When going places nobody has gone before, leadership is key.
Neil Shapiro, Chairman
Mr. Shapiro is involved in originating, structuring, documenting and monitoring private equity investments initiated by GF Capital. He has extensive experience working with consumer products companies to grow and develop the global brands. Prior to co-founding GF Capital, Mr. Shapiro was a Vice President in the corporate finance department of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, Inc. structuring and closing private equity, M&A and financing transactions for multinational and domestic clients. Before joining A&SB as an equity research analyst, Mr. Shapiro was a Senior Auditor with KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Shapiro is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Shapiro holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Business. and is a member of The Wisconsin Business Alumni Board of the Wisconsin School of Business.
Jeff Padovan, CEO
Mr. Padovan accepted the office of CEO of Bite Tech in September 2012. Prior to joining Bite Tech he held the position of President of the Americas for Polar Sports & Fitness Monitors from 2006 to 2011, the world’s #1 sports performance monitoring company. In this capacity he was responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of Polar products in the retail, B2B and ecommerce channels to the sporting goods, pro & collegiate teams, health clubs, education, corporate wellness, insurance and OEM segments. He also held senior management positions at Thule Sport Racks, The Dr Pepper 7up Company and Kraft Foods. Mr. Padovan is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization(YPO), and holds board positions with the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association and the Executive Forum of Connecticut. He is a graduate of Rutgers University with degrees in Economics and Religion.
Lieutenant General (LTG) F. L. Hagenbeck
LTG Hagenbeck is President of his own consulting firm based in Jacksonville, Florida. He serves as an expert on leadership and national security issues. LTG Hagenbeck graduated and was commissioned as a second lieutenant from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He holds a Master of Science degree from Florida State University, as well as a Masters of Business Administration from Long Island University. He also attended the Maxwell School National Security Program at Syracuse University. His military education includes the Army War College, Army Command and General Staff College, and the Infantry Officer Advanced Course. LTG Hagenbeck served our Army for over 39 years culminating as the 57th Superintendent of the U. S. Military Academy. He commanded at every level from company through division including as the Commanding General of the 10th Mountain Division. He also served in the 25th Infantry Division, 82d Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division, and Training and Doctrine Command.
LTG Hagenbeck served as the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel as well as numerous other staff positions. He also served in several Joint assignments, including Exchange Officer to the Royal Australian Infantry Center; Strategic Plans and Policy directorate (J5) and Deputy Director for Current Operations, J33, Joint Staff. LTG Hagenbeck led the first conventional forces into Afghanistan in the fall of 2001 as the Commander of Coalition Joint Task Force Mountain. He was the senior commander in Afghanistan during the initial defeat of the Taliban; and in March 2002 commanded Operation Anaconda, the largest conventional battle since the end of the Vietnam War. He has received numerous awards and decorations including two Distinguished Service Medals.
In addition to serving on Bite Tech’s board, LTG Hagenbeck is also a board member on the non-profit National Organization on Disabled. He is on the Board of Governors for the College of Human Sciences at Florida State University. He also advises several muti-national corporations and is a member of The Elbe Group, sponsored by the Belfer Center at Harvard’s Kennedy Center which is focused on nuclear counterterrorism. And he is one of 12 leaders featured in Gary Burnison’s book, No Fear of Failure – Real Stories of How Leaders Deal with Risk and Change.
Brett Hull
Mr. Hull is the executive vice president and alternate governor of the Dallas Stars helping the team’s executive management staff in all areas of business operations and representing the club at Board of Governors Meetings. Hull served as co-general manager for the Stars from 2007-2009, having joined the Stars front office in 2005. Prior to his co-GM post, he held various roles throughout the organization, including hockey operations, business operations, marketing, promotions and community relations. He also worked as the in-studio analyst on NBC’s NHL Game of the Week in 2005-06.
