ESG & Governance

Mr. Cahill has been our Chairman since 2014 and Hillman’s President and Chief Executive Officer since 2019. Prior to joining Hillman, Mr. Cahill was a Managing Director of CCMP from July 2014 to July 2019 and was a member of CCMP’s Investment Committee and previously was an Executive Adviser of CCMP from March 2013. Mr. Cahill served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Oreck, the manufacturer of upright vacuums and cleaning products, from May 2010 until December 2012. Prior to joining Oreck, Mr. Cahill served for eight years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Doane Pet Care Company, a private label manufacturer of pet food and former CCMP portfolio company, through to its sale to MARS Inc. in 2006. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Cahill served as president of Mars Petcare U.S. Prior to joining Doane in 1997, Mr. Cahill spent 13 years at Olin Corporation, a diversified manufacturer of metal and chemicals, where he served in a variety of managerial and executive roles. Mr. Cahill serves as a Board Member for Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee and the Visitor Board at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. In January 2009, Mr. Cahill was appointed as an Adviser to Mars Incorporated. Mr. Cahill previously served as a director of Banfield Pet Hospital from 2006 to 2016, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (Nasdaq: OLLI) from 2013 to 2016, Jamieson Laboratories from 2014 to 2017, Founder Sport Group from 2016 to 2019, and Shoes for Crews from 2015 to 2019. Mr. Cahill serves as the Chairman of our board of directors due to his financial, investment, and extensive management experience.

Mr. O’Leary is an independent consultant who served as President and CEO of Edgen Murray Corporation from 2003 to 2021. He was appointed Chairman of the board of Edgen Murray in 2006. He began at Edgen Murray, a distributor for energy infrastructure components, specialized oil and gas parts and equipment, and its predecessor companies in 2003, guiding a management buyout that grew the company through a series of acquisitions and growth initiatives. The company went public in May 2012 and was acquired in 2013 by Sumitomo Corporation. Mr. O'Leary currently serves on the board of Vitesse Energy, Inc. (NYSE: VTS), and has been designated as Lead Director, since 2023, and Custom Ecology, Inc. since 2021. Additionally, he served as an independent director on the board of Sprint Industrial from 2017 to 2019. Mr. O’Leary has a long career in leadership positions in manufacturing and distribution, principally in the oil and gas and energy infrastructure markets. Mr. O’Leary was selected to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive management, operational, investment, and business experience.

Ms. Dowling has been an innovation and strategy consultant advising corporations on partnerships, M&A activity, and new product initiatives since 2017. Her recent clients include Epiq, where she focused on data privacy products and acquisitions, and Pitney Bowes, where she focused on mobile location data and ecommerce. While consulting at Pitney Bowes, Ms. Dowling led both the business strategy for the Newgistics acquisition, as well as the post-merger integration. She is also the CEO/Founder of Two Hudson Ventures, investing in start-ups and real estate. Earlier in her career, Ms. Dowling was a VP of Business Development at MaMaMedia, a digital media startup, and Director of Business Development at Hearst New Media. In addition, she worked as a market research analyst at Tontine Partners. Ms. Dowling began her career as an analyst and associate at Bankers Trust. She was Executive Director of Harvard Business School Alumni Angels NY, as well as Co-Chair of HBSCNY Entrepreneurship. Ms. Dowling was selected to serve on our board of directors due to her experience in digital marketing, e-commerce, data and analytics, innovation, new business development, and M&A.

Ms. Gendron was formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Markel Corporation, having been appointed in 2023.  Previously, Ms. Gendron had been the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Jefferies from 2014 to 2023. From 2011 to 2014, Ms. Gendron was the Vice President and Controller of Gannett Co., Inc., a NYSE listed international media and marketing solutions company and performed the duties of Chief Accounting Officer. Previously, Ms. Gendron was Vice President and Controller at NII Holdings, Inc., a mobile communication services company, which she joined as its Finance Director in 1998.  Ms. Gendron was selected to serve on our board of directors due to her financial and business experience.

Ms. Honda is the Chief Administrative Officer for Barracuda Networks, a cybersecurity and data protection company, which she joined in 2012. Ms. Honda currently serves on the Board of Directors of Lucidworks, Inc., a provider of next- generation AI-powered search applications, and serves on the Board of Directors of Java Joy, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing meaningful employment for adults with disabilities. Ms. Honda brings to our board over 25 years of experience as an executive working for Fortune 50, private, and mid-size public companies in the areas of software engineering, quality assurance, information systems, human resources, channel marketing, financial services, and real estate. Most recently, her expertise was instrumental in completing the acquisition of Barracuda by a private equity firm in 2022. Ms. Honda was recognized as one of the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 100 Women of Influence and received the General Counsel Impact Award from The Recorder, an ALM publication, in 2013 for her leadership and guidance on Barracuda Networks’ IPO. Ms. Honda is an Alumnae of the DirectWomen Board Institute Program (2019). Ms. Honda holds a JD from Santa Clara University School of Law and Bachelor of Science degrees in Applied Math/Computer Science and Industrial Management from Carnegie Mellon.

Mr. Jagdfeld has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Generac Power Systems, Inc. since September 2008 and a director of Generac since November 2006 (NYSE: GNRC). Mr. Jagdfeld began his career at Generac in the finance department in 1994 and became Generac’s Chief Financial Officer in 2002. In 2007, he was appointed President and was responsible for sales, marketing, engineering, and product development. Prior to joining Generac, Mr. Jagdfeld worked in the audit practice of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin office of Deloitte & Touche from 1993 to 1994. Mr. Jagdfeld was selected to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive management and financial experience.

Dr. Owens has been the executive director of The Wond'ry, Vanderbilt University's center for creativity, innovation, design, and making since 2019.  He is also Professor of the Practice of Innovation at the Vanderbilt Graduate School of Management where he has taught since 1998.  Dr. Owens has significant industry experience, having served as an independent management consultant for numerous Fortune 100 companies since 1998 and having served as CEO of Griffin Technologies, a consumer products company, from 2017 to 2018.  Dr. Owens was selected to serve on our board of directors due to his financial and business experience.

Mr. Swygert has been the President, Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: OLLI) since December 2019. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Swygert was Ollie’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since January 2018. Mr. Swygert joined Ollie’s in March 2004 as Chief Financial Officer and was later promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2011. Mr. Swygert has worked in discount retail as a finance professional for 30 years. Prior to joining Ollie’s, Mr. Swygert was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Factory 2-U Stores, Inc. He held several positions while at Factory 2-U Stores from 1992, ranging from Staff Accountant, Assistant Controller, Controller, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Vice President of Finance and Planning, and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Swygert also previously worked for PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. in Business Development and Financial Analysis. Mr. Swygert previously served on the board of Truck Hero Holdings, Inc. from 2018 through January 2021. Mr. Swygert was selected to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive financial, operational and management experience in the retail field.

Mr. Woodlief has been an independent financial consultant since 2007 and was an Adjunct Professor of Management at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Business from 2010 to 2020. At Vanderbilt, Mr. Woodlief taught Financial Statement Research and Financial Statement Analysis. Mr. Woodlief also currently serves as a Visiting Instructor of Accounting at Sewanee: The University of the South from 2017 to 2020. Prior to 2008, Mr. Woodlief was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Doane Pet Care, a global manufacturer of pet products. Prior to 1998, Mr. Woodlief was Vice President and Corporate Controller of Insilco Corporation, a diversified manufacturer of consumer and industrial products. Mr. Woodlief began his career in 1979 at KPMG Peat Marwick in Houston, Texas, progressing to the Senior Manager level in the firm’s Energy and Natural Resources practice. Mr. Woodlief was a certified public accountant. Mr. Woodlief currently serves on the board of trustees, and chairs the Finance Committee, of Sewanee St. Andrew’s School. Mr. Woodlief previously served on the board of Founder Sport Group from 2017 to 2020. Mr. Woodlief was selected to serve on our board of directors due to his financial and business experience.