Circle Peak benefits from its relationships with members of the firm’s Strategic Advisor Council, which consists of seasoned executives from the Consumer and Wealth Management fields. Members of the Strategic Advisor Council provide the firm, its partners, and portfolio companies, with access to significant management experience in the industry areas in which Circle Peak operates.

Consumer & Branded

James T. Gorman. Mr. Gorman has been in the athletic footwear and apparel consumer products industry for over 30 years. He is currently founder and President of Momentum Brand Group, a marketing, branding and management consulting firm located in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. As part of that consulting effort, Mr. Gorman serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Tour Golf Group, Inc., the global footwear licensee of the Callaway Golf Company.

Mr. Gorman began his career with Nike, Inc. in 1972 and served in a variety of domestic and international positions in retail, product development, R&D, manufacturing, sales, marketing and general management. Prior to leaving Nike, Mr. Gorman served as Divisional Vice President with responsibility for developing new businesses, divisions and product categories for the company.

After leaving Nike, as Senior VP of Logistics for adidas AG in Germany and Chief Product Officer in the U.S., Mr. Gorman managed the product process in a turnaround effort both in Europe and the U.S. Mr. Gorman later was CEO of Diadora America, an Italian athletic specialty company, where he repositioned the brand and business. In 1997, Mr. Gorman was appointed President of Puma North America where he jumpstarted its American business by repositioning the brand and implementing other critical initiatives.

Mr. Gorman holds a BS from the University of Oregon and currently resides in Hopkinton, MA


James J. Greco. Mr. Greco is Chief Executive Officer of Bruegger’s Enterprises, Inc a chain of 250 bakery cafes located across the U.S. Prior to joining Bruegger’s, Mr. Greco served as Chief Executive Officer of Fieldbrook Farms, Inc. the largest manufacturer and distributor of ice cream and frozen desserts in the Eastern United States supplying private label and branded products to retail and foodservice customers. As CEO, Mr. Greco led a turnaround of Fieldbrook Farms from negative EBITDA in 1996 when he started to $5.5 million in EBITDA in 2002, the year of its sale. Prior to joining Fieldbrook Farms, Mr. Greco served as Chief Operating Officer of Natural Country Farms, Inc. from 1991 to 1995 where he executed another turnaround, bringing the company from negative EBITDA when he started to $5.0 million in EBITDA when the company was sold to a private equity group prior to his departure.

Mr. Greco is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Quinnipiac University Entrepreneurship and Small Business Institute and a director of the Connecticut Food Bank. He earned a B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University, a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law and is a member of the Connecticut and Florida bars. Mr. Greco is married with two children and lives in Cheshire, Connecticut.


Brian Gustaitis. Mr. Gustaitis is a senior executive with over 30 years of experience in the food industry. Most recently, Mr. Gustaitis was President and COO of Kozy Shack Enterprises, a $100 million dollar privately owned manufacturer of all natural refrigerated puddings. Under his leadership, the company enjoyed a financial turn-around, reversing declining sales trends, repositioning the brand and refinancing/reducing the company's debt.

Prior to Kozy Shack, Mr. Gustaitis spent 5 years with Tetley USA, a well-known brand manufacturer and marketer of tea and coffee in the USA. He held the positions of President, Chief Operating Officer, and Vice President - Foodservice and Private Label. He was also responsible for the US interface of the worldwide Tetley group sale to Tata Tea of India.

Prior to Tetley USA, Mr. Gustaitis spent 15 years with Pepperidge Farm Inc., a division of The Campbell Soup Company, where he was Vice President and General Manager of the $130 million Frozen Foods division and VP General Manager of the $90 million Foodservice division. Under his leadership, the Frozen Foods and Foodservice divisions enjoyed consistent sales and earnings growth fueled by new products and new segment penetration. Prior to Pepperidge Farm, Mr. Gustaitis was Group Marketing Manager of the Foodservice Division with The Nestle' Company.

Mr. Gustaitis holds an MBA and a BS from the University of Bridgeport. He and his wife Patricia reside in Oxford CT.


