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Michael Haith |
Michael is a proven entrepreneur providing unique experience and empathy for Sherpas partners, having created a half dozen successful businesses representing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues and the mentoring of over 300 franchisees in the building of their businesses around the world. He is owner of Pour la France!, the Rocky Mountain region’s longest-standing corporate catering company. Michael is also CEO of Maui Wowi Fresh Hawaiian Blends, and in partnership with the founders has created one of the world’s fastest growing and most successful franchise systems. With over 600 franchised units worldwide, Maui Wowi has twice been named to the Inc. 500 list and is perennially ranked on the Entrepreneur 500. Building on his franchising sales and marketing expertise, he co-founded Global Streak International, a sales organization devoted to aiding franchisors with developing and growing their franchise recruitment processes. Michael earned a BS Jounalism/Advertising from the University of Colorado. Other than spending much time with a household full of females including his two young daughters, two yellow labs, a couple of guinea pigs and a bunch of salt water fish, Michael finds great joy by flexing his entrepreneurial curiosity working with entrepreneurs of all types.
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Scott Andrews Founder & Principal |
Scott is a serial entrepreneur and experienced CEO with extensive operating experience in dynamic, wide ranging industries. He is Chairman and former CEO (9 years) of Picosecond Pulse Labs, a high-tech, venture backed, electronic instruments company located in Boulder, CO. Scott is also Chairman of Doc Popcorn, a rapidly growing Sherpas portfolio company. Prior to this Scott directed international marketing at 20th Century Fox and had a career in brand management at Quaker Oats (he’s the innovator of blue and purple Cap'n Crunch Crunchberries), Hallmark Cards (Everyday Humor Dept), and was Founder of the Hot Sauce Lover's Club. Scott earned a MBA from Columbia University and a BS Economics degree from the University of Kansas. He is an active participant in the philanthropic community as a Partner at Social Venture Partners and Director at Intercambio de Communidades. Scott loves adventure travel and being active outdoors - trail running, mountain biking, long distance hiking, camping, skiing & SCUBA diving. Scott is married and has two young daughters.
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Tom Wilten Managing Director |
Tom brings over a decade of deal making and evaluation of companies for acquisition and investment to the Sherpas team. He was most recently VP, Corporate Development and Strategy at Qwest Communications. In this capacity he led all of Qwest's mergers and acquisition activity, including the $22 billion merger with CenturyLink, closed in April 2011. In addition, Tom completed over a dozen smaller transactions with total deal value in excess of $500 million. Tom has evaluated literally hundreds of companies for potential acquisition or investment and brings this practiced evaluation process to the identification of potential Sherpas partners. Beyond M&A, he has managed the negotiation of several strategic commercial relationships and led numerous strategy projects for process imporovement and Qwest's participation in growing industry segments. Tom began his career as a Manager at Deloitte & Touche LLP, providing Financial Advisory Services to high technology clients in the San Francisco Bay area. He received his MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Cornell University. Tom is active in his community, participating on the Foundation board of his children's school and as coach of his children's soccer teams. Tom is an avid skier, hiker and golfer (when he can find the time). Tom is married and has three young children.
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Rick Barich Chief Financial Officer |
With a 15 year background in finance and accounting, Rick brings deep financial management experience and strong analytical skills to the Sherpas team. He is the CFO of Maui Wowi Hawaiian and has been CFO & Controller for numerous early stage companies. Rick has experience in many different industries including: retail franchising, telecommunications, high-tech, software development and travel. He started his career with 7 years of public accounting working in the Entrepreneurial Services group within Ernst and Young and Hein +Associates. Rick earned a BA Accounting from California State University – Long Beach. On a personal note, he enjoys outdoor activities with his wife and two boys, particularly skiing, boating, hiking and backpacking. Although most weekends you will find him either at the hockey rink, or the lacrosse/baseball field watching one his boys play.
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John Palmquist General Counsel |
John is an experienced attorney with a strong background as both outside and corporate counsel. He works closely with the Franchise Sherpas subsidiaries and franchise partners to implement legal strategies related to formation, regulatory compliance and ongoing development and operations matters. John is also General Counsel to Maui Wowi Hawaiian, a franchisor of Hawaiian coffee and smoothie mobile and fixed retail businesses. Prior to joining Maui Wowi in 2008, John was a partner in the Denver, Colorado office of Baker Hostetler LLP, a 650+ attorney law firm with offices throughout the United States. He was a member of the firm’s business practice group, emphasizing real estate transactions, hospitality and timeshare development. Before Baker Hostetler, John was an associate in the real estate group of Fairfield and Woods, P.C., a regional Denver based law firm. He has significant experience in franchise transactions, business transactions, real estate development and corporate law. John received a BA degree, cum laude, in English Literature from Colorado College in 1984 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver.
