Profiles of Board of Directors and Key People
The Leadership Team
Primary Workout Control Team
Jeffrey Taylor, J.D.—Banking, Investment, Finance, Planning
Gary S. Meyers—Coordination, Planning, Finance
Kevin McKenna—Heavy Construction
Jeffrey Rappin, Esq.—Apartments and Independent Living Management and Development
Richard Kahan—Retail Real Estate, Development
Board of Directors
Jeffrey Taylor, J.D.—Chairman
Gary S. Meyers—President, CEO
Richard Kahan—Retail Real Estate
Paul McGonagle—Banking, Risk Management, Investment and Foreign Trade
James Hendricks, Esq.—Automotive, Industry, Healthcare
Advisors to Board
L. Steven Platt—Chief Legal Counsel
Robert Genetski, Ph.D.—Chief Economist
Jerome Cataldo, MBA—Hospitality
L.W. "Biff" Hawkey—Hospitality
Robert Clark—Heavy Construction
Harry Cheatham—HUD, GSE and Conduit Loans
Jerry Schain, Esq.—Land Use and Entitlements
Gary Edidin—Asset Based Lending
Paul Valente—Energy and Heavy Industry
Charles Husson, BSEE, MBA—Technology
Evaluation/workout team:
Project review, capital and debt formation
Jeffrey Taylor
Chairman Board of Directors, Workout Team
Vice-Chairman – Cole-Taylor Bank
Jeff has dedicated most of his career to Cole Taylor Bank and Taylor Capital Group, serving the commercial banking needs of owner operated, closely-held businesses generating between $5 and $200 million in sales. Under Jeff’s leadership as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cole Taylor Financial Group and its successor Taylor Capital Group, Cole Taylor Bank grew in size from $1.4 billion in 1990 to $3.6 billion in 2006. By 2011, the bank reached an asset size of $4.5 billion. The market cap at the end of 2006 was in excess of $400 million. Jeff has led such significant Cole Taylor Financial Group and Taylor Capital Group transactions as taking the company public twice, private through a management buyout, and most recently a private equity investment into a public company. Jeff led total capital transactions of approximately $500 million.
Jeff’s career began as an associate at the law firm of Fohrman, Lurie, Holstein, Sklar and Cottle in 1977. He joined Drovers Bank of Chicago as Associate General Counsel in 1978 serving in that capacity through 1981. Jeff joined Main Bank of Chicago, holding various positions in commercial lending and ultimately becoming President in 1986. In 1990 he became Chairman and CEO of Cole Taylor Bank, overseeing the merger of 5 separately chartered community banks into the first branch bank in the State of Illinois. In 1994 Jeff became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cole Taylor Financial Group and in 1997 assumed those titles in Taylor Capital Group.
Jeff is on the board of directors of Taylor Capital Group, Cole Taylor Bank and Chicago Freight Car Leasing where he also serves as the Chairman of the Audit Committee.
Active in many professional and civic organizations, Jeff has served as director of World President’s Organization, Loyola Family Business Forum, North Shore Center for Performing Arts Foundation, Young President’s Organization, Evanston Hospital Philanthropy Board, Jewish Federation of Chicago, Young Men’s Jewish Council, and Logan Square Boys and Girls Club.
Jeff holds a JD from Northwestern School of Law and a BS from Claremont McKenna College. He is a frequent guest lecturer at Northwestern School of Law.
Evaluation/workout team:
Project review, project co-ordination
Gary S. Meyers
President, CEO, Board of Directors, Workout Team
President, CEO – Gary Meyers Realty, Inc.
Gary S. Meyers is a businessman/journalist. He combines a very solid business background of over 30 years in real estate marketing, management and development, research and financial forecasting skills with 20 years of journalism experience as a nationally syndicated columnist to create The Meyers Report.
Moving to Chicago, Meyers undertook the research and marketing and sales of several major real estate projects, including New Century Town, a 5,000 unit development in Vernon Hills, Illinois and Chicago’s super luxury Water Tower Place condominiums. Meyers formed a research and forecasting company for the housing industry, which he built and eventually sold. After doing real estate and financial consulting work for major corporations, he created The Meyers Report.
The Meyers Report has served newspapers from coast to coast and is syndicated by United Feature Syndicate, a division of Scripps-Howard. The business column and data package was syndicated in more than 200 newspapers in the U.S., such as the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, New York Daily News, Houston Post, Dallas Morning News, Washington Times, Detroit Post, Rocky Mountain News. Mr. Meyers also has published Living in Greater Chicago Magazine, generally considered the finest relocation and community profile magazine in the country.
