Host Committee

Cathy is president of JumpStart, where she works across all areas of the organization to help achieve the organization’s core mission. Alongside the CEO and other senior leaders, she helps to manage JumpStart’s relationships with collaborators, funders and other community partners. She previously served as JumpStart’s COO and chief relationship officer before becoming president. To JumpStart, she brought 20 years of experience in consumer and business marketing and business management.

Fred became the CEO of Ancora in 2006 and chairman in 2014. He leads the company and its three registered investment advisers along with its broker dealer. Prior to joining Ancora, Fred served as the executive vice president and manager of the Fifth Third Bank’s Investment Advisors Division overseeing Investment Management, Private Banking and Trust and Banking Services. He served as president and CEO of Maxus Investment Group from 1998 to 2000.

Umberto is an active investor and entrepreneur. His firm, The Fedeli Group, is one of Ohio’s largest privately held risk management and insurance firms, specializing in property and casualty, employee benefits consulting, workers’ compensation, environmental risk management and surety. Umberto sits on numerous private company boards, is a managing member of Strategic Value Bank Partners LP, and has previously held positions on the boards of many other public and private entities. He is a member of the board of directors of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and serves as chairman of the Government and Community Relations Board.

Frank was elected as RPM’s chairman and CEO in October 2008. Previously, he held various positions at RPM starting with his first position in 1987 as regional sales manager at RPM’s joint-venture AGR Co., to his election as the company’s vice president of corporate development in 1991, to CFO in 1993, to executive vice president in 1995, as well as earning the positions of president in 1999, COO in 2001 and president and CEO in 2002. Prior to his employment at RPM, he held various positions in the areas of commercial lending and corporate finance at Harris Bank and First Union National Bank.

Ronald has overall leadership responsibility for the region’s investment management, trust administration, business development and private banking businesses. He has more than 35 years of experience in the wealth management industry. Prior to joining the firm, he was with Key Bank National Association, where he was most recently the national sales manager for the firm’s wealth management division.

Marcia Ballinger, Ph.D., president of Lorain County Community College, has more than 25 years in community college leadership roles that have advanced student success, workforce and economic development, strategic planning and institutional advancement.  Under her leadership and deep commitment to student success, LCCC was recognized by the American Association for Community Colleges (AACC) as the 2018 Recipient of the AACC Award of Excellence in Student Success. 

Jeff is regional president of First National Bank’s Northeast Ohio region. First National Bank has approximately $32 billion in assets. He leads FNB’s cross-functional business model in the Cleveland market, with direct responsibility for regional Corporate Banking efforts and business development opportunities. He has 30 years of financial services experience, and most recently served as executive vice president and COO for First Federal of Lakewood.

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 serves as regional president (Northeastern Ohio) of Fifth Third Bank, which has $3.4 billion in assets. In this role, he is responsible for the growth and strategic alignment of its Commercial, Wealth and Asset Management and Consumer businesses to deliver distinctive value to customers and community impact in the region. Joe joined Fifth Third from Citizens Bank, where he most recently served as president for Ohio. Prior to assuming that role in 2013, he held positions of increasing responsibility within the commercial banking sector for more than a decade. His broad experience includes middle-market commercial lending as well as asset-backed lending.

Sean founded League Park Advisors in 2010.  He was previously senior managing director and head of Investment Banking and Capital Markets at National City Corp. Sean has more than 30 years of experience as an investment banker, private equity professional, corporate lawyer and business leader.

Dave has more than 25 years of investment banking and advisory experience providing merger, acquisition and capital raising services in the consumer products, specialty retailing, business/IT services, health care and technology sectors. Prior to co-founding Western Reserve, he was a managing director of KeyBanc Capital Markets and former manager of McDonald Investments’ Consumer investment banking.

Jim is a veteran banker who recently joined SunTrust as market president of Commercial Banking in Northern Ohio. His primary responsibility in this expansion market is to develop a team and establish new relationships in the middle-market segment. Prior to joining the company, Jim was a managing director and regional president for JPMorgan Chase Bank. A native of Northeast Ohio, Jim was with Key Bank for 20 years and served in a variety of leadership positions in commercial and business banking, as well as wealth management.

