ABOUT FDP
Key Staff

FORT DEARBORN PARTNERS, INC.

Fort Dearborn Partners, Inc. is a leading profit improvement and turnaround consulting practice focused on private and publicly held middle market companies in the U.S.  The firm has been engaged on over 300 successful profit improvement engagements throughout the U.S. in a variety of industries.  Our managerial turnaround and financial skills have resulted in an outstanding track record of success.

Fort Dearborn Partners provides business planning and corporate finance services to financially troubled, underperforming and growth companies.  The firm assists its business planning clients in preparing action driven operating and strategic plans focusing on profit improvement and the execution of short-term and long-term strategies and tactics.  Our corporate finance services include business acquisition/divestiture advisory, debt and equity financing advisory and financial restructurings.  The firm's target markets include private and public companies with sales ranging from $20 million to $750 million in manufacturing, distribution, consumer products, printing, food processing, retail, contracting and healthcare.

FORT DEARBORN ADVISORS, LLC

Fort Dearborn Advisors provides mergers and acquisitions advisory service and debt and junior capital placements to companies with enterprise values above $10 million. The firm has represented over 100 sellers and buyers of companies and has a wealth of experience and dedicated transaction groups in select industries including: Automotive & Transportation, Business Services, Consumer Products & Retail, Food Processing & Distribution, Industrial Distribution, Industrial Growth, Metal Processing and Packaging and Printing & Publishing. Our clients include many leading, privately held companies, private equity firms and public corporations.

The firm's service philosophy requires that the principals of the firm will be actively involved in the services provided to our clients. We believe that business planning and corporate finance services require seasoned personnel who play a key and active role in each and every consulting engagement.

The principals at Fort Dearborn bring their clients a wide range of consulting and corporate finance expertise gained through previous relationships with large publicly held clients and middle market based clients. The firm's turnaround consulting, strategic planning, and transaction advisory services result in cash flow improvements for our clients which are a multiple of the fees charged. We deliver improved profit performance, increased cash flow generation, critical financing and successful acquisitions and business divestitures to our clients.

Kevin Cleary - Managing Partner
Mike Joyce - Partner
Kevin Kelly - Partner
Vito Mitria - Partner
William A. Marra- Partner
Tony Pacelli - Partner
Sean Broderick - Senior Manager
Gary Brugliera - Senior Manager
Mark Bruno - Senior Manager
Craig Morse - Managing Director

Kevin Cleary
Managing Partner

Mr. Cleary founded Fort Dearborn Partners in 1990. Mr. Cleary has extensive experience in delivering strategic planning services to growth and financially troubled companies. Kevin has worked extensively on several profit improvement engagements for under performing and growth companies. Mr. Cleary has served as lead partner in over a hundred successful turnarounds of financially troubled companies in a variety of industries. When requested, Kevin has assumed the role of chief operating officer for underperforming companies. Kevin has worked on several strategic planning assignments and strategic options analyses for growth oriented clients and underperforming companies.

In his career, Mr. Cleary has served as lead financial advisor in over fifty successful divestiture or acquisition transactions. Kevin has worked on over thirty-five sell side transactions. In connection with representing buyers including management buyouts, Kevin has assisted clients in raising debt and equity capital. Mr. Cleary has assisted several clients in refinancing senior debt facilities.

In over thirty years of experience, Kevin worked extensively in distribution, manufacturing, consumer goods and food industries. He has also worked n the following industries: printing, automotive, retail, transportation, construction, healthcare, banking and service.

Prior to establishing the firm, he was the partner-in-charge of the business and financial consulting practice in the Chicago office of Grant Thornton, a prominent public accounting and management consulting firm focused on middle market companies. Under his leadership, the consulting practice grew fourfold over a period of six years.

Mr. Cleary received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Northern Illinois University and his Master in Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. Kevin is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA and Illinois CPA Society. Mr. Cleary is a member of the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities and serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee and is a member of the Finance Committee. Mr. Cleary also serves on the Audit Committee of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. He also serves on the Financial Advisory Boards for Eby Brown Company, Kehe Food Distributors, Inc., Clark National, Inc. and St. Joseph High School.

Mike Joyce
Partner

Mr. Joyce has over sixteen years of professional experience in a variety of industries including manufacturing, distribution, construction, professional services and retail. Mike has worked extensively on many turnaround engagements, along with providing advisory services for debt refinancings and sale transactions. Prior to joining Fort Dearborn Partners, Mike was the Controller for MVP.com, a start-up e-commerce entity, where he focused on creating the financial infrastructure, managing the integration of acquired entities, financial planning and cash management.

