JEFF SAYER
FORMER SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, STATE OF IDAHO
Mr. Sayer founded Rectify Partners after a four-year Governor appointment as the Secretary of Commerce for the state of Idaho. He revitalized the department and was instrumental in passing key legislation that created nationally recognized incentives, one of which was responsible for attracting over $2.0 billion in new payroll to the state in its first two years.
Prior, Mr. Sayer was the President and Chief Financial Officer of Mountain View Hospital in Idaho Falls where he played a key role in the turnaround of a small 20 bed, private hospital near bankruptcy to the 5th largest healthcare system in the state of Idaho. The facility was successfully sold to a strategic buyer in 2010 after recording 30% annual growth in revenues and margins over a five-year period.
Mr. Sayer began his career with Ernst & Young in Silicon Valley where he specialized in advising venture-capital funded technology companies through all stages of growth. Over his career, Mr. Sayer has provided financial and executive leadership for companies ranging from start-ups over $500 million in sales. His experience includes turnarounds, public offerings, mergers & acquisitions, and extensive involvement in corporate strategy and leadership.
Mr. Sayer is a CPA and graduated from Brigham Young University.
MICK WISKERCHEN
FORMER CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, CLICKBANK
Mick Wiskerchen brings more than 25 years of broad industry and technical expertise through his executive positions he has held in business and lean enterprise transformation, Go To Market strategies, international sales and marketing, M&A strategy, global business and finance operations, supply chain, and a worldwide solutions integrator. With an incredible track record of driving profitability and success in scaling Companies, New Verticals / Business Units, Products, Technologies, Manufacturing Operations, and SaaS platforms across global markets.
In 2019 Mick is acting CEO at a local eCommerce, Retail, and Product support company with a JV of about $1B in revenue. In 2017 as a fractional C Suite for hire, Mick helped successfully put people, processes, and technology in place to scale a local multi-million dollar (SaaS Company) revenues and operations in roles from CRO to COO. Along with, helping them achieve their Series B round of funding of approximately $10M. In August 2016, Mr. Wiskerchen joined Keynetics Inc. and ClickBank as the Chief Operating Officer COO. Accountable for all Worldwide Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, and Risk & Compliance for the approximate $400M Internet Retailer. In March 2007, Mr. Wiskerchen joined Micron Technology, Inc. as a global leader and consultant and helped scale the company from $4.5B in revenue to $16B plus. Mr. Wiskerchen also served as a Sr. Sales BP Executive and Business Operations Director at Who’s Calling and ClickPath – Vista Capital, a startup SaaS technology and service company. He was instrumental in a very successful exit with Vista Capital, and growing revenues from $20M in sales to $100M plus in just over two years.
Mr. Wiskerchen was also a Senior Strategy Consultant at AT&T Wireless. He helped scale revenues from $14B to $41B in five years. Before joining AT&T Wireless, Mick was selected to be in a prestigious two-year International GE Model Leadership Program after Jack Welch at The Boeing Company. Mick eventually worked directly for the company’s COO as Senior Finance Manager of the Internal Audit Leadership Program. He also sat on the IBM Customer Advisory Board. Locally, Mick co-founded the Treasure Valley CFO Forum and held positions as a member of the Board of AgriTech; Entrepreneur Mentor of B-Launch; Ex-Chairperson of the Technology Board TAC, College of Western Idaho; and post-Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of Boise Valley Economic Partnership and Executive Board Member – Boise Metro Chamber and on the Governors Economic Advisory Council.
Mick has a Bachelors's degree in Industrial Technology from Washington State University. He also received his MBA from Seattle City University.
BILL KIRTH
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF JUNO FINANCIAL
Bill Kirth is currently a Senior Vice President of Juno Financial. Bill has 30 years of experience in traditional banking, auditing, bank compliance, asset-based lending, factoring, entrepreneurship, and private equity.
Bill has previously worked for Zions Bank, First Interstate Bank, Wells Fargo, GE Capital, and Summit Financial. He has taught courses and has published material on asset-based lending and banking for RMA, Lorman Education, Goldman Sachs, and many other panels and seminars. He currently serves on the board of RMA (Risk Management Association) Utah Chapter, TMA (Turnaround Management Association) Utah Chapter (as a founder), and ACG Association for Corporate Growth) Utah Chapter (as a founder) as well as other boards of companies that he has invested in. He had previously served on the national RMA membership board for 4 years.
