 Team Mike Ackrell – Managing Partner Before founding Ackrell Capital, Mike was the Senior Managing Director in charge of ABN AMRO’s U.S. Technology Investment Banking Group in San Francisco. Prior to joining ABN, Mike ran Investment Banking at WR Hambrecht+Co, a San Francisco based merchant bank specializing in the technology sector. Mike previously worked for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in New York, Menlo Park and San Francisco as a Senior Vice President in the Technology Investment Banking Group. Mike began his career with DLJ in 1988 and has significant experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and merchant banking. Mike holds a B.S. in Economics (summa cum laude), with majors in Finance and Accounting, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Before founding Ackrell Capital, Bill was a Senior Vice President in ABN AMRO's U.S. Technology Investment Banking Group in San Francisco. Bill directed ABN AMRO's investment banking efforts for the semiconductor and semiconductor equipment sectors. Prior to joining ABN, Bill held technology investment banking positions at major Wall Street investment banks, including Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, PaineWebber and Kidder Peabody. Prior to his career in technology investment banking, Bill practiced corporate law in San Francisco, California. Bill holds a J.D. from the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, a M.B.A from the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and a B.A. from Westmont College. Bill is a member of the State Bar of California.
Prior to Ackrell Capital, Ezra was a Vice President with Rutberg & Company, a mobile and digital media focused investment bank. Ezra has co-founded two technology companies: Montclare Technologies, Inc., an Internet consulting and development firm where he was the CEO and Convoy Corporation (now part of Sybase) where he was the Director of Business Development. Ezra has also served as the Vice President of Business and Product development for Aircraft Technical Publishers, an aviation information services provider. Ezra is the co-host of Vator Box a show on emerging companies on Vator.tv. He is also a syndicated commentator on digital businesses and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Ezra holds an M.B.A. degree through a joint program of Columbia Business School (beta gamma sigma honors) and the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business (Haas community service fellow) and a B.A. in Philosophy from the UC Davis (with Minors in English and History). Ezra is the Chair of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Alumni Relations Council.
Prior to Ackrell Capital, Steve was a Managing Director of Investment Banking at WR Hambrecht + Co, where he helped head the firm’s China practice as founder and head of its Shanghai office. Steve was also Head of Special Execution with firm-wide responsibility for non-boilerplate transactions, such as restructurings, LBOs and SPAC transactions. Previously, Steve was a senior technology investment banker for ABN AMRO. Prior to ABN AMRO, Steve spent 7 years at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette’s Investment Banking Group. Responsibilities at DLJ varied from execution of restructurings, LBOs, M&A and equity and high yield offerings, to coverage of technology companies, and also included active involvement in several LBO and private equity investments in DLJ’s Merchant Banking funds. Prior to DLJ, Steve was an investment banker at Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers. Steve holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Economics from the University of Notre Dame.
George Coope has more than 20 years of investment banking and advisory experience with branded consumer companies and retailers. Prior to Ackrell Capital, George was Executive Vice President of Demeter Group, a San Francisco investment bank providing financing and M&A advisory services to growth companies in the wine, food, beverage, and personal care and apparel industries. Previously, he was a senior investment banker at ABN AMRO and at WR Hambrecht + Co, and he was a founding member of the consumer practice at Hambrecht & Quist LLC (H&Q). George also worked in R&D and operations at Miller Brewing Company and in corporate development at General Electric Company. He is currently a director of Patz & Hall Wine Company, and a former director of The Coppola Companies, the parent company of Rubicon Estate and Francis Ford Coppola Presents LLC. George holds a BA from Stanford University, an MS from the University of California at Davis and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Prior to Ackrell Capital, Chris was President of the New York Islanders (NHL). Chris has had an extensive and diverse career in sports management and award-winning television production over the past 20 years. He has served as the top executive for numerous professional sports properties, including hockey, arena football and soccer teams. He has been significantly involved in numerous turnaround situations in the sports industry. Chris also has considerable experience with early stage ventures, including: President and Co-Founder of Hawaii Sports Network, a multi-media regional sports network; member of XTERRA Off-road Triathlon development and launch team; creator of Higher Faster Stronger; Founder and President of Hawaii IPTV; and developer of Event Gear. His television work has spanned throughout the Pacific Rim and New York, producing shows for ESPN, Fox Sports Net and OLN (Versus). Currently, Chris is the Vice-Chairman for the Special Olympics Hawaii. Chris holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Virginia.
