Executive Officers

P. Kasper Jakobsen, 58  [Amended]
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director

Mr. Jakobsen previously served as chief executive officer and president of Mead Johnson Nutrition, a global consumer company focused on infant and child nutrition, from 2013 until leading its sale to Reckitt Benkiser PLC in 2017. He was a Mead teammate for 19 years after previously serving for 8 years in various marketing roles at Unilever N.V., one of the world’s largest and oldest consumer goods businesses.  He serves as a director of SC Johnson, a leading U.S. based manufacturer of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care, as well as professional products. Mr. Jakobsen holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Auckland University in New Zealand.

Joseph A. Gabelli, 37
President

Mr. J. Gabelli is a portfolio manager and equity research analyst at GAMCO Investors with a specialization in the consumer sector. He serves as a portfolio manager within the Gabelli small and micro-investment team, responsible for the management of investments below $500 million of capitalization. From 2008 until June 2017, Mr. J. Gabelli served as an equity research analyst covering the global food and beverage industry within the Gabelli organization’s consumer sector platform. He began his investment career at Integrity Capital Management, a Boston-based equity hedge fund, where he focused on researching small and micro-cap companies in the technology, healthcare and consumer discretionary sectors. He previously served as a data strategy consultant for an early-stage media and marketing analytics firm, beginning in July 2017. From 2018, Mr. J. Gabelli has been a part of the team responsible for the $594 million Teton Westwood Mighty Mites portfolio, as of June 30, 2020, reporting directly to Mario Gabelli, the Chief Investment Officer. Mr. J. Gabelli holds a B.A. from Boston College and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

John N. Givissis, 56
Senior Vice President & Chief Accounting Officer

Mr. Givissis serves as chief financial officer of Gabelli & Partners where he oversees accounting and financial reporting for clients invested in its hedge funds and alternative investment offerings, a position he has held since 2006. Prior to joining Gabelli & Partners, he was the financial and operations principal of Garban Giorgio Equity Trading (formerly a division of ICAP), an institutional brokerage firm, and controller at Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co., Inc., a boutique investment banking firm. Mr. Givissis began his career in public accounting at Weidenbaum Ryder & Company, a regional tax and audit firm. Mr. Givissis is a Licensed Certified Public Accountant in New York State and earned his B.S. in Accountancy and Economics from St. Peter’s College.

Peter D. Goldstein, 67 [Resigned]
Executive Vice President

Mr. Goldstein initially started with Gabelli in 1997, and currently serves as the general counsel of Gabelli Funds. From 2004 until 2011, Mr. Goldstein served as the director of regulatory affairs and associate general counsel at GAMCO Investors Inc. and, prior to that, as chief compliance officer for the firm’s mutual funds complex. Mr. Goldstein previously served as the general counsel and chief compliance officer at Buckingham Capital Management, Inc. Earlier in his career, Mr. Goldstein was a litigation partner with the law firm Dorsey & Whitney in New York, and a branch chief in the enforcement division of the Securities & Exchange Commission. He was also previously a senior compliance officer at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Mr. Goldstein holds a B.A., cum laude, from Brandeis University, an M.S. from Harvard University, and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Boston College Law School.

Board of Directors

Douglas R. Jamieson, 65 [Resigned]
Non-Executive Co-Chairman

In addition to serving as our Non-Executive Co-Chairman, Mr. Jamieson also acts as a managing member of our sponsor. Mr. Jamieson has served as president and chief executive officer of Associated Capital Group, Inc. since November 2016 and as a director since May 2017. He served as president and chief operating officer of GAMCO Investors, Inc. (“GAMCO”) from August 2004 to November 2016. He has served as a director of GAMCO Asset Management Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of GAMCO, since 1991, as its president and chief operating officer since 2004, and as its executive vice president and chief operating officer from 1986 to 2004. Mr. Jamieson also serves as president and a director of Gabelli & Company Investment Advisers, Inc. (f/k/a Gabelli Securities, Inc., “GCIA”), a director of Gabelli Securities International (UK) Ltd. and a director of GAMCO Asset Management (UK) Ltd. Mr. Jamieson served on the Board of Teton from 2005 through 2010. Mr. Jamieson also serves as a director of several investment funds that are managed by GCIA. Mr. Jamieson was a securities analyst with the predecessor of G.research, LLC from 1981 to 1986. He was a director of GGCP, Inc. from December 2005 through December 2009, and served as an advisor to the GGCP, Inc. board through 2010.

