Mr. Patrizio has been the Chairman and CEO of the Company since its inception. He is also Of Counsel to the law firm Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP and General Counsel to Helios Energy Group, Inc., a clean energy company (www,heliosenergygroup.com). Previously, he was the Managing Partner of Apogee Energy Partners LLC since its inception in 2009. AEP was an energy project development company and financing firm specializing in the solar energy industry. AEP was involved (through its affiliated partnerships) in the development and financing of over $200 million of solar projects in the last five years. During that period, Mr. Patrizio also had been General Counsel to Green States Energy, Inc., a developer and owner of solar energy projects and prior to Green States Energy was General Counsel to Gehrlicher Solar America Corp., the US subsidiary of Gehrlicher Solar AG (Germany), one of the largest solar companies in the world. From 1996-2008, Mr. Patrizio was a Managing Director and General Counsel at several investment banking firms which specialized in private equity and debt transactions. From 1984-1996, Mr. Patrizio worked at New York City law firms where he specialized in corporate, securities, and general business matters which included being an associate at Cahill Gordon and Shea & Gould and a partner at Campbell & Fleming (which became the NYC office of Epstein Becker & Green). Mr. Patrizio holds a BA, MBA, JD and LLM and is admitted to practice law in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania
Ken Mathews Vice Chairman & Treasurer
Mr. Mathews brings more than 50 years experience in corporate finance with specialties in commercial lending, capital sourcing, leasing, and financial consulting for marketing and profit improvement. He is the founder and managing director of Cambridge Capital Corp., a boutique financial consulting firm specializing in raising capital for mid-sized companies, early-stage companies, and troubled businesses. Prior to forming Cambridge Capital Corp. in 1992, Ken Mathews served for 20 years with First Fidelity Bancorporation, then a New Jersey based $30 billion commercial banking organization serving the Northeast. Through a series of mergers, First Fidelity was acquired by Wachovia Bank, which was acquired by Wells Fargo Bank. Ken was an Executive Vice President responsible for several departments including National Corporate and Equipment Leasing. In the Commercial Banking Division, Mr. Mathews managed a regional network with a portfolio of secured and unsecured loans for middle market companies. In addition, Mr. Mathews was a co-founder of, and served on, the Board of Directors of Hilltop Community Bank, a publicly traded community bank until its recent sale. Ken graduated from St. Peters College with a BS degree with a major in economics, and studied for a MBA in Finance and Marketing at NYU's Graduate School of Business Administration.
Walter A. Wojcik, Jr. Financial Operations Advisor
Mr. Wojcik was the SVP and Chief Financial Officer of Hilltop Community Bank, a publicly traded bank, from its formation in 2000 until its sale in 2013. During that period, Mr. Wojcik was instrumental in its founding and operations and an active member of senior management, running all of the financial operations of the bank. Prior to Hilltop, Mr. Wojcik was the SVP and CFO of Ramapo Financial Corporation, a publically traded financial institution, where he spent 14 years in all aspects of the accounting and financial operations of the bank, including SEC reporting. Prior to Ramapo, he was with First National Bank (now Wells Fargo) in various accounting functions. Mr. Wojcik began his career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen. He holds a BS in Business Administration from Villanova University and is a licensed CPA (currently on inactive status) in the State of New Jersey.
Jonathan R. Tegge Interim Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Tegge has been a Senior Associate of Financial Reporting for Brio Financial Group since late 2015. In that capacity, he consults with various private and public companies with respect to financial reporting, analysis of complex financial instruments and the valuation of such instruments. Prior to joining Brio, Mr. Tegge was an accounting consultant at Robert Half Finance & Accounting where he was involved in their accounting practice with industry focuses in healthcare and professional service firms. Mr. Tegge has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from New Jersey Institute of Technology.
David Carver Director of Business Development
Mr. Carver is the Founder and President of Transcon Finance, a truck financing broker and collateral valuation firm. Prior to Transcon, Mr. Carver had spent over 15 years in the transportation industry in all aspects of the management and financing of over-the-road trucks and trailers. Mr. Carver attended Penn State University.
Scott Williams Member of the Board of Directors
Mr. Williams began his career in the investment industry in 1978 with A.G. Edwards and Sons, Inc. He has been with firms as diverse as Drexel Burnham Lambert, Prudential Securities, and Pennsylvania Merchant Group, a boutique investment banking firm. Over a 35-year period, he has been involved in the management of various areas in the industry, such as high net worth accounts, a high yield trading desk and banking group, and retail and institutional sales forces. Beginning in 2004, Mr. Williams partnered with David Callan to form Hawk Management. Hawk Management was created to be the investment advisor to Hawk Opportunity Fund. The Hawk Opportunity Fund, lunahced in 2005, was designed to allow Callan and Williams to use their expertise in distressed and bankrupt securities to take major positions in those situations they deemed investment worthy. The Hawk Opportunity Fund has over $30,000,000 in assets under management. Mr. Williams holds a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Economics from the University of Oklahoma.
Gordon Sweely Member of the Board of Advisors
Mr. Sweely is a Member of the Board of Advisors of the Company. Mr. Sweely is a Managing Director and Head of Structured Finance, Americas for Nomura Securities International, Asia's global investment bank. Mr. Sweely joined Nomura in 2011 and is responsible for all structured lending and Non-Agency origination activity for Securitized Products in the Americas. Additionally, he also oversees all Collateralized Loan Obligation activity and structured lending activity for Structured Credit in the Americas. Prior to joining Nomura, Mr. Sweely spent 18 years at Lehman Brothers as Head of ABS Trading, Principal Finance and Co-Head of ABS CDOs with an expanded focus on distressed and non-investment grade assets on a whole loan and securitized basis. Mr. Sweely holds a B.S. from Hobart College and has an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business.