average EBITDA multiple. He has also orchestrated more than 150 purchase/sale transactions with an aggregate value of more than $1 billion. Years of experience enable him to aggressively pursue his clients’ objectives during the turbulence that characterizes every transaction.

Jacob Sturdy

Founding Partner
ArchStar Capital, LLC

Jake Sturdy is co-founder of ArchStar Capital. ArchStar takes a long-term, patient approach to building industry-leading companies, with a focus on long- term value creation rather than short-term, IRR-driven results. The founders of ArchStar work alongside our management teams to drive results and create sustained, durable growth over an extended period. Since 2004, Jake has dedicated his career to private equity investing and portfolio company operations.

Brian Viehmann

CEO
Gateway Dredging and Contracting, LLC

Brian Viehmann is CEO and a third generation owner of Gateway Dredging and Contracting. Gateway produces sand for the Construction Industry in the St. Louis area. They also provide Marine Support. This includes Boat Services, Rentals, and Dock Maintenance. Gateway has a sister company, Kimaterials, Inc. They supply sand and gravel to St. Charles, Lincoln, and Warren Counties in Missouri. Brian has decades of experience managing the companies' generational transition.

Joseph Walsh

Principal
Harness IP

Joe began his legal career as in-house counsel to a leading petrochemical company. Since then, he has had the great privilege of serving as a trusted advisor to a variety of multinational clients — frequently setting up office within his client’s facilities and working side-by-side with in-house counsel. Joe strives to see matters and legal issues through the eyes of his clients, specifically taking into account their objectives and resources. Joe is committed to delivering high-quality legal advice that makes good business sense at a cost that doesn’t surprise.

Joe develops and executes large and small-scale IP strategies alike in virtually every part of the industrialized world. He facilitates these projects utilizing carefully selected, high-caliber and reliable foreign counsel — all of whom he has worked with personally. Joe negotiates and drafts a full array of IP agreements, including sophisticated research, joint-development, technology-transfer and licensing agreements. He delivers legal and business solutions to even the most complicated patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and related litigation and licensing matters. Joe has particular experience in merger, acquisition and divestiture transactions, and he has a reputation for conducting IP due diligence investigations on-time and in-budget.

Douglas Wilber

Chief Strategy Officer
Capacity

Doug Wilber is the Chief Strategy Officer at Capacity, an AI-powered support automation platform. Wilber is an experienced AI and social media thought leader, skilled at guiding brands through digital transformation that preserves the authentic relationships core to many industries.