Peer Advisors
Our Peer Advisors are successful CEOs, CFOs and COOs with demonstrated entrepreneurial track records who work in teams of three to assist small business owners on the cusp of growth and organizational change -- to help them successfully navigate, plan and implement their expansion. Below are brief bios on our Peer Advisors.
Clay Adams is the Chief Operating Officer of Resource Systems Group, a consulting firm with offices in White River Jct. He is responsible for developing and executing the operating plans for the company, including the firm's strategy, sales/marketing, finance and human resources. Mr. Adams brings several years of management consulting experience to his firm in the fields of general strategy, transportation, technology and the environment. He holds a B.A. in government from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business.
Robert W. Allen (Bob) retired in January 2005 as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Vermont Country Store. He has been with the company since 1982 and is presently serving as an advisor (he prefers the title of coach). Originally hired as Assistant to the President, Bob held the positions of Vice President – Merchandising, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and was selected as the first non-family president of the business in 1994. He was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 1996 and led the company through its first strategic planning process. Bob's previous retail experience was with Eastern Mountain Sports, a retail and catalog company. Bob is currently the chair of the Champlain College board of trustees, a trustee and chair of strategic planning for the Mark Skinner Library in Manchester, Vermont and recently concluded nearly ten-years of service to the Preservation Trust of Vermont. Past board associations also include the Vermont Institute of Science, the Orton Family Foundation and Long Trail School .
David Usher has an engineering degree and his background includes customer service, Internet strategy and operations, customer relations, telecommunications operations and engineering, public policy and regulatory affairs. His career includes service at NYNEX (Verizon) in Maine and Vermont and for Resolution, Inc. in South Burlington. During his 28 years at Verizon/NYNEX, Dave's responsibilities included planning, budgeting, engineering, construction, operations, public relations and financial management. For seven years, Dave was Vice President – Order Networks, responsible for customer care, e-commerce strategy and operations, and telecommunications for Resolution, Inc., a South Burlington media services and fulfillment company. He is active in community and public affairs serving on the Commissioner of Corrections Advisory Board, the Colchester Economic Development Advisory Council, and a task force on technology access at the Champlain Initiative. He and his wife operate a home-based business, Usher Associates, LLC, engaging in business consulting and sculpting.
Bob Barton is the CEO of Catalyst Financial Group, Inc. and for over 20 years he has focused his attention on financing renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro, co-generation), recycling, pollution prevention and energy and water efficiency projects. His firm has arranged over $1 billion in financing and has been (or is) an advisor to over 30 major utilities, the DOE, EPA, numerous trade associations, and dozens of business ventures. As a management consultant Bob helps major foundations and philanthropists maximize their environmental grant making. Catalyst is also the national financial advisor for the Environmental Protection Agency's EnergyStar energy efficiency program for all cities, counties, school districts and state governments in the United States .
William Biederman was most recently Sales Manager for the Americas for CCS America, a supplier of LED lighting systems for the machine vision industry. He was previously Sales Director for Advanced illumination (Ai) of Rochester , Vermont . When William joined Ai as their 4 th employee in 1997, the company had sales of $300,000. When he left in 2004, sales had grown to $4 million and the company now employs 40+ workers. This was accomplished with an innovative market strategy combining direct, oem, rep, and distribution channels. Prior to his tenure at Ai, William worked in wholesale produce, organic meat production, as well as the residential contracting industry for additions and restorations. He attended Northwestern University for two years and obtained his business degree from the College of St. Joseph.
Peter A. Cole is the principal of Cole Consulting, LC and has over 30 years of management experience, helping organizations become more effective through insight-based leadership, facilitation and broad-based coaching strategies. He founded and managed three successful businesses, and served in senior management positions for Green Mountain Energy, Leading Energy, Inc. and Green Mountain Power Corporation. Prior to that he spent seven years as an educator, the last four of which he was responsible for founding and running a parent cooperative elementary school. Now he is in private practice as an organizational development consultant (10 years) and has developed and led management training programs for Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and not-for-profits. He is a certified Lominger Trainer, including the Leadership Architect Suite and is qualified as a Training-the-Trainer instructor in the areas of Change Management, Continuous Process Improvement, Project Management, Strategic Planning, Executive Coaching, and Communication Skills.
Marlene Dailey is the principal of Cornerstone Consulting and has worked with organizational leaders to align people and projects to achieve business priorities with equal focus on bottom-line results, human resource development and the shaping of corporate culture. Marlene is highly skilled at clarifying business priorities and then building the internal capacity of the organization to achieve them. Past and present clients include the SymQuest Group, Lake Champlain Chocolates, Rhino Foods, Child Travel Services, Vermont Tent Company and Copley Hospital .
