Pace Holdings Corporation

Pace Holdings Corporation

Apr 13, 2022 by Anthony Sozzi

MANAGEMENT & BOARD


Executive Officers

David Bonderman, 72
Chairman Nominee

Mr. Bonderman is a founding partner of TPG. In 1993, Mr. Bonderman served as the chairman of Continental Airlines, Inc. in order to lead its emergence from bankruptcy. In addition, he has played a leading role in many of TPG’s turnaround investments including its investments in Ducati Motor Holdings, S.p.A., Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Burger King Holdings, Inc. and Seagate Technology plc, among others. In 2009, the United States Treasury Department appointed him to serve as a director of General Motors Company. He also has a track record of working with and investing in growth companies. Since 1996, Mr. Bonderman has served as Chairman of Ryanair Holdings, plc, one of the largest airlines in Europe. In addition, he was a co-founder of both Hotwire.com and CoStar Group, Inc., a leading data company for commercial real estate. He is currently active in working with high-growth companies through his service on the boards of directors of Kite Pharma, Inc., Uber Technologies, Inc. and Airbnb, Inc. Prior to forming TPG in 1992, Mr. Bonderman was Chief Operating Officer of the Robert M. Bass Group, Inc. (RMBG), now doing business as Keystone Group, L.P., in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to joining RMBG in 1983, Mr. Bonderman was a partner in the law firm of Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C. where he specialized in corporate, securities, bankruptcy and antitrust litigation. From 1969 to 1970, Mr. Bonderman was a Fellow in Foreign and Comparative Law in conjunction with Harvard University and from 1968 to 1969 he was Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division. From 1967 to 1968, Mr. Bonderman was Assistant Professor at Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. Bonderman graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law School where he was a member of the Harvard Law Review and a Sheldon Fellow. He is a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Mr. Bonderman also serves or has served as a member of numerous boards including: Caesars Entertainment Corporation; Boston Championship Basketball, LLC; China International Capital Corporation Limited; XOJET, Inc.; The Wilderness Society; the Grand Canyon Trust; the American Himalayan Foundation; and the Harvard Dean’s Advisory Board. Historical boards include Armstrong World Industries, Inc.; Beringer Wine Estates; Burger King Holdings, Inc.; Continental Airlines Inc.; Co-Star Group, Inc.; Ducati Motor Holding, S.p.A; General Motors Corporation; Hotwire.com; and Univision Communications Inc. Mr. Bonderman is well-qualified to serve as a director because of his significant directorship experience and his broad experience in the technology, media and business services sectors.


Karl Peterson, 44
President and Chief Executive Officer, Director

Mr. Peterson is a Senior Partner of TPG Capital and Managing Partner of TPG’s European operations, and he sits on the Executive Committee of TPG. Since joining TPG in 2004, Mr. Peterson has led investments for TPG in technology, media, financial services and travel sectors. Prior to 2004, he was a co-founder and the president and chief executive officer of Hotwire.com, a disruptive travel distribution company. He led the business from its launch through its sale to IAC/InterActiveCorp for $685 million in 2003. Before founding Hotwire, Mr. Peterson was a principal at TPG in San Francisco, and from 1992 to 1995 he was a financial analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Mr. Peterson is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration Degree with High Honors. Mr. Peterson is an experienced director of private and public companies and has significant experience as a member of executive, nominating and corporate governance, audit and independent committees. He currently serves on the boards of directors of the following public companies: Sabre Corporation. (NASDAQ: SABR), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCL) (NASDAQ: NCLH), and Caesars Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: CACQ). He serves on the executive committee of the board at both Sabre Corporation and Caesars Acquisition Company, and serves as Chairman of the Independent Transaction committee at NCL, which was responsible for the structuring, diligence and execution of the $3 billion acquisition of Prestige Cruise Lines in 2014. In addition, Mr. Peterson serves, or has served, on the following private company boards: TES Global Investments S.a.r.l, Saxo Bank A/S, Victoria Plum, Ltd, Univision Communications Inc., Hotwire Inc., Caesars Entertainment Corporation, Impetus-PEF (a charitable organization) and Multicare. Mr. Peterson has been recognized for his accomplishments, including being cited on the “top 40-under-40” and “8 buyout pros under 40 to watch” lists. In addition, he has been recognized by TPG, having received the firm’s Diamond Award for Outstanding Business Transformation (as Chief Executive Officer of Hotwire in 2003) and the firm’s Leadership Award (in 2005).


