Keynote Speaker

Mike Jensen, the Emmy award-winning former Chief Financial Correspondent for NBC News, was named by TV Guide as the best economics/business correspondent in America.  Mr. Jensen will be the Keynote Speaker at the Rocky Mountain 200 Top Dealmakers Summit Conference to be held in Denver, CO on June 25 and 26, 2009.

In his 40 years as a journalist for NBC Nightly News, the Today Show and The New York Times, he has covered every major economic event of our times, reporting from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf, the trading rooms of Wall Street, and Alan Greenspan’s inner-sanctum at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC. 

Click here for additional biographical information about Mike Jensen.

 
Panelists

Tony D. Boykin, CFA,  is a Director and Sr. Portfolio Manager at BlackRock. Mr. Boykin joined BlackRock from Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) when MLIM combined with BlackRock in 2006. For more than two years, he served as a member of the Private Investors Core Equity Team, which was responsible for managing the Core Equity Investment process. Mr. Boykin has 25 years experience working with a diverse client base including individuals, trusts, endowments and institutions and oversees over $700 million in client assets. His extensive experience, academic and professional credentials enable him to provide solutions for his clients complex needs in areas such as asset allocation, cash flow and tax management, and trust and estate management.

Mr. Boykin earned a B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from the University of North Texas. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and holds memberships in the CFA Institute and the Dallas Association of Investment Analysts. 

Dan Caruso has over 21 years of experience in telecommunications, and was named 2008 Communications Executive of the Year by CTP. He is CEO of the Zayo Group a regional provider of telecom services comprised of three business units. Zayo Bandwidth provides reliable fiber-based bandwidth solutions. Onvoy Voice Services delivers wholesale voice services to carriers and LEC’s, and Zayo Enterprise Networks provides converged IP services to small and medium enterprises.

Prior to Zayo, Mr. Caruso was President and CEO of ICG, a telecommunications and Internet services provider. In 2004 Mr. Caruso led a buyout where ICG was purchased by Columbia Capital and M/C Venture Partners. Mr. Caruso and his team propelled ICG to profitability and positive cash flow while realizing double-digit revenue growth. Level 3 purchased ICG in 2006, culminating in one of the more successful telecom investment stories in the post-bubble era. Prior to ICG, Mr. Caruso was a founding executive member and officer of Level 3. 

Mr. Caruso serves as chairman of Envysion, a venture backed company providing Internet-based video surveillance and sits on the board of NGT, a leading provider of wholesale VoIP services. He is also on the board of Colorado Uplift, a charity focused on supporting Denver inner-city youths. Mr. Caruso holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

Joseph Catalano is Director, Business Development for Signal Special Situations Investors, a division of Sentinel Capital Partners. Mr. Catalano spent two years as a Managing Director at FirstLight Financial Corporation, a commercial finance platform offering customized financings primarily for middle-market companies across a broad spectrum of industries. While at FirstLight, he headed the Special Situations Group.

From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Catalano served as a Director of Longroad Asset Management, a private equity firm focused on special situation investing. Prior to Longroad, Mr. Catalano spent 13 years at GE Capital Corporation, most recently as a Senior Vice President of its Global Sponsor Finance Group. While at GE Capital, he focused on investing senior and junior debt and equity in middle-market companies. He holds an MBA from Pace University's Lubin School of Business and a BA from New York University.

Lu M. Cordova is Chief Executive Officer of Corlund Industries, L.L.C., an investment holding company which specializes in operations management, strategic planning, business development and capital finance. Corlund also manages Almacen Storage, which provides self-storage and small business warehousing in resort areas in Mexico.

As a five-time CEO/President, Ms. Cordova brings close to thirty years experience in navigating companies through start-up phase to maturity and international scope. Ms. Cordova is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas, after serving for three years on the Bank’s Economic Advisory Council and three years as Vice Chairman.

A California native, Ms. Cordova attended the University of California at Berkeley and received B.S. degrees in both political science and economics and a Ph.D.-A.B.D. in economics.

Brian J. Cree is Chief Financial Officer at Luca Technologies, Inc.  He is responsible for the financial and legal aspects of the Company, including financial reporting, corporate negotiations, contracts, and equity financing. Mr. Cree spent 13 years in the oil & gas industry with Gerrity Oil and Patina Oil & Gas Corporation where he held various financial  and operating positions including Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Director.  Mr. Cree also held similar roles with companies outside the oil and gas industry such as: Wellogix Inc. and ZettaCore Inc., a start-up biotech company.

