Meet Our Senior Advisors

Nathan Estruth is an Advisory Board Member and Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu. He is an experienced Fortune 20 global executive and board member skilled in innovation, strategy, and culture & talent development.

For 27 years at Procter & Gamble, living in both the U.S. and China, Nathan distinguished himself as a global leader in driving business growth via technology, business model, and organizational innovation.

As a Vice-President and Officer at P&G for over 12 years, Nathan led P&G’s corporate new business development and Corporate Innovation Fund. He also served for 4+ years as President & CEO of iMFLUX Inc., a software and manufacturing start-up in injection molding and tooling for P&G. His industry experience includes consumer products, services, health care, food/beverage, plastics, laundry & dry cleaning, retail, franchising, manufacturing, pet/animal health, R&D, media, and beauty care.

In addition to his work with ArkMalibu, Nathan serves as Chairman of Genesis Software Innovations (artificial intelligence and machine learning software for medical imaging), Vice-Chairman of KPS Global (cold chain solutions for supply chains), Smart Solve (sustainable paper), D Cubed (private equity), Level 6 Cybersecurity Inc., and Genesis Innovation Group (med device and healthcare technology venture capital). He has served on the Boards of Songbird (medical device), Agile Pursuits (Tide Dry Cleaners), Navigenics (genomics), and MDVIP (health care).

Nathan has spoken at Wharton’s Executive Leadership Program, Harvard Business School’s Entrepreneurship conference, Tsinghua University (Beijing), the Center for Corporate Innovation CTO Innovation and CEO Forums, and was a keynote speaker at the 2010 World Health Care Congress.

Nathan earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science International Relations from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and spent an additional year of graduate study at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Nathan and his wife Madonna have been married for 30 years and have four adult children. Their oldest son is 25 years old and has profound cerebral palsy. They are active in their church, public policy, politics, and numerous not-for-profit and missions organizations globally.

Dan Dungan is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu. Dan was the Executive Chairman at Springfield Electric Supply Company and previously served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Electrical Distributors.

Dan most recently served as Executive Chairman at Springfield Electric Supply Company, a family-owned wholesale distribution company where he worked for more than 38 years. The company supplies electrical and automation products to the industrial, OEM, and construction markets throughout the Midwest.

Dan was involved with the company’s growth strategy, including leading its mergers & acquisitions team and digital transformation strategy. The family sold its ownership in Springfield Electric Supply in August 2021.

Dan is currently Chairman of Ronk Electrical Industries, a family-owned, global manufacturer of electrical products specializing in manual and automatic transfer switches, metering products, and phase conversion.

Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from Texas Tech University. He enjoys serving on and leading many civic and professional boards in his local community and across the nation. Dan is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity Education Foundation and a longtime member of the Springfield YMCA Board of Trustees, spearheading the fundraising efforts for two new YMCA facilities in Central Illinois. He is also past Board Chairman of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance, an economic development corporation serving Central Illinois.

Dan served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Electrical Distributors where he co-led the association’s digital transformation strategy. He also served as a board member for the IMARK Group, a member-owned, member-governed group of independent distributors serving the electrical, utility, plumbing, and HVAC market segments.

ArkMalibu looks forward to leveraging Dan’s deep experience in the electrical distribution industry to maximize value for future one-time sellers.

Outside of work, Dan is a world-ranked amateur triathlete with podium finishes at 21 Ironman triathlons. He most recently returned to the game of golf after a 30-year absence. Dan and his wife Carolyn reside in Springfield, Illinois and Naples, Florida. Wherever the location, they enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren.

Cindy Davis is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu, and is a consumer-centric leader with a demonstrated history of driving results in the retail, hospitality, and entertainment industries by building strong businesses, strong brands, and strong omni-channel customer relationships.

Following an impressive career with C-Suite roles at Walmart, Disney, L Brands, and Bed Bath & Beyond, Cindy is now bringing her breadth of experience across industries to the boardroom. She served as an independent director on the boards of Destination Pet (a private equity-backed provider of pet care and veterinary services) and currently serves on the board of Airship (a venture capital-backed marketing technology firm that helps companies drive mobile app engagement).

Cindy honed her strategic thinking, creative problem-solving, and communications skills early in her career at Pizza Hut, Doubletree and Starwood Hotels, Harrah’s Casinos, and multiple global advertising agencies.

Cindy earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business from William & Mary, where she serves as chair of the Governance Committee for the Business School Board of Trustees, and a Master’s degree in International Marketing from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird).

Cindy is a champion for the advancement of women in business and, along with her husband Rob, works passionately to support our veterans and active-duty military.

Jim Ellerhorst is a Senior Advisor and Board Member at ArkMalibu. Jim retired from Deloitte after more than 37 years of firm-wide leadership and client service work where he was an advisor to public company CEOs, CFOs and board members.

While at Deloitte, Jim’s career included serving as a Global Partner for some of the firm’s largest and most complex clients, working across all services Deloitte offers: Audit, Financial Advisory, Tax, and Consulting for clients in Retail, Consumer Products, Financial Services, Healthcare, Media and State Sectors. This diverse experience allowed him to gain a broad perspective on some of the most compelling business issues of today, from IT strategy, digital and mobile, direct-to-consumer including go-to-market, ERP implementations, and IT/Cyber security, to IPO readiness, tax planning, M&A planning and integration, and innovation adoption. He worked with public company boards and their audit committees on governance matters, evaluating and implementing PCAOB audit standards and requirements, and was a registered lobbyist in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He also worked with middle market companies to raise capital in equity/debt markets through IPOs and security placements, as well as completing M&A transactions.

