The Team

• 
  Robert Hild
  Chairman and Managing Director
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Robert Hild

Chairman and Managing Director

Phone: 206-963-5750
Email: rhild@actcapitaladvisors.com
Fax: 206-275-1082

Mr. Hild, Chairman and Managing Partner of ACT Capital Advisors brings over 20 years experience in the private equity sector. Prior to joining ACT, Mr. Hild co-founded Invest West Capital, LLC a West Coast oriented private equity firm focused on mid market acquisitions. During his tenure with IWC, he served as CEO of five portfolio companies and conducted over 20 mergers, acquisitions, and sales, representing in aggregate more than $200MM in transaction value. His senior management leadership experience includes light manufacturing, food processing, retail store fixture and durable medical products manufacturing, industrial recycling, critical power, and legal support services. Currently he serves on the board of directors of Critical Power Exchange and Columbia Medical Products. Previously, Bob was a senior manager of Corporate Finance for Ernst and Young, providing advisory services to both buyers and sellers of mid market companies. Mr. Hild is a graduate of Brigham Young University’s School of Accountancy and an MBA from the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University.

• 
  Michael Vanderslice
  Managing Director
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Michael Vanderslice

Managing Director

Phone: 425-681-4223
Email: mvanderslice@actcapitaladvisors.com

Mr. Vanderslice, Managing Director of ACT Capital Advisors, has a broad and deep background as a business leader, owner, and manager with deep experience in middle market private companies in multiple industries. He has long been a trusted advisor to the CEO and Management Teams of Northwest private businesses building a professional reputation for professionalism, integrity and direct communication. He has assisted companies in the value creation, exit planning and exit execution phases with excellent results. His deepest experience is in the manufacturing, distribution and business to business services sectors with private companies with sales of up to $ 50m and commensurate earnings. Concurrently, Mike continues to operate Vanderslice Capital Partners, a lower middle private equity firm which provides direct equity and /or mezzanine debt in selected companies. Previously, he has served as CEO of STI Fleet Services (now DriveShop), Clothier & Head (now Petersen & Sullivan), Vanderslice Advisory Services, and Management Design Associates (now Moss Adams Consulting).­­ He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the Pennsylvania State University, an undergraduate degree from Muhlenberg College, and is a Certified Management Consultant.

• 
  Curtis Case
  Principal and Managing Director
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Curtis Case

Principal and Managing Director

Phone: 425-891-2201
Email: ccase@actcapitaladvisors.com
Fax: 206.275.1082

Mr. Case is Senior Vice President and Managing Director of ACT Capital Advisors. Curt was one of the original founders of ACT, he rejoined ACT after spending several years as VP of Mergers and Acquisitions with the Geneva Companies in the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Case has over 20 years of experience in investment banking, mergers-and-acquisitions and advising middle-market clients in many industries. Prior to beginning his mergers-and-acquisitions career, he acquired, managed and divested businesses as a principal in a private equity group. Mr. Case is a veteran, who served as a Captain in the US Army Signal Corps. He earned his BS degree from Louisiana State University with MBA studies in Finance and Accounting at LSU, Northeastern University, Boston and Seattle University.

• 
  K. Perry Campbell
  Senior Advisor
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K. Perry Campbell

Senior Advisor

Phone: 360-904-9048
Email: pcampbell@actcapitaladvisors.com
Fax: 503-296-2452

Dr. Campbell, Principal and Managing Director of the Portland-Vancouver office of ACT Capital Advisors, has over 30 years of business experience. He has served as president of five companies with up to $525 million in annual revenue, including an environmental company, a computer services and system design company, a consulting engineering company, a government contracting and construction company, and a merger & acquisition consulting company. He serves on the board of the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA) where he chairs the Market Research Committee, and is principal author of AM&AA’s semi-annual “Deal Stats” survey. AM&AA selected Perry as its 2009 Member of the Year in recognition of his contribution to the profession. Perry has managed the Merger & Acquisition process, representing both sellers and buyers on transactions involving firms valued from $1 million to over $200 million, including chemical labs, consulting engineering firms, environmental firms, medical equipment manufacturers, high tech manufacturers, technology service providers, wood products manufacturers, specialty coatings manufacturers, test equipment manufacturers, product testing firms, air emissions testing firms, waste management firms, retailers and construction firms. His completed transactions involved capital investments of over $750 million. Perry holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Pennsylvania State University. Perry is a veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy Reserve and the Air National Guard. He holds the Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor (CM&AA) designation from the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors.