Bill also manages his own private equity fund which currently holds equity positions in 6 companies. He has owned and sold other businesses during his career and has had extensive experience in financing both early-stage, high-growth companies as well as turnaround companies.
Bill holds a green belt in Six Sigma and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
MARK GUNTER
FORMER vICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS, BLACKBOARD
Mark Gunter has more than 25 years of experience working at a variety of companies, including Boeing, Microsoft, and Blackboard. He has extensive experience in operations management across the Quote to Cash and Procure to Pay cycles. He has managed a variety of disciplines including procurement, manufacturing and distribution, supplier management, sales operations, and accounting.
At Microsoft, Mark managed multiple functions in operations (both retail and OEM) including business management oversight of a $10 million information systems implementation. While at Microsoft Mark was also responsible for supplier management, assembly and distribution, and outsourcing for the Asia market. At Blackboard Mark was VP of Operations responsible for the operations of the Transact division, which included sales operations, invoicing & collections, purchasing, product release, and electronics manufacturing. During his time at Ball Ventures, he was responsible for process improvement and systems implementation.
Mark has a Finance degree from Idaho State University and an MBA from the University of Utah.
When not at work, Mark enjoys time with the family, fishing, snowmobiling, and seeing the western states with his wife on their Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
LANNY MICHAEL
Operations and Finance Executive, Chief FiNANCIAL Officer
Lanny Michael has more than 40 years of operations and finance experience for public and private companies. He has held CFO positions with PetroCard, Intermec Technologies, and Airborne Express, and as an independent consultant, he has partnered with six private equity and closely-held companies in CFO and COO roles. He began his career with Deloitte in Seattle.
Most recently, Lanny was the Chief Financial Officer of a major private distribution services company for eight years where he led and managed turnaround actions to provide sustained profitability, developed and executed a major recapitalization strategy resulting in a working capital and acquisition bank credit facility, and facilitating a multi-million dollar dividend to private owners
Lanny has helped lead organizations to profitable growth during start-up, turnaround, restructuring, and post-acquisition phases. With his combined financial expertise matched with business strategy and an intuitive operations perspective, Lanny has guided owners through strategic evaluations of the market, competitive analysis, and strategic options regarding enterprise values. He has established comprehensive capital allocation programs prioritizing high ROI and liquidity and led M&A evaluation, transactions, and integration activities. Lanny successfully led and managed the legal, audit, and underwriter process for an IPO, leading to a successful private sale. He has guided negotiations and closing of complex debt facilities to maintain covenant compliance and provide liquidity during the strategic transition.
Lanny is a CPA and graduated from the University of Montana. He completed the Executive Financial Management Program at Stanford University.
Lanny enjoys hiking, fly fishing, skiing, golfing, and 4x4 off-road exploration.
Cheryl Adams
Chief financial officer
Cheryl Adams is an accomplished chief fiscal and operations professional managing at the executive level with experience in private, state and nonprofits sectors. Cheryl is a global executive, she knows how to keep a company from stagnating. She knows that to move forward, businesses, just like individuals, must adapt. As demands and technology change, businesses must be responsive if they are to remain viable. Experience in managing and leading change to improve operations and fiscal management. Cheryl has demonstrated success at improving organization effectiveness, increasing revenue, and enhancing profit margins by leveraging business strengths and building strong collaborative teams. She is responsible for the overall financial management of the company, financial reporting, and transparency, and for multiple corporate functions including CFO, COO, Supply Chain Management, Inventory Control, and Logistics.
Mrs. Adams has extensive experience managing multimillion-dollar accounting, finance, and revenue operations. A dynamic leader, Mrs. Adams is accomplished in developing financial strategies that enhance organizational growth and maximize sustainability. Her expertise includes the design of short- and long-term financial plans, investment management, financial problem solving, corrective action plan implementation, and compliance.
Mrs. Adams holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Arkansas and a Masters in Finance. She serves as a Board of Directors for As Directed Plus, Chair for the City of Meridian Chamber, Chair for Idaho Aerospace Alliance, Advocates of Family Violence, and is a member of the Treasure Valley CFO’s.
AUBREY ABBOTT
FORMER SR. DIRECTOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT, PMX AGENCY
In today’s business climate, companies are continually being asked to do more with fewer resources. The problem is, they often lack staff with the expertise necessary to run more “lean and mean.” That’s where Aubrey Abbott comes in.