As an economic research and forecasting firm, The Meyers Report has served financial institutions, real estate developers and commodities users with analytical interpretation and projections, statistical data on the economy and financial industry.
Meyers began his business career in real estate in his native New York City as assistant to the chairman of the board of a major supermarket chain, responsible for real estate management operations. He then went on to do site-analysis and site location work for several other major chain stores, as well as commercial and residential real estate developers. As a sales, research and marketing professional, Mr. Meyers has been instrumental in the planning, sale and development of over $1 billion of diversified real estate projects.
Meyers has been recognized as an accurate source of information by the media for over 20 years. The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Banking, the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and many of the major broadcast media are among those who have relied on Meyers’ resources over the years.
Mr. Meyers is a graduate of the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) in Political Science, where he also studied History and Religion. He has taught real estate classes and been a lecturer in Real Estate at NYU, Roosevelt University, De Paul University, National Association of Home Builders and numerous other schools and national and local trade associations. Mr. Meyers has been active in numerous civic and trade associations, including the Professional Risk Managers International Association.
Evaluation/workout team:
Development and Adaptive Re-use
Richard Kahan
Member of Board of Directors
Retail Real Estate—Managing Partner KB Real Estate
For over 30 years Rich Kahan has been involved in the development, management and marketing of retail real estate from free-standing single user buildings and strip malls to regional malls.
During his career, he has been responsible for the leasing of over 4 million square feet of retail and office space and new retail developments, with concentration on underserved communities. In that capacity, Kahan was the developer of the Laurel Center, a re-development, of a 500,000 square foot shopping center in Laurel, Maryland. In that project he negotiated lease terminations of two anchor tenants, Kids R Us and Hoyt Cinemas, and negotiated transactions with Lowes Home Improvement and Homelife. Kahan handled all aspects of entitlements with the City of Laurel and coordinated construction.
On a national scope, Kahan completed in excess of 30 Bally Total Fitness Corporation transactions in Metro Chicago, Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, Dallas, Texas, Missouri, Georgia, California and Utah.
As a tenant representative, Kahan served (and serves) retail clients, including: Bally Total Fitness, in 28 markets nationally and completed a 25-store roll out of Murray's Discount Auto Stores in Chicago. Kahan also developed and leased The Lawndale Plaza Shopping Center located at Roosevelt and Kedzie in the North Lawndale community of Chicago, a 150,000 square feet development completed in Chicago's empowerment zone and only retail property in Chicago to enjoy the 7-B tax designation.
Labor attorney, co-ordination automotive industry clients
James Hendricks, Esq.
Board of Directors
Partner, Ford & Harrison
Jim Hendricks focuses his representation on assisting management with labor matters before the National Labor Relations Board and involving collective bargaining and arbitrations. He also defends employers in charges before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor and various state agencies.
A large portion of his practice is devoted to assisting clients in maintaining a union-free atmosphere and positive employee relations programs and training. Jim has represented employers in more than 250 union organizing campaigns. He has also handled numerous employment litigation cases involving discrimination, harassment, retaliatory discharge, wage and hour, and non-compete and restrictive covenant agreements.
Prior to joining the Ford & Harrison, Hendricks was the founding and managing partner of Fisher & Phillips' Chicago office.
Recent Experience
• I.A.M. - Automotive Industry - No wage increase, no pension, no union shop, no change in health insurance payment by employees. Decertification nine months later.
• Teamsters - Manufacturers of industrial rollers - One year agreement with all benefits frozen.