• 
  Stephen Spencer, CFA
  Managing Director
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Stephen Spencer, CFA

Managing Director

Phone: 425-241-6530
Email: sspencer@actcapitaladvisors.com
Fax: 206.275.1082

Stephen Q. Spencer, CFA, Managing Director of ACT Capital Advisors, brings 23 years of experience analyzing business models and valuing businesses for investment purposes. Prior to joining ACT Capital Advisors, Mr. Spencer was Head of Equities, Director of Research, and Senior Portfolio Manager at a large family of mutual funds. There he oversaw all investment operations for $12 billion of investment assets as well as personally researching and analyzing companies and making the investment decisions for mutual fund assets totaling more than $7 billion. Prior to working in the mutual fund industry Mr. Spencer was a principal in a private investment management company which managed ERISA, Taft-Hartley, Institutional and high net worth portfolios. Mr. Spencer holds a B.S. in Business Management/Finance from Brigham Young University and earned a MBA from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the CFA Institute.

• 
  John Norton
  Managing Director
• 
  Gary Gessel
  Managing Director
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Gary Gessel

Managing Director

Phone: (253) 380-0957
Email: ggessel@actcapitaladvisors.com

Gary Gessel is a highly accomplished senior executive with more than 35 years of success within the automotive, banking, food processing, manufacturing, and fenestration industries. He leverages extensive experience to analyze financial statements and develop strategic plans to cut costs and push an organization to the next level. Gary has proven his ability to recruit, train, mentor, and engage top talent to improve customer service and achieve company goals. His areas of expertise include product development, CI, sales & marketing, CRM, revenue optimization, market positioning, M&A, IPO, cultural change, and recapitalization.

Currently, Gary serves as Independent Consultant through his consultancy business, where he provides services across organizational restructure, recapitalization, IPO preparation, strategic marketing, and organic growth strategies.

Prior to opening his consultancy company, Gary served as President, General Manager, and Chief Operations Officer with Milgard Windows & Doors. He rejoined the company in 2008 and during the past nine years, he navigated the company through the recession; he implemented strategies to restructure the company focus, ultimately gaining 6 points of market share despite the adverse business climate; he developed and implemented new products, which currently represent 30% of the company’s total revenue; and he strategically consolidated operations. In addition, Gary led efforts to reduce quality defects by 200% and introduced professional development programs for 200 key business leaders.

From 2004 to 2007, Gary served in a volunteer capacity with the Missouri St Louis Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He trained and mentored young missionaries during a period that saw the mission double its KPIs.

Before his volunteer assignment with the church, Gary was tenured as Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer with Milgard Windows & Doors from 1992 to 2004. He served as a member of the executive team and supported the growth of the company from revenues of $100 million to $600 million, and he oversaw the opening and operations of 11 new production facilities. His responsibilities spanned sales and marketing, engineering, new product development, and HR, and he held P&L accountability as well as the operational leadership of two captive companies. He led the preparation efforts for the successful sale of the company in 2001 to Masco Corp.

Between 1983 and 1992, Gary served as Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer with Nalley’s Fine Foods (Curtice Burns Foods). He was responsible for a staff of 50 and oversaw all accounting, FP&A, and IT functions for this diversified food processing company with three plants located in Washington, British Columbia, and California. He was a key member of the executive team and participated in managing sales, marketing, manufacturing, and logistics. He was an active participant in multiple M&A processes including the acquisition of Adams Peanut Butter, Tim’s Cascade Potato Chips, Lowrey’s & SmokeCraft Meat Snacks, Van De Kamp Mexican Classics, Wilderness Pie Filling, and Farman Pickles.

Earlier in his career, Gary held a number of roles with increasing responsibility, some of which include Assistant VP, Capital Planning & Analysis, Treasury Department with Seafirst Corporation from 1982 to 1983, where he was a member of the team responsible for creating the memorandum of sale to Bank of America. Prior to that, he was a Financial & Economic Analyst, Ford World HQ with the Ford Motor Company from 1978 to 1982, a role that provided Gary with a deep insight into financial analysis and cash flow management.