A born project manager, problem solver, and efficiency ninja, Aubrey isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and see what’s going on under the hood of your business. Clients all over the world have come to count on her ability to coolly assess the situation, pinpoint the business issue, and deliver a solution -- or train internal teams to do the same.
Her confidence and expertise come from more than 20 years of working with marketing, operations, process, and strategy professionals. She helps teams fine-tune their operations to scale their productivity. Her patience, passion, relentless tenacity, and exceptional interpersonal skills make it easy for her to build successful working relationships with associates at all levels.
Aubrey holds national certifications in project management and operations management and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems.
When she’s not bringing her super-powers to bear on business challenges, Aubrey enjoys spending time with her family, meditation, working out, and fly-fishing.
Industry Experience: High-Tech, Pharma, Nonprofit, Retail, Financial Services, SaaS, Construction, Software
Client Experience: KPMG, Allergan, HP, Feeding America, Union Bank, Boys & Girls Club of America, Hallen Construction
RICK SEYMOUR
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER, HEWLETT PACKARD
Mr. Seymour recently completed a 33-year career with Hewlett Packard as the Vice President and General Manager of the LaserJet Hardware division where he was responsible for over $4.5 billion in revenue and 1,200 employees. While leading that division he successfully combined two LaserJet product divisions, improved gross margins by over 5 points, grew market share, and introduced a complete lineup of new multifunction devices.
During his career, Mr. Seymour was responsible for and led multiple printer-related divisions. With revenues ranging from $2 billion to over $7 billion, responsibilities for up to 8,000 people and factories in Singapore, Puerto Rico, Ireland, and the United States Mr. Seymour was responsible for multiple successes. Results included achieving and maintaining number one market share positions in domestic and emerging markets, 5x improvements in quality results, redesigned multi-factory manufacturing businesses with reduced exposure to vertical liabilities, reduction of inventory days outstanding from 67 to 40, and consistent revenue growth and profits of his divisions.
Mr. Seymour has a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois.
ERIN ERKINS
Marketing & Business Development
Erin Erkins is a 13-year veteran in the nonprofit and business sector. She has experience overseeing programs, event and volunteer management, board development, designing and managing marketing and communications campaigns, and robust social media strategies.
As an active community volunteer and public servant, Erin currently serves on the board of directors for FUNDSY; an organization dedicated to helping nonprofits build brick and mortar projects, the City of Boise Police Department Chief's Community Advisory Panel, Treasure Valley YMCA Board Governance Committee, and a member of Idaho Business for Education.
She was recognized by the Women's and Children's Alliance as a "TWIN" recipient in 2016 and by the Idaho Business Review as both an "Accomplished under 40" and as "Idaho Women of the Year" recipient. In 2019 Erin was recognized by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) as a "Forty Under 40" recipient.
Erin is married to Chase Erkins and a proud parent of Harper (10), Henley (7), Ander (2), and Sloan (1). She stays busy enjoying the outdoors and being active with her family.
OUR BENCH
Jeffrey Cohen | AFFILIATE
Strategy and Operations Consultant, Program Manager
Jeffrey Cohen is an Executive with more than 20 years of experience in designing, launching, and improving crucial business, operations, and technology initiatives that add measurable value to companies and their clients. He has a track record of helping clients and departments transition to new technologies, systems, and service approaches, leveraging technical and business skills to provide system design, infrastructure plans, and solutions delivery.
Currently, Jeffrey is the Founder & Principal Consultant Deep Ripple, an established firm that provides strategic and tactical solutions across multiple industries. The diverse work scope includes new solution design and launch, turnaround strategy, and new program development and implementation.
Jeffrey holds his Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, from Clarkson University.
Jake Blanchard | AFFILIATE
Strategy and Operations Consultant, Program Manager
Jake Blanchard is an operations minded professional with a strong background in process improvement, project/change management, supply chain, and strategic planning. Jake has spent the majority of his career working in healthcare, from workflow optimization to electronic health record implementation, to developing patient engagement governance structures with executives in some of the top health systems in the United States. Jake has built a reputation as a complex problem solver, has a knack for helping teams obtain ownership and alignment quickly, and bridging the gap between strategy and execution.
Notably, Jake has worked with MWI (AmerisourceBergen) as a Strategic Program Manager running a critical strategic transformation program, Healthwise as the consulting practice leader, and UCLA Medical Center as a strategic program manager overseeing a two-year IT infrastructure upgrade.
