FOR BIG SCREENS
Aaron C. Aiken
Managing Partner
San Francisco
Aaron joined Hanover in 2007 and is Managing Partner. More >>>
Andrew N. Ford
Founding Partner
Portland, Oregon
Andy co-founded Hanover in 1994 and is a Partner. More >>>
John E. Palmer
Founding Partner
San Francisco
John co-founded Hanover in 1994 and is a Partner. More >>>
FOR SMALL SCREENS
Aaron C. Aiken
Managing Partner
San Francisco
Aaron joined Hanover in 2007 and is Managing Partner. More >>>
Andrew N. Ford
Founding Partner
Portland, Oregon
Andy co-founded Hanover in 1994 and is a Partner. More >>>
John E. Palmer
Founding Partner
San Francisco
John co-founded Hanover in 1994 and is a Partner. More >>>
FOR BIG SCREENS
A group of leading CEOs, former management partners of our portfolio companies, industry experts, and financial and investment professionals serve as advisors to Hanover Partners. These distinguished business leaders lend their experience, expertise, and network in the support of our portfolio companies and management teams by serving as board directors and providing ad-hoc counsel, as well as investing alongside us. They also offer their perspective, sector knowledge, and functional experience in support of our initial evaluation and due-diligence of prospective portfolio company investments. This board includes:
FOR SMALL SCREENS
A group of leading CEOs, former management partners of our portfolio companies, industry experts, and financial and investment professionals serve as advisors to Hanover Partners. These distinguished business leaders lend their experience, expertise, and network in the support of our portfolio companies and management teams by serving as board directors and providing ad-hoc counsel, as well as investing alongside us. They also offer their perspective, sector knowledge, and functional experience in support of our initial evaluation and due-diligence of prospective portfolio company investments. This board includes:
FOR BIG SCREENS
Mr. Robert A. Smith, has over 36 years of international leadership, turnaround, lean manufacturing, engineering, product development, and marketing experience in the energy and instrumentation industries. Most recently, Robert was President and CEO of Doble Engineering in Boston, MA. At Doble, a developer of diagnostic test instrumentation equipment, Robert led the transformation of the company into an international market leader in instrumentation, software systems, and knowledge services. In 2008, Robert led the sale of Doble to Esco Technologies (NYSE: ESE) for $319 million, a transaction recognized as the Technology Deal of the Year in Massachusetts. Under Robert’s leadership, Doble’s revenues grew from $46 million to nearly $80 million over six years.
Prior to Doble, Robert held several senior operating roles, including VP of ABB Power T&D Inc., part of a parent company serving customers in the energy, industrial, building systems, and rail transportation industries. Based in Raleigh, NC, Robert had P&L responsibility for the Medium Voltage Equipment Division and the Distribution Automation Equipment Division. While at ABB, Robert served on the technology advisory group, with a focus on distributed energy systems, including micro turbines, fuel cells, wind power, and system protection.
Robert has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of New South Wales in Australia. In addition, he is a registered professional engineer, and holds 5 US and international patents on power apparatus and distribution automation systems.
Mr. Dave J. Ring, is currently the CEO of Asset Marketing Services, a leading direct marketing company within the collectible coin, watch and jewelry sectors. From 2009 to 2012, he was President of Minco, a leading provider of flexible circuits, flexible heaters, temperature sensors, and instruments. Prior to that, Dave was the founding President and CEO of ReVera, Inc. a manufacturer of high-precision metrology equipment used to monitor and measure semiconductor devices. Dave was also President and CEO of Physical Electronics and Evans Analytical Group, a supplier of surface analytical instrumentation and services, where he led a significant restructuring of the company, resulting in the “carve out” of the legacy analytical instrument division and the “spin out” of the Metrology Division of Physical Electronics. Previously, Dave was President of the Microelectronics Group of Entegris, a company serving high technology markets by purifying, protecting and transporting critical materials used in the production of semiconductors, data storage, fuel cells and other electronic products.
Dave holds a degree in business from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Lehigh University.
Mr. Mark D. Hyland, Presently, Mark is CEO of Handi Quilter Holdings, Inc. and President of Handi Quilter, Inc., focusing on organic growth initiatives, long-term strategy, sales and marketing leadership, and M&A opportunities. Handi Quilter, Inc. is the leading brand and manufacturer of sophisticated quilting machines, systems, and accessories for quilting enthusiasts and home-based businesses. Hanover Partners owned Handi Quilter from 2008-2011 and Mark served as CEO, driving the company’s substantial growth during the period.
Mark has a proven leadership record with over twenty-three years within the consumer goods industry working with multi-million to billion dollar brands. For over ten of these years, Mark has been leading organizations as the Chief Executive Officer. During his career Mark’s hands-on style found him in various leadership roles within sales, marketing and at the executive level with industry leading brands and firms including Wal-Mart, Weider Nutrition, Schiff, Fruit of the Loom, EAS/AdvantEdge Nutrition/Abbott Labs, VMI, Daily Bread/Food Insurance, and Handi Quilter.