Dirk Eller, 43
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Eller is a Partner in the Operations Group of TPG Capital, based in London. In this role, he partners with management of existing portfolio companies to identify and drive key revenue, cost and capital initiatives designed to deliver top and bottom line improvements. He is presently active in driving operational efficiencies across two of TPG’s current portfolio companies (while also serving on their boards): Prezzo Holdings Limited, one of the leading casual dining operators in the UK, and Media Broadcast GmbH, a leading media broadcast infrastructure company in Germany. In addition, Mr. Eller also focuses on identifying and underwriting new potential investment opportunities across various sectors, including media, technology and business services. Prior to joining TPG in January of 2015, Mr. Eller served as Chief Financial Officer (Group Finance Director) of Clear Channel Outdoor, a leading global outdoor advertiser with operations in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America, from 2012 to 2014 and as Chief Financial Officer of Clear Channel International from 2010 to 2012. In these roles he directed worldwide finance, procurement and information technology, and also was instrumental in driving the company’s global change management program targeting revenue outperformance, transformational cost reduction, and stringent capital allocation across a number of developed and emerging market countries. Mr. Eller also served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategic Planning of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (now iHeartCommunications, Inc.) from 2005 to 2010, where he directed global acquisition, divestiture, capital investment, and strategic planning for the company’s radio broadcasting, outdoor advertising, live entertainment, and television business. Prior to joining Clear Channel Communications, Inc. in 2005, Mr. Eller worked with Private Equity Partners in Fort Worth, Texas and Bowles Hollowell Conner, a mergers and acquisition firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.


Clive Bode, 72
General Counsel and Secretary

Mr. Bode is a Partner of TPG. Previously, Mr. Bode was General Counsel of TPG and is currently serving as the interim General Counsel. Prior to joining TPG in 2006, Mr. Bode was a Senior Advisor to certain members of the Bass family of Fort Worth, Texas and prior to that he was a partner with Vinson & Elkins, LLP, a law firm headquartered in Houston, Texas. Mr. Bode earned his JD, cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, and graduated summa cum laude from Oakland University. Mr. Bode currently serves as a director of FESCO and has previously served as Chairman of The Meditrust Companies and as a director of Petro Harvester Oil & Gas, LLC.


Board of Directors

James Coulter, 55
Director Nominee

Mr. Coulter is a founding partner of TPG, one of the world’s largest private equity firms which was founded in 1992 and has overseen its expansion from a single fund to a diversified investment firm with an aggregate of $75 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2015 with numerous funds across the private equity spectrum. Mr. Coulter began his career at Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc. in 1982. In 1986, he joined Keystone Inc., a private equity firm formerly known as the Robert M. Bass Group. Mr. Coulter is a 1982 Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College. He went on to receive his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar. He serves on the Board of Trustees for both Dartmouth College and Stanford University. In addition, Mr. Coulter is a Co-Chair of the Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission. The LEAD Commission is answering a challenge from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Education to develop a blueprint detailing the opportunity for using technology as a catalyst to transform and improve American education. Mr. Coulter serves as a member on numerous corporate and charitable boards; including J. Crew Group, Inc., Creative Artists Agency, LLC, Chobani, LLC, Cirque du Soleil Inc., Evolution Media Growth Partners and Common Sense Media, Inc. Historical boards include America West Holdings Corporation, Northwest Airlines, Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd., Oxford Health Plans Inc., Alltel Corporation, The Neiman Marcus Group, Inc., IMS Health Inc, Genesis Health Ventures, Inc., GlobespanVirata Inc., the Vincraft Group, the San Francisco Zoological Society, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, San Francisco Day School, and the San Francisco University High School. Mr. Coulter is well-qualified to serve as a director because of his significant directorship experience and his broad experience in the retail, media and technology sectors.


Chad Leat, 59
Director Nominee

Mr. Leat is a retired Vice Chairman of Global Banking at Citigroup Inc., and has nearly thirty years of markets and banking experience on Wall Street. He is a leader and innovator in corporate credit and M&A finance. Mr. Leat joined Salomon Brothers in 1997 as a partner in High Yield Capital Markets and then joined Citigroup in 1998 from where he retired in 2013 as Vice Chairman of Global Investment Banking. Over the years he served on the firm’s Investment Banking Management Committee, the Fixed Income Management Committee and the Capital Markets Origination Committee. From 1998 until 2005 he served as the Global Head of Loans and Leveraged Finance. He grew this business from a small second-tier position to one of the largest loan and high-yield businesses on Wall Street. During the financial crisis, Mr. Leat helped Citigroup work through many challenging risk, regulatory and client issues. Mr. Leat began his career on Wall Street at The Chase Manhattan Corporation in their Capital Markets Group in 1985 where he ultimately became the head of their highly successful Syndications, Structured Sales and Loan Trading businesses. This group was on the cutting edge of the fast-developing loan market and Mr. Leat was one of a handful of market professionals associated with the development and creation of this now vibrant capital market. Mr. Leat serves on the Supervisory Board of Directors of BAWAG P.S.K. and is the Chairman of the Audit Committee. He is Chairman of the Board of MidCap Financial, PLC, a middle-market direct commercial lending business. He is Chairman of the Board of HealthEngine LLC, a healthcare technology company that provides platforms for consumers to better understand and directly control their healthcare spending. Previously, Mr. Leat served on the Board of Directors of Global Indemnity, PLC, a Dublin-based provider of property and casualty insurance from 2009 to 2015. Mr. Leat is dedicated to many civic and philanthropic organizations. He is a member of the Economic Club of New York and has served on the boards of several charitable organizations. Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of The Hampton Classic Horse Show and is a Trustee of the Parrish Museum of Art. Mr. Leat is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where he received his Bachelors of Science degree. Mr. Leat is well-qualified to serve as a director because of his significant directorship experience and his broad experience in the finance sector.


