Advisory Board

William S. Anderson

William S. Anderson is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Beverage Properties, Inc. (“NBP”). Mr. Anderson is the former Executive Vice-President of Topa Equities, Ltd., a diversified family business started by Mr. Anderson’s father, John Anderson, in 1956. Topa has 40 subsidiaries in five separate divisions: beverage distributorships, car dealerships, real estate, manufacturing and financial services. As Executive Vice-President of the parent company, he was in charge of acquisitions, litigation, real estate and human resources. Prior to joining Topa, Mr. Anderson was an attorney with O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles and a domestic policy assistant with Senator George J. Mitchell. Mr. Anderson sits on the Board of Directors of Topa Insurance Company and on the Advisory Boards of Performance Indicator, Real Estate Network Holdings, LLC, and PGP Capital Advisors. He is a Director-Nominee of the Belvedere Trust Mortgage Corporation. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and a member of the Board of Directors of the Weingart Center, a large non-profit agency serving LA’s homeless community. Mr. Anderson received his B.A. in 1980 from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, a Master’s from Boston University in 1984, and a J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1988.

Richard H. Block

Richard H. Block is Chairman of the $1 billion Consumer Packaging Group of MeadWestvaco Corporation. Mr. Block previously served as Senior Vice President of Westvaco Corporation and President of its Consumer Packaging Group. Prior to Westvaco’s acquisition of Impac Group, Inc., in 2000, Mr. Block was President and Chief Executive Officer of Impac, a multinational specialty packaging business with operations in the United States and Europe. Impac was first created by the merger of Klearfold, Inc., a family business and a portfolio company of Heritage Partners, and AGI, Inc., a very successful leveraged buyout led by Mr. Block. In addition to organically generated growth, Impac expanded its geographic footprint and product offering through a series of acquisitions, most notably, Tinsley Robor, PLC, the leading European packaging company in its field. During his tenure as CEO of AGI, Mr. Block was featured in Inc. magazine for his leadership and development of the AGI corporate culture. Mr. Block is an angel investor in several venture capital transactions. He earned his B.A. in business administration from Alfred University.

Elizabeth C. Lempres

Elizabeth C. Lempres is a Director in the Boston office of McKinsey & Co. Since joining the firm in 1989, she has focused on serving a broad range of consumer and technology clients. Over the last several years, she has developed deep expertise in later stage investing, serving a number of private equity/LBO players in New England. In addition to her client work, Ms. Lempres is a leader in the firm’s Retail and Packaged Goods Practices. She has authored a number of articles on building marketing capabilities and driving organic growth in consumer companies and is a frequent speaker at industry forums. Ms. Lempres holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School, where she was designated a Baker Scholar. She also graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Larry D. Tashjian

Larry D. Tashjian is currently a principal of CAM Capital Advisors, a family-owned business in Pasadena, California. He was previously CEO of Provident Investment Counsel (PIC), a Pasadena, California based growth manager. Mr. Tashjian was with PIC since 1981 and helped grow assets under management from $110 million to a peak asset value of $25 billion. Mr. Tashjian was actively involved in all aspects of developing PIC over his tenure, including the sale of PIC to United Asset Management in 1995 and the subsequent sale of United Asset Management to Old Mutual, PLC, in 2000. Mr. Tashjian currently serves on the Board of Directors of Professional Business Bank, a local community bank he helped establish. He also serves on the advisory boards of Performance Indicator, a Boston-based sport technology startup, PGP Capital Advisors, a Los Angeles based investment banking firm focused on middle market banking opportunities, and the USC Entrepreneurial Program. Mr. Tashjian also serves as chair of the Center for Investment Studies at the University of Southern California, a program he has been instrumental in conceptualizing and establishing. Mr. Tashjian holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. from the University of Southern California (USC) and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation (CFA).

Michael J. Jacobson

Mr. Jacobson has over 25 years of experience in business management, new company start-ups, leveraged buyouts, turnaround situations, and principal investing. Presently, his main activity is real estate development and construction. He also serves a member of the Finance Control Board for the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. The FCB is responsible for turning around the city’s finances and schools. As Chairman and CEO of Greenville Casino Partners between 1993 and 2002, he negotiated the acquisition and financings for two casinos. In 1988 he led the team that negotiated the purchase, in an LBO, of Vetco Gray, a worldwide leader in the manufacturing and repairing of oil field wellheads and valves. As President of Vetco Gray between 1988 and 1991 he turned the business around, increasing sales over 50% and EBITDA by almost $100 million, leading to a successful sale to a strategic buyer. He was a consultant, manager and Vice President at Bain & Company between 1979 and 1988. Mr. Jacobson holds a BS in Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.