Directors and Advisors

Directors

Dick Cassell

Dick Cassell. Mr. Cassell has extensive business experience in leadership, management and ownership. Mr Cassell started his career working on R & D in plastics on products for the auto industry. From there he continued into the blow molding industry – designing and producing the initial bottles for liquid detergent and bleach. Then in 1965, Mr. Cassell formed Concord Industries to design, develop and manufacture single use items for the health market and portion control packaging for QSR. In 1987, he sold Concord Industries and has been active as an investor in small startup operations.

Dick Hale

Dick Hale. Mr. Hale is currently President & CEO of Wentworth Technology Inc. Mr. Hale brings over 40 years of relevant general management experience of small (VC) and large (public) companies. His education includes impressive institutions as University of Illinois, Stanford, MIT Sloan,and USM.

 

Nat Henshaw

Nat Henshaw. Mr. Henshaw co-founded CEI Ventures in 1994 to manage socially responsible venture capital funds. He has an extensive career managing venture funds.  Mr. Henshaw earned his BA from Duke University and his MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business.

Richard Koralek

Richard Koralek. Dr. Koralek as more than 40 years of experience as an academic, industry practitioner. His expertise includes management, design and development in telecommunications, signal processing systems, modem development and integrated circuit development. Additionally, Dr. Koralek is the recipient of patents and awards for his efforts in the fields of communications and VLSI circuits. Dr. Koralek holds degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S.E.E) and Stanford University (Ph.D.,E.E., M.S.E.E).

Tabassum Mumtaz. Mr. Mumtaz, is the proud President and CEO of APEX Restaurant Management which is a grand Franchisee of Long John Silver’s, A&W, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Taco Bell Restaurants. There are 144 restaurant operations in Texas, California, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Kansas with a team of over 3500 employees. With over 18 years experience in the QSR industry and a former Wendy’s Franchisee, Tabbassum believes that operating with a “Family Atmosphere” is what makes APEX Brands such a successful organization. Our success includes several awards such as: the Franchise Star Award, Franchise of the Year, and 3 Presidential Awards. For the last 3 years APEX Restaurant Management has also been featured in the “Restaurant Monitor” which names the Top 100 most successful Franchise organizations in the entire United States. Tabbassum currently serves on the Long John Silver’s Franchise Advisory Board and recently, Tabbassum was named to the International Franchise Association Board of Directors. Tabbassum has also served on a variety of corporate, civic and non-profit boards.      

Advisors

F. Lee Bailey

F. Lee Bailey.  Mr. Bailey has had an extensive and exceptional career in law, business, and consulting. Additionally, he is a renowned author and Lawyer.  He has owned several businesses and continues to consult regularly. Mr. Bailey's education includes Harvard College and Boston University Law School.

 

Robert Baldacci

Robert Baldacci. Mr. Baldacci brings a successful 30 year career in real estate, development and corporate finance. Additionally, he has held leadership positions at the state and several national organizations. Mr. Baldacci received his BA and Masters in Public Administration from the University of Maine.

John Burns. Mr. Burns has 28 years of institutional investing experience; the last twelve as SEGF Fund Manager, where his responsibilities include the full range of venture capital investment activities.  He has been directly involved with bringing risk capital to more than 35 Maine companies, and has led the Fund through a number of successful exits.John serves the entrepreneurial neighborhood in Maine in many ways, through Board service (Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board, Top Gun Advisory Board, CEI Community Ventures & others), as an Observer to company Boards, and as a frequent speaker and panelist on venture capital, and public/private venture capital, issues.  He is a recent graduate, and class co-representative, of the Upsilon class of Leadership Maine.John holds the CFA designation and an MBA with High Distinction from Babson College, a MS in Resource Economics from Penn State, and has been Adjunct Faculty at the University of Maine, where he received his undergraduate degree.

Richard Schotte


Richard Schotte. Mr. Schotte has over 20 years of diverse financial experience in executive level positions including serving as the President of Maine Capital Strategies Corporation. He also has worked at Capital Research and Management in Los Angeles and Mass Mutual Life.