Team

Mr. Tirman has over 29 years of international investment and corporate management experience, specializing in discrete corporate transactions, senior corporate strategy development and management, turnarounds, and restructurings (operational and financial). Since beginning his career, Mr. Tirman has executed and structured several complex international corporate transactions both on behalf of independent shareholders and as primary shareholder. Mr. Tirman has also negotiated, executed and participated in numerous types of transactions, including public listings, spin-offs, administration proceedings, organizing and leading creditor committees, corporate rationalizations, acquisitions and divestitures, and balance sheet refinancing, as well as analyzing and executing numerous debt and equity investments and capital structure arbitrage positions. Since May 2019, Mr. Tirman has been the CEO of Luxembourg-based KJK Sports S.A. and sits on the boards of several holdings thereunder including Tahe Outdoors based in France and Estonia, Baltic Vairus based in Lithuania, and Leader 96 based in Bulgaria. Since January 2016, Mr. Tirman has also been the Chairman and CEO of Elan d.o.o., based in Slovenia, and sits on the boards of several Elan subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2020, these companies employed more than 2,300 people and generated revenues in excess of €250 million. Mr. Tirman is charged with leading the operational and financial restructuring of these companies with the aim of increasing operational efficiency, financial performance and transparency, along with the implementation of standardized business practices and transparent corporate governance principles. Mr. Tirman also founded Abri Advisors Ltd, in Bermuda in 2016 and Abri Advisors (UK) Ltd. in the United Kingdom in 2020 to invest across a variety of asset classes and provide corporate advisory services focused on corporate turnarounds and restructuring.

From 2009 through 2014, Mr. Tirman was an adjunct professor of Advanced Corporate Finance for the Master of Sciences in Finance (MScF) program at l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, which is a joint effort between l'Université de Lausanne (UNIL), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Federal Swiss Banking and Finance Institute. From 2011 through 2013, Mr. Tirman was also a guest lecturer on Credit Markets and Credit Risk for the Asset and Wealth Management Executive MBA (AWEMBA) program at the HEC, which was a joint program between University of Lausanne and the Tepper School of Management at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pennsylvania, USA. Mr. Tirman’s lectures focused on risk assessment and analysis. Mr. Tirman holds an MBA in Corporate Tax & Accounting from Tulane University and a BA in Economics & Finance at the University of Arkansas.

Mr. Montazeri has more than 21 years of experience in corporate finance and is experienced in matters related to financing public and private companies. Mr. Montazeri has substantial experience in structuring complex financing instruments and private placements for small and mid-cap public companies, including working with many companies to design and implement operational and management restructuring plans. Mr. Montazeri has advised numerous small and mid-cap companies on growth strategies with a focus on international business development and expansion. Since March 2017, Mr. Montazeri has been a general partner at Brown Stone Capital, LP., focused on investment management. Previously, from 2008 to 2017, Mr., Montazeri was a Managing Director at Floyd Associates, Inc., leading management and financial consulting efforts and investing across multiple asset classes. Since 2012, Mr. Montazeri has been an active money manager focused on equity, fixed income, real estate, and derivative strategies. Mr. Montazeri has assisted several clean energy and automotive solution companies with their capital development efforts by organizing access to strategic sources of capital, as well as advising on new and expanding markets. Furthermore, he played an instrumental role in raising international capital for a California based concentrated solar power company. In 2003 he led an innovative technology transfer program from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory which resulted in the development of a novel biological detection instrument. Mr. Montazeri has an extensive network of international investment and finance relationships providing access to a variety of transactions and unique investment opportunities, along with a robust capital raising network.

Furthermore, Mr. Montazeri is the author of several research reports related to clean energy, defense, counter terrorism, and natural resources. As an economist, he has conducted extensive research on international trade, openness, and the resulting impact on economic growth. Mr. Montazeri’s research covered the analysis of thousands of historical bilateral trade figures in an attempt to discover statistically significant correlations between openness to trade and real economic growth. His research in this field was subsequently published as a book named “Openness and Growth.” Mr. Montazeri holds a BA with honors in Economics from the University of British Columbia and a Master’s in Finance and Accounting from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Mr. Hardt has over 25 years of Big 4 audit, reporting and strategic business experience. Mr. Hardt recently retired from PwC LLP where he was an audit partner since 2000. Mr. Hardt has been based previously in PwC’s offices in London, England, Lausanne, Switzerland and Tokyo, Japan in addition to several offices in the United States. During his tenure at PwC, he was a lead partner on several large multinational audit clients in the Consumer Markets, Technology, Media, Automotive, Banking and Insurance industries and has conducted business in over 40 countries. Mr. Hardt has also served as a leader in PwC’s SEC Services group in the firm’s National Office where he was responsible for oversight of both foreign and domestic registrant client SEC filings including both debt and equity IPOs. In his prior roles at PwC, Mr. Hardt has extensive experience with companies preparing to go public including the financial statement and internal controls requirements of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, interacting with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the financial reporting implications of executing growth strategies involving mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Hardt also has many years of experience interacting with public company Boards and their audit/finance committees. Mr. Hardt is an investor and adviser to Cavan & Co LLC, an early stage American made lifestyle apparel brand. Mr. Hardt holds a BA in Business Administration from Furman University and is a CPA licensed in Ohio, Georgia and New Jersey. Mr. Hardt serves on the President’s Advisory Council of Furman University and is a member of the Parents Board at The Georgia Institute of Technology.

Mr. Bakker has more than 30 years of experience in high-yield debt finance, portfolio management, secured lending, and SME trade finance. Mr. Bakker has been a Vice President at Abri Advisors Ltd. since June 2019, focused on corporate evaluation and M&A. From January 2015 to June 2019, Mr. Bakker was the Chief Risk Officer at Channel Capital Advisors, where he oversaw risk management. Mr. Bakker has extensive knowledge of credit analysis and debt service capacity of corporate borrowers; the turnaround/workout/recovery process; financial restructuring; valuation and analysis of highly levered and distressed capital structures; and arranging financing for SME’s. Mr. Bakker’s extensive international experience includes bank lending to finance leveraged buyouts, distressed investing on behalf of institutional clients, advising a leading Canadian hedge fund on its leveraged loan portfolio, and managing risk and workouts for a European FinTech platform providing financing to SME’s. He has also directly led the restructuring of several distressed SME’s, and he has raised significant leveraged acquisition financing and arranged several pre-pack bankruptcies in order to facilitate financial restructuring. Mr. Bakker holds an MBA in Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University and an MS in Economics from Erasmus University.

Mr. Wepler has agreed to serve on our board of directors as of the closing of this offering. As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh, Berry & Co., Inc. and CEO of the wholly-owned FINRA registered broker/dealer MarshBerry Capital, Inc., Mr. Wepler’s leadership and industry experience has benefited many insurance industry professionals in an insurance career spanning nearly three decades. He has been a vital resource in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), having personally advised on more than 250 insurance-related M&A transactions since joining MarshBerry in 1991.

Mr. Wepler’s stewardship in the insurance industry has positioned him over the years as a sought-after adviser and chairperson for a range of organizations. He currently serves as an adviser to the board for the Worldwide Broker Network. Previous board positions include the Chairman of the Board of the Midwest Division of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), the IICF’s national Board of Governors, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, the American Bankers Insurance Association and adviser to the Disabled Veterans Insurance Careers (DVIC) Board. Mr. Wepler is an in-demand industry speaker because of his extensive knowledge in organic growth management, valuation enhancement strategies, business planning, perpetuation, financial management and M&A. He is often a keynote speaker at insurance carrier elite meetings, national conferences and leadership forums, including Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers conferences, Chubb Wharton Executive Leadership Training, Selective Executive Symposiums and S&P Global Market Intelligence investment workshops. With extensive experience in all facets of insurance business planning, from organic growth to perpetuation, Mr. Wepler’s skill set allows for designing innovative, progressive strategies that help owners as they work to realize their business goals and life’s dreams. Mr. Wepler holds an MBA from Kent State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Ohio University.

Mr. Schottland has agreed to serve on our board of directors as of the closing of this offering. Mr. Schottland has more than 20 years of experience in investment management and corporate consulting. Mr. Schottland has a demonstrated history of working in the investment management industry with strong entrepreneurship and expertise in corporate valuation, business strategy, management consulting, financial modelling and restructuring. Since February 2021, Mr. Schottland has been the CEO of AMWCO LLC, a residential real estate FinTech platform. Since January 2016, Mr. Schottland has also been a partner at Innovatus Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in growth, disruptive and distressed opportunities. From 2011 until the end of 2015, Mr. Schottland was a Partner at McKinsey & Co. where he focused on restructuring, strategy and advisory work, including the American Airlines bankruptcy and its subsequent merger with US Airways. From 2004 until 2010, he was a Senior Managing Director at Seabury Group, providing strategic and operational advisory and investment banking services to the aviation and aerospace industries. Prior to that. Mr. Schottland was at Bain & Co. Mr. Schottland holds an MBA in Corporate Strategy and Finance from Columbia Business School and a BS in Economics and America History from New York University.

Mrs. Watt has agreed to serve on our board of directors as of the closing of this offering. Since December 2019, Ms. Watt has served as the CEO of Watt Companies and has more than 20 years of management and investment experience. She oversees the day-to-day activities and strategic planning for all commercial investment activities including acquisitions, development, and asset management for the Watt Companies’ 6 million-square-foot portfolio. Previously, Ms. Watt served as President of Watt Companies from 2011 to 2019. In 2011, she led a strategic reorganization of the company that moved the firm beyond traditional property management and leasing to a focus on acquisitions and real estate development, as well as joint venture opportunities. Ms. Watt played a key role in launching Watt Companies’ acquisition division – Watt Investment Partners – that now actively invests $60 million in a variety of property types across the Western United States.

Throughout her 20-year tenure at Watt Companies, Ms. Watt has touched all facets of the company’s operations, including the development of hundreds of apartment units and multiple shopping centers. Ms. Watt was also responsible for a widely celebrated multi-million-dollar renovation program at Watt Plaza, a 920,000 square foot, Class-A office building in Century City. The building was certified Platinum LEED and was recognized by BOMA International with an award for Outstanding Building of the Year.

Ms. Watt is a member of the University of Southern California Board of Governors and the Sol Price School of Public Policy Board of Councilors and serves on the Executive Committee of the Lusk Center for Real Estate as well as the USC Associates Board of Directors. She was the first woman to be named Chair of the Los Angeles Business Council, a position she still holds. She is a Board Member of Visionary Women and the City of Hope Los Angeles Real Estate & Construction Industries Council. Ms. Watt received the Century City Citizen of the Year award in 2017 and the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2018. A graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Ms. Watt also holds a Master of Arts degree from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.