Marc Gabelli, — [Appointed]
Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Gabelli also served as a director of GAMCO Investors, Inc. from November 2014 until May 2016. Mr. Gabelli has served as President of GGCP since 1999 and as a director since 1994.  Mr. Gabelli has been Chairman of Teton Advisers, Inc. (OTC: TETA) since January 2018 and LGL Group, Inc. (NYSE American: LGL) since 2017, and Chair of Gabelli Merger Plus+ Trust PLC (LSE: GMP) since 2017. Mr. Gabelli also has been Co-Chief Executive Officer of Gabelli Securities International Ltd. since 1994, Managing Partner of Horizon Research of New Delhi India since 2012, and Director and Managing Partner of Swiss based GGCP and GAMA Funds Holdings GmbH since 2010. He also has been Chair and Chief Executive of Gabelli & Partners Italia S.r.L. and Gabelli Value for Italy S.p.A., a Milan stock exchange listed special purpose acquisition corporation, since 2018. Mr. Gabelli served as Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and as a director of LGL Systems Acquisition Corp. (“LGL SPAC”), a special purpose acquisition corporation listed on the NYSE, from September 2019 until August 2021 (the close of LGL SPAC’s business combination with IronNet, Inc.). As a fund manager since 1990, Mr. Gabelli’s focus is global value investments with portfolio assignments including alternative and traditional asset management. He manages alternative investment portfolios and investment companies trading on the London Stock Exchange. He has managed several Morningstar five star mutual funds and a Lipper #1 ranked global equity mutual fund. In corporate matters, he has assisted on group restructurings, including GAMCO’s initial public offering and the subsequent formation of AC. He built the hedge fund platform of AC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Gabelli & Partners, LLC, and expanded the business internationally, opening the GAMCO London and Tokyo offices. In 2001, he also formed and served as General Partner of OpNet Partners, a Gabelli venture capital fund focused on optical networking technologies. He is also a Director of LICT Corporation (OTC: LICT). Mr. Gabelli is active in a variety of charitable educational efforts in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom.  Mr. Gabelli began his career in equity research and arbitrage for Lehman Brothers International. He is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He received an M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a graduate of Harvard University, with a Master’s degree in Government, and Boston College, with a Bachelor’s degree in economics.  Mr. Gabelli brings to the Board his management skills and expertise in finance, investment and merger and acquisition matters.

Pei-Yu “Sandra” Yu, 51
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Ms. Yu is the former president of Mead Johnson Nutrition for Greater China and worked alongside our Chairman Kasper Jakobsen. During Mead’s integration into its acquirer Reckitt Benckiser, she was named chief advisor to establish Reckitt’s China advisory board. Prior thereto, Ms. Yu served as acting chief marketing officer and vice president of global marketing during Mead’s initial public offering following its separation from Bristol Myers Squibb. She also was employed as vice president of regional marketing for Asia. She began her career at Unilever and served as vice president of skin care Asia and as a marketing director for home and personal care. She is also a former chair of the Pediatric Nutrition Industry Association. She has over 25 years’ experience in the industry. Her career successes were focused on global brand management, corporate governance, and business transformations. She received an MBA in marketing and a Bachelor of International Business Management from National Taiwan University. She is also an alumnus of Harvard’s Advanced Management Program.

Jeffrey M. Illustrato, 37
Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

Mr. Illustrato serves as chief operating officer of Gabelli & Partners, LLC, an alternative investment manager, overseeing sales and marketing for its alternative and non-U.S. offerings since 2012. He has spent his entire 19-year career with Gabelli and has developed extensive administration and operations experience during that time. Mr. Illustrato received a B.S. in Finance from Fairfield University.