Recent Publications
• "The New Administration - What it Means to your Properties," Hospitality Lawyers Annual Meeting, 2009
• "Wage and Hour Issues at your Dealership," National Automobile Trade Association Annual Meeting workshop, 2008
• "Human Resource Issues in Asset Purchase Agreements," National Association of Dealer Counsel, 2009
Honors and Awards
• The Best Lawyers in America – Labor and Employment Law
• Law & Politics magazine's 2009 and 2010 list of "Illinois Super Lawyers" and 2009 list of "Super Lawyers - Corporate Counsel Edition"
• Listed as one of the Top 100 Labor Attorneys by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. for the last four years
Education: Loyola Law School J.D. (1973); Loyola University Chicago, M.S. (1968), Indiana University B.S. (1966)
Bar admissions: Illinois
Court admissions Various U.S. District Courts U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit U.S. Supreme Court
Practice areas: Arbitration Collective Bargaining/Contract Negotiations Discrimination Labor Union Organizing (NLRB) National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Retaliation Wage and Hour/FLSA
Industries: Automobile Dealerships Healthcare Hospitality
Memberships: Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
American Bar Association (Practice and Procedure Under the NLRA Committee)
Evaluation/workout team:
Banking, Risk Management, Investment and Foreign Trade
Paul McGonagle
Board of Directors—Risk Management and Debt Restructuring
Mr. McGonagle has over 25 years of experience in the financial and international credit sector in North America, South America, Asia, Europe and the emerging nations of the former Soviet Union. Mr. McGonagle served as CEO of Exporters International, an international trade reinsurance company with clients in 22 countries, until his selling for the firm in January of 2009.
Previously, he served as Head of International Credit at Bank One in Chicago. He also held a number of senior international management positions at Bank One, including Korea Country Manager, Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, based in Singapore, and Head of Country Risk.
Mr. McGonagle began his career as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service, serving in Washington D.C., France and Canada. As Director of Monetary Affairs at the Department of State, Mr. McGonagle was the U.S. government representative to the Paris Club, the forum in which foreign country debt to the US and other governments is restructured.
He has a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, A Masters of Arts in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Evaluation/workout team:
Project review, co-ordination of legal services, litigation
L. Steven Platt, Esq.
Chief Legal Counsel, Advisor to Board of Directors, Workout Team
Partner, Litigator and Labor Law Practice – Clark Hill PLC
Compassionate, aggressive, fearless, effective and always ethical are words that describe how Steve Platt does business and practices law. With 30 years experience as a front-line litigator, Platt is thorough and impactful, which causes comfort to his clients and great concern among opponents. As one of the nation's leading and most respected labor lawyers, Platt is one of only 300 U.S. lawyers named a "Fellow" in the American College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He is past President of the National Employment Lawyers Association and represents labor unions and their ERISA, Taft-Hartley fringe benefits funds.
Mr. Platt also helped author employment discrimination jury instructions adopted by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. He has handled cases in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado and California and before the 3rd, 7th and 9th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. Mr. Platt has also been involved with several U.S. Supreme Court and Illinois Supreme Court cases. Though heavily experienced in litigation, Mr. Platt's focus is on resolving problems before the need for a courtroom arises.
An AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, Mr. Platt was recently cited as of the top five attorneys in his field by Chambers and Partners, Ltd, an independent rating service, which called him “a consummate trial lawyer.” He was also named one of the “Top Lawyers in Illinois” by Chicago Magazine in its February 2008 Super Lawyers Section.
Mr. Platt has been widely interviewed and quoted by the national media, has lectured and published articles with the International Employee Benefit Foundation (IEBF), has lectured for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Education (IICLE), and is the co-author of a lawyers’ reference book on age discrimination litigation now in its eighth printing. Mr. Platt received his BA from Northwestern and his J.D. degree from Loyola of Chicago Law School.
Bar Admissions: Illinois Supreme Court, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third, Seventh and Ninth Circuits, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Organizations: Chicago Bar Association: Chair, Civil Rights Committee 1996-1998, Judicial Screening Committee American Bar Association: EEOC Liaison, American College of Labor and Employment Attorneys: Fellow National Employment Lawyers Association: Past President
Publications and Speaking Engagements: Co-author of two Illinois Institute of Continuing Education (IICLE) chapters in the labor law field, Co-author of the legal reference book, Age Discrimination Litigation. Published more than 40 articles in industry and legal publications, lectured for the International Employee Benefit Foundation (IEBF), Lectured for the IICLE. Has appeared on CBS Eye on America, local television and radio and has been quoted in the New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, AARP Publications as well as in local newspapers.
Evaluation/workout team:
Economics and forecasting
Robert Genetski, Ph.D.
Chief Economist/Investment Advisor
Advisor to the Board of Directors
One of the nation’s leading economists, premier interest rate forecasters and investment advisors, Dr. Genetski is a popular speaker to thousands of people at conferences and investor meetings around the world each year. He is recognized routinely by the media and his clients for his insights to economic, financial and investment matters on a micro and macro perspective.
Genetski is well known for his research and advocacy of classical economic principles. These principles provide a reliable guide to creating both a healthy economy and profitable investment opportunities. Dr. Genetski has conducted pioneering research into the role of taxes and their impact on economic prosperity.