Kevin Kelly
Partner

Mr. Kelly specializes in the financial leadership pf corporate turnarounds and restructurings.  He is highly skilled in leading the analysis, planning and execution of operational turnarounds and cash flow improvement strategies for under performing companies.

Mr. Kelly has over twenty-one years of professional experience serving the financial, operational and strategic needs and of a variety of industries including manufacturing and distribution, food processing, financial services, transportation, construction, printing & publishing and healthcare. 

Prior to joining the firm, Kevin was a partner at McGladrey & Pullen, a national public accounting and consulting firm focused on serving middle-market companies, where he assisted in the growth and management of their $30 million Chicagoland practice.  His background includes mergers and acquisitions, debt restructuring, cost containment, income tax planning and operational improvement.

Vito Mitria
Partner

Mr. Mitria has been focused on providing corporate planning, finance and management consulting services to a variety of businesses and their owners since 1989. He has worked extensively with the owners and managers of under-performing companies in the development of operational and strategic plans that focus on returning companies to positive cash flow and sustainable profitability as well as improving shareholder values. In addition to providing practical and unbiased advice and guidance to hundreds of companies and their management teams, Vito has also held interim management roles including those of CEO and CRO. During his career, Mr. Mitria has gained extensive experience working in the distribution, manufacturing, consumer products, food and construction and building products industries.

Vito has also been responsible for the closing of numerous purchase and divestiture transactions for healthy companies as well as those involving insolvency proceedings and liquidations outside of a court supervised process. He has also raised capital for both growth and turnaround situations and assisted numerous companies in successfully refinancing their debt. Mr. Mitria joined Fort Dearborn in 1993 after a 6-year career with McGladrey & Pullen, a national audit and consulting firm that focuses on serving the needs of middle market companies. During this period, Vito's focus was on valuation and transaction advisory services for acquisition and divestiture engagements as well as providing a variety of consulting services including bankruptcy and litigation support services. Prior to this Vito conducted numerous audits and related services of companies involved primarily in manufacturing and distribution as well as a variety of real estate activities.

Mr. Mitria received his undergraduate degree in Accounting from DePaul University and his Masters in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. Vito is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Turnaround Management Association.

William A. Marra
Partner

Mr. Marra has over thirty years of diverse financial, managerial and operational experience in a wide range of industries including high-growth, and consolidating industries. He has been instrumental in more than 300 acquisitions, start-ups, divestitures and turnarounds. Bill has worked as a consultant and at all levels of corporate management, domestically and internationally.  Prior to joining the firm in 1997, Bill was co-founder, President and Chief Operating Officer of Delivery Management, Inc. (DMI), a courier industry consolidator.  Before starting DMI, Mr. Marra was a principal in a successful consulting firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions, financial, investment, turnaround and strategic planning as well as other management advisory services.  Mr. Marra previously served as Chief Financial Officer for the Midwest operations of American Medical Response, a national ambulance and emergency response service, where he was responsible for the company's aggressive acquisitions program including post-acquisition integration.  Mr. Marra began his career at Waste Management, Inc. (WMI), helping to guide the company from a $50 million regional business to a multi-billion dollar international conglomerate.  During his 18 years at WMI, Bill held increasingly responsible managerial positions, ultimately serving as Chief Financial Officer of a $1.5 billion, 13 state operating group.

Throughout the course of his career, Mr. Marra has served in several interim management positions including Chief Restructuring Officer, CEO, COO and CFO and been instrumental in producing positive outcomes in a variety of insolvencies including 363 sales, receiverships, ABCs, and liquidations outside of any court supervised process.

Mr. Marra holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant. Bill is a member of the AICPA and the Illinois CPA Society.

Tony Pacelli
Partner

Mr. Pacelli has over seventeen years of professional experience in a variety of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, distribution, consumer products and financial services. He has worked extensively on several turnarounds, orderly liquidations and bankrupted enterprises on middle-market underperforming companies. In addition to profit improvement/turnaround assignments, Mr. Pacelli has acted as a Financial Advisor in several divestiture transactions. In connection with this role, Anthony has identified potential sources of capital and has structured and negotiated purchase agreements.

