Team

Robert Schwartz

Robert Schwartz, Managing Director
Lawrence Heslin, Managing Director
Frederic Buse, Managing Director
Andrew Vickery, Managing Director
Thomas Thompson, Managing Director
Stephen Anderman, Senior Advisor-Europe
Charles Axelrod, Senior Advisor
Gary Oakley, Jr., Senior Vice President

Robert W. Schwartz founded the firm in 1985 and is a Managing Director. Mr. Schwartz specializes in corporate planning, finance and development. Prior to starting the firm, he was a founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of a venture-funded high tech telecommunications company. In addition, he was the President and Chief Operating Officer of an American Stock Exchange-listed company that he took public in 1979. He was also the Chief Financial Officer of a major manufacturer of outdoor power equipment. His earlier experience was with KPMG as a management consultant and with IBM. Since starting SHG, he has worked with over 350 businesses utilizing his experience in finance and general management to achieve their objectives. Mr. Schwartz holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and has done graduate work at The University at Albany. He has served as a Director of a number of public, private and non-profit organizations; he currently serves on the boards of five corporations. He has been a frequent guest lecturer at local universities and professional organizations and teaches a graduate course in entrepreneurship at The University at Albany and Union Graduate University. In addition, he chairs the University at Albany Foundation's Council on Economic Outreach. rschwartz@shggroup.com

Lawrence R. Heslin is a Managing Director who specializes in financial planning, operations review and analysis, and business improvement. These skills were developed over a 30-year period at General Electric, a company at the forefront of restructurings and other productivity actions to improve profitability and worldwide competitiveness. At General Electric, he held 14 financial management positions in which he gained significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, auditing, financial planning and analysis, cost accounting and information systems management. His last two corporate staff positions were as the CFO of two divisions of GE, each with sales in the $150 million range. At SHG, Mr. Heslin has utilized his analytical skills and management experiences to help over 160 clients achieve their objectives. He is a 1956 honors graduate of Siena College where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. In 1962, he was the worldwide top graduate of GE's MBA program for finance personnel. In 1969, he completed five years in GE's CPA equivalency program, known for its in-depth operation reviews of GE's business units. Mr. Heslin is a Board member of a New York State manufacturer and distributor of electronics products. lheslin@shggroup.com

Frederic J. Buse is a Managing Director specializing in corporate and governmental finance. He has extensive experience in the insurance and banking industries as well as with technology based companies. Prior to joining SHG in 1995, he was the Director of Unemployment Insurance with the New York State Department of Labor. Previously, he managed a variety of assignments with The Lawrence Group, a mid-sized property and casualty insurance organization. Mr. Buse also was a senior manager with several high tech computer software start-up companies sponsored by AT&T and Eastman Kodak, and with Security New York State Corp., a Rochester, New York based bank holding company, now part of Bank of America. He has significant experience in health care policy, planning, and resource allocation. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia University where he completed graduate study in economics, banking and finance. He is a member of the Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters and has served as a Director of a variety of private companies and not-for-profit organizations. In addition, he teaches a graduate course in entrepreneurship at The University at Albany and Union Graduate University.fbuse@shggroup.com

Andrew C. Vickery is a Managing Director specializing in third party and private placement fundraising activities. He has deep experience in corporate, syndicated, structured, project and export finance, capital markets, and restructurings. He manages a significant number of investor relationships and provides corporate finance and restructuring advisory services to select clients. Since 2002, he has been Managing Partner of Berkshire Capital Partners, responsible for all aspects of this private equity/venture capital investment and financial advisory firm. Prior to 2002, Mr. Vickery was a Director/Vice President with the Investment Bank of JP Morgan Chase and Co. His last assignment with JP Morgan Chase was in Frankfurt, Germany heading a Corporate Finance team responsible for technology, media and telecom names. Prior to that he was based in Hong Kong and Singapore. He holds a Bachelors degree in economics from the University of Colorado. He remains Managing Partner of both Berkshire Capital Partners and SP Consumer Investors LLC and serves on a variety of corporate, charitable and advisory boards. avickery@shggroup.com