Mr. Hull retired in 2005 after an illustrious 19-year NHL career spent with the Calgary, St. Louis, Dallas, Detroit and Phoenix. In 1,269 career games, Hull netted 741 goals, good for third place in NHL history, trailing only Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe. His 24 career playoff game-winning goals are tied with Gretzky for the most in NHL history, his 33 career hat tricks rank fourth all-time and his 265 power play goals trail only Dave Andreychuk in the league annals. Hull scored 1,391 career points (741 goals and 650 assists), and in 202 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, tallied 103 goals (fourth-most all-time) and 87 assists for 190 points, the sixth-highest scoring total in NHL history. A Dallas Star for three seasons (1998-2001) Hull helped guide the club to its Stanley Cup championship in 1999, scoring the Cup-winning goal in the third overtime of Game Six of the 1999 Cup Finals. In 218 games as a Star, Hull posted 196 points (95 goals and 101 assists), and he added 46 points (21 goals and 25 assists) in 55 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Hull also won the Stanley Cup in 2002 as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, appeared in eight NHL All-Star Games, and in 1991, won both the Hart Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award as league MVP. He skated for Team USA at the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal in Salt Lake City in 2002, as well as the 1996 and 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November, 2009, and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in the fall of 2008.
Tony Broadbent
Mr. Broadbent is Deputy Board Chairman and a past President of Bite Tech, Inc. He has advised and been involved in all disciplines within the Company. He worked in advertising, marketing, brand development, strategic planning and NPD for over twenty-five years and has served blue-chip clients in the US, UK, and Europe. And as such has held senior executive and creative director positions at major UK and US advertising agencies and won numerous national and international creative awards.
Dan Brestle
Mr. Brestle is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Personal Care Products Council, formerly known as The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, a position he has held since February 2008. He previously served as Vice Chairman to the Board when he was elected in February 2002.
In June 2009, Mr. Brestle retired from his position of Vice Chairman and President of The Estée Lauder Companies North America after being with the Company for more than thirty years. In his most recent role, he was responsible for leading the Company’s North American business across multiple distribution channels. In January 2005, Mr. Brestle was appointed Chief Operating Officer of The Estée Lauder Companies where he was responsible for Global Operations and Research and Development. He also managed the Estée Lauder, M•A•C, Prescriptives, Tom Ford, and Sean John brands and the BeautyBank division. In 1973, he joined Johnson & Johnson, where he gained distribution, manufacturing and operations experience. Mr. Brestle is a graduate of Villanova University and served in the United States Air Force for six years. He is a member of the Board of Directors for DineEquity, Inc., a company that both franchises and operates restaurants including International House of Pancakes and Applebee’s. He serves on the Advisory Council of the College of Commerce and Finance at Villanova University and as an honorary member of the Board of Trustees of Shore Memorial Health Foundation in Somers Point, New Jersey.
Michael Margarite
Mr. Margarite works in various aspects of the deal process for the GF Capital Private Equity Fund, including analysis, financial modeling and valuation of potential investments and deal structuring, as well as providing ongoing monitoring and support of the firm’s existing portfolio companies. Mr. Margarite joined GF Capital after receiving an MBA from Columbia Business School, concentrating in entrepreneurship, finance and marketing, and completing his MBA internship in Young and Rubicam’s BrandAsset Valuator group. Mr. Margarite also holds a BA with Honors from Columbia College.
Christopher Kim
Mr. Kim joined GF Capital in 2011 and supports the day-to-day management of current GF Capital portfolio companies and evaluates prospective private equity investment opportunities. Prior to joining GF Capital in 2011, Mr. Kim worked as an analyst in the Investment Banking Division at Citigroup, where he focused on transactions in the media and telecommunications industry. Mr. Kim received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Accounting from the New York University Stern School of Business.
Patrick Dwyer
Mr. Dwyer joined GF Capital in 2013 from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. where he was a Finance Manager. Prior to KKR, Mr. Dwyer was a Senior Associate at McGladrey & Pullen. Mr. Dwyer holds a Masters of Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance, from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, Mr. Dwyer holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy from Villanova University. Mr. Dwyer is a Certified Public Accountant.
Tyler Brenneman
Mr. Brenneman joined GF Capital in 2016 and works on various aspects of the deal process for the GF Capital Private Equity Fund, including the financial analysis, valuation and deal structuring of potential investments, as well as the ongoing monitoring and support of the firm’s existing portfolio companies. Mr. Brenneman previously spent two years as an analyst for Cross River Capital Management, where he focused on research, due diligence, and investment in portfolio companies. Mr. Brenneman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Political Science from the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated in 2014.