Mark previously served as the co-founder and senior managing director of SS&G, which joined BDO in January 2015. He has more than 40 years of experience serving both business and individual clients, advising and assisting them with their financial and operational endeavors. Since 2012, Mark has served on the board of directors of the Charles Schwab Corp., and is currently the chair of the audit committee.

Howard is chair of the Ulmer & Berne Business Law Group. He counsels public and private companies, hedge funds, private equity funds and other investment entities in connection with the raising of capital, compliance with federal and state securities laws, and investment and M&A transactions. Formerly with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Howard represents brokerage firms, financial services firms, investment advisers, and financial intermediaries with respect to their compliance and regulatory matters as well as acquisitions, divestitures and governance matters.

Aaron is the co-founder and CEO of Alliance Solutions Group, a full-service staffing and recruitment firm providing highly specialized offerings within niche industries or specific career disciplines. Established in 2001 and headquartered in Cleveland, Alliance Solutions Group matches talent with opportunity, engaging in thousands of successful placements annually. Aaron received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2015 Award in the Services Category.

Steve Hendricks is executive vice president, market president, for the Northeast Ohio region of S&T Bank. With over 30 years of experience in banking and finance, he played an integral role in the opening of the S&T loan production office (LPO) in Fairlawn in 2012 and the Independence LPO in 2018. He will continue to support the momentous growth into Northeast Ohio through the opening of the Cuyahoga Falls branch this year.

Jayne serves as co-chair of the Corporate Governance practice group and chair of the Private Equity practice group at Tucker Ellis and as vice chair of the American Bar Association’s Corporate Governance Committee. She is a trusted adviser to investors, boards, and management on corporate transactions, regulatory compliance and fiduciary duties. She counsels public and high-growth private companies, private equity funds and venture capital funds through all stages of their life cycles and has been a key adviser on domestic and cross border deals.

The Riverside Co. is a global private equity firm focused on making control and non-control investments in growing businesses valued at up to $400 million. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 410 transactions. The firm’s international portfolio includes more than 80 companies. Stewart previously served as vice president of Citicorp Venture Capital and COO of the National Cooperative Business Association in Washington, D.C

Lee Koury 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. 

Jamie joined Chemical Bank in May of 2013 and has successfully built, grown and managed the Northeast Ohio Region. Jamie is responsible for leadership, growth, strategic alignment and profitability of the bank and its businesses including commercial banking, treasury management, private banking/wealth management, mortgage banking and retail banking. Jamie’s 27 years of experience includes commercial banking, investment banking and consulting. In the financial services industry, Jamie successfully built, grew, led and managed six profitable businesses totaling growth of $2.6 billion in assets.

Tony is CEO of the Mazzella Cos., a diversified supplier of lifting solutions founded by his father, Jim, in 1954. Tony became president in 1988 and over the next several years embarked on a series of acquisitions. Today, with more than 500 employees and 24 locations, Mazzella Cos. also provides provide training, in-field inspection and repair services that support the company’s products.

Cheryl has a passion for raising awareness in leaders about how their choices and unconscious actions impact their results. She leads four C-suite peer advisory boards, comprised of CEO’s or senior executives from noncompeting companies in Northeast Ohio.  Through a combination of individual coaching, unbiased feedback from peers and insights from world-class speakers, Vistage helps its members become better leaders leading more balanced lives.

Scott is a trusted adviser to clients planning to buy or sell a business across a wide variety of industries. He has led teams that have contributed to well over 100 successful transactions. Scott is skilled in guiding private equity and corporate clients on acquisition and divestiture activity, including due diligence, integration planning and implementation, transaction structuring, valuation, and divestiture planning and preparation.

Bill is vice president of growth for Nottingham Spirk, leading both the business development and marketing initiatives. As a member of the Nottingham Spirk (NS) Leadership Team, he is focused on future growth and sustainability for the firm. He also helps establish NS equity venture companies and serves as an adviser.

