Our partners work closely with CEOs transforming their strategic vision into operating, financial and technological plans that are focused on key drivers. We believe a value generating tipping point occurs when an entire organization understands “the business” and employees are focused on providing value to customers.
When your people understand the business model and basic value propositions of your product or service, the full potential of your company’s human and technological resources can be reached in serving customers and identifying profitable opportunities in the marketplace.
Fred Barone is a Partner with Entrepreneurial Resources of Florida. He is a seasoned financial executive whose career spans over 30 years encompassing public accounting, financial executive management and financial and management consulting. Fred’s core competencies include financial reporting, treasury management, capital formation, budgeting and planning, and automated systems. His experience crosses an array of industries including manufacturing, plastics, automotive, real estate, insurance, trucking, environmental services, healthcare and not for profit.
Prior to joining ER, Mr. Barone provided independent management consulting services for the previous nine years. Among his several projects, he highlights the following: Finance Director of a $900 million international division of a Tier I automotive supplier where he managed the activities of eleven plant controllers and implemented sophisticated budgeting techniques; Financial Advisor to a newly formed manufacturer of concrete products where he raised $4.5 million in debt funding providing encompassing term debt, working capital financing and leasing; CFO for a $25 million budget not for profit organization serving the developmentally disabled where he developed cash projection models and negotiated credit agreements providing working capital in a constrained operating environment; CFO for a publicly traded troubled environmental services company where he and handled shareholder relations after a significant decrease of the market value of the company’s stock. As an independent consultant, Fred provided strategic analysis and direction for a medium sized trucking company throughout a major refinancing project, directed the financial affairs of a plastic manufacturer throughout its liquidation process, directed the financial software selection process for a sixty-five member physicians group.
Prior to his consulting ventures, Mr. Barone held CFO positions in both public and private manufacturing companies where he held ultimate responsibility for all financial functions. At Invacare Corporation in the 1980’s he was instrumental in a IPO taking the company public and negotiating several credit facilities including working capital revolvers, leasing arrangement and Industrial Revenue Bonds.
Mr. Barone holds a BS degree in Accounting from Wheeling Jesuit University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. His professional affiliations include membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Financial Executives International where he previously served on their national board of directors.
David Bulluck brings 30 years of global textile and apparel experience to Entrepreneurial Resources with some of the industry’s most noteworthy companies in senior management and CEO positions. Mr. Bulluck has relationships with major US retailers including, CK, Bean, Polo, J, Peterman, Limited Group, Old Navy, Hurley, Volcom, Target, Aspen Mills, American Uniform, Canadian Uniform, and Ameripride and many more. He is an expert in all aspects of textile supply chain customer service and has successfully managed supply chains from Asia in numerous product lines.
As president of multiple apparel companies and divisions, Mr. Bulluck has been responsible for the determination of fabrication, design, and garment construction for many private label apparel products. He has engineered garments in terms of design, fabrication, written specifications for construction, costing, merchandising, packaging, and distribution. Mr. Bulluck is a detailed oriented manager, developing time and action calendars, QC manuals, and other written protocol for tracking of product before, during and after manufacturing process necessary for Asian production.
In 1992, Mr. Bulluck sold first full package program to Gapkids; when Gap only used CMT manufacturers in the US. He personally developed and produced fleece lined and jersey lined jeans for Gap and LL Bean. Sales grew 20% per year for the 6 years prior to selling business to a competitor.
For the last 8 years, Mr. Bulluck has run a successful independent consulting practice focused on manufactures and retailers involved in the apparel, textile and retail sectors. He has worked on many engagements for apparel brands with plants in the USA and Latin America. His clients include Guilford Mills, RONX, Freshtex gmbh, Academy Stores, Volcom, Hurley, Billabong, Quiksilver, and Herff Jones.
While consulting, Mr. Bulluck has led production, sourcing, and Western plant closures shifting production to Asia. Specifically, he developed a global sourcing strategy for a $300 million branded trouser manufacturer, transitioning production from the DR to India and other Asian countries. Also, he restructured the sourcing and production departments to change the structure from a manufacturer to a production sourcing company.