Mark’s experience also includes working and partnering with a variety of equity groups during the last fifteen years. Over this period, Mark participated in five successful exits, leading four of those exits as CEO, and achieving or overachieving the expected ROI for the ownership group.
Mark holds a BA in Communications from Brigham Young University.
Mr. Micah Goldstein, has senior management and Board of Directors experience in small to mid-sized businesses, as well as Fortune 300 companies. Micah brings proven expertise in operational improvement, supply chain management, profit optimization, human resources, and leadership. His past experience includes serving as Chief Operating Officer of Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: STLY), President and CEO of Bri-Mar Manufacturing (a Hanover Partners portfolio company) and management roles at Georgia-Pacific, Box-Board Products, as well as time at McKinsey & Company. Micah earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College where he was an Edward Tuck Scholar, and he holds a Masters and Bachelor of Science from the University of Georgia.
Mr. Malcolm G. Stevens, Retired President and CEO of Rugby Manufacturing, Co., a manufacturer of specialized truck and trailer equipment and former Hanover Partners portfolio company. Mr. Stevens joined Rugby in 2001 and with Hanover’s backing led the transformation and growth of the company resulting in a highly successful exit and liquidity event for all shareholders in 2005. Prior to joining Rugby, Mr. Stevens was CEO and President of Energy Manufacturing Co., a manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders and valves for mobile equipment.
Mr. Mark S. Engel, President and CEO of Rosco Laboratories, a $30 million distributor of film, television, and theatre equipment. Mr. Engel was formerly a principal with Chemical Venture Partners.
Mr. P. Jeffrey Leck, Co-founding partner of KLH Capital, LP and was previously co-founding partner of Florida Capital. Formerly a General Partner with Chemical Venture Partners, Mr. Leck has completed more than 100 private equity investments with small and middle market companies.
Mr. Joseph M. Niehaus, General Partner of Housatonic Partners of Boston and San Francisco. Formerly a Managing Director of Hellman and Friedman LLC, Mr. Niehaus has completed over $700 million of private equity investments over the past twelve years.
Mr. Alexander H. Schilling, Jr., Former President of Tangent Fund Management, LLC, a San Francisco-based mezzanine and equity capital investor focused on small middle-market companies. Mr. Schilling has previous experience in middle-market investment banking and is on the board of directors of several companies.
Mr. Ricardo Viloria, has over 25 years of leading businesses domestically and internationally, focuses on P&L oversight, operations, multi-channel distribution, and marketing involving both startups and growth organizations. Strong Track record transforming and growing businesses, creating breakthrough profit performance while spearheading operational improvements and lean thinking to drive productivity to reduce cost.
Ricardo is the founding President and CEO of FREEDOM Communication Technologies (“FCT”), a leading technology Test Equipment company for the Mission Critical Communication Industry. Ricardo led the consolidation of FCT as a stand-alone business after the acquisition of the Communication Test equipment division of General Dynamics Satcom technologies and is now leading the continuous growth and worldwide market penetration of FCT products.
Prior to FCT, Ricardo held senior operating roles, including Director of Operations of GD Satcom, COO of Surface Equipment Corporation and VP of Orangex, Inc.
Ricardo has an Industrial Engineer Degree from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, Venezuela and Executive business education from Harvard, MIT, RICE, and SMU.
FOR SMALL SCREENS
Mr. Robert A. Smith, has over 36 years of international leadership, turnaround, lean manufacturing, engineering, product development, and marketing experience in the energy and instrumentation industries. Most recently, Robert was President and CEO of Doble Engineering in Boston, MA. At Doble, a developer of diagnostic test instrumentation equipment, Robert led the transformation of the company into an international market leader in instrumentation, software systems, and knowledge services. In 2008, Robert led the sale of Doble to Esco Technologies (NYSE: ESE) for $319 million, a transaction recognized as the Technology Deal of the Year in Massachusetts. Under Robert’s leadership, Doble’s revenues grew from $46 million to nearly $80 million over six years.
Prior to Doble, Robert held several senior operating roles, including VP of ABB Power T&D Inc., part of a parent company serving customers in the energy, industrial, building systems, and rail transportation industries. Based in Raleigh, NC, Robert had P&L responsibility for the Medium Voltage Equipment Division and the Distribution Automation Equipment Division. While at ABB, Robert served on the technology advisory group, with a focus on distributed energy systems, including micro turbines, fuel cells, wind power, and system protection.
Robert has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of New South Wales in Australia. In addition, he is a registered professional engineer, and holds 5 US and international patents on power apparatus and distribution automation systems.
Mr. Dave J. Ring, is currently the CEO of Asset Marketing Services, a leading direct marketing company within the collectible coin, watch and jewelry sectors. From 2009 to 2012, he was President of Minco, a leading provider of flexible circuits, flexible heaters, temperature sensors, and instruments. Prior to that, Dave was the founding President and CEO of ReVera, Inc. a manufacturer of high-precision metrology equipment used to monitor and measure semiconductor devices. Dave was also President and CEO of Physical Electronics and Evans Analytical Group, a supplier of surface analytical instrumentation and services, where he led a significant restructuring of the company, resulting in the “carve out” of the legacy analytical instrument division and the “spin out” of the Metrology Division of Physical Electronics. Previously, Dave was President of the Microelectronics Group of Entegris, a company serving high technology markets by purifying, protecting and transporting critical materials used in the production of semiconductors, data storage, fuel cells and other electronic products.