Mr. Cree received a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa and was Vice Chairman of Colorado’s Oil & Gas Conservation Commission from 1999-2007.

Donald (Don) M. Elliman Jr., is Director, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, a post he was named to in March, 2007. In this position, he oversees a wide range of economic development activities, including domestic and international business development, small business programs, as well as the Colorado Tourism Office and the Colorado Economic Development Commission. **NEWS FLASH** On June 9th Mr. Elliman was named  to the new post of state chief operating officer and will oversee the state government’s share of funding under the federal stimulus plan. Read the story here.

Mr. Elliman retired in 2004 as President of Kroenke Sports EnterpriCses. In that capacity, he oversaw all business activities of the Company which include The Pepsi Center, The Denver Nuggets and The Colorado Avalanche as well as several other professional sports teams and entertainment facilities. Prior to his time at Kroenke, Mr. Elliman worked at Time Warner for thirty-two years, retiring as an Executive Vice President of Time Inc.  Other positions included publisher of People Magazine and President of Sports Illustrated.

Mr. Elliman serves on the Boards of The Children’s Hospital, Middlebury College, the Gates Family Foundation and The Denver School of Science and Technology. He is a graduate of Middlebury College.  

Steve Rask is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CoorsTek, Inc., in Golden, Colorado. CoorsTek is a multinational, high-tech manufacturer focused on the technical ceramics industry. CoorsTek became a private company in March, 2003 and is owned by the Coors family. Prior to March, 2003, CoorsTek was traded on the NASDAQ. In addition to his role as CFO of CoorsTek, Mr. Rask is a Director of C4 Medical Werks, a supplier to the orthopedic device industry

Prior to his role as CFO, Steve has held various financial executive positions since he joined CoorsTek in 1997, most recently Vice President and Controller. Prior to CoorsTek, he was assistant controller of Katy Industries, Inc., a publicly traded diversified manufacturer.

During career, Mr. Rask has primarily has primarily worked in the manufacturing sector. His experience has focused on debt and equity capital markets transactions, domestic and international acquisition and divestitures, and corporate reorganizations including spin-offs and go-private transactions.

Steve Ratton, Executive Vice President, EmCare. Mr. Ratton joined EmCare in April 2003 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Mr. Ratton also serves as treasurer and senior vice president of Emergency Medical Services Corporation, the parent company of EmCare Inc. Prior to joining EmCare, Mr. Ratton served as treasurer for Radiologix, Inc. from September 2001 to April 2003. Mr. Ratton was vice president of finance for Matrix Rehabilitation, Inc. from August 2000 to September 2001, and director of finance for PhyCor, Inc. from April 1998 to August 2000.

Mr. Ratton has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry in both hospital and physician settings. Mr. Ratton has an accounting degree from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Lee Stuart is the CEO & Co-Founder of NHI Financial Services, which is focused on acquiring controlling stakes of distressed financial institutions around the US. Mr. Stuart is a fifth generation commercial banker with 10 Years of experience in banking in the Midwest. He is a partner at Nebraska Heavy Industries, a diversified holding company and turnaround firm that is the largest shareholder of NHI Financial Services. Mr. Stuart served as Senior Vice President and Deputy Sr. Loan Officer of the National Bank of Commerce, the flagship bank of a $3.2 Billion publicly held commercial banking company headquartered in Lincoln, NE, prior to its successful sale to Wells Fargo in 2000.

Mr. Stuart has been a partner in numerous successful businesses around the US in the last 15 years. He sits on the local board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as Head of Major Gifts and manages the Lee R. Stuart Family Foundation. He graduated with distinction from the University of Nebraska in 1991.


Scot T Wetzel has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of United Western Bancorp since December 2005.

Mr. Wetzel has more than 15 years of community banking experience. From 2000 through August 2005, he served as president of the Colorado division of Compass Bancshares, Inc. During his tenure as president of Compass Bancshares' Colorado division, the division grew from inception to more than 30 branches in the Colorado Front Range market.