Jake holds a Masters in Business from Arizona State with an emphasis in Supply Chain Management, is the former President of APICs Idaho, a CSCP certified supply chain professional, ADKAR Certified Change Professional, and Certified in Health Care Information Systems.
When he's not consulting, Jake is a High-Performance Mindset Coach, an amature Brazilian Jiujitsu competitor, musician, podcast host, and host of a web series designed to support businesses in Idaho.
KEVIN HIRT | AFFILIATE
FOUNDER OF WINDREEF MANAGEMENT COMPANY
Mr. Hirt is the Founder of Windreef Management Company, a principal investment firm with a focus on private investments across the capital structure. Prior to founding Windreef Management Company, he served as a partner and Vice President at Jupiter Peak Capital, a special situations investment firm, where he was responsible for all aspects of sourcing and executing opportunistic private investments. Additionally, he managed and added value to existing investments within a $600 million legacy fund he previously worked to invest while employed at Crestline Investors. Prior to Jupiter Peak Capital, Mr. Hirt was an investment professional at Crestline Investors’ Opportunistic Strategies Group where he was responsible for underwriting special situations transactions across the capital structure. Mr. Hirt was a member of a small team that managed approximately $2 billion of capital dedicated to private investments. Before Crestline Investors, he worked in New York City at BBH Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity fund sponsored by Brown Brothers Harriman, with over $2 billion of assets under management. He began his career as an analyst for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, working in the firm’s Global Investment Management Division in Merrill’s Wall Street headquarters.
Mr. Hirt is a board member of several of Windreef Management Company’s portfolio companies, as well as Headwater Capital, a commercial real estate investment and development firm which has acquired and managed investments in excess of $1 billion in real estate partnerships.
Mr. Hirt has a BBA in Finance and Economics; Summa Cum Laude from Loyola University in Chicago.
JOHN HALE | ADVISOR
FORMER MANAGING PARTNER, KPMG BOISE, IDAHO
John recently retired from KPMG LLP after 29 years consulting the US and foreign banks on risk management, operations, credit risk, capital adequacy, regulatory matters, and Bank M&A.
John began with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, built a successful bank consultancy that he sold to KPMG from where he later served as Partner in Charge for KPMG’s Advisory Services in Latin America and ultimately the Office Managing Partner for the Boise, ID. John led KPMG’s National Credit Risk Management Practice for 19 years and led major projects in multinational and regional banks, including M&A due diligence on over 40 banks..
John’s prior clients include Fannie Mae, Ford Financial Group, DeutscheBank, Goldman Sachs, Bank of the Cascades, Banner Bank, AmericanWest, Idaho Banking Company, Panhandle State Bank, Syringa Bank, Sterling Bancorp, Washington Mutual, Stifel Financial, Los Alamos National Bank, CapGen Financial Group, Square 1 Bank, Bank of Hawaii, Pacific Capital Corporation, California State Banking Department, the International Monetary Fund, Regions, BBVA Compass, and Spain’s central bank (the National Bank of Spain).
John received a Master in Business Administration from the University of Idaho. He is an avid mountain biker, rafter, and struggling guitar student. John is a full-time Dad who tries really hard to keep up with his teenagers and stay relevant.
JAY GROVE | ADVISOR
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, NORTHROP GRUMMAN COMMUNICATION DIVISION
Jay Grove has held several leadership positions in the aerospace and defense electronics organizations. Mr. Grove is a subject matter expert in electronic defense and warfare systems, unmanned aerial and high altitude avionic systems, and other sensors and communication systems. He has led organizations to profitable growth during start-up, turnaround, restructuring, and post-acquisition phases.
Jay served as Vice President for Business Development for Northrop Grumman’s Communication Systems Division, as Group Vice President for Argon ST Network Systems Group (now Boeing Defense Systems), Division Vice President for EMS Technologies Defense & Space Systems Division (now Honeywell, Inc.), and held engineering, P&L management positions for ViaSat, Lockheed Sanders, and TRW.
Jay earned an MS in Engineering from the University of Dayton, and a BS in Electrical Systems Engineering from Wright State University.
Mark Goin | AFFILIATE
Former Director of the Customer Care Team, ClickBank
Mark brings more than 38 years of operations experience for companies ranging from Capital one, T-Mobile to start-ups. Mark specializes in delivering operational excellence for customer service teams and contact centers as a director and as a consultant.
