Founder, Managing Partner & CEO

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Andrew is Founder, Managing Partner, CEO, and Chair of the Investment Committee at Brightstar Capital Partners. He currently serves as the Board Chair of Brightstar Corp. and QualTek, and serves on the boards of Gateway Dealer Network, Global Resale, Texas Water Supply Company, Capstone Nutrition and ERC, all Brightstar portfolio companies.

Prior to Brightstar, Andrew was a Partner at Lindsay Goldberg, a New York-based private equity firm, with extensive experience working on numerous large transactions. In addition, from 2008-2011 Andrew served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Brightstar Corp., a $10 billion global leader in mobility services including distribution, handset protection insurance, reverse logistics, buyback and leasing solutions spanning more than 100 countries and serving many of the major OEMs, carriers and retailers. Brightstar Corp. was acquired by Softbank in 2014. Andrew served on the Boards of 13 portfolio companies during his tenure at Lindsay Goldberg. Prior to joining Lindsay Goldberg in 2003, Andrew worked at Goldman Sachs in their Principal Investment Area (PIA). Andrew started his career at Morgan Stanley in mergers and acquisitions and leveraged finance.

He received his MBA from Stanford GSB and an AB from Dartmouth College with a double major in History and Economics. He serves on the boards of CTIA, an organization representing the U.S. wireless industry, as well as The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and The Dalton School. Andrew is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). He is also a member of the World Economic Forum where he serves on the Global Future Council on Investing and the Stewardship Board of the Forum’s Platform on Shaping the Future of Investing.

Partner & President

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Renee is a Partner and the President of Brightstar. She is also a Member of the Investment Committee. Renee currently serves on the board of Gateway Dealer Network, a Brightstar portfolio company. She focuses on Investment Development, Capital Raise and Investor Relations.

Prior to joining Brightstar, Renee was Head of Business Development for Fifth Street Finance and Balcony Partners where she was responsible for capital raising, product development and strategic initiatives. Renee was Founding Partner and CIO of Talon Advisors, a multi-manager fund and previously Co-founded Narragansett Asset Management, a $1.0 billion fundamental long/short equity fund manager.

Renee has been active in the financial services and hedge fund industries since 1989 and has been instrumental in advising many highly regarded hedge funds. Renee started her career as an analyst covering small cap retailers for Peter Lynch at Fidelity Investments. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her AB, Magna Cum Laude, from Dartmouth College with a double major in Math and Geography.

Partner

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Matthew Allard is a Partner at Brightstar and a Member of the Investment Committee. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Amerit Fleet Solutions, Vice Chair of the Board of QualTek, and as a Board member of Brightstar Corp. and Texas Water Supply Company, all Brightstar portfolio companies. Since 2003, Matt has worked closely with Andrew Weinberg and various Partners while advising and financing transactions for EnergySolutions, Brock Group, and Brightstar Corp. among others.

Prior to joining Brightstar, Matthew Allard was Head of Financial Sponsors at Stifel where he was responsible for leading the firms Private Equity client coverage and execution efforts, was a member of the Investment Bank Management Committee and had extensive merger & acquisition, capital markets and relationship management experience across a range of industries. Matt started his finance career with Citi and Bank of America, and previously held positions in both consulting and operations. Matt received his MBA from Columbia Business School, Beta Gamma Sigma honors, and a BSE from the University of Michigan with a major in Industrial and Operations Engineering. He is a Trustee of the King School in Connecticut.

Partner & CFO

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Joseph Bartek is a Partner and the Chief Financial Officer at Brightstar. He currently serves on the board of Gateway Dealer Network, a Brightstar portfolio company. Joe is responsible for the financial, regulatory and administrative operations of the firm, and serves on the Investment Committee.

Prior to Brightstar, Joe founded a boutique accounting and administrative firm focused on the operational needs of private equity funds and their sponsors. Prior to starting his own firm, Joe worked for RSM US, LLP as a Senior Manager and Director in their private equity assurance and transaction support service practices. During his career, he has advised a multitude of funds in the areas of financial operations, regulatory compliance, internal control, risk management, investor reporting, equity allocation, valuation and mergers & acquisitions. Joe is a CPA, received his MBA from the Brennan School of Business in Chicago and his Bachelors in Accounting, Cum Laude, from Dominican University.

Partner

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Reidar Brekke is a Partner at Brightstar. He currently serves as Board Chair of Gateway Dealer Network and on the board of ERC, both Brightstar Portfolio Companies.

Since 2003, Reidar has worked closely with Andrew Weinberg at Lindsay Goldberg focusing on the transportation and logistics sectors and most recently while serving as President of Intermodal Holdings LP, a provider of containers and portable storage solutions for both on land and maritime usage from 2012-2018. Prior to 2012, he held a number of senior roles including manager of Poten Capital Services, a strategic and financial advisory specializing in the logistics and maritime sectors. Prior to 2003, Reidar was CFO, then President and COO of SynchroNet Marine, a logistics service provider to the global container transportation industry, and also held numerous senior positions with AMA Capital Partners LLC, a merchant bank.

Reidar served as an Advisor for the Norwegian Trade Commission in New York & Oslo, Norway, and a financial advisor in Norway. He has been an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs – Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy and has served as an independent Director for Diana Containerships Inc. (DCIX) since June 2010 and Scorpio Tankers (STNG) since December 2016. Reidar represented Norway in the Eisenhower Trophy, a biennial world amateur team golf championship led by the International Golf Federation.

Reidar graduated from the New Mexico Military Institute and obtained an MBA from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Partner

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Todd Brock is a Partner at Brightstar and a Member of the Investment Committee. He currently serves as the Board Chair of Texas Water Supply Company, a Brightstar portfolio company. Since 2006, Todd has worked closely with Andrew Weinberg at Lindsay Goldberg while serving on the boards of the Brock Group, PSC and Recon. Prior to Brightstar, he was also Founding Partner of Brock Capital Group (BCG). He currently serves as the Board Chair of Texas Water Supply Company, a Brightstar portfolio company.

Todd has extensive experience of industrial services, both as an owner and operator, and has scaled such companies towards their financial and strategic goals. His introduction to industrial services began when he initially joined the Brock Group in 1986 and served as its Chief Operating Officer. Under his and his brother’s guidance, the business became a leading multi-craft maintenance service provider in the industry. In 2006 the company was sold to a private equity investor after which Todd served as Chairman of the Board from 2006 to 2014.

Todd is an active philanthropist through the Todd Brock Family Foundation and focuses his giving and service toward Christian causes, concentrating on domestic ministries in addition to laborers in Dubai and orphans in Zambia. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University, an active supporter of the Business Honors Program at Mays School of Business and is a member of Houston’s Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

Partner

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Roger Bulloch is a Partner at Brightstar. He currently serves on the boards of QualTek and Capstone Nutrition, both Brightstar portfolio companies. Prior to Brightstar, he was a Co-founder and Managing Principal of SPB Capital Partners.

Roger also Co-founded Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas, a waterpark partnership with Village Roadshow Ltd, Howard Hughes Corporation, AgassiGraf, and other families to promote social impact investing and youth employment. From 2004 to 2010, Roger was the Co-founder and CEO of Sher Capital, a significant family office (heirs to Fortune 500 Company) and Sher Gaming, a licensed gaming partnership with interests in three hotel casinos totaling 2,300 hotel rooms. Prior to SPB Capital Partners and Sher Capital, Roger was a Senior Vice President in the Private Bank of Bank of America. Roger also worked in the Investment Services Group of Credit Suisse in Los Angeles, California and its predecessor firm, Donaldson, Lufkin, and Jenrette (DLJ).

Roger has been a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 2007. Roger received his BS in Business from the Marriott Business School at Brigham Young University and his MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Partner

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Raul Deju is a Partner at Brightstar and a Member of the Investment Committee. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Amerit Fleet Solutions, and as a Board member of Texas Water Supply Company and QualTek, all Brightstar portfolio companies.