Additional highlights include: serving as marketplace leader and business unit CEO responsible for P&L, talent recruitment and development, merger integration, marketplace strategy, value to client, and client satisfaction across five states leading 600 practitioners; serving on the National Tax Leadership Committee responsible for the US vision, strategic direction, and operational performance for the US tax business exceeding $1B in revenue; and serving on the Management Committee for the Central Region responsible for operations and marketplace strategy and execution with oversight of $2.4B in revenue.

A CPA and attorney, Jim graduated from Miami University (Ohio) and Akron Law School. He has served on numerous boards for business and community organizations.

Kevin Jackson is a senior advisor to ArkMalibu and a subject matter expert in cybersecurity and information technology. Kevin is a highly experienced technologist, engineer, and startup founder with over 30 years of experience in information security, IT compliance management, information systems development, business intelligence program management, and technology research & development in multiple industries.

Kevin’s experience spans multiple engagements as a US Department of Defense and Intelligence Community contractor in support of classified compliance management, systems development, business intelligence, and enterprise architecture/security architecture projects. In the commercial realm, his experience includes cybersecurity and compliance leadership for organizations ranging from Fortune 1000 companies to family-owned enterprises. As a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Kevin has experience in the telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, insurance, entertainment, construction, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, marketing & advertising, and investment banking industries.

Kevin is the founder of Waypoint Cybersecurity, a cybersecurity strategy-as-a-service consultancy that offers information security and compliance management support to organizations of any size and in any industry. Additionally, he is the founder of Level 6 Cybersecurity, a venture capital-funded data analytics-driven online knowledge service offering the world’s first outcome-based cybersecurity tool set.

In addition, Kevin is a part-time adjunct professor within Villanova University’s College of Professional Studies teaching online classes in cybersecurity and business intelligence and is a former adjunct professor within the University of Cincinnati’s undergraduate information technology program. Kevin earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, an MBA focused on IT from Capella University, and is in the dissertation phase of his PhD studies in cybersecurity.

A happily married father of five children, Kevin is a pre-published author of children’s books, an avid golfer, public speaker, and a musician who enjoys playing guitar and drums.

Melissa Monich is a retired Vice President of Research & Development at Procter & Gamble. She led global, end-to-end research & development teams with laboratories in Asia, Europe, and the US. These roles included responsibility for $100-300 million yearly budgets and teams of 400-700 global employees. Her skills include innovation strategy, leading multifunctional teams, technical talent development, platform development, and productivity improvement/cost savings. She was recognized for her leadership in the advancement and retention of women in R&D with a CTO Pathfinder Award.

From 2006 through 2018, Melissa served as the Global VP of R&D for Hair Care, Pet Care, Snacks, Coffee, and finally Grooming and Global Devices. In each of those assignments, she was responsible for the R&D function and reported to the president of the business unit.

Melissa is an investor member at Queen City Angels, where she works with other members to identify and fund entrepreneurs. She loves to learn about new technologies and business models and to help people achieve their goals. She also serves on the Board of a privately held pet products company.

Melissa and her husband, Don Monich, have two children and three grandchildren. Melissa is honored to serve as the mayor of Wyoming, Ohio. She is Outreach Co-Chair at Ascension & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and volunteers weekly at Valley Interfaith Community Resource Center, a food and clothing pantry. Melissa is a chemical engineer by training and has been recognized as a University of Toledo Distinguished Alumna.

Mike retired from Procter & Gamble after 38 years of distinguished service as a senior executive with a proven track record of delivering breakthrough business results for multiple P&G businesses globally through excellent business acumen, strong strategic leadership, and broad and diverse technical expertise.

Mike was a Vice President and Officer at P&G for over 13 years and is a balanced executive with extensive experience in engineering, manufacturing, Innovation management, and Supply Chain leadership. His last position at P&G was Vice President, Product Supply, Global Grooming leading a large Global Product Supply organization delivering 12+% of P&G sales with 19 manufacturing sites and 5 R&D centers around the world leading Product Supply (Manufacturing, Procurement, Engineering, Supply Chain Management) for Gillette, Venus, Braun, and the Art of Shaving. Mike also has experience in a number of both large and small businesses with key leadership roles in P&G’s Food & Beverage, Health Care, Baby Care, Feminine Care, and Beauty Care businesses.

Mike’s experience spans all aspects of Product Supply and Innovation from the front-end of innovation through design and manufacturing to day to day supply chain management with success across many cultures, including multiple acquisitions and divestitures. Mike has a strong track record of developing people and leaders of multiple cultures and was well known as a strong sponsor of Diversity with experience in sponsoring multiple affinity groups including women globally and ethnic groups in the US and sponsorship of multiple STEM schools around the world.

Mike and his wife Kathy have three children and six wonderful grandchildren. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Chemical Engineering and has served on numerous non-profit boards.

Jacqueline Molnar is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu with a proven track record of leading companies through seemingly insurmountable problems to great success.  She has an extensive background in banking law, financial services, compliance, and transformation.

Throughout her 25-year career, she has become known for her sound legal and business advice, guiding and leading companies to great success and profitable growth.  While at various global law firms, including Gibson Dunn, Latham & Watkins and Herbert Smith, she worked with companies focused on financial services, payments, banking and FinTech.  During her tenure at Wells Fargo, TD Bank and Western Union, Jacqueline was known as a turn-around expert with the ability to solve seemingly intractable problems, transforming troubled elements of organizations into their strongest assets. Jacqueline resides in Denver, Colorado and spends significant time as a board director, including philanthropic work with the Denver Public Schools Foundation where she focuses on ensuring every student has the resources and opportunity to get the best education possible.  When not working, Jacqueline enjoys traveling with her family and sharing adventures in the outdoors, particularly SCUBA diving and hiking.

J. Wickliffe “Wick” Ach is a Senior Advisor to ArkMalibu. He is an experienced CEO and Executive, having led a large range of projects and a successful team as President and CEO of Hixson Inc. for 35 years.