Mr. Bulluck recently established a strategic sourcing office for a $750 million sporting and outdoor goods company. His services included writing job descriptions, quality control manual, product specification forms including operational and elemental breakdown, cost sheets, fabric sourcing, and compliance protocol for vendors.
Working for a US denim mill, Mr. Bulluck developed a network of global partners to address the mass market channel of distribution needed by the mill. Pricing, lead times, duty and quota issues were addressed.
david.bulluck@erExecutives.com
Theodore (“Ted”) C. Burns is a Partner with Entrepreneurial Resources of Florida, LLC. Mr. Burns served as CFO of a publicly-traded, Orlando-based software development company for five years and has over 16 years of advisory experience in business performance management, finance process redesign, business planning, restructuring and turnaround, valuation services and modeling, capital raising and mergers & acquisitions.
Most recently, he served as Subject Matter Expert on strategic planning, planning, forecasting, management reporting and analytics processes with a global consulting firm advising Fortune 500 clients. His previous consulting experience focused on restructuring, divestiture transactions and capital raising for troubled companies in the U.S. and state-owned enterprises in the Emerging Markets. He began his career advising banks and mortgage lenders on mergers & acquisitions, planning and capital raises. Mr. Burns had advised companies in a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, power, telecommunications, cement, mining, distribution, retail, and financial services.
Mr. Burns has an MBA in finance and international business from Columbia University and a BSBA in accounting from Georgetown University.
As a partner in Entrepreneurial Resources, Cate brings 25 years experience in financial management. Extensive experience all areas of corporate finance including treasury, audit preparation, controllership, SEC reporting, strategic planning, risk management, and contract administration.
Before joining ER, Mr. Cate was an independent CFO Consultant working with a diverse group of companies including Hard Rock Park, a $360 million theme park being developed in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Restaurant Acquisition Partners, the first special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the restaurant industry, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and a number of smaller startups. Prior to his transition to consulting, Cate held senior financial positions with Planet Hollywood. As the lead financial executive, Cate restructured corporate finance department while under Chapter 11 reorganization and managed external relationships with all attorney’s committees and the courts.
As Corporate Controller for BAport Technologies, an application service provider, implemented changes resulting in annual savings of more than $200,00 by restructuring employee and business insurance, instituting purchasing controls, reviewing and renegotiating contracts, and changing banking relationships. In addition to traditional finance roles, he was involved in new business development seeking out partnerships to act as distribution channels for BAport’s products.
Mr. Cate holds a BS from East Carolina University and attended North Carolina State for post graduate work focusing on accounting and business law.
Chris Conlon is a partner in Entrepreneurial Resources. Mr. Conlon has twenty-five years of progressive financial and operational experience in a variety of business environments. His experience includes turnarounds, post start-ups, and growth environments in the manufacturing and service sectors. He has a successful track record of working with the Management Team to improve profitability.
Mr. Conlon has over 15 years of successful experience as a CFO of midsized businesses. The firms he has worked with range from $20 million post start-ups to the Fortune 500. Chris has participated in three successful turnarounds; he was the Chief Operating Officer in one and the Senior Financial Executive in the other two. His core competencies include strategic and tactical planning, operational finance, change management, and treasury management.
He developed and drove the implementation of a turn-around strategy that improved a $100 million business’s profitability from an annual operating loss of $16 million to profitability in 1 1/2 years. Mr. Conlon has also improved profitability by several million dollars at several other businesses by developing and implementing activity based cost systems, non-financial and financial reporting metric packages, variance reporting systems, and sales and line profit reporting systems.
Mr. Conlon’s leadership and organizational skills have lead to million dollar profitability improvements, as well as significant reductions in working capital requirements. This was done by leading efforts to improve quality, efficiency, and on-time delivery, while reducing operating costs and working capital requirements.
Chris has a management style that allows him to be comfortable presenting in the boardroom, as well working with first line supervisors. Earlier financial roles include cost accountant, plant controller, division controller, corporate controller, and director of financial planning and analysis.
Mr. Conlon holds an MBA from Duke University and a BA in Economics from the University of Buffalo.
Bob DeGarmo is the Managing Partner of Entrepreneurial Resources. He has over twenty-five years of diverse experience in large and small companies ranging in size from several million dollars in revenue to over six billion. He has participated in a number of corporate restructurings and has particular expertise in strategic planning, corporate finance, project financing, and management information systems. He also has a strong entrepreneurial background and has worked in a number of startup situations.
