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Management Team
Eric J. Trope
Managing Principal
Mr. Trope has a background in operations management. His work
experience includes internal technical/engineering consulting,
crew supervision, facility management, and work at the division
management level.
Mr. Trope held senior leadership positions while assisting
the European general manager of a $180 million division of
International Paper Company (IP), the world's largest forest
products company. In addition to working on day-to-day issues
at the corporate level, he was involved with long-term capital
allocation and the development of a marketing, advertising,
and public relations strategy. He was instrumental in the
transition of the Irish facility from a start-up to a steady-state
operation by improving customer service and production planning.
Prior to his international experience, Mr. Trope worked at
the facility level for IP, first as an internal consultant,
and then as a crew supervisor and operations manager for a
facility in Danville, VA. In these positions, he planned and
led many efforts resulting in significant operating improvements,
including major cost and downtime reductions, and production
volume increases.
Mr. Trope has Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical
Engineering from Duke University and Purdue University, respectively.
In addition, he received an MBA from the Harvard Business
School with a concentration in Finance and Entrepreneurship.
Joseph "JW" Williams
Managing Principal
Mr. Williams has a generalist background, which
includes financial analysis on Wall Street, business-to-business
marketing with a major high tech manufacturer, and production
and operations work in Japan for a multinational Japanese
consumer electronics manufacturer.
Mr. Williams worked at the investment banking firm of Donaldson,
Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ). At DLJ, he worked on both equity
and debt offerings with teams performing due diligence and
valuation. Through this work, he developed a greater understanding
of the use of debt for creating shareholder value in stable
cash flow businesses.
Prior to Wall Street, Mr. Williams worked at Texas Instruments
(TI) and assisted in sales of Application Specific Integrated
Circuits to major U.S. and Japanese wireless equipment and
PC peripheral manufacturers. He helped to create pricing strategy
and cost benefit analyses that were instrumental in guiding
the Texas Instruments' sales force.
Immediately after graduation from Stanford University, Mr.
Williams worked in Asia as a business analyst in the production
department of Konica Corporation, a major Japanese consumer
electronics and film manufacturer. During his time in Tokyo
with Konica, he played a lead role in developing production
time targets for over fourteen suppliers of components for
Konica's Color Laser Jet printer. In addition, he played a
key role in business negotiations with the Hewlett-Packard
Corporation.
Mr. Williams has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial
Engineering from Stanford University. He attended Asian Language
and History programs at the Stanford Japan Center in Kyoto,
Japan and at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also fluent
in Japanese. Mr. Williams received an MBA from the Harvard
Business School with a focus on Entrepreneurship and General
Management.
Operating Partners
Wakefield James maintains an extensive network of
Operating Partners who have long and successful records of
operating experience in the building product and millwork
industry. More importantly, the Operating Partners held such
roles as CEO, President, Vice President and Division President.
Their broad managerial expertise and exposure to best practices
are valuable assets for the companies in which we invest.
The Operating Partners participate in the sourcing of potential
investments, due diligence and investment decision processes,
as well as the subsequent oversight of portfolio companies.
Their role ranges from active member of the board of directors
to leadership positions at our portfolio companies.
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