Tory (Victor) K. Kiam, III. Victor K. (Tory) Kiam, III is the President of RPI Corp, a holding company consisting of diversified investments as well as five operating divisions: The Franzus Company, a leading travel appliance and accessory distributor; PIC Design, a manufacturer and distributor of precision industrial components; Cirrus Healthcare Products, a manufacturer and distributor of patented or proprietary consumer health products; Lady Remington, a party plan jewelry company; and FamilyTLC, a provider of parenting and educational activities.

Tory began his career in 1982 in the corporate finance department with Drexel Burnham Lambert but has spent most of his career at Remington Products, a leading appliance manufacturer. At Remington, Tory was a factory worker, a salesman, a product manager and eventually Vice President of both Marketing and Corporate Development. During that time, he oversaw many new product launches. He was also actively involved in the financial restructuring of Remington during the 1990s.

Tory continues to serve as a director of Remington and, in addition, serves as a director of: Creations Manufacturing, a furniture manufacturer; and ITI China Holdings, a holding company with diversified investments in China.

Tory lives in Manhattan with his wife, Elena, and their three children. He serves on the boards of Trinity School and the New York Junior Tennis League and is a member of the Young Presidents Organization. A native of New York City, Tory graduated from Trinity School and holds a BA in Government from Harvard College and an MBA from Stanford University. In his spare time, he enjoys sports, particularly tennis and running.


Michael K. Lorelli. Mr. Lorelli brings approximately 30 years of senior management experience in a wide range of consumer products companies to CirclePeak's Executive Council.

Following senior management roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Playtex, and PepsiCo, Mr. Lorelli held top management positions at Tambrands, Air Express International and Strategic Optical Holdings, where his areas of focus and accomplishment included marketing, sales, general management, M&A and turnarounds, while overseeing both domestic and international business units. His turnaround successes also include serving as CEO for private equity firms including Cerberus and Rutledge Capital.

At PepsiCo, Mr. Lorelli created the soft drink company's "Big Event” marketing strategy, which partnered the brand with high profile initiatives in entertainment, sports, consumer electronics, movies and home video. His assignments at PepsiCo included Executive Vice President - Marketing, Sales and R&D for Pepsi-Cola North America, President of Pepsi-Cola East, a $1.5 Billion operating company, and President of Pizza Hut's International Division, where he engineered the company’s expansion from 68 to 92 countries.

Mr. Lorelli holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Industrial Engineering from New York University and an MBA in Marketing from NYU's Graduate School of Business. He is also an avid traveler, YPO member, and author of a childrens' best-seller.


Robert F. McCarthy. Mr. McCarthy was, until early 2004, President of Acosta Grocery Channel, the grocery arm of Acosta Sales and Marketing Company, a leading full-service sales and marketing agency in North America providing outsourced sales, merchandising, marketing and promotional services to manufacturers in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Responsible for over 80 percent of the company’s $630 million in operations and 10,000 associates, Mr. McCarthy played an instrumental role in the company’s growth since 1998.

Mr. McCarthy joined Acosta in 1998 when he led PMI-Eisenhart, as President and COO, in its merger with the company. Acosta then entered into a marketing agreement with Luke Soules in 1999 and ultimately created a powerful new sales and marketing company that spanned the nation. The company’s range of services was further expanded in 1999 through the acquisitions of Kelley-Clarke and the MAI Companies.

Prior to Acosta, Mr. McCarthy assumed increasingly senior positions at PMI over the course of 25 years, being promoted from a Marketing Manager to Account Executive, President and COO, and finally President and CEO. Under his leadership, the company successfully merged with Eisenhart & Associates in 1995, and he grew the combined entity’s revenues from $36 million to $104 million over three years. During his tenure as President and COO of PMI-E, Mr. McCarthy oversaw several strategic acquisitions and the company held a strong market leader position in the Central U.S. prior to its merger with Acosta.

Between 1980 and 1995, Mr. McCarthy was a member of numerous Client/Sales Agency Advisory Boards including Clorox, Minute Maid, Mars, Domino Sugar, Nabisco, IRI, Quaker, Brach, and Pillsbury. He is also the past President of the Chicago Food Brokers Association.

Mr. McCarthy received his BBA in Marketing from the University of Notre Dame and a Masters from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

Wealth Management

R. Stephen Bartholow, Jr. Chief Investment Officer & Senior Managing Director, Carret and Company LLC, a registered investment advisor founded in 1963 by the legendary investor, Philip Carret, for high-net-worth and institutional investors with over $1.5 billion in account assets.

