Executive Officers

Mark D. Klein, 47
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, President, and Director

Between March 2007 and July 2009, Mr. Klein was the Chief Executive Officer, President and a Director of Alternative Asset Management Corporation (“AAMAC”), a special purpose acquisition company he helped form in 2007 and which recently completed a merger with Great American Group LLC.  Mr. Klein is also a registered representative at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., a Managing Member of the LTAM Titan Fund, a fund of funds hedge fund and was one of the principals of Aldebaran Investment, LLC, a private fund investing in special purpose acquisition companies. From April 2007 until August 2008, Mr. Klein was the Chief Executive Officer of Hanover Group US LLC, an indirect US subsidiary of the Hanover Group. Prior to joining Hanover in 2007, Mr. Klein was Chairman of Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., a leading underwriter of blank check companies, which is engaged in retail and institutional securities brokerage, investment banking and asset management services. From March 2005 to September 2006, he was Chief Executive Officer and President of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, Inc., the parent of Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., and Chief Executive Officer of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management Inc., a subsidiary of Ladenburg Financial Services, Inc. Prior to joining Ladenburg Thalmann, from June 2000 to March 2005, Mr. Klein served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of NBGI Asset Management, Inc. and NBGI Securities, which were the US subsidiaries of the National Bank of Greece, the largest financial institution in Greece. Prior to joining NBGI, Mr. Klein was President and Founder of Newbrook Capital Management, Founder and Managing Member of Independence Holdings Partners, LLC, a private equity fund of funds company, and Founder and General Partner of Intrinsic Edge Partners, a long/short equity hedge fund. Prior to the formation of Newbrook Capital Management and Independence Holdings Partners, LLC, Mr. Klein was a Senior Portfolio Manager for PaineWebber and Smith Barney Shearson. Mr. Klein also serves as a member of the board of directors of Great American Group, Inc.  Mr. Klein is a graduate of J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, with a Masters of Management Degree and also received a Bachelors of Business Administration Degree with high distinction from Emory University.

Paul D. Lapping, 47
Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, Secretary and Director

Between March 2007 and July 2009, Mr. Lapping was the Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary of AAMAC, a special purpose acquisition company which recently completed a merger with Great American Group LLC.  From August 2003 to June 2006, Mr. Lapping served as the president of Lapping Investments, LLC, a personal investment fund targeting lower middle market leveraged buyouts. From April 2007 until August 2008, Mr. Lapping served as a Managing Director of Hanover Group US LLC. From April 2000 to November 2003, Mr. Lapping was a general partner of Minotaur Partners II, L.P., a private investment partnership Mr. Lapping formed to invest equity in small and middle-market marketing-driven companies with an emphasis on emerging technologies. From December 1995 to January 2002, Mr. Lapping was a general partner of Merchant Partners, LP, a private investment partnership focused on direct marketing, business and consumer services companies. Prior to joining Merchant Partners, Mr. Lapping served in various corporate development roles with Montgomery Ward Holding Corp., a retail, catalog, direct marketing and home shopping company, and Farley Industries, Inc., a management company providing services to Farley Inc., a private investment fund holding company, and its related entities including Fruit of the Loom, Inc., Farley Metals, Inc., Acme Boot Company and West Point-Pepperell, Inc. Mr. Lapping also served in various positions with Golder, Thoma and Cressey, a private equity firm, and with the merger and acquisition group of Salomon Brothers Inc. Mr. Lapping received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois and a Masters of Management Degree from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University.

Board of Directors

Frederick G. Kraegel, 62
Director

Mr. Kraegel has extensive experience in evaluating businesses and in working with companies with complex financial issues. He has been with Bridge Associates LLC since February 2003, currently is a Senior Director and in such capacity has served in a number of roles including as financial advisor to the Chapter 7 Trustee of Refco, LLC. Mr. Kraegel was an independent consultant from July 2002 to February 2003. From July 2001 to July 2002 Mr. Kraegel was Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Director of AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc. where he was hired to provide direction for the Chapter 11 process and financial, information technology and real estate functions. Mr. Kraegel was President and Director of Acme Markets of Virginia, Inc. from 2000 to 2001 and led the effort in which the retail operations of the 32-store chain were sold. In 1998, he was hired as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Factory Card Outlet Corp., a public company, to direct the financial restructuring of the company including the filing a Chapter 11 proceeding in 1999; Mr. Kraegel left the company in 2000 prior to its emergence from bankruptcy in 2002. Mr. Kraegel was a partner at Peat, Marwick Mitchell & Co. (now KPMG LLP) and is a CPA. Mr. Kraegel graduated from Valparaiso University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. Mr. Kraegel serves on the boards of Concordia Plan Services, Inc., Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Valparaiso University.

Leonard A. Potter, 48
Director

MSince August 2009, Mr. Potter has been the Chief Investment Officer for Salt Creek Hospitality LLC, an acquirer of hotel and lodging related assets.  From December 2002 through July 2009, Mr. Potter was a Managing Director of Private Equity at Soros Fund Management LLC where, from May 2005 through July 2009, Mr. Potter served as co-head of the Private Equity group and a member of the Private Equity Investment Committee. From September 1998 until joining Soros Fund Management LLC in 2002, Mr. Potter was a Managing Director of Alpine Consolidated LLC, a private merchant bank, and from April 1996 through September 1998, Mr. Potter founded and served as a Managing Director of Capstone Partners LLC, a private merchant bank. Prior to founding Capstone Partners, Mr. Potter was an attorney specializing in mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.  Mr. Potter is a currently a director of Solar Capital Ltd., a public business development company, and has previously served as a director of several other public companies. Mr. Potter also currently serves as a director of a number of private companies. Mr. Potter has a Bachelors of Arts Degree from Brandeis University and a Juris Doctor Degree from the Fordham University School of Law.

Andrew A. Fink, 40
Director

Andrew A. Fink is a Managing Director of Trevi Health Ventures LP, which he co-founded in March 2005.  From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Fink was the principal of Groton Partners LLC, a New York-based merchant banking firm where he was responsible for principal investments and advisory assignments in molecular diagnostics, medical devices, biopharmaceuticals and healthcare services   From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Fink was a member of the Healthcare and Life Sciences Group at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Inc., the investment banking arm of Germany’s Dresdner Bank AG, where Mr. Fink led the firm’s medical technology effort, advising corporate clients on mergers & acquisitions and capital markets transactions.  Mr. Fink began his career as a corporate lawyer at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York in 1996.  Mr. Fink has a Bachelors of Arts Degree, magna cum laude, from Columbia College (where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa) and a Juris Doctor from Columbia School of Law.  Mr. Fink is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Ikonisys, Inc., Flynn Pharma Ltd., Small Bone Innovations, Inc., MedAvante, Inc. and Manhattan Physicians Laboratories LLC.  Mr. Fink is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association of Columbia College and the StreetSquash Organization.