In October 2018, Mark joined ClickBank as the Director of the Customer Care team where he managed teams in Boise, the Philippines, and El Salvador. He delivered an additional $24 million of revenue per year.
Prior to ClickBank, Mark directed the Customer Care teams at Capital One’s CRS division. Mark’s teams had the 2nd highest Customer Satisfaction scores of all of Capital One while adding an additional $30 Million dollars of revenue per year. He also has 12 years of experience helping clients in financial, medical, and retail markets.
When Mark is not working, he enjoys fishing, chess, sports, and travel.
Bob Haines | AFFILIATE
Former Engineering Director, Sensus
Bob Haines has more than 25 years of technical leadership and engineering experience with Fortune 100 companies to startups. Bob fuses technical expertise and business strategy. He has a wide range of technical product development experience spanning software-as-a-service (SaaS), wireless communications, machine vision, and printer development. While at HP, Bob led technical initiatives to differentiate HP branded toner cartridges from aftermarket cartridges with unique features and capabilities. After joining Telemetric and being acquired by Sensus (2009), Bob led the on-time delivery of a complete multi-product line refresh from cellular 2G to 4G/LTE in only five months. In addition, Bob’s Sensus team delivered a 39% reduction in customer support and operational cost by replacing existing software with new SaaS Cloud software architecture. Most recently, Bob has been focused on automated object recognition solutions for the food processing industry.
As a technical leader, Bob accelerates clients by developing creative technical solutions that help enable, support, and shape the core business strategy and operational delivery. Bob assembles and coaches top-performing technical teams, putting the right talent in place to bring strategy to life. The result is a technical roadmap and product development effort aligned with a business strategy that is focused on market needs. At the same time, Bob helps prioritize and reduce the maze of technical options and complexities of software and product development.
Bob has an MBA from the University of Washington, a B.S in Electrical Engineering from Montana State University, and 36 U.S. Patents granted. He avidly pursues outdoor activities including mountain biking, skiing, and backpacking while trying to keep up with his wife and two sons.
Erika Cobb | ADVISOR
Chief Information Officer & Business Technology Executive
Erika Cobb has held several business technology leadership positions in retail and food manufacturing organizations. Erika spent over 20 years in technology at Albertsons, SuperValu, Save-a-Lot foods, and Lamb Weston. She is a passionate leader who guides teams through mergers and acquisitions, restructures organizations to create high-performing teams, and partners with business executives ensuring cost-effective business technology and the process can move you forward.
Erika is currently the Chief Information Officer for the City of Boise. Previously, Erika served as Sr. Vice President of Information Technology for Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd. (now Alcanna Inc.), as Vice President of Information Technology at Save-A-Lot Foods, and held leadership roles specializing in the Project Management Office space and business technology planning.
Erika earned a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communication from the University of Montana and an Associate of Arts from Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. Erika is also certified and practices Six Sigma Black Belt. She is an avid downhill skier, cyclist, and baker.
DUREE WESTOVER | ADVISOR
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE
Duree Westover is an accomplished business leader specializing in growth. She has held many leadership roles and has extensive experience in the technology sector, in both large-scale enterprise operations and with startup environments. Duree has successfully managed change for organizations by optimizing producer output to achieve improved market share, increased revenues, and expanding margins. She is a dynamic, thoughtful leader with an insatiable drive and passion to coach up the best in others. She currently is the Managing Principal for Experis – global workforce leader – helping clients in the Pacific Northwest address talent strategies. She has lived in Boise since 2005, from Phoenix. During the last 20+ years, Duree has earned a strong reputation within the technology services industry for leading successful organizations. It is her philosophy that the key to any well-run organization is identifying the right combination of qualified, motivated, and talented individuals who can be inspired to support clients to achieve mutual business success.
Duree earned her degree from Arizona State University in Communication with a Business minor. Her professional affiliations include:
Boise Valley Economic Partnership, Stakeholder
Treasure Valley Girls on the Run, National Nonprofit, Board Member
HIMSS, Global Healthcare association, Member
Women in Technology Utah, Member
PDXWIT – Women in Technology, Portland Member
Boise Chamber of Commerce, Member
Idaho Technology Council (ITC), Member
ASU Sun Devil Club of Idaho Alumni Association, Member