In addition to his executive career, Gary’s board experience includes Executive Board of Directors for Burkhart Dental Supply Inc.; Executive Board Member with Fortifiber Building Systems Group; President – Pacific Harbors Council Board, Boy Scouts of America; Pierce College Foundation Board; the Business Mentor Program at the University of Puget Sound; and Business & Accounting Advisory Board for Tacoma Community College. He also serves as Consultant to SATECH and the University of Washington Tacoma School of Business, and he is a member of Vistage.

Gary has been recognized numerous times for his career achievements including #1 Vinyl Window in the Nation and two-time winner of the Most Innovative New Product during his time with Milgard Windows & Doors.

A recognized thought leader, Gary has presented on the topic of Career Guidance at Pacific Lutheran University, he has presented an Investment Outlook to Wall Street Analysts, and he is a regular speaker at church engagements.

Gary obtained his MS in Industrial Administration from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management in 1977, and he attained his BS in Mathematics from Brigham Young University in 1976. He has taken numerous professional development courses throughout his career including Partners in Leadership – Change the Culture, Change the Game; Vistage International; Ruda Cohen & Associates; The Leadership Mirror – Development Dimensions Inc.; Leader Development – Center for Creative Leadership; Targeted Selection – Development Dimensions Inc.; Demand Flow Technology – JIT Institute of Technology; Rational Decision Making – AdvantEdge; and Developing Executive Leadership – American Management Association.

• 
  Matthew Latimer
  Managing Director
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Matthew Latimer

Managing Director

Matthew Latimer is a seasoned business executive and corporate attorney with over 20 years of experience advising companies on complex corporate transactions. During his career, he has closed mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, recapitalizations, debt and equity financings, and strategic alliances representing, in the aggregate, more than $1 billion in transaction value.

Prior to joining ACT, Mr. Latimer served as the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at American Seafoods Group, the world’s largest harvester and at-sea processor of wild-caught whitefish. While at American, he led the company’s legal team in completing numerous acquisitions, asset sales, and complex debt and equity financings — and ultimately — its successful sale to private equity buyers. He began his career practicing law at the premier national law firms of Davis Wright Tremaine, Cooley Godward, and Dorsey & Whitney, where he regularly advised public and private companies, venture capital and private equity investors, and commercial banks with respect to M&A, investment, and other strategic transactions.

Mr. Latimer has deep experience advising companies and investors in the manufacturing, information technology, maritime, food and beverage, life sciences, retail, and real estate sectors. He has regularly represented public and private companies, venture capital and private equity investors, commercial banks and other business clients in both their domestic and cross-border transactions.

Mr. Latimer holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington School of Law and a B.A. degree in Chinese from Brigham Young University. He also serves on the Board of directors of the Boy Scouts of America (Mount Baker Council) and the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. Mr. Latimer currently is an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington School of Law where he teaches on business law-related topics.

 

 

• 
  John D. Laslavic, LPBC
  Managing Director
• 
  Thomas Feher
  Managing Director
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Thomas Feher

Managing Director

Phone: 425-761-9026
Email: tfeher@actcapitaladvisors.com
Fax: 206-275-1082

Mr. Feher, Senior Managing Director of ACT Capital Advisors, has accumulated nearly two decades of successful Mergers and Acquisitions experience in addition to his prior 25 years of broad management, production, construction and engineering background. Before his entry into the Mergers & Acquisitions field he sold, after 10 years of ownership and operation, his mid-size, multi-state consulting engineering and testing company. His ownership experience with several successful companies enables Tom to understand and intelligently communicate with Owners of mid-market companies. He is formerly a Professional Engineer, member of IBBA, ASME, and other professional organizations; a graduate of Budapest Technical University in Hungary in mechanical and industrial engineering, with post-graduate education from the University of British Columbia, Canada; and has lectured at several West Coast Colleges and industrial plants.