Dave holds a degree in business from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Lehigh University.
Mr. Mark D. Hyland, Presently, Mark is CEO of Handi Quilter Holdings, Inc. and President of Handi Quilter, Inc., focusing on organic growth initiatives, long-term strategy, sales and marketing leadership, and M&A opportunities. Handi Quilter, Inc. is the leading brand and manufacturer of sophisticated quilting machines, systems, and accessories for quilting enthusiasts and home-based businesses. Hanover Partners owned Handi Quilter from 2008-2011 and Mark served as CEO, driving the company’s substantial growth during the period.
Mark has a proven leadership record with over twenty-three years within the consumer goods industry working with multi-million to billion dollar brands. For over ten of these years, Mark has been leading organizations as the Chief Executive Officer. During his career Mark’s hands-on style found him in various leadership roles within sales, marketing and at the executive level with industry leading brands and firms including Wal-Mart, Weider Nutrition, Schiff, Fruit of the Loom, EAS/AdvantEdge Nutrition/Abbott Labs, VMI, Daily Bread/Food Insurance, and Handi Quilter.
Mark’s experience also includes working and partnering with a variety of equity groups during the last fifteen years. Over this period, Mark participated in five successful exits, leading four of those exits as CEO, and achieving or overachieving the expected ROI for the ownership group.
Mark holds a BA in Communications from Brigham Young University.
Mr. Micah Goldstein, has senior management and Board of Directors experience in small to mid-sized businesses, as well as Fortune 300 companies. Micah brings proven expertise in operational improvement, supply chain management, profit optimization, human resources, and leadership. His past experience includes serving as Chief Operating Officer of Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: STLY), President and CEO of Bri-Mar Manufacturing (a Hanover Partners portfolio company) and management roles at Georgia-Pacific, Box-Board Products, as well as time at McKinsey & Company. Micah earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College where he was an Edward Tuck Scholar, and he holds a Masters and Bachelor of Science from the University of Georgia.
Mr. Malcolm G. Stevens, Retired President and CEO of Rugby Manufacturing, Co., a manufacturer of specialized truck and trailer equipment and former Hanover Partners portfolio company. Mr. Stevens joined Rugby in 2001 and with Hanover’s backing led the transformation and growth of the company resulting in a highly successful exit and liquidity event for all shareholders in 2005. Prior to joining Rugby, Mr. Stevens was CEO and President of Energy Manufacturing Co., a manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders and valves for mobile equipment.
Mr. Stephen E. Bachand, Retired President and CEO of Canadian Tire Corp., a Fortune 50 (Canada) company with approximately $4 billion in revenue. Mr. Bachand serves on numerous other boards.
Mr. Mark S. Engel, President and CEO of Rosco Laboratories, a $30 million distributor of film, television, and theatre equipment. Mr. Engel was formerly a principal with Chemical Venture Partners.
Mr. P. Jeffrey Leck, Co-founding partner of KLH Capital, LP and was previously co-founding partner of Florida Capital. Formerly a General Partner with Chemical Venture Partners, Mr. Leck has completed more than 100 private equity investments with small and middle market companies.
Mr. Joseph M. Niehaus, General Partner of Housatonic Partners of Boston and San Francisco. Formerly a Managing Director of Hellman and Friedman LLC, Mr. Niehaus has completed over $700 million of private equity investments over the past twelve years.
Mr. Alexander H. Schilling, Jr., Former President of Tangent Fund Management, LLC, a San Francisco-based mezzanine and equity capital investor focused on small middle-market companies. Mr. Schilling has previous experience in middle-market investment banking and is on the board of directors of several companies.
Mr. Ricardo Viloria, has over 25 years of leading businesses domestically and internationally, focuses on P&L oversight, operations, multi-channel distribution, and marketing involving both startups and growth organizations. Strong Track record transforming and growing businesses, creating breakthrough profit performance while spearheading operational improvements and lean thinking to drive productivity to reduce cost.
Ricardo is the founding President and CEO of FREEDOM Communication Technologies (“FCT”), a leading technology Test Equipment company for the Mission Critical Communication Industry. Ricardo led the consolidation of FCT as a stand-alone business after the acquisition of the Communication Test equipment division of General Dynamics Satcom technologies and is now leading the continuous growth and worldwide market penetration of FCT products.
Prior to FCT, Ricardo held senior operating roles, including Director of Operations of GD Satcom, COO of Surface Equipment Corporation and VP of Orangex, Inc.
Ricardo has an Industrial Engineer Degree from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, Venezuela and Executive business education from Harvard, MIT, RICE, and SMU.