A STRONG NETWORK OF EXPERIENCED RESOURCES
Our Operating Partners represent a broad spectrum of skills and have partnered with RFE to assist our portfolio companies’ management teams in building value and realizing potential.
- Mark Abrahams is the President and CEO of DelStar Technologies, Inc., an RFE VI portfolio company. DelStar was formed by RFE through the acquisition and merger of the Specialty Netting and Nonwoven Division of Applied Extrusion Technologies and U.S. Netting, Inc. The combined companies became the leading manufacturer of specialty extruded apertured films, netting and nonwoven products for filtration applications. Under RFE’s ownership, these two companies were integrated and then expanded via organic growth and acquisition. The Company had doubled in size at the time of its sale by RFE at a value representing more than 4X RFE’s cost.
- Jim Kelly is a seasoned IT and business executive with 30+ years of corporate, Global/Big 5, and regional consulting experience, Jim employs common-sense, humility, positivity, and humor to build great teams and keep them motivated to build great businesses. As the CEO of Turnberry, Jim has led the company from its founding through today. Jim partnered with RFE for the fund to acquire a majority ownership, and since then, completed 4 add-on acquisitions, one merger transaction, and continued organic growth, all of which increased EBITDA by 5x in just over 3 years of ownership.
- John O’Connell is the former President and CEO of Wind River Environmental LLC., an RFE VIII portfolio company. Wind River was acquired by RFE in mid-2014 and at the time was a leading Northeastern U.S. provider of non-hazardous liquid waste management solutions for a diverse set of residential and commercial customers specializing in services for wastewater systems including septic systems, interior and exterior grease traps, cesspools, package plants and wastewater treatment plants. Under RFE’s ownership, the Company completed 15 strategic add-on acquisitions over a 33 month period resulting in significant expansion of its geographic foot print down the east coast of the U.S. and a tripling of EBITDA. In April 2017 Wind River was acquired by another private equity firm at a value representing approximately 5x RFE’s cost.
- John Paul is the former President and CEO of Cattron Group, Inc., an RFE VI portfolio company. Cattron was acquired by RFE in mid-2003 and designed, manufactured and sold remote control systems for industrial applications including overhead cranes, shop loaders and industrial locomotives. Mr. Paul join Cattron in 2005 as President and led the company’s significant earnings growth. Under RFE’s ownership, Cattron completed three strategic add-on acquisitions, including expanding into systems for underground mining applications and achieved roughly a doubling in earnings. Upon selling the Company to a strategic buyer, RFE realized more than 4x its cost.
- Michael Pietrasiewicz joined Plantation Products (RFE VII company) in 2004 as the Company’s General Manager. After assisting with the acquisition of NK Lawn & Garden, Michael then began managing all parts of the business a few years later, starting with accounting, production and sales and marketing. He was eventually promoted to President and CEO in early 2012 and has been responsible for leading the Company during its substantial growth and the integration of multiple acquisitions. Since the Company’s partnership with RFE, Plantation (now Green Garden) has been owned by another private equity firm and most recently by Central Garden & Pet Company - where Michael continues to run the Green Garden division. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Pietrasiewicz served as Vice President of Commercial Lending at Eastern Bank and earned his B.S. and M.B.A. in finance and marketing from Boston College.
- Darryl Rosser is the President and CEO of Nudo Products Inc. Mr. Rosser joined Nudo in December 2012 as President and CEO and led the integration of five add-on acquisitions, increasing EBITDA from $6 million to approximately $20 million. Prior to joining Nudo, Mr. Rosser was President of Sagus International, a $100 million revenue manufacturer of Educational Furniture. Upon selling Nudo in December 2015, RFE realized a value of approximately 2.7X its cost.