Joyce Dicanna became the business manager at Autumn Harp 20 years ago and helped grow it into an 80-person $10M company. After the company was sold in 2001 Joyce became the Executive Vice-President. During her years at Autumn Harp, Joyce has held the positions of Controller, Human Resources Director, Operations Manager, and General Manager. Some highlights include: leading the transition from a paper and pencil general ledger to a computerized accounting system; developing the employee handbook; writing and implementing a compensation / bonus plan; participating in annual strategic planning; assisting in a complete reorganization / turnaround of the company; working closely with the owner on the sale of the business and helping the company through the transition of owners and cultures.
Karen Martinsen Fleming is the CEO of Coates Walker, Inc., a custom cabinet manufacturer in Milton, VT. Karen Fleming is also a Vermont Business Center Instructor in the Leadership and Management Professional Certificate Program and joined the Board of Advisors for the Vermont Business Center in 2004. Karen has over 20 years of strategy, marketing, product development and research experience with leading traditional and non-traditional organizations. Karen’s career includes such notable companies as Procter & Gamble, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., Stonyfield Farm, and Seventh Generation. She has also worked as a growth strategy consultant at CDI (now part of Mercer Consulting). As Vice President of Marketing at Stonyfield Farm and Seventh Generation, she developed and launched the two most successful product lines in the company’s histories. Karen is a board member of the Vermont Green Building Network. Karen earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, and her MBA degree from the Harvard Business School.
Doug Griswold started with S.T. Griswold & Co. after graduating from Hamilton College in 1970 with a degree in Economics. He became president of STG in 1986 following the retirement of founder Steele Griswold. His company manufactures ready mix concrete, concrete block and pavers, pre-cast concrete, architectural pre-cast, and Sakrete. STG also does concrete forming and maintains its own fleet of concrete pumps. With their main office located in Williston, Vermont, STG delivers ready mix concrete from four locations throughout Northern and Central Vermont. Griswold Masonry Supply outlets are located in Rutland and Bennington, VT and Pittsfield, MA. STG was founded in 1957 and has 220 employees. He is a past board member of the National Ready Mix Concrete Association and a founding member of RMC 2000 which developed and implemented standards for the Concrete Industry. Locally, he was the President of the Discovery Museum for 8 years and has served on the Board of the United Way of Chittenden County . He is currently the Board President of the Vermont Mozart Festival and a Board member of the Vermont Business Roundtable.
Kevin Harper is the Founder and former CEO of Autumn Harp, Inc., a natural cosmetics manufacturer located in Bristol, Vermont. Under Kevin's leadership, the company grew to over $11 million in sales and 80 full-time employees. Kevin sold the company in 2001 to a local entrepreneur who has been successful at growing the business and adding employees. Since leaving Autumn Harp in 2003, Kevin has been spending his time working with small businesses and developing an old factory building in downtown Bristol into a new natural foods market. With Lawrence Miller, he served as the part-time CEO at Danforth Peweterers (fall 2005-fall 2006) and has led an effort to recapitalize the company and to hire a new FT CEO. He is also active on the Boards of the Vermont Community Foundation, and is the Chair of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund.
Eve Hoar enjoys working at the confluence of systems, strategy and operations. Eve has over 15 years of experience in business-to-business and direct-to-consumer fulfillment systems and business intelligence, most recently as VP of Business Intelligence at Resolution, Inc. She led a new Resolution team responsible for the launch of several web businesses, from site design and merchandising to all aspects of online marketing and web analytics. Eve is passionate about using business data to inform dynamic strategy and management decisions. She holds an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. fro Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Debra Howard founded her consulting business in 1991. Her current for-profit and not-for-profit clients are the World Resources Institute and Population Action International in D.C., Waterline Consulting in St. Paul, the Boston Coaching Company, Stone Environmental and the Institute for Sustainable Communities in Montpelier, and Network Performance in South Burlington. Debra specializes in developing messaging for complex organizations, competency-based interviewing for hiring high performers, smart marketing for small businesses, and executive coaching for managers and leaders. She periodically accepts interim management positions to fill the void left by a departing senior manager, and to help the organization assess their needs, reorganize the function, or hire a high-performer to permanently fill the position. Prior to 1991, she was the marketing and public relations director at Trinity College of Vermont, a consultant with Cambria Consulting in Boston, and the director of program development for Training Concepts in Braintree, Massachusetts. She's currently writing a book, “How to Be the Boss Everyone Wants to Work For.”