Robert Suss, 44
Director Nominee

Mr. Suss recently retired from his position as a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs & Co. where he spent the last 18 years building and turning around a number of businesses in their Investment Management Division. His last role was as Head of Private Wealth Management in London from 2012 to 2015 where his responsibilities included managing UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Scandinavia, South Africa, Turkey, Israel, NRI and their Charities’ business and developing growth strategies. Prior to this, Mr. Suss was the Head of UK and Ireland Private Wealth Management from 2008 to 2012 when his unit received the prestigious Euromoney peer voted award for Ultra High Net Worth Services for three consecutive years (2009 to 2011). From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Suss served as the Head of Wealth Management Solutions. Mr. Suss is deeply involved with the Royal Academy of the Arts, serving as a trustee of the institution, and as chair of both its patron committee and its schools’ annual auction and dinner. Mr. Suss also sits on the advisory board of Global Angels and is a trustee of J.K. Rowling’s endeavor Lumos — both charity organizations work to aid and empower disadvantaged children. Mr. Suss received the accolade of being one of GQ’s best Connected People in the UK in 2014. Mr. Suss graduated from the University of Leeds with a Joint Honours in Economics and Management. Mr. Suss is well-qualified to serve as a director because of his significant directorship experience and his broad experience in the finance sector.


Paul Walsh, 60
Director Nominee

Mr. Walsh is Chairman of Compass Group PLC, having been appointed to the role in 2014, and he recently served as Chairman of Ontex Group NV where he helped prepare the company for its initial public offering in June 2014. Mr. Walsh also serves as an advisor for LEK Consultants and TPG Capital LLP, positions he has held since 2014. Previously, Mr. Walsh had a long career with Diageo plc where he served as an advisor from July 2013 through 2014 and as Chief Executive Officer from 2000 to June 2013. Before Diageo plc was formed by the merger of Guinness PLC and Grand Metropolitan plc. Mr. Walsh joined Grand Metropolitan plc’s brewing division in 1982 and became its Finance Director in 1986. Mr. Walsh has also held financial and commercial positions with InterContinental Hotels Group and in Grand Metropolitan’s food business, becoming CEO of the Pillsbury Company, LLC in 1992. He was appointed to the Grand Metropolitan’s Board in 1995 and to the Diageo Board in 1997. Mr. Walsh is Chairman of Avanti Communications Group PLC and a non-executive director of FedEx Corporation, Rm2 International Sa and Simpsons Malt Limited. Mr. Walsh previously served as a non-executive director of Unilever PLC and United Spirits Limited. Mr. Walsh is a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group and also a UK Business Ambassador. Mr. Walsh is well-qualified to serve as a director because of his significant directorship experience and his broad experience in the retail and services sectors.


Kneeland Youngblood, 59
Director Nominee

Mr. Youngblood has served as a founding partner of Pharos Capital Group, LLC since 1998, a private equity firm that invests in the healthcare service sector, business service sector and selective opportunistic investments. Previously, Mr. Youngblood served for six years on the board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the pension fund to which he was appointed by Governor Ann Richards and confirmed by Governor George W. Bush, from 1993 to 1999. In his capacity as a trustee, he was actively involved in hiring investment advisors, determining asset allocations and formulating investment/benefit policies. He served as chairman of the fund’s Real Estate Committee, where he directed a major restructuring of the portfolio. He also served on the board of directors of the Texas Growth Fund, a private equity fund focused on Texas-based companies. Mr. Youngblood was Chairman of the American Beacon Funds, a mutual fund company that is managed by American Beacon Advisors, an investment affiliate of American Airlines. He was a director of Starwood Hotels and Lodging, one of the largest hotel companies in the world. He has also served on the boards of directors of Gap Inc., Burger King Worldwide Inc. and the Dallas Employee Retirement System. He is a former director of the U.S. Enrichment Corporation, a global energy services company taken public in 1998 in a government privatization. He served as a Presidential appointee with Senate confirmation in his role on the Board. He currently serves on the boards of Energy Future Holdings Corporation and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, a UK based company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Youngblood is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and graduated from Princeton University in 1978 with an A.B in Politics/Science in Human Affairs and earned an M.D. degree from the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School in 1982. Mr. Youngblood is well-qualified to serve as a director because of his significant directorship experience and his broad experience in the real estate, retail and energy sectors.