Hixson ranks among the top 1% of Architectural / Engineering firms in North America, doing projects for corporate clients around the world. Wick first joined the Hixson team in 1977 and became CEO in 1983. Wick’s project expertise spans Specialized Offices for Workplace Optimization, Fashion Retail Department Stores, R&D Facilities, Industrial Processing Facilities, and others.

Culture and strategy are the foundation of the Hixson professional organization. During Wick’s leadership the firm grew to 125 associates across 16+ disciplines, instituted new continuous employment policies, and solidified its values and vision, shaping the culture that is still present at Hixson today.

Prior to his work with Hixson, Wick was also in the manufacturing and construction fields. He has always had a passion for creating unique value and taking pride in what he and his firm creates.

Wick has been a board member of multiple private and publicly traded organizations and also has contributed as a leader and board member in community not-for-profit organizations.

Wick is a graduate of Hillsdale College, having earned a B.A. in Business Administration and Economics. He and his wife have two adult children and two grandchildren with whom they enjoy spending time.

Mike Turnbull is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu and a subject matter expert in the healthcare/medical device field. He recently retired from Abbott Labs after thirty+ years in the medical device business. During Mike’s career, he held sales and senior sales management positions at both large corporations and several start-up companies. He was involved with many cutting-edge technologies including: one of the earliest cochlear implants, the Jarvik-7 total artificial heart, the first implantable wireless loop recorder (ECG monitor), regenerative tissue technology and the #1 implantable heart pump in the world.

While sales and sales management were the primary focus of his career, Mike’s roles expanded into strategic planning, marketing, reimbursement, regulatory and clinical affairs in his work with the startup companies. Mike highlights his experience as the Director of Sales & Clinical Services at Thoratec Corporation from April of 1997 to October of 2006 where, under his direction, the field organization grew from two individuals to 40+ and annual sales grew from less than $10M in 1996 to $200M+. He returned to Thoratec in 2014, moving into a senior sales management role. Thoratec was acquired in 2015 by St. Jude Medical for $3.3 billion, and in 2017, Abbott acquired St. Jude Medical for $25B.

Mike is a graduate of Miami University. He and his wife Cheryl live in Columbus, OH and are the proud parents of five children and have two Akitas, Koda and Kyra. In his free time, Mike enjoys playing golf, listening to music, attending the theatre, traveling, and enjoying fine wine.

John brings a broad set of industry experiences including serving a diversified portfolio of Deloitte’s most significant clients in the insurance and financial services, consumer and industrial products, food service, retail, and public sector industries. During his tenure at Deloitte John’s roles included Marketplace leader and business unit CEO responsible for the firm’s growth, quality, strategy, client satisfaction, and talent initiatives of the firm’s business. John worked across all functions of Audit, Tax, Business consulting, and financial advisory services and has a broad understanding of business issues.

As an Audit partner, John worked on many of the Firm’s most strategic clients across the globe and worked on numerous merger and acquisitions transactions serving one of the largest private equity firms in the world. John held numerous leadership roles at Deloitte including Audit Partner, Global leader for the Deloitte CFO Forum Program, Regional Insurance Practice Leader, Deloitte Board Advisory Council, and Central Region Executive Committee Member. As the Global CFO Forum’s leader and a Center for Board Effectiveness leader John was a senior advisor to CFO’s, CEO’s and Board Members focusing on the spectrum of key business issues.

John has had many leadership roles in the business and civic community. He has served The Columbus Chamber of Commerce as Chairman of the Board, The Ohio Business Roundtable, The Columbus Partnership, Fisher School of Business Deans Advisory Council. John has also been an active supporter and board member of numerous community organizations

John graduate from The Ohio State University and is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA and the Ohio Society of CPA’s

John M. Horack, Ph.D. is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu, and is also currently the inaugural holder of the Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy at The Ohio State University, with tenured, full-professor appointments in the College of Engineering’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department, and the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. A veteran of the spaceflight industry for more than 35 years, Dr. Horack is a globally-recognized leader in space-based research, flight hardware development, program management, and space policy.

Prior to joining Ohio State in 2016, he served for four years as Vice President of Teledyne Brown Engineering’s Space Systems group in Huntsville, Alabama, with responsibility for overseeing all government and commercial Space programs, including Science, International Space Station Payload Operations, Test Support, Flight Hardware, Launch Vehicle and Component Development, and Earth Imaging, including the deployment of the MUSES commercial imaging platform to the ISS and the installation of state-of-the-art Hyperspectral instrumentation for commercial remote sensing, and initiation of development of the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) for NASA’s Artemis Moon Rocket.

From 2009-2012 Dr. Horack served as Vice President of Research for UAHuntsville, where he had fiscal oversight for the entire University’s research enterprise, including 14 research centers and laboratories, growing annual research expenditures from ~$65M to nearly $100 million.

Dr. Horack had an impressive career at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) having achieved the level of Senior Executive Service. His last position at NASA was as manager of the Science and Mission Systems Office, where he was responsible for advanced, complex science and exploration research and nearly 400 civil service personnel and contractors. Projects in this organization included the Chandra X-Ray Telescope, New Frontiers Program Office and Pluto/New Horizons mission, calibration of the James Webb Space Telescope mirrors, development of the Oxygen Generation System and Water Recovery System on the International Space Station, Geostationary Lightning Mapper, and a range of propulsion technology development activities. He held several titles while at MSFC, including assistant director of the Space Transportation Programs and Projects Office, assistant director for science communications in the Space Sciences Laboratory, and assistant mission scientist for the Astro-2 payload that flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Dr. Horack also held the positions of gamma ray astrophysics research scientist; assembly, test, and calibration scientist for the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE); and resident scientist for spacecraft integration at TRW in Redondo Beach, CA, for assembly and test of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, launched in April 1991 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. During the flight of Gamma Ray Observatory, Dr. Horack made key scientific contributions to establish the cosmological distance scale of gamma-ray bursts, and the discovery of upward-moving gamma-ray flashes from terrestrial thunderstorms.