Neil Joseph is the former founder, President and majority owner of Sonnax Inc., a $36 million per year engineering, manufactuing and marketing company, mainly of transmission and torque converter parts for cars, heavy equipment, racing vehicles and some military applications. Sonnax was sold to two principal employees in June 2005. In May of 2005 Sonnax received the Vermont International Business Council's Exporter of the year award. Recognized because the company exports to 60 countries and supports emerging markets worldwide. Neil was focused on the difficult challenges of competing in a global marketplace and commitment to creating jobs that would contribute to the local community and the State of Vermont . This was accomplished by building several technical centers worldwide and Publishing and communicating in over ten languages. Sonnax received the 5x5x5 Growth Award, awarded by Vermont Business Magazine and Key Bank (2003, 2004). Sonnax was also awarded the Worksite Wellness Award from the Governors council on physical fitness and sports in (2003 & 2004).
Peter Kreisel, CPA, holds a BA in Economics from Trinity College, Hartford, CT and an MBA in Managerial Accounting from Columbia University. In 1998, he was designated Accredited in Business Valuation by the AICPA. Kreisel has held various positions in the field of corporate financial management for over 20 years. In 1984, he formed Peter Kreisel & Company (later, Kreisel, Segear & Company) to bring CFO/controllership and accounting services to businesses not requiring the committment of a full-time CFO (firms in the $500,000 to $15 million sales range). The firm was sold in December, 2001 and in 2002 Kreisel returned to individual practice under the name of Peter Kreisel, LLC.
Lisa Lorimer is the former President and majority owner of Vermont Bread Company, a premiere wholesale bakery located in Brattleboro, Vermont (sold in 2005). Her company produces all-natural, premium, and certified organic breads and muffins for supermarkets and natural product stores from Maine to North Carolina. She sold the company in 2005. She is a graduate of a three-year Owner President Management Program at Harvard Business School and the Vermont Leadership Institute Class of 1995-96. Ms. Lorimer is also a board member of Union Institute and University, and the Vermont Community Foundation.
John Mandeville is a Business Advisor for the VT Small Business Development Center, with a service territory of the Northeast Kingdom. After graduating from California State University, Fresno with a BA in 1972. He spent 12 years in New York publishing including management positions with Macmillan, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Longman and Pergamon Press. In 1979, he founded JT Mandeville Publishing Associates, Inc. and grew it into a very successful and well-respected consulting firm for which he was CEO/COO for 7 years. In 1986, John accepted an offer from one of his long term clients to be Vice President for Corporate Development for Krames Communications, Inc. in CA. Having successfully negotiated the acquisition of Krames by Grolier, Inc. in 1988, he went on to purchase the Central California Region of franchisor Decorating Den, Inc. In 1992, John joined Rug Doctor, L.P. as the executive in charge of their franchise division. A year later he moved into the position of Director of International Sales and in December 1993 was promoted to the Managing Director (COO) of the company's European subsidiary based in Worthing, England. In July 2000, John and his family returned to the U.S. and purposely chose to move to Vermont.
Linda Markin has been the Chief Financial Officer at Concept 2, Inc. in Morrisville, since 1988. She has a BA from Dartmouth College, and received post graduate training in finance and administration at St. Michael's College. In 2006 she completed the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth’s Executive Education summer intensive program. Linda has a strong commitment to issues of social and economic justice and has been involved in organizations with social change missions since the mid 1980's. Linda is the chair of the board of the Public Assets Institute. Her past community service includes six years each on the boards of the Samara Foundation of Vermont and the Vermont Community Loan Fund, two years team teaching in the Women's Small Business Program, and on-going involvement with Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. She also serves on the Advisory Board of High Mowing Seeds.
Hinda Miller has had a successful career as an entrepreneur, state senator, corporate executive, visiting university professor, corporate director, and community activist. She received her BFA from Parson's School of Design & MFA from New York University. In 1977, she, along with a partner, designed the original sportsbra named the ‘Jogbra', creating an entirely new category of sports apparel. After building a successful international brand and selling the company to Sara Lee Corp, Hinda continued on as President, CEO and Spokesperson from 1990-1997. As President of Deforest Concepts, a consulting firm specializing in small business, she continues her promotion of women and entrepreneurship.
Lawrence Miller is an independent consultant advising small businesses and non-profit organizations on a variety of issues. Starting in 1989, he became the Founder, Brewmaster, and CEO of Otter Creek Brewing, Inc. which he then sold in May, 2002 to Wolaver's Certified Organic Ales of Middlebury. Under Lawrence 's leadership, the company grew to nearly 40 employees, serving 37 distributors and thousands of retailers throughout the Northeast. With Kevin Harper, he served as the part-time CEO at Danforth Peweterers (fall 2005-fall 2006) and has led an effort to recapitalize the company and to hire a new FT CEO. He was a member and Chair of the Vermont Economic Progress Council and currently serves as treasurer of the Middlebury Area Land Trust, treasurer of the Bridge School, a Director of the National Bank of Middlebury, and on the Operating Board of Worth Mountain Capital Partners.
Barry P. Mirakian is the President of the Continuum Group, based in Morrisville. The Continuum Group provides consulting, interim COO and general management services to business owners struggling with growth and underperformance issues. Prior work experience includes three years as the President of S.B. Electronics, Inc. (SBE) in Barre, where he was responsible for rapidly getting new product lines into niche markets as an offset against global competition which had begun to erode the company’s market share. This resulted in successfully positioning the company for sale to new ownership. While the VP of Operations for SBE, he helped position the company for growth by improving operations and developing new products and processes to broaden their customer base and reduce dependence on a dominant customer. From 1991-1996 he was the Vice President and General Manager for Revere Graphics Worldwide in MA, where he was responsible for the operations of this $21 million producer of photoengraving metals and chemicals. While at Revere he improved operations and developed innovative new products and manufacturing processes to achieve market leadership and independence from single supplier. From 1972 to 1991 he worked in varying leadership capacities for the Polaroid Corporation. He holds a BS in Industrial Technology from Northeastern University, a certificates from the Financial Management Program at the University of Virginia, and certificates from the Executive Development Program and the Technology and Development Program at Stanford University.
Mary Moffroid is the former President of Controlled Energy Corp, an importer-distributor of efficient hot water heaters throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company was founded by Mary's husband Pierre, and has been located in the Mad River Valley for over 25 years. Two of their sons are still employed at the company which was purchased by Bosch in late 2004. Mary actively directed the company between 1995 and the end of 2004, after she retired from the University of Vermont where she had been a Professor of Physical Therapy. Over the past ten years, Mary has seen the family business grow six-fold in revenues and move from a hierarchical structure to a cross-functional organization. Mary has participated in the Family Business Institute, the Vermont Business Roundtable, and TEC. Her strengths are in financial planning, human resources and employment practices, and communications and team-building.
Victor Morrison is President of American Flatbread, based in Waitsfield, VT. Victor's experience includes working as a Financial Operations Manager for IBM in Essex Junction, as the CFO for SkiTuner / Grindrite, as CFO/VP of Finance and Administration for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, as CFO and later CEO of the Elan Ski and Snowboard Company, as Operations Manager for Efficiency Vermont and as President of American Flatbread. He has also worked locally as a management consultant and is working on a book on management.
Mary Powell is currently the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Green Mountain Power Corporation. She led the effort that changed the Company's work processes and the company's culture and introduced new technologies. The culture change and progressive facility design at Green Mountain Power has made it an employer of choice, with a creative, energized and excited workforce. Prior to joining Green Mountain Power, Mary served as a Senior Vice President for KeyCorp responsible for all community banking functions in Vermont. When Mary first moved to the Green Mountain State in 1989 she worked for the State of Vermont as a Human Resources Director before joining the banking industry with Bank of Vermont. In 2003, she was appointed by the Governor to serve as the Vice Chair of the Commission on Government Effectiveness. Mary also serves on the Boards of Champlain College, Resolution Inc., and the Vermont Land Trust.
Fran Rathke is the CFO of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. She has extensive experience in the consumer brands and food industries. From 1989 through 2000, she was the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. She has intensive merger and acquisition experience including negotiation and implementation of merger, sale, licensing and joint venture agreements. After leaving Ben & Jerry's in September, 2000 she provided strategic and financial consulting services to a select number of emerging businesses with particular emphasis on such services as CFO-for-hire, forecasting, financing, mentoring, controls, business development and turn-around assignments. She served as Interim CFO for Wild Oats Markets for 6 months in 2001. She is a Certified Public Accountant and serves on the Boards of Cool Dog Electronics, Madhouse Munchies and is the President on the Board of the Vermont Community Loan Fund.
