Team ———————————————————–—————

Ryan Kim, Managing Partner

Mr. Kim has extensive experience as a private equity investor in growing middle market companies.   Prior to founding Castle Island Partners in 2005, Mr. Kim was an investment professional with Parthenon Capital, a $1.1 billion private equity firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco.   At Parthenon Capital, he co-headed the firm’s consumer products and logistics/distribution group.  Prior to joining Parthenon Capital, Mr. Kim was with EasyLink, a publicly-traded provider of outsourced business and consumer e-mail and fax management services.   Prior to EasyLink, Mr. Kim spent several years in the domestic private equity group of Bain Capital, where he closed several transactions in the food and beverage industry and worked closely with the management of several portfolio companies.   Mr. Kim began his career at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (DLJ), where he focused on providing both debt and equity capital to middle market companies.  He received his AB from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

Michael Barry, Partner

Mr. Barry has extensive experience as the CEO of industrial distribution businesses as well as in the global sourcing of products.  He was the President and COO of Copperfield Chimney Supply, a $50 million supplier of proprietary chimney and hearth products to retailers and professional contractors.  Mike was also the President of Woodard, Inc., a $65 million multi-location manufacturer of casual patio furniture to specialty retailers and mass merchants.   Prior to joining Woodard, Mike was the President and CEO of Intech EDM, an industrial distributor of consumable materials for Electrical Discharge Machining with operations in six countries, originally a subsidiary of N.V. Indivers.  Mike started out his career as an accountant with Grant Thornton in Washington, D.C.  He received his BS from Georgetown University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

 

John Nugent, Advisory Partner

Mr. Nugent has extensive experience as a CEO and marketer in a wide range of food and consumer categories.  He was the CEO and President of Eagle Family Foods, a $225 million branded food manufacturer backed by GE Capital and Warburg Pincus.  Prior to joining Eagle Family Foods, John was President of Johnson & Johnson’s Consumer Products division, which produced products under a variety of brands, including Band-Aid and Johnson’s Baby.  Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Nugent was the COO and VP of Marketing for a $600 million division of Unilever Foods.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Nugent worked at Borden, Calgon and Procter and Gamble, and was a Captain in the United States Army.   Mr. Nugent was awarded two Bronze Stars, the Air Medal and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.  He received his BA from Georgetown and his MBA from the University of Chicago.  

 

Robert Tyre, Advisory Partner

Mr. Tyre has extensive experience working in corporate development and strategy consulting.  Currently Mr. Tyre is the Vice President of Corporate Development for Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV), a $6 billion diversified manufacturer of industrial products and manufacturing equipment.  Dover is a Fortune 300 company with operations worldwide and customers in more than 100 countries.  Under Mr. Tyre’s leadership, Dover has completed over 100 acquisitions comprising several billion dollars in transaction value.  Prior to Dover, Mr. Tyre was a partner with Booz Allen Hamilton, providing strategic and financial advisory service to global corporations.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Tyre worked at US Industries and NCR Corporation.  Mr. Tyre received his BA from Williams College, his MBA from New York University and his JD from Fordham University.

 

Gerald R. Leonard, Advisory Partner
Mr. Leonard is a 25 year veteran of the food industry.  Beginning with Proctor & Gamble’s Food Division, he spent many years with manufacturers, including The Wm Underwood Co and Green Giant/Pillsbury.  He then moved to the Food Brokerage side of the food business and rolled up and took public Merkert American in 1998.  During his time in the Food Brokerage business his company managed sales and marketing for virtually every major CPG  manufacturer in the industry, including Mars, Nestle, HJ Heinz, Ocean Spray, Kraft/Nabisco and Hershey. He has long established relationships with many major retailers in food, speciality distributors, convenience and mass merchandise.  He earned a BS from Siena College, Loudonville,NY and completed the Cornell Food Executive Course, Cornell Univeristy, Ithaca, NY.

Paul Wolff, Advisory Partner
Mr. Wolff has extensive experience as a CEO and senior executive in a variety of  health and wellness related and consumer industries.  Mr. Wolff was Chairman and CEO of Atkins Nutritionals, Inc, a manufacturer of branded food and information products.  Prior to Atkins Nutritionals, Mr. Wolff held various senior positions with Times Mirror Corporation, a leading publishing and media company publishing many of the leading magazines and newspapers in major metropolitan markets.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Wolff worked at American Express and in a variety of early stage companies in the natural food industry.

David Belaga, Advisory Partner
Mr. Belaga has extensive experience as a senior marketing executive across a broad range of consumer  and food categories.  Mr. Belaga was the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Amerifit Nutrtion, Inc, a $65 million marketer of branded natural health and wellness products.  Prior to joining Amerifit, Mr. Belaga was the VP of Marketing and Business Development for Pharmaceutical Formulations, Inc, an OTC pharmaceutical manufacturer.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Belaga was marketing executive with American Home Products, Block Drug (now GlaxoSmithKline) and PepsiCo.  Mr. Belaga received his BA from Indiana University and his MBA from Emory University.

Jeffrey Swain, Advisory Partner

Mr. Swain has extensive experience as a senior executive in the  meat, food and natural/organic industry.  He is currently active as a CEO and board advisor in a number of companies, including Odessa Poultry, Supreme Packing, Burris Logistics and Innovative Ag.  Mr. Swain was the President and CEO of BC Natural Foods, a $600 million natural/organic meat company built through a series of acquisitions across multiple species.  Prior to joining BC Natural, Mr. Swain was President and COO of Townsends, a $700 million poultry producer.    Earlier in his career, Mr. Swain ran the $600 million Butterball Turkey division of ConAgra Foods and was a General Manager with Foster Farms.   Mr. Swain earned his BA from Pennsylvania State University and his MBA from California State University.