Manjit S. Kalha, 45
Executive Vice President, Finance

Mr. Kalha has been a member of the board of directors of The LGL Group, Inc. since 2011. Mr. Kalha is Jeet Associates Private Limited’s chief executive officer, a New Delhi, India consulting firm that provides business strategy, finance, and taxation advisory services. He holds the role of managing partner with Horizon Research, a firm that provides investment management and consulting services. Between 2001 and 2006, Mr. Kalha was co-founder and chief operating officer of a manufacturer of high quality specialty plastic components. He began his career in Arthur Andersen’s New Delhi office and is a Chartered Accountant and a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Mr. Kalha holds a MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. Mr. Kalha has extensive experience in management and manufacturing operations, and in depth knowledge of global financial markets.

Clarence A. Davis, 78
Director 

Mr. Davis served as the chief executive officer of Nestor, Inc. until January 2009 and a director of the company until it went into receivership in June 2009. Mr. Davis is currently a director and a member of the audit committee of Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) He is also a director of three funds advised by Gabelli Funds—The GDL Fund, The Gabelli ESG Fund and The Gabelli Capital Asset Fund, and is a member of the audit committee of The GDL Fund and The Gabelli ESG Fund. He formerly served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Davis has served as an audit committee member and director of Oneida Ltd., Pennichuck Corp., and Sonesta International Hotels Corp. Mr. Davis founded Clarence A. Davis Enterprises, Inc., which provided financial and organizational consulting, due diligence for acquisitions, and forensic accounting for various industries for eight years. Mr. Davis is a certified public accountant and was a senior audit partner for twelve years, during a career of twenty-three years in public accounting, for Spicer & Oppenheim. He is a former chairman of the Accountants for Public Interest/Support Center of New York and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Minority Recruitment Committee. Mr. Davis was appointed to the American Red Cross Liberty Fund and September 11 Recovery Oversight Commission, the New York State Board of Public Accountancy, and the Future Issues Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has served as a consultant for the American Red Cross National Office. Mr. Davis was also a faculty member of the Long Island University Brooklyn Center, the New York Institute of Finance, and the Foundation for Accounting Education. Mr. Davis received his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Long Island University.

Susan V. Watson, 68
Director 

Ms. Watson is an experienced business executive with diverse experience in multiple industries. Most recently, she was a member of the research team for Spencer Stuart’s global executive search practice, specializing in placement of board of directors members. She is also a current director of the Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust. Ms. Watson has worked as an independent marketing consultant and as an investor relations executive for companies including MCI, Inc.; Interpublic Group; Pepsico, Inc.; Nielsen Media Research; and Gannett Co. Her other experience includes roles as a senior media analyst at Morgan Stanley & Co; vice president (financial relations) at Metromedia, Inc.; senior media analyst and assistant vice president at EF Hutton & Co.; and vice president (research) at Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Ms. Watson is a member of the CFA Institute and a past president of the Investor Relations Association. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and Master of Arts from City College of New York. She has been a Chartered Financial Analyst since 1980.

Daniel E. Zucchi, 79
Director

He is president of Zucchi & Assoc., a marketing and communications consulting firm. He is also a director of three funds advised by Gabelli Funds—The Gabelli Multimedia Trust, the Gabelli Gold Fund and the Gabelli Capital Asset Fund. Mr. Zucchi served as a board member and an investor in Anduro Holdings Inc., a manufacturer of consumer packaging. He served as a board member and was one of the initial investors in Cypress Care LLC, a pharmacy benefit management company. In addition, Mr. Zucchi was a senior executive at Time Warner and the Hearst Corporation for over thirty years. In the public sector, Mr. Zucchi has served as a locally-elected government official, most recently as a member of the Westchester County Executive’s task force. Mr. Zucchi is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, Storrs and attended the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance program during his tenure at Time Warner.