He began his NASA career in 1987 after graduating from Northwestern University with a B.A. in physics and astronomy. He earned a M.A. and Ph.D. in physics from UAHuntsville in 1992 and 1993, respectively. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 papers and conference presentations. Dr. Horack is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (UK), Associate Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, and is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and current board member of the American Astronautical Society. He previously served a term as Vice President for Technical Activities within the International Astronautical Federation, based in Paris, France. Dr. Horack has earned FAA licensed private pilot, instrument and commercial pilot ratings, as well as certification as an FAA flight instructor. Recognition for his significant contributions to our Nation’s heritage in spaceflight and exploration is acknowledged through his inclusion on the National Air and Space Museum’s Wall of Honor in Reston, VA. John is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, and resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife Kathy (Karg) Horack.

In February 2020, Dr. Horack summited Mt. Kilimanjaro with a group of disabled US combat veterans, members of the waterboys.org non-profit comprised of active and former players from the National Football League, and clean-water advocates, to bring sustainable fresh water solutions to villages and schools in Tanzania as part of Ohio State University’s Global Water Institute activities.

Terri Alpert began her career at Morgan Stanley, following her graduation from Brown University with a degree in Physics.  At Morgan Stanley, she was responsible for the development of the front and back-office software for the Interest Rate and Currency Swaps and Foreign Exchange business units. 

At the age of 29, Terri left Morgan Stanley on maternity leave and used this time to sew her entrepreneurial oats.  Her only goal for her first start-up was to learn and so she limited herself to an initial $10,000 investment and wanted to see if she could create a “real” company from sweat alone.  This goal led her to create an early direct-to-consumer company, Professional Cutlery Direct, which she grew solely from internally generated cash flow to over $10 million in revenues, reaching #131 on the Inc 500 list in 1999. 

Terri describes the Professional Cutlery Direct period as excellence in execution with an entirely flawed business model.  Her original criteria led her to create something that fundamentally wasn’t protectable.  While her financial statements showed record revenue and profits, the underlying metrics made clear the company would be unsustainable in the long term.  Yet, by this point, she had purchased a 30,000 sf headquarters, built a management team, and had 50 or so employees to protect Starting again with a blank sheet of paper, she turned the attributes of the current business on its head, to create a criteria for a second direct-to-consumer brand with emotional rather than functional meaning, proprietary products with pricing power, infinite potential for freshness to maximize life time value, and a large but underserved market.  From this criteria, Uno Alla Volta was born. 

Dramatic changes in externalities, as well as self-created obstacles led Terri to have to build, tear down, and rebuild multiple times.  Along the way, she had to develop a dramatically different team and culture and change herself into a very different CEO than the one she was in the early days.  In 2019, Terri successfully monetized her “maternity leave project” just as her first daughter was getting married.  In the time since, she has been serving as an advisor to numerous startups.  She also spent two years as an executive partner with a private equity firm.  She is deeply involved in the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Israel’s Negev region and Ben Gurion University, the region’s institutional anchor.  She serves on both the Board of Governors of the institution, and as Vice Chairman of the US based non-profit, Americans for Ben Gurion University.  Terri has considerable transaction experience, having run three processes (2000, 2008, 2019) for her own companies.  She also served as an informal advisor and sounding board for her family’s business which completed five transactions between the years of 1987 and 2008. Terri has a vast range of sector interests. She loves nothing more than being a connector of both people and ideas and taking lessons learned from one area or sector and applying them to another.  With any business, she focuses first on understanding its economic engine, and assessing the quality of its flywheel.

Carsten Fredholm is a senior advisor to ArkMalibu. He retired at the end of 2020 from Nestlé after a long career within the Global FMCG industry, where he held various CEO, Commercial and Strategic roles primarily in the Food & Beverage space. During his career, he worked for companies like Nestlé, Mars, Findus (private equity), and is currently a board member and senior advisor for various companies in Europe.

In Carsten’s last assignment at Nestlé, he worked as a Strategic Board Advisor focusing on future competitive strategies based on the challenges facing global FMCG companies. Three months were spent with VCs and start-ups in Silicon Valley and Cincinnati, US.

Prior to this, Carsten was a Senior Vice President for eight years heading up the Global coffee business at Nestlé based at the Global Headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland. The job focused on Strategies, R&D, Consumer Insight, Branding, and People Development. Coffee is the biggest category for Nestlé and is truly global with interesting and complex business models from “bean to cup.” With more than 100 travel days per year, this position gave Carsten a solid insight into today’s business challenges from the 180 markets in which Nestlé is selling its well-known brands like Nescafé and Nespresso.

Previous positions include five years as CEO for Nestlé in the Nordic Region (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland), three years as Business Executive Manager in Germany and five years as CEO Northern Europe for Findus (private equity), and various sales & marketing functions with Mars Inc.

The various positions with international/global insight have given Carsten a solid insight into the F&B industry, enabling him to guide and build new disruptive strategies in a very dynamic industry where new business models and speed are becoming more important than ever.

Carsten holds a degree from The Danish Export Institute (Diploma in International Marketing & Export (EE)). In addition, he holds diplomas from the Program for Executive Development (PED) at IMD, Lausanne in Switzerland, and the Global Leadership Program and the Financial Executive Seminar from London Business School.

Today, Carsten is a board member at Foster Clark in Malta (F&B) and Danish Crown Foods in Denmark (biggest meat producer in Europe) while in parallel working as a Deal Advisor for Advent International (global private equity firm) in London.