Frank Sadowski joined Gallagher Flynn & Company (GFC) in 1997 and established Gallagher Flynn Human Resource Services, LLC. This group is now the largest human resources consulting business and the largest executive recruiting practice in Vermont. He was made a partner of the Firm in 2003. In addition to continuing to build the Firm’s practice in this area, Frank’s work with clients focuses on the areas of compensation, recruiting, and organizational development. Immediately prior to coming to GFC, Frank was the Principal of Sadowski Consulting Services in South Burlington, Vermont for seven years. Before that, he was Human Resource Manager for Boise Cascade’s paper mill in Sheldon Springs, Vermont; Assistant to the President of the University of Vermont; and Chief of Economic Development Planning in the Vermont State Government. He received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Cornell University, attended Harvard Divinity School as a Rockefeller Fellow, and earned a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.
Frank Sands, a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Business School, is Chairman of the Board of the King Arthur Flour Company located in Norwich, Vermont. He was President of the company from 1968-2001. He grew annual sales from $3 million to $50 million by 1978 via internal growth and acquisition which, by that time, included 3 large bakery supply manufacturing plants and warehouses, 23 over-the-road trucks and 3 labor unions. In 1980, Frank decided to liquidate everything except the King Arthur Flour business which he moved to Vermont. With his wife Brinna and two other employees, they began to build a $5 million business into what is now 150 employee-owners and $40 million in sales. An ESOP was created in 1996 -- now at a 100 percent participation level. In his community, Frank currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Upper Valley Land Trust.
David Usher attended Cornell University and received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His background includes customer service, Internet operations, customer relations, telecommunications operations and engineering, public policy and regulatory affairs. His career includes service in the U.S. Army, at NYNEX (Verizon) in Maine and Vermont and for Resolution, Inc. in South Burlington . During his 18 years at Verizon/NYNEX, Dave held the positions of Director – Regulatory Affairs, Director – Operations, Director- Engineering and Construction having responsibilities which included planning, budgeting, operations, public relations and financial management. For the past 7 years, until his recent retirement, Dave was the Vice President – Order Networks, responsible for Customer Care, e-commerce strategy and operations, and telecommunications for Resolution, Inc., a media services and fulfillment company. He currently serves as interim chair of the Vermont Offender Work Programs board and recently completed his term on the board of the Vermont Health Foundation.
Bill VanDeventer joined Physician's Computer Company (PCC) in 2002 as Director of Finance and added operational responsibilities in January 2006. At PCC, he has been focusing on defining and implementing an organizational structure to accommodate the growth of this 25 year-old software company. Additionally Bill has been helping shape the strategic vision and plan for the future. Bill began his career with a short stint in banking and in 1984 moved to a small public accounting firm in the Northern Virginia area where he obtained his CPA license. Two years later, he moved to a consulting status with his firm and started his own accounting practice. In 1993, Bill and his family moved to Vermont and Bill began working at the National Gardening Association where he served as CFO/CTO until 2002.
Steve Voigt has been President and CEO of King Arthur Flour since 1999. Hired in 1992 as Vice President of Finance, Steve became Chief Operating Officer in 1998. Prior to King Arthur Flour, Steve worked for Benedetto, Gartland & Greene in New York , where he raised private equity for venture, LBO and alternative asset funds. During his tenure there, Steve also supported his wife in founding, and later selling, Robin's Homemade Breads of Greenwich, CT. He also consulted out of Zurich, Switzerland and Cleveland for McKinsey & Company. Steve is a graduate of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College, and Colgate University. Steve is Chair of The ESOP Association and is also on the boards of Newport Harbor Corp., King Arthur Flour, and the New England Mail Order Association. Steve has been active in Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility having recently stepped down as a Board member and is a member of the Vermont Business Roundtable.
Paul Whalen is President and CEO of Hill Associates and has over 24 years of experience in leading and operating a successful company of professionals providing training and education to the telecommunications industry. He is a senior executive with strategic vision, drive and leadership and highly skilled in business and financial management, sales and marketing, and telecommunication technologies. Dr. Whalen first joined Hill Associates in 1984 and served in various technical position as well as other corporate functions. He was the Chief Financial Officer from 1984 to 1992, leading the corporate accounting, finance, and human resource functions. From 1990 to 1992, he served as the President and CEO. From 1992 to 1996, he spent much of his time teaching and establishing the company’s first sales and marketing organization as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. From 1996 to 2002, he served as the Director of Planning and was instrumental in the formulation of the company’s long-range plans. Dr. Whalen was appointed President and CEO for the second time in 2002.
Paul is a registered Professional Engineer in Vermont. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the Vermont Society of Professional Engineers.
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