The Problems and Opportunities of Running a Private Business

Panel Bios


bondRich Bond is a Wharton MBA who worked for Seagram for 11 years and ran a family business for two. In 1986, he founded Bond & Company, focusing on financial recruiting. Initially, Bond recruited for large public companies such as Pepsi, Nestle, and Black & Decker but now works primarily with small to middle-sized companies that are either privately owned or held in portfolios of private equity firms. Over the years, Bond has seen the role of finance in many companies change from one of mere recording and reporting into that of a strategic partnership with management, helping the businesses to improve their profitability and grow more rapidly. Bond calls what he does Results-Based Recruiting because he helps his clients hire and retain professionals who more than pay for themselves. He recently published a white paper offering five tools that can help your business thrive. www.BondandCompany.com. He resides in southwestern Connecticut.


charbel-tagher-photoCharbel Tagher is the president of Specified Technologies Inc (STI), a firestopping manufacturer he co-founded in 1990. Today, STI is one of the top two firestopping manufacturers in the United States, with an increasing presence worldwide. After earning his MBA at Wharton, Tagher spent 8 years with McKinsey and Company. Subsequently, he became a Vice President of Thomas and Betts, a manufacturer of electrical and electronic components, where he ran a division for three years. Prior to co-founding STI, he spent two years with an investment group. He is deeply involved with numerous industry associations representing manufacturers, contractors, as well as code bodies. In addition, he is dedicated to helping the less fortunate, principally through improved education. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Teach For Lebanon and co-founded TFL-US, which raises a high proportion of the funds needed to support TFL. Tagher is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Touch Foundation which trains doctors and nurses in Tanzania, and helps build hospitals. He lives in Miami.

theresa-boyce-photoTheresa Boyce is currently Chair and CEO of the CEO Trust, an association for CEOs that began in NYC. Has a history of successfully launching and managing high growth in a spectrum of companies from entrepreneurial ventures to multi-billion dollar corporations. She is passionate about business and about bringing people together, which has led her to devote herself to executive associations. These associations create deep relationships and enable unforgettable exchanges. Boyce has worked as a CPA for KPMG. After earning her Wharton MBA in finance and marketing, she obtained initial marketing and sales training at Procter & Gamble in brand management. Industry experience includes consumer packaged goods, fashion and banking. She has been very active in the Wharton Alumni Association, sitting on the board for nine years and reviving the Wharton Club of DFW. She is also involved with several national and local, profit and non-profit organizations and serves as director on three private boards with experience in compensation, governance, finance, and audit. She resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

ed-mclaughlin-photoEd McLaughlin is the founder of four businesses and is currently running Blue Sunsets LLC, a real estate and angel investment firm. He bootstrapped his first business, United Systems Integrators (USI) Corporation, a corporate real estate outsourcing firm, and grew it into an Inc. 500 company. In 2001, Ed earned Entrepreneur of the Year honors from Ernst & Young. In 2005, he sold USI to Johnson Controls, a Fortune 100 company, and at that point, became CEO of JCI’s Global Workplace Business for the Americas. More recently, Ed wrote and published: The Purpose Is Profit: The Truth about Starting and Building Your Own Business. A member of the Board of Governors for Tufts Medical Center, Ed founded its David E. Wazer Breast Cancer Research Fund. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, where he is a member of the Board of Trustees. Active in philanthropy, Ed lives in Connecticut.



photo-business-chris-fitzgeraldChris FitzGerald is a four-time CEO for middle-market private equity portfolio companies, two of which he led through successful enterprise sales. Previously, FitzGerald served almost 20 years as a general manager for domestic and international business units of Carrier Corporation and Pitney Bowes. He has both MBA and MA degrees from the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia. He currently resides on Maryland's Eastern Shore.