In the early 1980s, he correctly forecast that tax cuts would end the nation’s economic malaise by boosting productivity and helping to reduce both inflation and interest rates. In 1989, Dr. Genetski correctly referred to the Japanese stock market as “a classic case of a speculative bubble waiting to burst.”
As a member of Blue Chip forecasters, Dr. Genetski has been commended on his ability to out-forecast the pack. He was listed on two separate occasions as the number one interest rate forecaster in the country, according to Institutional Investor Magazine and Blue Chip Financial Forecasts.
During the 1990s he gained a reputation as one of the most optimistic investment advisors in the nation, if not the world, for forecasting rapid growth, low inflation and record-breaking stock prices. During the course of his career Genetski has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for a major Midwest Bank and has headed asset management, investment research, and investment banking operations.
Dr. Genetski has authored several books and numerous articles. He authored Taking the Voodoo Out of Economics, an influential book that anticipated and shaped many of the major policy changes that are now occurring throughout the world. In his latest book, A Nation of Millionaires, Dr. Genetski provides his vision of the changes in government policies that will shape the economic and financial landscape in the 21st century.
Dr. Genetski earned his Ph.D. in economics from and has taught economics at New York University and at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. He has served on numerous Boards of Directors and writes a regular column for the Nikkei Financial Daily’s leading business newspaper.
Evaluation/workout team:
Project review, workout, construction management
Kevin McKenna
Heavy Construction—Advisor to Board of Directors, Workout Team
Partner/Sen. V.P. Clayco
Kevin J. McKenna is a Senior Vice President & Partner at Clayco. McKenna manages and oversees all aspects of Clayco’s Chicago office.
Mr. McKenna is a graduate of Clemson University in 1987, completing his education studying abroad in Genoa, Italy, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Building Science Degree (Construction Management).
After graduation McKenna worked as a Project Engineer for Whiting-Turner on the West Palm Beach International Airport. Soon after, McKenna took a Project Manager position with Schal Associates in Chicago working in the field as a Superintendent on high-profile projects such as The Harold Washington Library, Amoco Building, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, & RR Donnelly Company.
Prior to Clayco, McKenna was a Project Director for Power Contracting in Schaumburg, Illinois focusing on design-build projects such as logistic and distribution facilities and hospitals such as Mt. Sinai & Schwab.
After helping establish the Chicago office in 1998, McKenna has become the Regional Vice President, Senior V.P. & Partner growing the office from a revenue of $23 MM to $135 MM with a large diversity of projects.
Evaluation/workout team:
Project review, transactional and land use issues
Jerome Schain, Esq.
Land Use and Real Estate—Advisor to Board of Directors
Managing Partner, Schain, Burney, Banks & Kenny, Ltd.
Considered one of the Midwest’s finest land use and real estate transactional attorneys, Jerry Schain works with municipalities and developers to make large or small projects acceptable to a community. Schain is the Managing Partner in the law firm of Schain, Burney, Banks & Kenny, Ltd., which he helped found.
He and his firm work on new and redevelopment projects ranging from suburban planned unit developments to urban high rises and properties consisting of thousands of acres. In dealing with municipalities, Schain uses his experience of over two decades of private practice, and before that 16 years in the State Attorney’s office, for his clients to navigate the often times difficult waters of zoning and land use regulation.
While working in the State Attorney’s office, Schain represented Cook County in matters of Zoning, Condemnation, and Health. During that period, he helped to write a new Zoning ordinance and a comprehensive plan for Cook County, Illinois.
The clients of Schain and his law firm include virtually every major commercial and home builder in the Chicago metro area, major banks and financial institution and dozens of municipalities, other law firms, major accounting and consulting firms, labor unions, major retailers and many others.
Schain received his JD from DePaul University College of Law in 1967. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, and the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Schain’s experience, determination, and enthusiasm make him the ideal advocate to ensure that a project will not only survive, but succeed.
Evaluation/workout team:
Project review, workout, receivership, property management
Jeffrey C. Rappin, Esq.
Property Management and Apartments—Advisor to Board of Directors, Workout Team
Chairman/CEO Evergreen Real Estate Services
Jeff is Chairman of the Board for Evergreen Real Estate Services, LLC. Prior to joining Evergreen, Jeff was Senior Vice President and General Counsel for The Habitat Company, a full service real estate company involved in the real estate development, property management, asset management and brokerage of property, primarily in the metropolitan Chicago area. Jeff has been a practicing attorney in Chicago since 1966. Before joining Habitat in 1987, Jeff was a senior partner in a major Chicago law firm specializing in all aspects of real estate law. He received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School.
