Levy Acquisition Corporation
MANAGEMENT & BOARD
Executive Officers
Lawrence F. Levy, 69
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Director Nominee
Mr. Levy is a Co-Founder and Chairman of the Chicago-based Levy Restaurants, an international food service company that Mr. Levy co-founded with his brother in 1978. Mr. Levy was Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Levy Restaurants until 2004, a few years before the company was sold to Compass. Between 2004 and the sale in 2006, Mr. Levy retained the role of Executive Chairman and promoted his top executive to CEO of Levy Restaurants. As Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Levy was responsible for all aspects of operations, strategy, growth, and various other functions of the company. During his time as Executive Chairman and after he became non-executive chairman in 2006, Mr. Levy has continued to actively participate in significant company initiatives and to advise senior management on all aspects of the company, including strategy, operations and corporate development. Mr. Levy is also the Founder and a Managing Partner of Levy Family Partners, a family investment office that oversees a broad portfolio of public and private investments, including hospitality, real estate, and technology companies. Mr. Levy received his B.S. and M.B.A. from Northwestern University. Ari B. Levy and Steven C. Florsheim are the sons of Lawrence F. Levy.
Ari B. Levy, 34
President and Chief Investment Officer and Director Nominee
Ari B. Levy is a Managing Partner of Levy Family Partners, a position he has held since March 2007. At Levy Family Partners, Ari B. Levy has been responsible for evaluating, executing and managing the company’s portfolio of investments. Ari B. Levy also founded Lakeview Investment Group, or Lakeview, in February 2005 as an independent, employee-owned asset management firm that has had in excess of $100 million under management over the past eight years. Prior to founding Lakeview, Ari B. Levy served as a Vice President and Share Partner at Advisory Research, Inc., a Chicago-based investment management firm with approximately $3 billion in assets under management at the time of his departure in August 2004. Prior to his time at Advisory Research, Ari B. Levy served as an analyst in the investment banking division of Mesirow Financial, working on a number of middle market sell and buy side M&A advisory engagements across a broad group of sectors. Ari B. Levy holds a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University. Lawrence F. Levy is Ari B. Levy’s father and Steven C. Florsheim is Ari B. Levy’s half-brother.
Steven C. Florsheim, 48
Executive Vice President and Chief Acquisitions Officer and Director
Since March 2007, Mr. Florsheim has been a Managing Partner of Levy Family Partners. From June 2007 to October 2010, Mr. Florsheim was Vice President, and since October 2010 he has been President of LFP Real Estate Management. Mr. Florsheim has also been an officer of LFP Resorts since June 2007 and of LFP Restaurant Management since July 2009. In these capacities, Mr. Florsheim oversees and manages the Levy family’s operating businesses, primarily in the restaurant, hotel and resort, and real estate sectors. Mr. Florsheim has served on the Executive Committees and Advisory Boards of many of the Levy family’s holdings, including for Esperanza Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Christophe Harbour, a 2400 acre resort development in the Caribbean. Mr. Florsheim also has assisted in the development of numerous restaurant concepts and served on the Advisory Board to Levy Restaurants prior to its acquisition by Compass. Mr. Florsheim is also the Managing Partner of the law firm of Sperling & Slater. Mr. Florsheim joined the firm as a partner in January 2000 and has been Managing Partner since October 2006. Mr. Florsheim’s legal practice encompasses large-scale, complex commercial litigation matters and corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, and bankruptcy matters. Mr. Florsheim holds a J.D., Order of the Coif, from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in Political Science, cum laude, from Yale University. Lawrence F. Levy is Steven C. Florsheim’s step-father and Ari B. Levy is Steven C. Florsheim’s half-brother.
Sophia Stratton, 52
Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer
Ms. Stratton is the Chief Financial Officer of Levy Family Partners, a position she has held since January 2006. Prior to that time, beginning March 2005, Ms. Stratton was Controller for the Levy family’s restaurant operations. In these capacities, Ms. Stratton established the accounting and tax policies, practices and procedures at the parent and subsidiary levels of the Levy family investment portfolio, including operating, real estate, and passive entities. In addition, she oversees treasury, human resources and benefits, risk management, purchasing, investment performance, IT, forecasting, estate and tax planning. Since March 2010, she has been a Manager of Levy Family Partners. Ms. Stratton is also member of Levy Family Partners’ Investment Committee, and has provided consulting services to several portfolio companies. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Stratton was a Chief Financial Officer in the health care industry from September 2001 to December 2004, preceded by a senior management position at Crowe Horvath (f/k/a Crowe Chizek), an international consulting and public accounting firm. While at Crowe, Ms. Stratton developed, managed and marketed tax, business assurance and operational consulting services to the hospitality and other industries. Ms. Stratton holds a B.A. from Indiana University, post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Accounting and is a certified public accountant.