Carsten and his wife Jette are Danish citizens and have been married for 32 years. They live in Zug, Switzerland, and have raised three sons who all earned a master’s degree: Alexander lives in Copenhagen and works as a Global Commercial Lead at Novozymes; Philip is based in London and works as a Management Consultant for Publicis Sapient; Joachim is an entrepreneur in Copenhagen/Stockholm having raised his first round of investment.

Kenton is currently Dean of the School of Business and Media at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, one of Canada’s premier polytechnics. His career has spanned a variety of industries ranging from financial services and industrial equipment to consumer goods, entertainment and digital media. He has served as President of New Media BC, CEO of Stride Rite’s Robeez Footwear division and Chief Marketing Officer for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers and Vancity, Canada’s largest credit union.

Before moving to Vancouver, Kenton was President of Universal Studios Online, Corporate Chief Marketing Officer for Universal Studios, and Executive Vice President for Vivendi’s portfolio of new media companies. His career also includes several years at the Walt Disney Company serving as a Vice President in Disney’s Internet Group, Disney Interactive and Walt Disney Imagineering where he led international development and coordinated the activities of a multi-disciplinary team that resulted in approval to build Hong Kong Disneyland. Before Disney, Kenton served in corporate planning and marketing roles at Nestlé USA and Clorox.

Over the years, Kenton has taught in corporate training programs and universities including 13 years as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. He has also addressed conferences in Europe, Canada and the U.S. on topics ranging from revitalizing businesses to building memorable branded experiences.

Away from his work responsibilities, Kenton dedicates time to community organizations. He has served on the Board of Directors for the United Way BC, Junior Achievement BC and the Los Angeles Food Bank.

Kenton earned his undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Kenton and his wife Elly live in Vancouver, British Columbia. Along with their son and daughter, they enjoy travel, musical theater, and their three little dogs.

Dr. Russell Vester is a Senior Advisor to ArkMalibu and is a practicing cardiothoracic surgeon with over thirty years’ experience. Throughout his career, he has served in many leadership roles. Four years after joining Cardiac, Vascular and Thoracic Surgeons, Inc. in Cincinnati, he was elected Board Chair and CEO. Over the next fifteen years, he grew the practice to be the dominant supplier of cardiac, vascular and thoracic surgical services for southwestern Ohio. During this same period, he served as Medical Director of the cardiovascular service line of The Health Alliance, as well as helped Catholic Healthcare Partners design and implement three new open heart programs in the Cincinnati area. He was also the sole vector for the sale of The Jewish Hospital to Mercy Health, Inc.

Dr. Vester has served in the past as Chief of Staff, Chair of the Department of Surgery and Director of the surgical residency program at The Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati. He has maintained close affiliation with the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and redesigned their cardiac surgical program in the early 2000’s. He remains an avid teacher and advocate for surgical residents at The Jewish Hospital and for cardiac surgical fellows from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Charitable pursuits have been a strong focus for Dr. Vester. He has served on the board of the Cincinnati chapter of the American Heart Association for over twenty years, including four consecutive two-year terms as President. Dr Vester has also served on the Cincinnati Board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and remains a medical advisor for them. He and a business partner have recently founded a new food business whose goal is to make a meaningful dent in areas of food insecurity.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Davidson College for which he was a North Carolina Fellow, his M.D. degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, completed his general surgical residency at Boston University Medical Center, also completed a fellowship in cardiac, vascular and thoracic surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and finally wrapped up his surgical training with a fellowship in pediatric congenital heart disease at Boston Children’s Hospital of Harvard University.

Dr. Vester was a driving instructor for his regional club of the Porsche Club of America for a decade, raced with PCA for a few years, and participated in the One Lap of America race six times, winning his class once. If he can’t be driving on a track during his time off, he would rather be fly fishing with friends or skiing.

Dr. Vester’s favorite thing in the world is his family. He has been happily married to the same astonishingly tolerant woman for 32 years and has two daughters and a son. It is his family that provides him with the constant desire to achieve and succeed.

Kerry Olin is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu.  He is a broadly experienced global executive whose career has spanned 40 years, at Procter & Gamble and Microsoft, where he recently retired as vice president and company officer in Human Resources.

For the past 13 years, Kerry served on Microsoft’s HR executive leadership team, where he led HR Services and served as principal architect of the company’s HR operating model, that enabled the company to scale from 80,000 employees to 220,000 in under a decade.  During this period, Kerry also led HR for Microsoft’s largest P&L, helping to guide the organization through generational product and business model transformation to the cloud.

Kerry helped shape and enable innovation in people practices at Microsoft, in areas such as employee services, executive talent management and development, employee listening systems, performance management, compensation and benefits, hybrid work, and HR regulatory compliance.  In addition to his operating experience, he has been a trusted business partner and advisor to top executives and their teams on issues such as culture change, organization performance, leadership effectiveness, and merger integration.

At P&G, Kerry began his career in Marketing and then moved to Human Resources, serving as HR leader for both the Global New Business Development unit and for P&G’s Marketing organization.

Kerry has shared his expertise and experience with HR and business leaders across industries and has been a featured speaker on subjects such as leadership effectiveness, culture change, HR digital transformation and AI, and employee services and operations.  He has also served on several national and community boards.

Kerry is a graduate of Michigan State University.  He and Kathy, his wife of 36 years, reside in Dallas.  Their two married kids, along with three grandchildren and one more on the way, also live in the DFW area.

Stefano Mezzabotta is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu. Stefano is an experienced global executive who has deployed his leadership and technical capabilities in every region and culture worldwide. Stefano has served as CIO to two global corporations, Procter & Gamble and Bridgestone and has been in the Leadership Teams of several companies subject to M&A activity. His main focus is on the strategic leverage of technology and helping companies with their digital transformation throughout the entire value chain.