Prior to joining Fort Dearborn Partners, Anthony was corporate controller for a publicly traded transportation company. Mr. Pacelli also worked as a Senior Financial Analyst and Corporate Financial Auditor at Abbott Laboratories. Anthony started his career at Ernst & Young as an auditor where he worked on audits of middle market companies to Fortune 500 corporations.

Mr. Pacelli received his Master of Accountancy and his Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences from the University of Illinois and his Masters of Business Administration in Finance, Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago. Mr. Pacelli is a Certified Public Accountant.

Sean Broderick
Senior Manager

Mr. Broderick has over twenty years of professional experience in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, printing and publishing, automotive, transportation, gaming and retail.  Prior to joining the firm in 2003, Sean spent three years as a management consultant focused on turnaround initiatives, financial restructuring and bankruptcy advisory services for financially troubled companies.  

Prior to this, Sean was a Senior Manager at McGladrey & Pullen, a national public accounting and consulting firm serving middle-market companies.  Sean assisted clients with financial forecasting, mergers and acquisitions, profit improvement and cash management.

Mr. Broderick received his Bachelor of Business in Finance from Western Illinois University.  Sean is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA.

Gary Brugliera
Senior Manager

Mr. Brugliera has extensive retail industry experience in delivering strategic, tactical and financial management leadership to growth and financially troubled companies. Gary has served as a member of senior management in several retail concerns as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations. He has worked in profitable growth environments as well as companies in need of strategic redirection. Gary has had direct responsibility for all aspects of a business, including strategic planning, financial planning and analysis, accounting and reporting, distribution and logistics, loss prevention, real estate and information systems.

In his thirty two years of experience, in addition to multi-unit retail, Gary has worked with venture capital backed start ups, franchise operators, real estate development, hotels and financial services.

Prior to joining Fort Dearborn Partners, Gary had served most recently as CFO for a group of Harley-Davidson dealerships. Prior to that, he had been the CFO for Uptons, a 75 store chain of family department stores operating in the Southeastern U.S. Gary has also worked on the corporate staff of Household International as a senior financial analyst with responsibility for a $5 billion retail portfolio, including Vons Grocery Company. Gary began his professional career with Laventhol & Horwath as a senior auditor for the national accounting firm.

Mr. Brugliera received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Northern Illinois University and his Masters in Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. Gary has his CPA certification, has been a member of the Financial Executives Institute and an advisor to The Nat Nast Company.

Mark Bruno
Senior Manager

Mr. Bruno has over twenty-nine years of financial, accounting and operational experience with private, start-up and publicly traded companies, including distribution, manufacturing, construction, printing and transportation businesses.

Prior to joining the firm, Mark was CFO for a leading distributor of tactical equipment to the military and law enforcement. Mark also has held positions varying from Controller, CFO and General Manager for several leading electronics and toy manufacturing and distribution companies.

Prior to this, Mark spent two years as an Internal Audit Manager for a Fortune 50 company and five years at Grant Thornton, a prominent international public accounting firm. Mark has extensive experience in cost containment, profit improvement, debt restructuring, cash management, budgeting and financial forecasting and contract negotiations. In addition, Mark has extensive international experience with importing from Pacific Rim companies.

Mark received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Northern Illinois University. Mark is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Illinois CPA Society.

Craig Morse
Managing Director

Mr. Morse specializes in the origination and execution of corporate transactions. His experience set encompasses a broad range of corporate finance engagements, from divestitures, buy side representation, and recapitalizations to valuations and strategy development assignments. He is highly experienced in leading the analysis, planning, execution, and documentation of corporate transactions. He has worked with clients throughout the United States as well as international companies.

Mr. Morse has over twenty years of professional experience assisting companies and their owners in achieving their goals. He has worked in a variety of industries including manufacturing and distribution, real estate, technology and technology enabled services, and software. Craig has been responsible for the closing of numerous mergers, acquisitions, and divestiture transactions. He has also led private placements of debt and equity. Craig has also assisted clients with valuation issues including financial reporting and transaction related valuation opinions.

Prior to joining the firm, Craig lead the investment banking group within the Hilco Organization, a financial services firm focused on asset disposition and appraisal. Prior to Hilco, he was a Director in KPMG’s corporate finance practice, where he advised middle market companies on corporate transactions. Craig was also an associate with Kenmare Capital, a New York and London based private equity firm.

Mr. Morse received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from Boston College, and his MBA from the University of Notre Dame. Craig is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and a member of the Turnaround Management Association, the Association of Corporate Growth, and the Alliance of Mergers and Acquisitions Advisors.