Board of Directors
Howard B. Bernick, 61
Independent Director Nominee
Since November 2006, Mr. Bernick has served as the president of Bernick Advisory Limited, a private investment advisory company. Since 2009, Mr. Bernick has been a member of the board of directors and audit and compensation committees of Mead Johnson Nutrition Company, a publicly traded pediatric nutrition company. From November 1994 to November 2006, Mr. Bernick served as president, chief executive officer and a director of Alberto-Culver Company, a publicly traded global branded consumer products and beauty supply distribution company. From August 2001 through October 2008, Mr. Bernick served as a director of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a global confectionery company that was publicly traded before it was acquired by Mars, Incorporated in 2008. Since 2011, Mr. Bernick has served on the board of directors of The Duchossois Group, Inc., a private holding company with diversified business interests comprised of companies with brands in the residential security, lighting and convenience products markets and the commercial control, automation and digital media markets. Since 2011, Mr. Bernick has also served on the board of the HAVI Group LP, a private company that owns and manages a portfolio of businesses in the packaging, supply chain, and marketing industries. Mr. Bernick’s community involvement includes membership on the board of trustees of The Field Museum in Chicago and service as a director of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Craig J. Duchossois, 68
Independent Director Nominee
Since 1983, Mr. Duchossois has been the chief executive officer and a director of The Duchossois Group, Inc., a private holding company with diversified business interests comprised of companies with brands in the residential security, lighting and convenience products markets and the commercial control, automation and digital media markets. Mr. Duchossois is also a member of The Duchossois Group, Inc.’s compensation committee. Since 2000, Mr. Duchossois has served on the board of directors and compensation committee of Churchill Downs Incorporated, a publicly traded company that provides horseracing, casino gaming, entertainment and online account wagering on horseracing events. Mr. Duchossois is also the chairman and a member of the compensation committee of the Chamberlain Group, Inc., a private company that manufacturers and markets garage door openers, door operators, telephone entry and access control systems for residential and commercial settings. Mr. Duchossois’s not-for-profit board and compensation committee memberships include the Culver Education Foundation and the University of Chicago Medical Center. Mr. Duchossois also currently holds the following management positions with other for-profit entities: director, AMX LLC (a private company that designs, markets, manufactures and sells audio/visual control devices); director, Milestone AV Technologies LLC (a private company that develops and markets audio/visual mounting equipment and display solutions); managing member, HeathCo LLC (a private company that manufactures motion-activated lighting, door chimes and wireless lighting controls); and chief executive officer, TCMC, Inc. (a private investment company). Mr. Duchossois’s not-for-profit board memberships include the Illinois Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, World Business Chicago, the Executive’s Club of Chicago, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. He is also a past chairman of the board of visitors of the United States Naval Academy.
Marc S. Simon, 65
Independent Director Nominee
Since February 2001, Mr. Simon has served as chief executive officer and a director of HALO Branded Solutions, Inc. (“HALO”), a private company that distributes promotional products. Mr. Simon served in the same capacities for HALO’s predecessor, HALO Industries, Inc., which was publicly traded at the beginning of Mr. Simon’s tenure until the business was sold in 2003. Mr. Simon also currently serves on the boards of Smalley Steel Ring Co., a private company that manufactures steel rings and springs, and Expert Global Solutions, Inc. (formerly NCO Group, Inc.), a private company that provides business process outsourcing services. NCO Group’s bonds were publicly traded prior to Mr. Simon joining the Board in 2011 and were retired in 2012. Mr. Simon has also served on the boards of two private holding companies during their respective periods of distress: ALC Holdings, LLC, from August 3, 2011 through November 7, 2011, and Kingpin Holdings, LLC (the holding company for AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc.), from July 6, 2012 through July 1, 2013. From 1995 through 2001, Mr. Simon served in various roles (including chief financial officer, executive vice president and president, and as a member of the board of directors and audit committee) with APAC Customer Services, Inc., a company that provides call center outsourcing, contact center outsourcing and customer care services and which was publicly traded during Mr. Simon’s tenure. From 1992 through 1995, Mr. Simon was a director of HA-LO Industries, Inc., a publicly traded company at that time and the predecessor to HALO. Mr. Simon is also an attorney, and has been a member of the Illinois and Federal Bars since 1973. Mr. Simon has 22 years of experience in the private practice of corporate law, with an emphasis in mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Simon’s community service includes more than 20 years of service on the board of the Fraida Foundation. He is also chairman of the board of Promotional Products Association International, the trade association for the promotional products industry. In July 2001, HA-LO Industries, Inc. filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Mr. Simon successfully led HALO Industries through the bankruptcy proceedings to profitability within 10 months, paying off all secured lenders in full and making significant payments to unsecured creditors. Mr. Simon subsequently led HALO through three successful acquisitions by private equity investors. The bankruptcy court entered a final decree in 2011.
Gregory G. Flynn, 49
Independent Director Nominee
Since 1994, Mr. Flynn has served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Flynn Properties Inc. (and its predecessors), a private company in the commercial real estate market. In addition, since 1998, Mr. Flynn has served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Flynn Restaurant Group LLC (and its predecessors), a private franchisee of restaurants. Since 2009, Mr. Flynn has been a member of the board of directors of the Applebee’s® division of Centralized Supply Chain Services, LLC, a private purchasing cooperative that negotiates purchase and distribution agreements with vendors on behalf of restaurant franchisees. Mr. Flynn’s community involvement includes membership on the board of directors of the Exploratorium® and service as a past co-chairman of the capital campaign for Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco.