Empeiria Team - Senior Advisors
James Mills
Senior Advisor A Senior Advisor to Empeiria Capital Partners, Jim Mills has over 40 years of operating experience with a variety of successful major manufacturing companies. Jim has served as chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of Mills & Partners, Inc. since its formation in 1985. Mills & Partners, a management and investment firm that specializes in the acquisition and operation of manufacturing companies, has participated in approximately 50 leveraged buyout, add-on acquisition, recapitalization and IPO transactions with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $10 billion. Most of these transactions were done in partnership with Hicks & Haas and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. Jim served as chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of each Mills & Partners portfolio company, including: Clarke Floor Equipment, Palco Industries, Wirekraft Industries, Berg Electronics, Jackson Products, Crain Holdings, International Wire Group, and Viasystems Group. He also served on the board of Conner Steel Products, an Empeiria investment, and as chairman of the board of Empeiria Acquisition Corp. Prior to forming Mills & Partners, Jim was Executive Vice President of McGraw-Edison Company, a company engaged in the electronic, industrial, commercial, and automotive industries. He also served as Executive Vice President of the Admiral Group of Rockwell International and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Litton Industries’ Royal Typewriter Division. Jim’s affiliations have included the National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Foundation, the National Aid to Visually Handicapped Children, the American Management Association, the President’s Council of St. Louis University, and the Presidents’ Association of the American Management Association. |
Barry Brigman
Senior Advisor A Senior Advisor to Empeiria Capital Partners, Barry Brigman has over 40 years of experience in operations, management, and investment in global businesses in a variety of industry segments. Barry served on the board of directors of Empeiria Acquisition Corp. and as chairman of the board of Conner Steel Products, an Empeiria portfolio company. From 2003 to 2006, he was Managing Partner of Hanley Partners Asia, a global consulting group that assisted North American and European middle-market businesses in accessing market opportunities, supply chains, and manufacturing potential in China. Prior to co-founding Hanley Partners Asia, Barry served as President of the Telecom Division, President of the Global PCB business and President of the Americas for Viasystems Group from 1997 to 2002. During this period, Barry oversaw Viasystems’ growth from $200 million to $1.5 billion in annual revenue with 32 global manufacturing sites and over 25,000 employees in the Americas, Europe, and China. Prior to Viasystems, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Americas of Berg Electronics. Before that, Barry served as Director of Connector Systems, Americas for DuPont from 1989 to 1993. At DuPont, which he joined in 1969, he held numerous professional and management positions in the Fibers, Central Research and Development, Medical Products, Corporate Plans, and Electronics divisions. Barry currently serves on the board of Tank Partners Holdings. Barry holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. |
Michael Dion
Senior Advisor Over a 35 year career focused primarily in the packaged food industry, Mike has played a lead role in executing performance turnaround plans, implementing cost-cutting strategies, and managing post-acquisition integration. He served as an Executive Vice President of Empeiria Acquisition Corp. from 2011 to 2012 and has served as Chief Financial Officer of IEC Systems since its merger with Empeiria Acquisition Corp. From 2007 to 2011, Mike was a business consultant working with a variety of companies and investors on acquisition transactions. From 2001 to 2007, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Pinnacle Foods Corporation, a consumer products corporation formed from the purchased assets of Vlasic Foods International with brands including Swanson Frozen Foods, Vlasic Pickles, and Open Pit. In 2003, Pinnacle Foods purchased the brands of Aurora Foods including Duncan Hines, Mrs. Paul’s, Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast, and Mrs. Butterworth’s Syrups. From 1999 to 2004, he was Vice President of Finance of Hillsdown Holdings, PLC and Mumm and Perrier-Jouet, as a member of the C. Dean Metropoulos Group which managed the investments on behalf of Hicks Muse. From 1996 to 1999, Mike was Chief Financial Officer of International Home Foods, a consumer products company. He also served in a variety of management roles at Morningstar Dairy Group, International Cheese Company, Aquatec, Inc., and Karl Suss America. From 1979 to 1983, he was a Senior Auditor of Coopers and Lybrand, LLC. Mike received a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Vermont in 1979, where he was on the Dean’s List all semesters. |
Tony Beebe
Senior Advisor Tony Beebe serves as a Senior Advisor to Empeiria Capital Partners. Tony is an Executive Vice President at Blue Ocean Drilling, an offshore drilling company. Previously he was a Managing Director of Operations at Integrated Drilling Equipment Company (now IEC Systems), where his responsibilities included operations, engineering, supply chain, marketing, service and QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety and Environment). Before that, he worked at ExxonMobil as a Subject Matter Expert on drilling rigs, a Drilling Engineer and a Project Lead for rig upgrades, and supervised the drilling services contracts team in Nigeria. Tony consulted for several years as a project manager for building rigs and also worked as a technical advisor on drilling to operators, drilling contractors and hedge funds. He previously worked at Nabors International as a Project Manager and Operations Manager, and at Noble Drilling conducting Special Projects in Brazil. Tony started his career at Transocean and held positions in offshore, engineering, and project management. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the International Association of Drilling Contractors. Tony earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida and an M.B.A. from Rice University. |