Prior to Ackrell Capital, Ilan was majority owner and CEO of Mama’s LLC, a holding company operating three core business units: eLine LLC – web development and system integration (clients include Fortune 500); GameLink LLC – ecommerce and VoD site operator; and GreenCine LLC – DVD rent-by-mail and VoD site focused on independent movies. His experience includes developing and implementing multi-platform, global ecommerce and social media strategies. Ilan holds a BA from Bar Ilan University.
Claire is a cleantech expert with 11 years of management experience and a background in engineering and IT. Claire is focused on early-stage and scale-up investing in resource efficiency and clean energy. Her expertise includes building efficiency, materials, electric vehicles, storage, solar (thermal and PV), wind, nuclear, geothermal, and water. Claire recently directed a team of top venture capitalists, academics, and business leaders and published Redefining What’s Possible for Clean Energy by 2020. Claire holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University in Management Science & Engineering in the Economics and Finance Group. She is a 2010 Kauffman Fellow and Co-Chair of National Judging for the 2011 Cleantech Open.
Joe is the Managing Partner of the RedBridge Group, the international banking arm of Ackrell Capital. Prior to founding the RedBridge Group, Joe was a Managing Director, Technology Investment Banking and Global Head, Semiconductors, for ABN AMRO; Managing Director, Technology Investment Banking — International for IBJ Securities; General Partner, US Technology Fund of Funds, for IBJ Strategic Investments; and Senior Vice President—US Energy, Utilities & Project Finance, for Fuji Bank Securities. Joe holds a BS in Economics and Mathematics from George Washington University and an Executive MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Ron has over 40 years of experience in the semiconductor and related industries. His knowledge of and expertise in integrated circuit (IC) technology and business spans all aspects from the "front end" or wafer fab manufacturing processes to Test, Assembly and Packaging (TAP). His early career started in semiconductor engineering, before he migrated into the management, business and marketing roles in the capital equipment segment. Based on his 25 years of achievements in industry, he launched his consulting career in 1995. As President of INFRASTRUCTURE Advisors, Ron has delivered strategic marketing, diligence, expert witness, independent analyst and business development services to the semiconductor-related industry and its investors. Expert witness experience covers IP/patent, breach of contract and tax cases involving analysis, reports, deposition, testimony and an ITC hearing. Ron holds a BS in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Prior to joining Ackrell Capital, Pete was an independent consultant advising investors and companies on corporate development projects, including partnership and acquisition strategies. Previously, Pete was a Principal at Frazier Co., a leveraged buy-out firm focused on middle market roll-up opportunities, where he was responsible for investment execution and served as interim CFO for portfolio companies. Prior to Frazier Co., Pete was a Vice President at JMP Securities, an investment banking firm, responsible for the firm’s Software Applications practice. Pete has also held investment banking positions at ABN AMRO, WR Hambrecht + Co and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, covering a number of sectors within the technology industry. He has completed a variety of transactions, including venture financings, IPOs, debt financings, debt restructurings, acquisitions, corporate sales and LBOs. He holds an M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and an A.B. from Stanford University.
Erin is an early stage startup advisor with over 12-years experience in business and corporate development for internet brands including Travelocity, Epicurious, Concierge.com, Wired and Style.com. Prior to joining Ackrell, she worked in M&A and corporate development for the online division of Condé Nast, where she sourced premium content, disruptive technologies and new monetization opportunities, vetted over 300 companies and worked on the acquisitions of Reddit, ArsTechnica, HotelChatter, Jaunted, HotWired and WebMonkey. Prior to Condé Nast, Håkansson spent four years at Travelocity, incubating and leading the business development efforts for the highly acclaimed activities product line. During Erin's tenure, the product line successfully launched with over 2,000 new products and consistently produced an annual growth rate of over 200%. While at Travelocity, she simultaneously served on the leadership board for the National Tour Association. In addition to her various endeavors, Erin was one of the founding team members for the British web-to-print company Postanywhere, as director of marketing, and worked for the telecommunications company Genesys as a product manager for ISDN videoconferencing. Håkansson graduated with a BA degree from DePauw University and began her career in publishing there as a founding member and advertising director of Resumé, a free magazine for job seekers.
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