Stefano led multiple organizations spanning sizes and locations. He loves to train and develop people to change the way IT works within companies. Stefano works with cost, revenue and privacy/cyber security implications in mind. His ultimate goal is to leverage technology to improve customer satisfaction. Stefano’s leadership and creative thinking looks for solutions to complex problems. He has a very pragmatic vision, introducing technology that truly makes a business difference keeping the customer experience in mind.

Stefano has worked in every part of a corporation and mastered the exponential evolution of technology from Infrastructure and Computing to ‘pervasive’ technology, IoT / Virtual Reality and ‘predictive analytics’, presently. While introducing the latest capabilities he always keeps a foot on the ground identifying the required ‘fundamentals’ to put in place first.

During his time in major corporations Stefano headed Global Leadership teams operating in multi-sector and multi-category environments, leading CIOs and Shared Services Executives with bold strategies and objectives. He also led the integrations and transitions that accompanied multiple M&A activities for world famous brands like Gillette-Braun (Grooming and Appliances) Iams/Eukanuba (Pet Food), Max Factor (Cosmetics), Wella (Salon Professional), Pampers (paper), Folgers (coffee), Teva-Richardson Vicks (OTC/Pharma).
Stefano has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ancona University (Italy), where he also studied Computer Science and Economics. Stefano currently lives in Cincinnati with his wife Antonella, two daughters and dog.

Todd Gardner is a Senior Advisor to ArkMalibu and a subject matter expert in the software-as-a-service, (SaaS) industry. Todd was the founder and CEO of SaaS Capital, the first and largest specialty lender focused on SaaS companies.

Todd launched SaaS Capital in 2006 and over the next 14 years funded over 65 SaaS companies in the US and Europe. As the company founder, Todd designed a unique underwriting model and loan structure that better served the growth capital needs of SaaS businesses while mitigating risk for investors. Each of SaaS Capital’s three investment funds was oversubscribed, and each delivered either top decile or top quartile returns with zero underwriting losses.

As a thought leader in the space, Todd published numerous articles on the SaaS business model, including: “What is Your SaaS Company Worth?”, and “How Do Top Performing SaaS Companies Spend Their Money?” In addition, Todd created and launched the largest survey of private SaaS businesses in the world, and is a frequent speaker at SaaS conferences.

Todd sold his ownership in SaaS Capital in April of 2020 and now advises high-growth SaaS businesses in the US and Europe. Prior to SaaS Capital, Todd was a partner at Blue Chip Venture Company for ten years where he focused on investing in enterprise software businesses and assisting in their growth as a board member. As was the case at SaaS Capital, all of Todd’s software investments at Blue Chip generated positive returns for investors.

Prior to Blue Chip, Todd was Manager at Deloitte Consulting where he focused on large-scale software deployments. He started his professional career at PNC Bank as a Commercial Loan Officer focused on leveraged buyouts and commercial leasing.

Todd graduated Cum Laude from DePauw University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and received his Master’s in Business Administration with honors from Indiana’s Kelly School of Business. In his free time, Todd enjoys spending time with family and friends playing golf, tennis, swimming, and chess.

Doug Brodman is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu. An executive with Miller Brewing Company and SABMiller for 17 years, Doug Brodman is known for growing businesses facing stalled growth or in mature markets, and for delivering company-leading profits, driving top-line growth, and implementing insight-based decision-making.

In his most recent position as Vice President, Strategy for Latin America, Doug led strategy development for SABMiller’s largest and most profitable region, where he focused on portfolio development, redefining the commercial strategy, and developing insights and other tools to improve execution and management. Previously, Doug was Commercial Director, Europe, where he created a “Winning in Europe” strategy that centralized the commercial sales and marketing strategy across ten independent national business units facing limited growth.

Earlier, Doug served as Chief Executive, Managing Director, and Chairman of the Board of Plzensky Prazdroj, the largest brewer in the Czech Republic. Doug strengthened the company’s leadership position by creating a plan tied to investing in and building the core beer brands and accelerating premium brands. Doug moved the company from a direct distribution and selling model to channel selling, and outsourced distribution to optimize cost and improve return on investment.

Doug also served on the executive committee and board of Miller Brewing Company as Senior Vice President while leading the Sales & Distribution functions at Miller. He developed and led the strategic direction of Miller Brewing Company Sales and worked on the divesture of Miller and further integration of the business after its acquisition by SABMiller. Before joining Miller, Doug held sales, marketing, and P&L roles at both the Stroh Brewery Company in Detroit, and Heineken USA in New York.

Currently, Doug is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tamiami Angel Investment Fund in Naples, Florida which invest in innovative start-ups. Doug is a Board Member of VitalVio, a healthcare solutions company based in Troy, NY, Board Director of Revibe Technologies, a wearable device company for managing ADHD and the Melanoma Research Foundation (non-profit) in Washington DC. Doug earned a Bachelor of Science in Management from St. John’s University and has an MBA from Hofstra University. He lives in Bonita Springs, Florida, with his wife Terry.

Mike Fay is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu, and a subject matter expert in Financial Services, and Technology.  During his 30-year career, Mike served as a Principal of Deloitte & Touche where, amongst other roles, he led Deloitte’s Strategic Risk Practice for the Financial Services and Technology industries.  Mike also served as an executive at one of the world’s largest financial institutions, and as a senior risk professional at major technology and fintech companies.  

Mike has a B.S. in Finance, and an MBA with a concentration in Accounting from Bentley University.  Through his experience and education, Mike has developed expertise in strategic development, organizational design and implementation, risk management, and operational execution. 

Mike resides in Massachusetts and New Hampshire with his wife Julie.  He is an avid hockey player with a strong passion for family, community, and travel.

David brings extensive expertise in water management, movement, and treatment infrastructure construction. With a distinguished career in specialty construction and industrial services, David has consistently driven value through strategic leadership, operational excellence, and business growth initiatives.

David’s career spans over three decades, including more than 30 years at Layne, a leading water management company, where he rose from Sales Engineer to Senior Vice President of Operations, overseeing four divisions with a combined revenue of $600 million. He later served as CEO of Griffin Dewatering, a private equity-backed specialty contractor, where he defined the company’s brand, enhanced operational efficiencies, and led the organization through a successful recapitalization. His expertise also includes serving as COO of a pre-IPO infrastructure services company, focusing on strategic acquisitions and business expansion.

Currently, David is the Vice President of Operations and Site Services at ZTERS, a nationwide provider of essential construction and event services. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a keen ability to develop high-performing teams, implement data-driven decision-making, and drive sustainable growth.

Beyond his professional achievements, David is deeply engaged in his community, leading small groups and volunteer initiatives through his local church. He and his wife enjoy spending time with their three grown daughters and their growing family of grandchildren.

Carl Boyd is a Senior Advisor at ArkMalibu with a broad background in financial services and banking. Prior to joining ArkMalibu, Carl had a 30-year corporate transaction banking career working for several large financial institutions based in Los Angeles.

During his career, Carl spent over 20 years at MUFG Union Bank, a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), a diverse global bank and one of the largest financial institutions in the world.

Broadly over the course of his career, Carl has worked on hundreds of transactions with corporations, non-profit organizations, and public agencies with their various merger, debt, investment, and other financial transactions. Working closely with CFOs, corporate officers, attorneys, and other advisors, he has experience executing transactions for organizations of all sizes from small local companies to large global corporations.

Carl’s broad financial services background includes working with team members to provide various services to corporate clients including general banking services, asset management, corporate loans and leasing, project finance, trusts, escrows, investment products, retirement plans, custody, and securities lending, trade finance, letters of credit, insurance, foreign exchange, derivatives, and swaps.

Specifically, regarding M&A transactions, Carl has extensive experience with transactions for both buyer and seller clients. Carl has worked with various capital management companies, private equity firms, and corporate law firms on M&A transactions. Throughout his career, Carl has worked with client transactions in practically all industries.

Carl received his BA in Business from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and his MBA in Finance from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He has also received the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation from the American College of Financial Services.

Carl and his wife Imelda reside in the Tampa Bay area. They have been married since 1995 and enjoy spending time outdoors, at the beach, fishing, and playing pickleball.

As a Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer, and President of CARE Counseling, John has led CARE into becoming a leader of excellence in the mental health field and championed CARE’s growth from 1 to 10 locations, 2 to 350 employees within 10 years culminating in a sale to Optum. Hutchinson’s visionary leadership has cultivated an environment where clinicians thrive, ensuring the delivery of the best possible client experiences. Through his remarkable contributions to the field, in 2023 John was recognized as a “Health Care Hero” by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, for putting innovation, care, dedication, and compassion to work to improve the human condition. Hutchinson also serves as the Chairman of the Board for CARE More, a charitable initiative with the purpose of creating systemic change within the mental health community. Additionally, Hutchinson currently serves as a board member with YPO, H20 for Life, Nexus Wound Care, & Epiforge. 

John Hutchinson also founded, owns and/or leads several other organizations including Hutchinson Enterprises, a holding company which has completed over $75 Million in real estate transactions in the past 3 years, Ryzo Commercial Real Estate, Summit Realty, and Skywalker Structures.  Hutchinson is an active early-stage investor in a variety of manners including venture funds, private equity groups, and direct investing.  Leveraging his expertise in consumer behavior, healthcare, real estate and finance also creates a wide-variety of personal interest, with his current favorite being the operation of a tiny hosta farm with his daughters Charlotte (10) and Sophia (8) who are becoming increasingly fluent with financial statements.  Many of John’s businesses are run jointly with the love of his life, Dr. Andrea Hutchinson who is a Psychologist, the world’s best mom, and of course an award-winning business leader.

Nick Leibold has over 15 years of experience across private equity, investment banking, equity research, and corporate operations. Currently serving as CFO and Executive Director of Hoxworth, the nation’s oldest independent blood center, Nick leads all business and operating functions, driving financial turnaround and strategic growth in a newly created leadership role.

Previously, Nick served as co-CEO of a pharmaceutical distributor, as well as leading the acquisition and successful exit of a global biobank.

Nick began his career at J.P. Morgan in healthcare investment banking and equity research, raising capital and covering more than 35 public companies. He also held early roles in corporate finance within a top-tier private equity-backed TMT portfolio company.

Nick holds an MBA from NYU Stern and a B.S. in Finance from Miami University. He is an active community leader and YPO member, with a passion for civic involvement, mentorship, and improving access to healthcare. When not chasing his two young kids around, interests include travel, skiing, live music, and golf.

ArkMalibu is pleased to announce that ZW Koo has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor, bringing over three decades of global experience in investment banking, private equity, and venture creation.

ZW currently serves as Managing Partner of Boston Healthcare Ventures (BHV), where he sponsors and advises emerging companies in healthcare, education, and technology. BHV also provides cross-border financial and business development advisory services to growth-stage ventures across the U.S. and Asia.

Throughout his career, ZW has been deeply involved in launching, funding, and scaling new ventures across multiple sectors, including green technology, energy, plastics recycling, and smart transportation. He previously served as President and CEO of American Higher Education International (AHEd), a venture incubation company that played a key role in establishing New York University’s branch campus in Abu Dhabi. Under his leadership, AHEd founded and operated subsidiaries focused on nurse and English language training, expanding to over 25 centers across India.

Earlier in his career, ZW co-founded and served as Managing Partner of Cambridge Capital Partners (CCPL) in Seoul, Korea—an M&A and restructuring advisory firm formed in joint venture with The Sakura Bank of Japan and serving as the local partner for The Blackstone Group. CCPL played a vital role in Korea’s post-financial-crisis restructuring efforts, advising major corporations and acting as a court-appointed trustee.

Prior to founding CCPL, ZW was Managing Director at BT Wolfensohn, where he worked closely with The Hon. James D. Wolfensohn and The Hon. Paul A. Volcker. Over more than 14 years, he advised Fortune 500 companies and high-growth clients on M&A, IPOs, joint ventures, and strategic alliances, completing more than $30 billion in transactions globally. His clients included American Express, Marriott, Daimler-Benz, Ford, Samsung, and POSCO, among others.

ZW began his career as a systems consultant at Logica, Inc. and in marketing and sales with Procter & Gamble AG in Switzerland. He also served in the Republic of Korea Army.

He holds A.B. (Engineering and Applied Sciences), S.M. (Applied Mathematics), and M.B.A. degrees from Harvard University. ZW is fluent in Spanish and Korean and conversational in Mandarin. Outside of work, he is a private pilot, avid cyclist and golfer, and active member of the Harvard Club of New York.

Dr. Andrea Klemes is a recognized medical expert with extensive experience in healthcare as a practicing Endocrinologist and Internist, a leader in drug development and commercialization at Procter & Gamble and chief medical officer at MDVIP.  This has given her the ability to lead and guide organizations in this complex, ever-changing healthcare sector. As the Chief Medical Officer of MDVIP, she has led the medical strategy of the company to improve the lives of physicians and medical outcomes of patients.

Dr Klemes has a unique combination of experiences and expertise in pharmaceutical research, primary care innovation, compliance, managing large groups of physicians, determining product positioning and roll out strategies, business development, technology in healthcare and the ability to commercialize medical concepts to drive sales. Her firsthand clinical experience and years in the C-suite have given her an incredible advantage in influencing across a full breadth of stakeholder groups including physicians, patients, government, media, insurance and in decision-making and identifying strategic and organic growth initiatives.

Dr Klemes has served multiple boards in her tenure at MDVIP. She has been the expert medical resource for the leadership of Procter & Gamble as well as the private equity firms and independent board members of MDVIP.  During COVID she was sought out by many boards as that expert to advise on the ever-changing information and regulations and how to meet them and keep their employees safe.  As Chief of Medicine of a private hospital and an executive committee member at a large hospital she had to work with the boards to develop strategies to grow the hospital and compete in the marketplace.

Her years of being in the C-suite of a company owned by several private equity firms has given her the experience of 3 very successful transactions and expertise in due diligence and crafting the story.

Dr Klemes currently serves as an advisor to her alma mater, the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine and is a member of the Longevity Playbook scientific advisory board. She was an advisor to the CEO of a healthcare start up focusing on inflammation and technology.  In this role she advised on clinical content and was involved in developing the strategy and tactics to pitch investors to get the company funded.

Dr Klemes received her medical degree from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and did her Endocrine Fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia. She has been a consultant, has a medical media presence and is a frequent lecturer on the national stage. She has completed broad clinical research in concierge medicine, diabetes and osteoporosis and has published over 40 articles and abstracts.

ArkMalibu is pleased to announce that Karen Bentlage has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor, bringing over 35 years of entrepreneurial experience and executive leadership across the beauty, franchising, and business advisory sectors.

Karen is a seasoned operator with a proven track record of founding, scaling, and exiting successful businesses. She founded and led a beauty importing and distribution company for 28 years, growing it into the third-largest in its industry prior to a successful exit. Concurrently, she and her husband secured regional development rights for European Wax Center (EWC) across New England and much of New York. Under their leadership, the franchise expanded to over 85 locations, ultimately resulting in a sale to private equity in 2020.

Currently, Karen serves as a Professional EOS® Implementer, advising entrepreneurial leadership teams on strategic vision, operational discipline, and organizational health. She brings deep operational insight, a people-centric leadership philosophy, and extensive experience navigating growth, transition, and value creation. In addition to her advisory work, she serves on several nonprofit and advisory boards, supporting initiatives that promote entrepreneurship and community development.

Karen holds a deep passion for empowering business leaders and building purpose-driven teams.

She and her husband of 33 years, Antonius (“Twan”), split their time between Connecticut, New Hampshire, and the Netherlands. They are proud parents to Dillon and Josie, and enjoy travel, community engagement, and time on the lake with family and friends.

Brian D. Jones has over 35 years of experience in the financial services sector. Since 2005, he has been CEO and Co-Founder at BankCap, a private equity, investment, and advisory firm specializing in banks and financial services. Simultaneously, from 2016 to 2021, Mr. Jones operated in the role of Co-President and Global Head of Research for a multi-billion-dollar family office equity hedge fund. Earlier in his career, Mr. Jones was EVP at a publicly traded fintech company, now part of Fiserv. His foundational experience spans 13 years on Wall Street, where he progressed in investment banking at Bear Stearns, culminating in his appointment as Senior Managing Director in its Financial Institutions Group.

Brian has served on the boards of directors of several public companies, including two U.S. banks and South Korea’s Hyundai Mobis ($20 billion market cap). He has also been a director on the boards of multiple privately held banks as well as non-profit organizations.

In 2006, Brian and his wife Pam established the JFRH Foundation, a private charitable organization. They are heartily involved in grantmaking activity and supporting grantee partners with care and prayer.

Mr. Jones is an active global member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), where he has held positions of Chapter Chair, Banking Network Chair, and Private Equity Network Chair. A graduate of Baylor University, he maintains the designations of CPA and CGMA.

Brian and Pam, married for 35 years, are proud parents to six children, ages 31 to 13. They have four grandchildren, with hopes for many more. They recently relocated back to Texas after nearly a decade in New York City.