Prior to Compass Bancshares, Mr. Wetzel was a senior vice president and sales leader of corporate banking for Keybank in Colorado for five years. During his 10 years in Colorado, banking teams, under Mr. Wetzel's direction, generated approximately $1.8 billion in gross loan production and $800 million in deposits.

John W. Zimmerman was appointed Chief Financial Officer and a main board director of Tomkins plc in October 2007. Prior to that he lead the Tomkins Corporate Development Group for seven years during which time he was responsible for executing over 42 M&A transactions totaling in excess of $3.5 billion.  

Tomkins is a leading global engineering and industrial group listed on both the London (TOMK) and New York (TKS) stock exchanges, with revenue in 2008 of US$5.5 billion and over 32,000 people worldwide.   Mr. Zimmerman is based in Denver, CO and commutes between his offices in Denver and London. 

He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and is a qualified Chartered Accountant (S.A.).  Prior to joining Tomkins he had extensive experience in public accounting, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions. 

Panel Moderators / Conference Chairs

Melody Harris is Senior Counsel in the Intellectual Property, Technology and Media Practice Group at the Denver office of Holme Roberts & Owen, LLP. Prior to joining HRO in 2008, Ms. Harris spent ten years in private, international industry in various legal and business roles, including Chief Administrative Officer of an international technology company, and General Counsel and President of an international IP asset management company.  Ms. Harris’ current practice encompasses IP management, licensing, acquisitions, and disposition, mergers and acquisitions due diligence and general business agreements and advice.  A growing portion of Ms. Harris’ practice is focused on the clean tech and renewable energy space, including energy policy work.

Ms. Harris is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Denver.

Tensie Homan is the Office Managing Partner and lead Transaction Services Partner for KPMG LLP in Denver.  She provides transaction advisory services to both private equity funds and corporations who are considering a major corporate transaction such as a merger, acquisition, divestiture or joint venture.  Ms. Homan has led numerous due diligence and transaction assignments both from the company side and as a financial advisor.  She has extensive experience in telecommunications, software and services, electronics, e-commerce, consulting and manufacturing sectors.

Ms. Homan is on the Board of Trustees of the Colorado Symphony and the Mile High United Way and serves on the Wise Women Council of the Women’s Vision Foundation.  She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University.  Tensie is a CPA in Colorado, California and Texas and is a member of the AICPA and the Colorado Society of CPAs.

Hendrik Jordaan is a partner based in the Denver law offices of Holme Roberts & Owen, LLC., where he serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Corporate Group. He specializes in advising financial and strategic buyers and sellers in public and private mergers and acquisitions transactions. Mr. Jordaan is the Chair of the M&A Subsection of the Colorado Bar Association’s Section of Business Law. He also serves as Chair of the Membership Committee and as Vice Chair of the Market Trends Committee of the Committee on Mergers and Acquisitions (affiliated with the American Bar Association’s Section of Business Law), which has more than 2,500 members and includes M&A specialists from more than 40 countries.

Mr. Jordaan received his J.D. from Southern Methodist University. Prior to law school, he attended Southern Methodist University on a full tuition scholarship where he captained the varsity tennis team for two years while receiving his bachelor’s degree in Economics with Finance Applications.

Jon Pardew is a Managing Director at St. Charles Capital.  Previously, Mr. Pardew was a Vice President at The Wallach Company /KeyBanc Capital Markets. Jon joined The Wallach Company/McDonald Investments after earning his MBA from the University of Colorado Graduate School of Business.

Before graduate school, Mr. Pardew held several leadership positions in both business and the United States Army. In addition to his graduate degree, Mr. Pardew earned his undergraduate degree from Virginia Military Institute.

Tyler Tysdal is a Managing Director of Mantucket Capital. He serves on the Board of Directors for the following Mantucket Capital portfolio companies: Agility Studios, BrandJourney Capital and PRN Medical Services.  His investment background includes venture capital, buyouts, restructurings, hedge funds, real estate, public equities, bonds and several entrepreneurial ventures.

Prior to joining Mantucket Capital, Mr. Tysdal founded a private equity firm primarily focused on healthcare, media & entertainment and secondarily on real estate and construction services.  Mr. Tysdal is also the founder of Sports Shares, a fractional luxury suite club.  He began his career in investment banking with Alex. Brown & Sons, focused on corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions.

Mr. Tysdal graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BSBA in Finance from Georgetown University.

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