• 
  Paul Hajek
  Managing Director
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Paul Hajek

Managing Director

Mr. Paul Hajek, Managing Director of ACT Capital Advisors, has 17 years of experience helping owners of lower-middle to middle market companies to turn their businesses around, achieve exponential growth, exit their companies successfully, and reach their personal goals. He has worked with scores of companies in many industries with one mission – to make sure that all his clients own companies that are sellable. Paul also acquired, improved, and sold several companies with his personal funds in the past. Concurrently, Paul continues to operate Synergy Business Development, a business coaching and consulting firm which provides business valuation, strategic planning, and exit/succession planning & implementation services to lower-middle market companies. Paul holds a Master of Business Administration from San Jose State University, CA, a Master of Science in Optics from University of Rochester, NY, and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Michigan State University. He is a recipient of the Business Coach of the Year Award and holds Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Certified Professional Business Coach (CPBC), and Certified Family Business Advisor (CFBA) designations. Paul is fluent in four languages and resides in Spokane, WA.

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  Bond Aster
  Managing Director
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Bond Aster

Managing Director

Phone: 206-979-2553
Email: bond@actcapitaladvisors.com

Bond serves as the Managing Director of the ACT Capital Advisors Consulting Division, bringing over 30 years of business consulting experience running his own firm. His experience spans all business types and industries including manufacturing, retail, IT, and professional services. Prior to joining ACT, Bond has helped businesses increase profits while freeing time and reducing stress for the owners. He has helped businesses increase sales, develop marketing strategies, strategic plans, reorganizations, and improve bottom line finances focusing on businesses under $50M in annual revenue over the last 10 years. Over the previous 20 years he learned what works well in business by managing research and engineering divisions of hi tech companies, while providing business consulting to a wide variety of companies leveraging his background in engineering and physics to improve business results. He graduated from the University of Washington with a Ph. D. in Physics in 1979.

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  Chris Sheppard
  Vice President
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Chris Sheppard

Vice President

Phone: 425-387-4988
Email: csheppard@actcapitaladvisors.com

Chris has 5 Years of Investment Banking experience. He has managed all aspects of the deal lifecycle.

Education:

JD from University of Washington School of Law
LL.M. Taxation from University of Washington School of Law
MBA from the Foster School of Business, University of Washington

Military Service:

Officer in the US Marine Corp – 2 combat tours of duty in Iraq

 

• 
  Trevor Hill
  Associate
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Trevor Hill

Associate

Office: 206-486-3408
Cell: 206-660-7992
Email: thill@actcapitaladvisors.com

Trevor Hill is currently an Associate of ACT Capital Advisors. Prior to joining ACT, he was the Chief Operations Officer for over ten years at Members Insurance, Inc., a financial services firm focused on risk management advisory for banks and credit unions. Trevor earned a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California and holds an MBA from the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University with a certificate in Finance and Investments.

• 
  Troy Jenkins
  Senior Associate
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Troy Jenkins

Senior Associate

Phone: 206-486-3404
Email: tjenkins@actcapitaladvisors.com

Troy started with ACT Capital Advisors during the first half of 2012. During his time with ACT, Troy has assisted in a number of transactions involving mergers, acquisitions and capital raises. His experience covers a variety of industries including manufacturing, retail, trucking, construction, and healthcare. Prior to joining ACT as a full-time associate, Troy worked for ACT as a Summer Analyst. He also completed an internship with a venture capital fund based out of Salt Lake City. There he analyzed various start-up companies the fund was considering for investment. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University – Idaho (BYU-I) in Financial Economics with a minor in Accounting. At BYU-I he was awarded the Newel K. Whitney Award for demonstrating a strong work ethic, high ethical standards, and integrity.

• 
  Michael Seeley
  Associate
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Michael Seeley

Associate

Email: mseeley@actcapitaladvisors.com

Office: 206.486.3407

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seeleymike/

Michael Seeley is currently an Associate with ACT Capital Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, he worked in several M&A-related roles, including as an Analyst for a leading business brokerage firm, as a Business Development Specialist for a consumer technology startup, and a Client Services Intern for a wealth advisory practice. Michael earned a B.B.A. from the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, with degree options in Finance and Entrepreneurship.

 

• 
  Spencer Mueller
  Analyst
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Spencer Mueller

Analyst

Spencer Mueller is currently an Analyst with ACT Capital Advisors. Prior to joining ACT, Spencer worked as a Private Wealth Management intern at RBC Wealth Management in Seattle, Washington. Since joining ACT in March, Spencer has work experience in all phases of the deal lifecycle for clients in industries ranging from IT hardware to manufacturing.

• 
  George E. Gifford
  Senior Advisor