Mr. Bartholow has over 16 years of investment experience and directs Carret’s investment strategy, equity research, and portfolio investments for high net worth individuals, family offices, mini-institutions, profit sharing plans, and foundations. Mr. Bartholow manages over $150 million in assets.

Prior to Carret, Mr. Bartholow was Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, Cowen Asset Management, where he ran the marketing and client service efforts for the firm’s high net worth division. Mr. Bartholow began his career as an equity analyst with Dreyfus Personal Management in the 1980s. Mr. Bartholow holds a B.S. in Economics and Finance from Southern Methodist University.


Skip R. Karetsky. Samuel R. ("Skip") Karetsky is founder and CEO of The Karetsky Group, LLC, a wealth management advisory firm. In 1969, Skip joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the Institutional Equity Department and was a founding member of the Restricted Stock Group. In 1974, he joined Morgan Stanley & Co. as the founder of the Restricted Stock Group in the Equity Division. During his sixteen year tenure at Morgan Stanley, he became a Managing Director and had management responsibility in the Individual Investor Services (Private Clients), International Equity and MS Services Departments. During this period, Skip played a key role in the Firm's MBA recruiting and training programs. He created the first training program for the Sales and Trading Division in 1975 and had senior responsibilities for campus recruiting and training for fifteen years. In 1985, he created and thereafter was responsible for the Private Client Services MBA recruiting and training programs.

In 1990, Skip joined OFFITBANK as a Managing Director and member of the Management Committee. This New York State chartered trust bank managed approximately $11 billion in a range of fixed income assets for private clients, not-for-profit organizations and institutions. It merged with Wachovia Bank in 2001. After slightly more than five years at OFFITBANK, Skip returned to Morgan Stanley and from 1995-1997 served as a Managing Director and Advisory Director. During this second "tour of duty", he was Global Head of the Private Client Services Department, a group of approximately 600 people, with offices in five U.S. cities and six venues in Europe and Asia, including the Swiss Private Bank domiciled in Zurich. He also served as a member of the Equity Division Operating Committee.

In November, 1998, Skip joined European Investors Incorporated as a Managing Director and Principal. He was head of U.S. Private Client Marketing, a member of the equities investment committee and the firm's Chief Compliance,Officer. European Investors, a real estate securities and REIT asset management firm, manages portfolios totaling $3.5 billion for European and U.S. private clients, institutions, corporations, endowments and foundations. Prior to joining European Investors, Skip was an advisor and consultant to Montgomery Securities, several global money management firms, a family office group and private investors.

Skip graduated from Yale University in 1966 with a BA in History and received an MBA in 1968 from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He serves on the Board of Directors of Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc. the Board of Trustees of E.I.I. Realty Securities Trust, The Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, St. Mary's Foundation for Children and the American Jewish Historical Society. Skip and his wife Nancy, an attorney, reside in New York City.

Richard Vartabedian. Most recently Mr. Vartabedian functioned as Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Asset Management of North America, which manages approximately $150 billion with a staff of 1,100 in locations around the world. Mr. Vartabedian was one of the five regional managers charged with the responsibility of managing the company. He held the title of Executive Vice President of HSBC Bank USA.

Prior to joining HSBC, Mr. Vartabedian was brought into Republic National Bank to evaluate the investment organization and develop a strategic approach compatible with the Bank’s philosophy. The business model that was developed was an early representation of open architecture. Mutual funds were established, external investment managers were identified and a “best of breed” marketing approach was articulated, with a financially successful result for the Bank and improved investment results for clients.

Mr. Vartabedian began his career at Chase Manhattan moving from security analyst, to fund and portfolio management. As Division Executive of the Investment Management business he was responsible for bottom line investment and financial performance. For a five-year period, the Vista Large Cap Equity and Vista New York Tax-Exempt Funds were rated number one in their respective mutual fund peer groups.

Mr. Vartabedian holds a BA from Bates College, an MBA from Babson and attended New York University - Stern School of Business working toward a PhD in finance and completed all but his dissertation. He is a member of the New York Yacht Club and has served as Treasurer of the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Boothbay Harbor YMCA.