Jeff is experienced in real estate financing, particularly tax exempt bond financings, and has been involved as an attorney and/or principal in over 1 billion dollars of tax-exempt bond transactions. Jeff also has extensive experience in working with numerous federal, state and local housing agencies including the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the City of Chicago Department of Housing. He has also represented various not-for-profit sponsors in the development of senior and physically disabled housing. Jeff has also represented numerous contractors specializing in construction of apartments and condominiums.
Jeff has served on various committees of both the American and Chicago Bar Associations, primarily in the areas of real estate development and financing. He has also lectured on aspects of real estate development before various bar groups.
Jeff has served on School Boards for both Northbrook and Glencoe and has also acted as Chairman of the Nominating Committee for the New Trier High School Board. His recent charitable participation includes involvement with Literacy Chicago, Children’s Oncology Services, Inc. (which operates One Step At A Time Camp), AIDS Chicago, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and Victory Gardens Theater.
Evaluation/workout team:
Coordinator Commercial Real Estate Broker Services
James Ascot, Ph.D.
Coordinator Commercial Real Estate/Advisor to the Board of Directors
Managing Broker—Ascot Realty
A proven leader in Chicago commercial real estate and a former clinical psychologist, Jim Ascot established Ascot Realty Group, Inc. in 1986. His firm manages, markets and develops primarily commercial property, including office, retail, restaurant and industrial space. Dr. Ascot holds real estate broker licenses in Illinois and California. He is a past President of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and has served on numerous committees of the Illinois and National Associations of REALTORS®.
He is a past President of AIRE (Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers), is a CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member), CIPS (Certified International Property Specialist), a Past-President of FIABCI Chicago Chapter (The International Real Estate Federation). He was Chairman of the National Association of Realtors International Operations Committee (2003) and was NAR’s Presidential Liaison to the Hellenic Association of Realtors (Greece) from 2001-2004.
Dr. Ascot has been awarded the Illinois Association of Realtors Presidential Award for outstanding service and is a “Golden R” member of the Realtor Political Action Committee. He was named the Chicago Association of Realtors’ “Realtor of the Year” in 1999.
Dr. Ascot is actively involved in the community and provides charitable services to a number of organizations, including Rotary One of Chicago, is a past President of the Lane Tech High School Alumni Association, and is a former Chairman of its Local School Council. In addition, he has served as a Director on the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors (1998), as a member of the Chamber’s Cook County Property Tax Task Force (2001) and as co-chairman of the Council’s Education Workforce Quality Committee (2002). Ascot also served as Chairman of the Chicago Board of Education’s Promotional Task Force (1999), as a result of appointment by former Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas. He currently serves as President of the Jefferson Tower Condominium Association, 200 No. Jefferson St., Chicago, IL. He has been a director of the Chicago Composers’ Forum since 2006 and is a member of the River North Association. He is a member of the Athens Sister City Committee as a result of an appointment by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Dr. Ascot was a candidate in the Democratic Party primary for the U.S. Congress from Illinois’ 7th Congressional District in 2006 and also served as 2008 Chairman of the State of Illinois Election Day Registration Commission as a result of an appointment by Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan.
Evaluation/workout team:
Project underwriting and review
Harry Cheatham
HUD, GSE and Conduit Loans—Advisor to Board of Directors
Vice Chairman, Love Funding
Mr. Cheatham joined Love Funding in 1994 as vice president and senior originator, and he was promoted to senior vice president/director of commercial origination and a member of the Senior Management Committee in 1997. In 1999, Harry was made President, COO and a member of the board of directors, and in 2003, he became CEO, where he was responsible for overall profitability for the firm’s national operation and 15 offices. In 2007, he moved to Vice Chairman of the Board, focusing on various business development opportunities for the company, including loan production and funding source relationships.
For over three decades, Mr. Cheatham has been involved in the commercial real estate investment industry with his primary focus in mortgage banking. His experience includes portfolio lending and asset management with a life insurance company, commercial lending manager at a commercial bank and commercial real estate syndication.
Mr. Cheatham is a State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, a licensed real estate broker and an FHA MAP-approved underwriter for both multifamily and senior housing.
