John Bolduc , Chairman of the Board
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Mr. Bolduc has been Chairman of our Board since 2012. Mr. Bolduc is an Executive Managing Director of H.I.G. Capital, having joined the firm in 1993. Mr. Bolduc is responsible for leading H.I.G. Capital’s credit platform, which manages approximately $19 billion of capital across multiple investment funds. He has more than 25 years of experience focused on credit investments, including primary loans and distressed debt, as well as private equity investments. Mr. Bolduc currently serves on the boards of directors of several privately held companies.

Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital in 1993, Mr. Bolduc was at the management-consulting firm of Bain & Company, a leading worldwide management-consulting firm, where he directed domestic and international assignments for Fortune 500 clients. Prior to joining Bain & Company, Mr. Bolduc worked for three years as the Assistant to the President of Chemed Corporation (NYSE: CHE), a specialty chemical company. Mr. Bolduc is a graduate of Lehigh University with a B.S. degree in Computer Science and earned his M.B.A. from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Mr. Bolduc was selected to serve as Chairman of our Board due, in part, to his familiarity with our portfolio companies, his broad experience with the day-to-day management and operation of other investment funds and his significant background investing in debt and working in the financial services industry.

Stuart Aronson, Chief Executive Officer
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Mr. Aronson has served as our Chief Executive Officer since 2016 and has served as a director since 2017. Mr. Aronson also currently serves as Group Head of the U.S. direct lending platform of H.I.G. Capital, a position he has held since February 2016. In this position, Mr. Aronson is responsible for building the debt solutions offered by H.I.G. Capital to non-sponsor and sponsor borrowers in the U.S. middle market. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, from July 1990 through December 2015 Mr. Aronson served as an officer of the General Electric Company and as the President and Chief Executive Officer of GSF. Mr. Aronson also served during this period on the board of directors of Peacock Equity Partners, a mid-to-late stage venture capital fund organized as a joint venture between GE Capital and NBC Universal. Prior to joining GSF, Mr. Aronson led the commercial and industrial platform of GE Structured Finance (Americas), Inc., which provided structured debt and equity solutions to borrowers in the United States, Europe and Asia. Before that, he held several positions with GE Capital Markets Group, Inc., including serving as leader of domestic product execution, including syndications, private placements, securitization and trade finance. