Lynn Tilton is Chief Executive Officer and Principal of Patriarch Partners, LLC, a private equity firm and holding company managing 76 companies across 14 industry sectors with revenues in excess of $8 billion. Ms. Tilton is a passionate proponent of saving American manufacturing jobs by saving American companies. Since 2000, she has owned interests in and restructured more than 150 companies, many of which were on the verge of closure or liquidation, and in so doing she has saved over 250,000 jobs. Tilton’s portfolio includes Dura Automotive, American LaFrance, MD Helicopters, Rand McNally, and Stila Cosmetics. In 2009, she was honored with the prestigious Turnaround Atlas Leadership Achievement Award for her work in distressed investing. In 2010, Automotive News named her one of the 100 Leading Women in the automotive industry, and in 2011, Ms. Tilton was inducted in the Living Legends of Aviation Hall of Fame when she was named Entrepreneur of the Year, the first female in history to receive such distinction. Most recently, Ms. Tilton was honored with the Luminary Award presented by Womensphere. According to Womensphere Founder and CEO, Analisa Balares, “The Luminary Award is given to a woman whose leadership, innovation, and personal commitment has illuminated and inspired the lives of millions, and positively transformed the world.” Most recently, Ms. Tilton was the subject of a Barbara Walters 20/20 interview discussing her mission of saving American companies and American jobs.
Under Ms. Tilton's leadership, Patriarch has positioned itself as a proactive partner to companies during periods of operational, industrial and economic transformation. Patriarch provides liquidity, time and strategic support to its management teams allowing them to rebuild, using creative structural solutions and add-on investments in order to enhance the companies’ long-term values.
Ms. Tilton earned a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and an MBA in Finance from Columbia University.
Emil possesses over 37 years of experience in hard line and soft line Consumer Products and Manufacturing. He has developed enormous expertise in sourcing product in over 30 countries and has established distribution networks in both China and India. Over his career, Emil has cultivated strong relationships with retail giants such as Wal Mart, Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Goods, Macys, and many other mass merchant and department store chains.
Emil has led the turnaround of over 15 companies. He has been President of such respected consumer companies to include Home Craft, Rowoco, Travco, Normandy, Arjon, and Acme International. During his impressive career he has secured licensing arrangements with Coke, Pepsi, McDonalds, Disney, Nick at Night and many celebrities.
In addition to his C-level positions, Emil's hands-on experience includes Warehouse Manager, Cost Accountant Manager, National Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Purchasing Manager, Operation Manager, Production Manager and Product Development Manager. He has a proven track record of rationalizing cost structures thereby increasing margins and profits in every company that he touches.
Emil served in the United States Marine Corp. and graduated from Westchester Business School. He also has attended classes at Oxford University in Economics and Business Management. Emil has been married for 38 years to the love of his life.
John has over 28 year of management experience operating businesses in a turn-around environment. He has acted as CEO, COO and CRO in various industries and countries including industrial and consumer products manufacturing, pulp and paper, media services, financial services, construction and distribution. John has led the turn-around of over 25 companies focusing on operational improvement, financial restructuring, and new business development. John has headed the Manufacturing and Engineering Platform for the last 6 years.
Prior to joining Patriarch Partners Management Group, John was a managing Director at TRG, a nationally recognized turn-around management firm. Prior to TRG, John was President of Tillotson Healthcare Corporation, a manufacturer of disposable medical products.
John has an AB in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross, and a MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. John served as a Lieutenant in the US Navy, qualified in submarines.
Randy has 30 years of management experience in the media and entertainment sector. He is the founder of Worth Magazine, the former Publisher of Esquire, the youngest publisher of a major magazine in history when, at age 29, he took the helm of the men's lifestyle monthly. As a serial entrepreneur, Mr. Jones spearheaded the launch of The American Benefactor—the first magazine about philanthropy from the donor’s perspective, revitalized Civilization: The Magazine of the Library of Congress and invested in and launched numerous media related companies. Random House published his first book, The Greatest Stock Picks of All Time, in 2004 and Hachette published his most recent book, The Richest Man in Town.
Randy sits on the boards of Wilmington Trust New York and American Idea Lab. In addition, Jones is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), the Creative Coalition, and the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy. To satiate his passion for economic education, Mr. Jones has served as a board member of the National Council for Economic Education. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America recently honored him as "Philanthropist of the Year."
A graduate of the University of Georgia’s School of Journalism, Jones was honored to receive the school's John E. Drewry Award as the outstanding alumnus of the year, and he was awarded the Alumni Merit Award—the highest honor awarded to an alumnus of the University of Georgia.
Jean-Luc joined the Patriarch Partners team as CEO of the CBA Group / Universal Instruments where he has been CEO since January 2008. Previously, he was president of NPTest a semiconductor test equipment company headquartered in Silicon Valley and Spin off from Schlumberger until its IPO and subsequent acquisition.
With 25 years of demonstrated success in the electronic, semiconductor and semiconductor equipment markets, Jean-Luc has extensive international experience managing customer relationship, manufacturing, product development, sales, support and professional service organizations across the technology world. He has a successful track record managing, turning around, and growing large international organizations, as well as building start-up businesses.
Prior to NPTest, Jean-Luc spent 15 years in various assignments ranging from mergers and acquisitions, marketing, sales and business development to manufacturing, service and general management in the technology sector. He served as president of High Connection Density, a memory module company, and started a consulting, test and product engineering service practice for the semiconductor industry called SABER. Pelissier started his career in engineering working with companies such as Thomson, Elf Aquitaine and IBM.
Jean-Luc serves on the Board of Directors of iNEMI (International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative). He holds a Ph.D. in Electronics, Circuits, and Systems and two engineering degrees in electrical engineering, computer aided design and automation, from the University of Science and Techniques du Languedoc in Montpellier, France.
Mr. Ricci serves as the President and CEO of Duro Industries, a leading textiles and textiles technology company.
Between 2006 and 2008, he led a dramatic turn-around effort that resulted in significant EBITDA improvements through operational optimization, financial discipline, and technological innovation. Since then Ed has assumed leadership responsibilities for a broader set of Patriarch portfolio companies in the textiles industry including Galey & Lord,, Denim North America, and Best Textiles International.
Previously, he held positions of increasing seniority at Duro, progressing from the executive training program as a high school student to plant supervisor, general manager, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and finally Senior Vice President prior to becoming President and CEO.
Ed graduated from Boston College in 1991. He completed his MBA from Bryant College in 1999.