His familiarity with the regional business community, financial institutions and private equity firms has helped Bob connect many clients to capital sources, bank financing, and strategic partners. He has served clients in the construction, engineering, manufacturing, Internet, consumer products, industrial waste recovery, Voice over IP, specialty chemicals, gasification, narrowcasting, advertising and publishing industries.
For eight years prior to founding ER, LLC, Bob was the Managing Partner for Tatum Partners in South Carolina.
Earlier in his career Mr. DeGarmo served as Vice President of Corporate Planning & Development for a three billion-dollar food service company. There he directed a major restructuring effort to refocus the company to its core restaurant business. Internally, he coordinated the efforts of the corporate staff and several national consulting firms and externally, presented the new direction to bank syndicates, rating agencies, bond analysts, and investment bankers.
Prior to this, Mr. DeGarmo served as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development a $300 million industrial contractor operating in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. There he completed a financial restructuring and installed new integrated financial control and project management systems which dramatically reduced project loses. He played a key role in closing the European operations and refocusing the company in Latin America.
Mr. DeGarmo also served for twelve years in various senior financial positions with Fluor Daniel, the world’s largest engineering and construction company. For six of those years he was a Senior Vice President and focused on integrating and restructuring the two companies after their combination. He helped formulate a strategic plan and new organization structure for the new company, directed a significant cost cutting effort reducing overhead by $100 million, and participated in the management oversight of a $90 million computer conversion encompassing five major centers around the world. He directed numerous sale-leaseback transactions, and played a pivotal role in a number of acquisitions and divestitures as well as over 20 real estate syndications through New York firms. During this period he also rose from Group Controller to President of a diversified division of five companies within the Fluor Corporation.
Mr. DeGarmo holds a BS in Accounting from Indiana University, a MBA from the University of Maryland, and a MPE from the University of Pittsburgh. South Carolina awarded him the Order of the Palmetto for his work in forming the South Carolina Research Authority.
Bill is a Partner in the South Carolina practice of ER of South Carolina, LLC, with over 30 years of experience working for large and small entrepreneurially managed companies. He has brought leadership to diverse corporate functions including financial planning and analysis, public and private debt/equity offerings, SEC and regulatory financial reporting, general accounting and budgeting, human resources and corporate communications.
As a management consultant Bill has served as Chief Financial Officer for variety of clients; provided senior level financial services to publicly traded companies in the pulp and paper, electronics and sports distribution industries as well as to private companies in the manufacturing, aviation and publishing industries; directed business planning and analysis, SEC compliance, banking relationships and financial reporting.
He has designed and implemented numerous forecasting systems producing financial and operating matrix for timely decision making in private and public companies with domestic and international operations.
Bill has worked closely with internal and external legal counsel and investment bankers to satisfy SEC financial reporting requirements in preparation of prospectuses for 12 public offerings of debt and common stock, totaling $1.5 billion, and negotiated lines of credit and private debt placements for a number of companies.
He is a graduate of Hofstra University, a CPA and has an MBA from New York University.
Tom Landrum has over thirty years experience in a variety of organizational transitions, including private equity groups, start-ups, restructuring, healthcare entities and not-for-profits.
Landrum spent four years with another management services firm where he was retained for an extended period by a private equity group as interim CFO of two of its portfolio companies. The first was a wholesale restructuring and included the closure of plants in the U.S. and Mexico, the downsizing of a U.K. distribution facility, the transfer of all usable raw materials and machinery to an Asian plant, and the disposal of all other assets, including real estate. The second company required completion of its budget, coordination of year-end close and external audits, and preparation for relocation to another state. Other projects included preparation of a private placement memorandum for a start-up medical device company, review of the financial and operating environment of an under-performing mortgage banking subsidiary of a publicly held parent, and the development and implementation of a comprehensive financial and reporting system for a regional art museum.
As a private consultant, he coordinated the acquisition of a food processing company for a venture capital firm, and he also led a needs assessment that resulted in a rural county saving approximately $30 million by avoiding the building of its own hospital.