Since 2006, Raul has worked closely with Andrew Weinberg while serving as an advisor to PSC and Recon and as President and COO of EnergySolutions, a Lindsay Goldberg portfolio company which generated more than $1.5 billion of proceeds from its IPO and follow on offerings. Prior to EnergySolutions, Raul was SVP of IT Corporation, now Chicago Bridge & Iron; CEO of URS (acquired by AECOM); and President of several major entities within the Waste Management family of companies. He was also a founder of Isadra, a technology venture sold to VerticalNet and ISG Resources, a construction materials company merged into Headwaters, a public company.

Raul is a Board Member in a number of private companies in diverse fields and has created a program to help entrepreneurs, especially service disabled veterans so they can succeed in their business ventures. He also serves as mentor to a number of Service Disabled Veteran-Owned businesses. Over 100 graduates of Raul’s university-level programs now own companies. Raul has extensive international experience managing European and Latin American subsidiaries, and has served as Member of the Board of Governors of the World Nuclear Association. He also has served in Advisory Committees to the Secretary of Commerce and the US EPA Administrator during the Clinton Administration.

Raul has been named one of the 25 Most Influential Hispanics in the San Francisco Bay Area. Raul is also the recipient of the 2015 John F. Kennedy Lifetime of Entrepreneurship Award and recently published his 7th book, “We Got Mojo”, in 2016. He received both his B.S. degree in Mathematics and Physics and his Ph.D. degree in Engineering and Geosciences from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Chief Strategy Officer/Managing Director

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Michael Drexler is the Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Director at Brightstar.

Prior to Brightstar, Michael was Managing Director and Global Head of Strategy and Business Transformation at J.P. Morgan Asset Management based in New York. He was a member of the division’s Operating Committee and worked with all business lines on strategic initiatives, including M&A, business efficiency, and decision making.

Previously, he worked for nearly a decade in a senior leadership role at the World Economic Forum as Member of the Executive Committee responsible for partnerships and content in the Alternative Investment industry and later the Forum’s content initiatives across the financial sector, infrastructure, and long-term investing. Michael also spent nearly a decade at Barclays Capital in London, as the Global Head of Strategy and Planning for the majority of his time there, following his role as a consultant at McKinsey & Co and a post-doctoral position at Stanford University.

Michael holds a doctorate in Mathematics from Oxford University and an M.Sc. in Engineering from the Technical University at Munich.

Partner

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Gary Hokkanen is a Partner at Brightstar and a Member of the Investment Committee. He currently serves as Board Chair of Capstone Nutrition, and serves on the boards of Texas Water Supply Company, QualTek and ERC, all Brightstar portfolio companies.

Since 2005, Gary has worked closely with Andrew Weinberg while serving on the boards of Formation Energy, Intermodal Holdings and MBI Energy Services. After serving in the United States Air Force Security Service, Gary founded the Cynergi Group, a provider of comprehensive advisory services to family offices and closely held businesses.

Gary also served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Carlson Marketing Group, a division of the Carlson Companies, one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. Prior to his time at Carlson, Gary served as CEO & President of various companies in the telecom, satcom, data services and manufacturing sectors. These companies include: Wam!Net, The Miner Group, World Satellite Network, and Apollo Communications. Gary currently serves on the board of Accumold.

Partner

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Tom Meredith is a Partner at Brightstar and a Member of the Investment Committee. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Global Resale, and Vice Chair of the Board of Brightstar Corp., both Brightstar portfolio companies.

Tom has continued to work closely with Andrew Weinberg since 2007 when he served as Vice Chair of the Board of Brightstar Corp. which was sold to Softbank in 2014. He was a Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Managers of Meritage Capital, an investment management firm specializing in multi-manager hedge funds. Tom’s career spans over 35 years and includes extensive experience in corporate finance, manufacturing, finance operations, and global financial markets.

Prior to establishing Meritage in 2003, Tom served in various senior positions at Dell, including CFO, SVP of Business Development and Strategy, and Managing Director of Dell Ventures. Prior to joining Dell, he was VP and Treasurer for Sun Microsystems and Co-Founder and GM of Amdahl Capital Corporation.