Robert LaPenta, Jr., — [Appointed]
Co-Chief Executive Officer

Mr. LaPenta has an extensive career spanning over 30 years in finance, accounting, consulting, capital markets origination, equity trading, asset allocation and mergers and acquisitions and has been active in transaction sourcing, processing and execution. Mr. LaPenta began his career as a Senior Associate at Coopers & Lybrand as a CPA responsible for managing audits, consulting, M&A due diligence and special project engagements for multiple clients in various industries. Mr. LaPenta transitioned full time into the investment banking sector spending the next 13 years focused on trading and capital market activities culminating in the role of Managing Director and Co-head of Equity Trading at Bank of America Securities, LLC where he managed the firm’s equity capital commitment, proprietary trading, secondary offerings and risk management within cash trading. In 2007, Mr. LaPenta joined L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. as Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Strategy. Mr. LaPenta managed the firms M&A processes from sourcing, structuring, valuation, diligence and financing of multiple transactions with the most notable being the negotiation of the $1.6 billion sale of L-1 to Safran and BAE Systems. Following the sale of L-1, Mr. LaPenta became a Partner of Aston Capital an alternative asset management firm of the LaPenta family office and co-founded the Boundary Group, an investment partnership focused on private investments in the aerospace, defense, and intelligence markets. Mr. LaPenta has previously served on the boards of directors of Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc. (until 2016), an LED lighting and control solutions company, TherapeuticsMD (Nasdaq: TXMD), a women’s healthcare product provider, The Radiant Group, a provider of geospatial analytics to the U.S Intelligence community (now part of Nasdaq: MAXR), AFIX Technologies, a provider of biometric solutions for governments and civil agencies, is currently a board member of LGL Group, Inc. (NYSE American: LGL), a board observer of ARKA, a provider of satellite data processing and related critical technologies to the U.S. Government and Intelligence Agencies and sits as an Audit Committee member for St. David’s School New York City.  Mr. LaPenta is also a member of the board of directors of IronNet, Inc., a global leader in cybersecurity, since August 2021. Prior to that, he served as Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of LGL SPAC from March 2021 to August 2021 (the close of LGL SPAC’s business combination with IronNet, Inc.), and from September 2019 to March 2021 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. LaPenta graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance and has been a registered CPA (inactive) in the State of New York.

Timothy Foufas, — [Appointed]
Co-President and Secretary

He has served as the Managing Partner of Plato Foufas & Co., LLC, a financial services company, since 2005. Mr. Foufas served as Chief Executive Officer for LGL SPAC from September 2019 to September 2019, and as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from September 2019 to August 2021 (the close of LGL SPAC’s business combination with IronNet, Inc.). In addition, Mr. Foufas served as President of Levalon Properties, LLC, a real estate property management company, from 2007 to June 2018. Previously, Mr. Foufas served as Senior Vice President of Bayshore Management Co., LLC, a real estate property management company, from 2005 to 2006. Prior to joining Bayshore Management Co., LLC, he was the Director of Investments at Liam Ventures Inc., a private equity investment firm, from 2000 to 2005. Mr. Foufas has also served on the Board of Directors for LGL Group, Inc. (NYSE American: LGL), a leader in the design and manufacture of customized electronic components used primarily to control the frequency or timing of electronic signals in communication systems, since 2007.

Nathan Miller, — [Appointed]
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Miller has worked in institutional investment management for more than 20 years and has served as a partner and portfolio manager at Emles Advisors LLC, an asset manager founded in 2018, since 2020.  In 2012, Mr. Miller launched NGM Asset Management to combine passive, positive carry, high quality securities with opportunistic active management, and has served as its Chief Investment Officer since 2012. From 2011 to 2012, Mr. Miller managed an equity long/short portfolio at Citadel Investment Group in New York. From 2009 to 2011, Mr. Miller was Co-Head of Equity Long/Short Desk at RBC Capital Markets, with a focus on Industrials and Cyclicals. He also oversaw risk management and the structure of eleven different investment teams across all sectors for the $2 billion fund. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. Miller served as an Aerospace & Defense, Industrials & Cyclicals and Multi-Industry analyst at SAC Capital, where he managed a carve-out of a larger $1 billion Industrials portfolio. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Miller served as a home-building, building materials and retail analyst for Goldman Sachs. Mr. Miller graduated from The Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering, a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Minor in Entrepreneurship & Management.