For ten years he was chief financial officer of the largest cardiovascular hospital in the state of South Carolina, and previous to that was Assistant Controller of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital/ Texas Children’s Hospital/Texas Heart Institute in Houston, TX.
He served for over a decade with two national accounting firms, where his client base included financial institutions, chemical manufacturing, retail and healthcare entities. In both firms he was an instructor of national education courses.
Landrum holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Louisiana State University and served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
William M. Perry is a Partner of Entrepreneurial Resources. He possesses twenty-eight years of diversified domestic and international business experience in large and small companies in the manufacturing and real estate industries. He has special competence in entrepreneurial and middle-market companies. He has experience with fast growth situations and with the management of complex company structures and locations. He has a strong background in mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting, automated systems, budgeting and planning, and tax administration.
Prior to joining Entrepreneurial Resources, Bill Perry served as a Tatum CFO Partner for seven years and prior to that he co-founded and served as Chief Financial Officer of Next Day Apparel, Inc. (NDA) a $110,000,000 apparel manufacturing company with operations in the USA and Central America. During his tenure, from start-up through final sale to Oxford Industries, Inc. of Atlanta, GA., he provided strategic financial and organizational leadership in a high-growth undercapitalized budget apparel (commodity type) environment. He served as lead negotiator in the sale of NDA’s assets to Oxford. Major accomplishments included acting as lead negotiator in three LBO’s, forging and managing long lasting banking relationships, establishing international and domestic financial reporting systems, and operating in zero cash highly leveraged fast growth situations. He was instrumental in the relocation of manufacturing facilities from the USA to Honduras, CA.
Before he co-founded NDA he was a Principal and served as Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Finance for NDA’s predecessor entities Marlene Industries and Booth Bay Ltd.
In the eighties he served as Controller of Marathon US Realties Inc., a diversified international commercial real-estate development firm based in Chicago. Marathon is a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Ltd.
Bill Perry has substantial experience in establishing lines of credit, financing arrangements, and loans with commercial banks, factors, and government loan guarantor entities.
He is a licensed CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (SCACPA). He holds an MBA from Tulane University and a BA from Vanderbilt University.
As a partner in Entrepreneurial Resources, Jim Schaeffer’s 30 years of experience, at the highest levels in industry leading multinational firms, provides clients exceptional leadership as their companies navigate complicated or unique challenges.
Prior to joining ER, Mr. Schaeffer served as CEO of the Polymer Group, Inc. (OTCBB: POLGA, POLGB) He successfully brought the company out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and over saw it’s revenue growth go from $780 Million to over $1 Billion during his 3 ½ year tenure. PGI was the largest Chapter 11 process to ever go through the South Carolina bankruptcy court system with 25 manufacturing sites located in 10 countries on 4 continents.
As CEO, Mr. Schaeffer oversaw the creation of significant shareholder value with share price moving from $6 to $26. The firm reduced debt and received two separate credit upgrades by S&P and Moody’s. Over a 13 year period with PGI, he served as Chief Operating Officer, Group Vice President, and Vice President of Operations. Mr. Schaeffer led PGI’s M&A efforts with the integration of 6 companies and participated in the firm’s IPO.
Before PGI, Mr. Schaeffer worked with industry leading Proctor & Gamble and Scott Paper Company in various engineering and operations management positions. Early in his career his exceptional leadership was acknowledged as he was named the youngest plant manager in Scott Paper’s history, and successfully led the turnaround of one of the firm’s troubled facilities.
Mr. Schaeffer holds MBA degrees in both Operations Management and Finance, from the University of Scranton, PA and a BS, Industrial Engineering from Penn State.
Don Sproat is a partner with Entrepreneurial Resources of Florida, LLC. He is a seasoned executive with a career spanning more than 30 years with extensive experience including Public Accounting, and executive responsibilities in Marketing, Financial, Human Resources, IT, Operational and Executive Consulting experience in companies from start-up to $50 million in revenues.
Prior to joining ER Mr. Sproat has served in an executive consulting roles in several major industries including medical services and devices, wholesale distribution, temporary labor services, and retail and professional lab photographic services. Additionally, Mr. Sproat has brought forth medical clinics from conception to opening and operating, and finally to exit.
Expertise includes raising equity capital including $12 million for one medical company, taking private companies public, executive management of Finance functions, Planning & Execution, Treasury, Controllership and Risk Management. Finally, Don served for three years as the Chairman of the Board of a public, medical device company.