Tom and his wife have received numerous accolades and awards including being named 2012 Chamber of Commerce Austinites of the Year; recipients of the 2010 Austin Community Foundation Philanthropy Award for donors who have shown philanthropic leadership in Central Texas; the Torch of Liberty Award given by the ADL in 2006; Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year given by the Association of Professional Fundraisers in 2004; and an Honorary Alumni Award given by Leadership Austin in 2003. Tom is also a member of the board of directors of The Nature Conservancy and Waller Creek Conservancy.

Tom currently serves on the Advisory Board of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. He is also an Emeritus Trustee of the University of Virginia College Foundation Board. Tom received his B.A. in political science from St. Francis University, a J.D. from Duquesne University and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Chief Network Officer/Managing Director

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Jonathan Quigley is the Chief Network Officer and Managing Director at Brightstar. Jonathan has worked with Andrew Weinberg since 2014 where they collaborated on various initiatives related to the World Economic Forum’s Family Business Community. He is responsible for the firm’s external engagement and partnership programs in support of the firm’s deal sourcing.

Prior to joining Brightstar, Jonathan worked at the World Economic Forum, the International Secretariat of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and marketing agencies in the Middle East. During his 10 years with the Forum he led various key functions including business marketing, business operations and their Strategic Partnership team. Prior to leaving the Forum he was responsible for establishing the Family Business Community which engaged leading family business owners from across the world in the Forum’s work.

Jonathan received his MBA from Ashridge Business School in the UK.

Managing Director

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Michael Singer is a Managing Director at Brightstar. Michael currently serves as Vice Chair of ERC and on the boards of Amerit Fleet Solutions and Global Resale, all Brightstar portfolio companies. In his prior roles, Michael led and was the executive sponsor for numerous transactions, including acquisitions, their respective integrations and portfolio sale processes. He most recently was the Chief Strategy Officer for Brightstar Corporation, where he also served on the boards of several of its portfolio companies, a device diagnostics software provider, and an aerospace & defense optics supplier.

Previously, Michael was the Corporate Vice President, Strategic Planning and CIO for B/E Aerospace, a publicly-traded designer and manufacturer of commercial and military aircraft products with 50 global locations. In that role, Michael led a 262-person department, and helped the company grow revenue from $600M to $3B over 7 years.

During his career, Mike also gained experience as a management consultant and design engineer in both the public and private sectors, including at the Department of Defense.

Mike earned a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Virginia and an MBA, with highest honors, from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Partner

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Joseph Stanislaw is a Partner at Brightstar. Joe previously worked closely with Andrew Weinberg during his time at Lindsay Goldberg.

Prior to Brightstar, Joe was one of three founders of Cambridge Energy Research Associates in 1983 and served as President and CEO from 1997 until the sale of the firm in 2004. He also served as Independent Senior Advisor from 2006 to 2014 to Deloitte LLP. Joe currently serves on the International Advisory Board of Dana Gas and was previously a Board Member of Gulf Keystone Petroleum. Joe is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an adjunct professor in the Nicholas School at Duke University as well as a Member of the Board of Advisors for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

Earlier in his career, Joseph Stanislaw was a Research Fellow of Clare Hall and lecturer in Economics at Cambridge University, where he was also a member of the Energy Research Group in the University’s Cavendish Laboratory. Joe is the co-author of “The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy”. He received a B.A., cum laude, from Harvard College, an M.A. from the University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Edinburgh.

Principal

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Brian Cronin is a Principal at Brightstar. He currently serves on the board of ERC. Prior to Brightstar, Brian was a managing member of BPC Capital and led direct investments by family offices in operational businesses.

Previously, Brian co-founded Prosperity Construction, LLC, a civil site work construction company. In 2018, Brian merged the company into a premier general construction company headquartered in the Southeast that is active in 13 states.

Brian began his career an analyst at SPB Partners, a multi-family office, where he assisted with growth capital, restructuring, and management reorganization. Brian worked closely with Brightstar Partner Roger Bulloch.

Brian has been a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 2020. Brian received his B.A. from Brigham Young University. He won a basketball gold medal in the 2009 Summer Deaflympics in Taiwan as a member of Team USA.