TOM CASSUTT
Tom Cassutt has mentored 100’s of entrepreneurs and invested in more than 160 companies, primarily focused on search funds, and is CFO of American Security Products, a leading manufacturer of high-security safes.
From 1984 to 2011, Tom was Co-President of Nelson Nameplate Company, a manufacturer of membrane switches and product identification based in Los Angeles, California. Prior to joining Nelson, Tom was the Controller of Bristol Corporation, the parent company of ten manufacturing companies, from 1978-1984. He has served on the boards of American Security Products, Columbia Sanitary Products, Dynamic Growth Dental, EZ Shipper Racks, Nelson Nameplate Company, Nutrishare, SafeLogic, Scottish American Insurance Services, and Positive Coaching Alliance.
Tom received his bachelor’s degree in Physics in 1982 from the University of California, Irvine, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate. He also received an MBA in 1986 from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller scholar and the recipient of the Alexander A. Robichek Award, given to the top student each year in finance.
DAVID LAZIER
David Lazier has been mentoring entrepreneurs through acquisition for the last three decades and has made more than 160 investments in search funds.
He previously served as CEO of American Security Products, a leading manufacturer of high-security safes. From 1984 to 2011, David served as Controller, Vice President of Sales and then Co-President of Nelson Nameplate Company, a manufacturer of membrane switches and product identification based in Los Angeles, California.
From 1982 to 1984, he worked as an engineer for IBM Corporation.
David currently sits on the boards of American Security Products, Columbia Sanitary Products, Gogotech, DSD Partners and PalCare. He has previously served as the Secretary of the Glendale Memorial Hospital Foundation and as the Treasurer of the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity.
For the past 25 years, he has served as the Treasurer of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glendale.
David received his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University.
GEORGE JANKOVIC
George Jankovic is a serial entrepreneur who grew NutriSystem, Inc. to more than $600 million in revenue from only $27 million, pre-tax profits to over $100 million, and market capitalization to $2.5 billion from $18 million.
He was also one of the earliest internet entrepreneurs, founding and growing RF Globalnet to one of the most successful B2B websites in the mid-to-late 1990s, and was an executive with VerticalNet, helping it have one of the top ten IPOs of all time.
George’s third venture was a partnered search fund. Today he is an active investor in over 50 Search Funds and private company buyouts worldwide, helping entrepreneurs realize their dreams. George has a bachelors and a masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Belgrade and University of Colorado respectively.
SIDNEY SOMMER
Sidney Sommer is the most unique of all our investors in that he has sold his company to a Search Fund and today spends extensive time supporting its continued growth. He has also appeared in numerous publications - The Globe and Mail, Forbes, Canadian Business, etc.
In 2003 Sidney founded UCIT Online Security as an innovative idea that has since developed into the largest and most experienced live video monitoring company in Canada and the USA. Sidney’s innovative business idea earned him the BDC’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the province of Ontario, Canada in 2008. Under his leadership UCIT has been ranked in Profit Magazine’s list of fastest growing companies for the past 10 consecutive years. In 2019 UCIT changed their name to Stealth Monitoring. Today Stealth is a dominant force in Manufacturing, Industrial, Commercial, Property Management and Construction Security with over 1000 employees.
INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS
HAROLD MOTTET
Harold Mottet lives by his passion to help others achieve success in their careers and lives.
As he enters the 'fourth quarter' of his career, using his time, resources, and skills to help others reach their goals has become more meaningful than any personal goals that he has accomplished across his very successful career. As a Board Member, Hal’s goals are to help CEO's and business leaders fulfill their personal potential, and in so doing, fulfill the potential of their team and company. He comes with a strong operational background.
During his long and successful career across several businesses, Hal has broken through barriers and employed developmentally disabled adults in jobs that could be considered too challenging. The results were amazing and he identifies it as a "win-win-win-win" situation for all parties involved. Hal is a graduate of the Stanford University GSB class of 1986.
MARIO NIGRO
Mario Nigro is a partner in the Toronto office of Stikeman Elliott and a member of the firm's M&A/Private Equity Group. His practice focuses on business law, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, dispositions, and reorganizations. He has extensive experience working with private equity and venture capital clients on numerous acquisitions and dispositions. He is also highly respected and appreciated for his support to the search fund community.
Mario has represented some of the leading food, retail and manufacturing businesses in Canada, as well as a leading provider of outsourced office and workplace solutions in Canada. He works with a number of growing technology companies and has helped them with acquisitions, financings and growth capital transactions.
He also practices in the area of energy law and has worked at Ontario Power Generation in 2001, on secondment as well as on various acquisitions and dispositions of energy assets. Mario has worked as a policy adviser in the Office of the Ontario Minister of Education and has completed a six-month secondment at an international securities dealer and foreign bank. Mario has a LLB and BCL from McGill University.
SHAKEEB ALAM
Shakeeb Alam is an investor and financial services entrepreneur with nearly 25 years of investing and business experience. Over the course of his career, he has invested in and supported hundreds of exceptional business leaders, as they built world-class enterprises in every sector of the economy. In addition to his investing background, Shakeeb is an operating executive responsible for leading his firm, East Bridge Capital.
Beyond his business activities, Shakeeb is also deeply engaged in his community. He serves on numerous Boards, support scholars and research at University of Illinois, Harvard and Northwestern, and mentors many rising civic leaders. Shakeeb has an MBA from Harvard Business School.
NICK EASTMAN
Nick Eastman has experienced creating things that didn't start with a clear path and that which can take years to complete. An entrepreneur to his core, he acquired a business, ran it for years and then successfully assisted a team of employees to acquire it from him. Today, he is excitedly working on his next adventure - supporting search fund entrepreneurs, specially minorities.
Nick
loves taking ideas to creation and has spent years developing this skill. He values self reflection and life long learning. He has a strong sense of self, his place in the world and how he can be of value. He is committed to helping those he works with succeed. He isn’t afraid to run towards hard problems in areas he hasn’t yet worked.