Jon serves as a counselor to high net worth families, including some of Cleveland’s leading philanthropic families. His practice includes estate and wealth planning and related tax matters. Jon structures complex and sophisticated trust vehicles to provide asset protection and succession planning. He is also a member of KJK’s executive committee. He represents public and private companies in securities litigation and other complex commercial disputes.

Steven is president of Squire Ridge Co., a Cleveland-based holding company that acquires niche manufacturing and specialty service companies for long-term ownership. Prior to founding Squire Ridge, he was a general partner of MCM Capital Partners, a Cleveland-based private equity firm, where he spent 15 years. He serves as a board member on a number of privately held businesses, including EnviroScience, Allegheny Performance Plastics and ProFormex.

Jeff coordinates the analysis of a target company’s exposure to risk in the areas of commercial insurance, employee benefits, retirement plans and life insurance strategies. The group delivers a comprehensive review and understanding of the entire risk profile of the target company; including the insured and uninsured exposures faced by an entity. The group also projects pro-forma costs for the target to allow for reliable financial modeling post close.

John is the chairman and co-founder of Cyprium Partners, a private equity firm that primarily makes “sponsorless” non-controlling mezzanine and equity investments in privately owned lower middle-market companies. Cyprium is currently investing out of Fund IV, a 2014 vintage fund with $460 million in committed capital. John founded Key Principal Partners, a predecessor group in 1998 simultaneously establishing Cyprium Investors.

Greg helps clients achieve their business growth objectives through active development of their strategic plans, as well as implementation of mergers, acquisitions and dispositions. He also helps clients build and deploy creative business and personal tax planning, succession, estate planning and wealth accumulation strategies. Skoda Minotti has won the Inc. 5000 award 13 times, more than any other company.

Doug focuses his legal practice on the defense of employers in Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance and workers' compensation claims. He has extensive experience representing employers before various Ohio commissions and in the courts of Ohio at the state and appellate levels. His clients span a number of industries and range in size from family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies.

André acquired ASW Global LLC, in January of 2007 after ASW merged with the Cleveland-based company GPI Procurement Services. As CEO, André sets the direction of the company and directs operational aspects so that they follow the strategic plans and policies of the organization. He has more than 20 years experience in entrepreneurial ventures. As one of the principals in Apple Partners, he led a highly successful restaurant management group that was sold to Applebee’s International.

Pete focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, financing and securities matters. He has extensive experience advising public and private companies in all aspects of acquisition, divestment and strategic investment transactions. Deeply ingrained in his clients’ businesses, Pete efficiently represents the interests of his clients during these transactions. Pete’s financing experience includes advising clients on a variety of equity and debt financing transactions.

Kevin has been forming, acquiring and operating high-growth companies for more than 25 years. In 2008, he founded Laudan Properties and positioned the mortgage field services company to be one of the premier providers in the industry. Kevin’s achievements have not gone unnoticed having been recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing, privately held companies nationally three times.

In addition, to Laudan Properties, Kevin operates a portfolio of distribution companies in Ohio and New York.

Chip is responsible for the firm’s operations and is actively involved in working with the management of portfolio companies, frequently acting as the liaison between the board and management.  He works closely with management to pursue new business opportunities and to set strategic direction and financial goals. Prior to joining Weinberg Captial Group, Chip was president of New Channel Direct, a full-service mailing and marketing company based in Brunswick.

Tom is a partner, audit services, at RSM US LLP. He is a leader of the manufacturing, wholesale and distribution group in Ohio and of the Cleveland private equity practice. He has more than 30 years of experience as an accountant and business advisor, advising clients in industries such as manufacturing and retail/distribution and consults with them on a variety of topics, including financial reporting, strategic planning and estate planning.

With more than 30 years in banking, Alan has worked in and managed units in commercial banking, asset-based lending, leasing, international and consumer finance in Northeast Ohio and in other geographies. He has extensive experience in a variety of industries helping companies with innovative solutions to their financing needs. Alan has planned and managed dramatic expansion of new businesses that broadened geographic reach and increased deliverable product sets.