Thomas A. Thompson is a Managing Director who specializes in business and financial planning, industrial property valuation, business valuation, and litigation support. He developed these skills over a 30-year business career that includes experience in large international accounting and consulting firms, traditional manufacturing, software start-up ventures and high-tech hardware manufacturers. Prior to joining SHG in 2003, he served a wide range of public and private sector clients as vice president of MDI Associates, LLC, a management and valuation consulting firm. He began his career at Arthur Young & Company, now Ernst & Young. He then spent a decade with Garden Way Incorporated, where he filled an increasingly responsible series of financial accounting, planning and corporate development positions. He then joined Enable Software as CFO and, subsequently, Bitwise Designs, now Authentidate Holding Corporation, as COO. Mr. Thompson earned a bachelor's degree from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York and an MBA from Rutgers University. He is a licensed CPA and certified general real estate appraiser in New York State, and a member of several professional societies. thompson@shggroup.com

Stephen Anderman, Senior Advisor-Europe, has a background in the general management of small to medium sized businesses. He has actively pursued opportunities as Investor Director in a number of start-up and established high-tech manufacturing companies, and has over 40 years experience with his family's enterprise, The Anderman Group, in London, UK, which specializes in the international sales, marketing and distribution of technical industrial products. Chairman and Managing Director for the past 15 years, he managed the handover to the third generation and the strategic planning of future direction. Before joining Anderman & Company Ltd, Stephen was joint founder and Managing Director of Anderman & Ryder Ltd, a leading manufacturer of technical ceramic components, and oversaw the sale of the business to the Morgan Crucible Plc, a FTSE 100 listed corporation, where he also became Divisional Director of their Morgan Matroc Group. Stephen was for many years the Chairman of the British Industrial Ceramics Manufacturers Association, as well as the European Ceramics Society. Stephen is a Fellow of the British Institute of Materials and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from University of London. stephen@psaltd.org

Charles Axelrod, Senior Advisor, is a seasoned corporate finance attorney with more than 30 years of experience taking companies public and acquiring and selling companies. His concentration has been on all aspects of corporate and securities law and servicing public and private capital formation projects involving public offerings, private placements, venture capital transactions and merger and acquisition transactions. He also has dealt with SEC investigations and enforcement matters and advised and counseled boards of directors, audit committees and special board of director committees. Chick was formerly a shareholder in the corporate department of the New York office of Greenberg Traurig LLP, a 1650 attorney international law firm. He is a member a numerous committees and subcommittees related to his practice areas and has published many articles. He holds a BS in Economics and Labor Relations from New York University and a JD from Brooklyn Law School. Chick will focus his efforts on assisting SHG clients in M &A and capital formation strategies and execution. charlesaxelrod@optonline.net

Gary W. Oakley, Jr., Senior Vice President, joined SHG in 2008. He specializes in corporate finance and principal transactions. Mr. Oakley works with SHG clients to perform due diligence on potential investments and transaction advisory. He is also focused on principal investment in a select group of special situations primarily in renewable energy and entertainment. He served as a limited partner for the New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF), where he was involved in due diligence and investment of capital in transactions. In addition, he worked for First Albany Corporation where he participated in the financing of an entertainment company and helped arrange the financing for the principal private equity operation, FA Tech ventures with CRF. Most recently, he was an Associate at NobleHousePartners, LLC, a private equity firm, where he performed research, analysis and due diligence on companies and industries including healthcare, communications, ethanol production, cooling tower project finance, and software. Mr. Oakley holds a Bachelors degree in Economics from St. Lawrence University and a Masters in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Oakley sits on the Advisory Board of The Camelot Group, a secondary market private equity firm. goakley@shggroup.com