Evaluation/workout team:
Project review, workout, receivership, finance
Jerome Cataldo, MBA
Hospitality—Advisor to Board of Directors
President of Hostmark Hospitality Group, Inc.
For over 20 years, Mr. Cataldo has worked in multiple facets of the hotel industry, from information technology to hands-on management of individual hotels and the development of new construction projects and programs and taking to the international marketplace. Mr. Cataldo is a Managing Director in the Shamrock-Hostmark Hotel Fund, a co-sponsored hotel acquisition fund with Shamrock Holdings of California.
An industry leader, Mr. Cataldo has been a speaker at major hospitality conferences and industry events and has been a recurring lecturer at Roosevelt University’s Manfred Steinfeld School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, the Midwest Lodging Summit Advisory Board and the Kendall College Les Roches School of Hospitality Management Advisory Board. Mr. Cataldo received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Marquette University and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance from DePaul University.
Evaluation/workout team:
Project review, workout, receivership, finance
L. W. (Biff) Hawkey, Jr.
Hospitality—Advisor to Board of Directors
Senior Vice President Development Hostmark Hospitality Group
Biff Hawkey brings a wealth of knowledge in real estate, law and tax strategies to the operations and management functions of Hostmark. As such, Mr. Hawkey creates and oversees the design of financial restructuring opportunities, deal sourcing, reorganization, and workout plans for clients and had provided remarkable support and assistance to borrowers and lenders in foreclosure, bankruptcy and receivership situations.
His valuable insights have earned him notoriety within the industry and he is frequently called upon by business peers as a keynote speaker. Mr. Hawkey is the accomplished author of several books, holds BA and JD degrees and is an adjunct professor at Roosevelt University in Chicago where he teaches hospitality development and feasibility Master’s level classes.
Evaluation/workout team:
Project review, workout, construction management
Robert Clark
Heavy Construction—Advisor to Board of Directors
Chairman/CEO Clayco
Bob is the Chairman and CEO of Clayco, Inc., one of the nation’s largest privately owned real estate, design/build and construction firms. The company operates out of St. Louis, Missouri as its headquarters and has full service offices in Chicago and Detroit and provides turn-key services nationwide. Since inception in 1984, Clayco has completed billions of dollars in revenues, Projects include over 140,000,000 square feet of new construction and 27,000,000 square feet of renovation work in the United States. The company has completed development of over 3,400 acres of land and is a leader in each of the market sectors that we operate in. Currently, theand annually does $800+ million in construction—even during the current recessionary period.
Bob is very involved in the community and sits on the board of Forest Park Forever, Board of Trustees at St. Louis University and the Scientific Advisory Council for Washington University Medical School. In 2001, Clark served as Interim Executive Director of Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) and during an 18 month period led a turn-around effort which merged the Institution with Washington University. During this period, all groups of CID reported to Clark and he managed an annual budget of $15,000,000 and $6,000,000 of NIH Funded research. Beginning in February, 2007 Clark served on the National Finance Committee for Senator Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign and served as the Missouri chair for the “Committee for Change.”
Energy and Heavy Industry
Paul Valente
Energy and Heavy Industry—Advisor to Board of Directors
Mr. Valente has been working with Gary Meyers for over 25 years. He serves Commercial Loan Corp. in reviewing energy and utility components of existing and proposed projects and comparing them with available state-of-art technologies for functionality and cost efficiency. His specialty is reviewing industrial environmental control designs for both municipal and commercial clients.
Valente's problem solving skills were developed over 30 years working in sales and marketing roles selling instrumentation products and environmental processing equipment to the petroleum, chemical, waste water, municipal and pool processing business sectors. Over that time Paul has handled numerous large accounts including Halliburton, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, General Dynamics, Siemens Applied Automation Group, Schlumberger, United Technologies, Commonwealth Edison, Peoples Gas, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, BP/Amoco Corporation, Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Sargent & Lundy, Flour, and Harza Engineering Company.
Mr. Valente’s recent consulting work has involved:
Working with Capstone, Inc. (a micro turbine manufacturing subsidiary of United Technologies) to expand this company’s market present in the Midwest. As part of this effort he developed a public/private venture relationship between Capstone and Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry to produce a working exhibit demonstrating commercial application of Capstone’s energy-saving micro turbine/fuel cell technology.