Mr. Sproat graduated with a BBA and MBA from Stetson University and is a member in good standing with the AICPA and FICPA.
Harold F. Van Horn is the Managing Director of Entrepreneurial Resources of Florida, LLC. He is a highly effective Financial and Administrative Operations Executive with over 35 years of executive experience in small and large corporations. He has a broad range of operational experience in Commercial, DOD and International Ventures with high technology content, including R&D, Systems Engineering and Development, Software Development, Hardware Manufacturing and Integration, Engineering Services and Telecommunication Systems.
Most recently, prior to joining ER, Mr. Van Horn assisted a Central Florida start-up company in establishing a finance function, obtaining audited statements, establishing credit lines, the preparation of a business plan and conducting due diligence that resulted in the sale of the company at 4x the projected revenues.
From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Van Horn was VP of Finance with CeLight, Inc., reporting to the CEO of this Optical Telecom start-up. He began with CeLight as a project CFO in August of 2000 and as part of this role he established the Controllership function, essential internal controls and participated heavily in the second round of equity funding. The second round of $43.5M equity closed in June 2001.
Prior to 1999, Mr. Van Horn served as Director of Finance and Business Operations for two large divisions of the Systems Integration Group of TRW from 1989 to 1999. Mr. Van Horn began his career with TRW in 1979 in Melbourne, FL .after holding progressively responsible Accounting positions that included the General Accounting, Asset Management, Inventory Control, Cost and the Systems Analysis functions.
Mr. Van Horn holds a BS in Accounting from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA in Logistics Planning from Florida Institute of Technology. Executive training includes Mergers and Acquisitions from Wharton and Strategic Planning from Case Western. Government Contracting Law from the University of Virginia.
William V. Ward, with over 20 years of finance experience, joins Entrepreneurial Resources. Bill has a strong portfolio of successful revitalization of underperforming businesses through streamlining operations, reducing costs and headcounts, revamping internal control structures and reporting systems and leading M&A efforts across diverse industries.
Prior to joining Entrepreneurial Resources, Bill served as Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) for Attends Healthcare Products, Inc., a private equity owned manufacturer of adult incontinence products. While at Attends, Bill played a pivotal role in developing and implementing financial and operational turnaround plans that provided the needed bridge financing and achieved the profitable results necessary within three months to position the company for sale.
Bill’s work history includes serving as CFO of National Spinning Company, Inc., an industrial manufacturing and consumer products company. During his tenure as CFO Bill provided strategic financial and organizational leadership to the company despite shrinking markets in an increasingly price competitive environment. Bill led the turnaround plan that restored the company to profitability within four months by, cutting costs and right sizing the business. Bill directed M&A activities, including the smooth and profitable integration of those acquisitions.
As a graduate of Marshall University and a licensed CPA, Bill began his career at Deloitte & Touche in Louisville, KY.
Bill brings to the company, substantial experience in leading financial initiatives, including selecting and implementing new ERP and financial systems. His expertise extends to building new high performing finance, accounting and IT management teams, structuring and closing ESOP, debt and sale-lease-back transactions.
Tim is a partner of ER of North Carolina, LLC with over twenty five years experience in diverse public and private industries. Having held senior positions in the automobile, heavy equipment and manufacturing businesses, Tim has lead teams effectively in negotiating and assimilating acquisitions, strategic planning, lean manufacturing, global supply chain issues, and integrated information. He is also well versed in negotiating credit for both public and private companies. Tim’s leadership and team building skills have been invaluable in working with emerging growth entrepreneurially run businesses.
Prior to joining ER Tim served as Vice President Finance/CFO of several companies including Walker Manufacturing, a leading global automobile company making exhaust systems for OEM and aftermarket with sales exceeding $1B in US, Canada, Europe and Australia; Honda, a leading global Japanese automotive company with sales of $8B (from $5B) and 6,000 employees; and Sealy, a global bedding manufacturer.
He has also lead the financial group and played a key role in smaller more entrepreneurially run companies including a global filtration company and a regional distribution company.
He has a BS degree in accounting as well as an MBA in finance.
tim.wuennemann@erExecutives.com