Introducing an innovative municipal solid waste disposal technology to government leaders in the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois. This high temperature approach to handling solid waste converts large volume trash into a small volume molten slag that cools into a glass-like substance suitable for low cost building materials applications. The technology is currently being evaluated for use as a viable method to eliminate the need for landfill site disposal.
Funding and building domestic and international alternative fuel (bio-diesel) refineries.
Assisting a Midwest based client in the development of a more efficient continuous emissions monitor (C.E.M.) system for coal fired fossil fuel generating stations.
Mr. Valente is actively involved with non-profit environmental and historic preservation projects in Illinois, working closely with activists like Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn and his Green Solutions initiative (a statewide effort to conserve and protect the environment while creating healthy and friendly workplaces and homes). He has served on the Boards of the Historic Pullman Foundation, the Pullman Civic Organization, and St. Paul’s School in the Pilsen neighborhood. He is a member of both the Instrument Society of America (ISA) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). Paul lives in Chicago’s Pullman district.
Evaluation/workout team:
Energy and technology review
Charles Husson, BSEE, MBA
Energy and Technology Review
Mr. Charles Husson reviews all technology and energy proposals brought to CCF. For over 35 years with NASA and later as a private research consultant, Mr. Husson has been at the cutting edge of technology.
Mr. Husson is a pioneer in the development of modern electronics, trained in civil, mechanical, electrical, industrial and chemical engineering. His experience includes nuclear energy measurement and radiation damage, microelectronics digital circuits and systems to on-board spacecraft computers, instrumentation, command, and control systems. For 15 years he managed and directed Microelectronics research and development for NASA guiding the original development of digital logic chips, operational amplifiers, A/D converters, comparators, and network interface chips.
He was the technical consultant to improve the performance and specification of proposed systems for the U.S. Space Orbital Shuttle, the International Space Station, and the proposed cargo carrier through technology enhancements. For the International Space Station, he conducted the on-board systems commonality studies, developed the power management core system, and evaluated candidate data bus configurations. Also, he was the principal troubleshooter for all electronic systems aboard the United States Lunar Orbiter, the Viking Mars Orbiter, and the Viking Mars Lander over a period of ten years.
Mr. Husson also developed the NASA ISIS End to End Data Management System for high speed on-board spacecraft data processing. Husson was attached (on-loan from NASA) to the Strategic Defense Initiative Office (SDI), in Washington, DC for the Under Secretary of Defense in 1986 as a systems analyst for on-board robotics, command, control, and communications technologies and weapons control systems.
During his tour of duty with NASA, Mr. Husson served on the DOD Advisory Group for Electron Devices, New Technology Review Board representing all of the NASA centers on that board.
International Refereed Publications and Presentations:
• "The Information Science Experiment and Data Fusion System-Computers for Science Experiments in Space." AIAA Conference, Computers in Aerospace, VII, Oct. 3-5, 1989. With Dr. Edwin Foudriat.
• "Data Processor for Maximum Likelihood Feature Classification." AIAA Conference on Sensor Systems for the 80s. 12/80, Colorado Springs, Col. AIAA Paper #80-1920P. Dr. Benz
• "Satellite Pattern Classification Using Charge Transfer Devices." IEEE Computer Society Conference on Pattern Recognition and Image Processing, 08/79. With Benz.
• "Impact and Trends of Smart Sensors in Spacecraft." AIAA Conference In Astronautics and Aeronautics Series-Smart Sensors Volume I, 1979.
• "Smart Sensors in Spacecraft." AIAA Conference on 'Smart' Remote Sensors, 11/78.
• "Satellite On Board Feature Classification." IEEE Intn’l Symposium--Circuits and Systems 04/77. W/Benz.
• "Real Time Multispectral Feature Classification." Electro '77, 04/77.
• "Analog Signal Processing." IEEE Proceedings Letter, 5/70. With Benz.
• "Development of Thick Film Active Devices." Fourth NASA Microelectronics Conference. 02/70.
• "The Langley Research Center Microelectronics Program." Fourth NASA Microelectronics Conference. 2/70.
• "Electrochemical Display of Visual Symbols" American Chemical Society 21st Southeastern Regional Meeting 11/69.
• "The Langley Research Center Microelectronics R & D Program." 3rd NASA Microelectronics Conference.
• "Integrated Micropower Circuits." Electronics Systems Symposium of the International Conference on Aerospace Electro-Technology.
• "Bringing Microelectronics to Spacecraft." Astronautics and Aeronautics Magazine, 04/64.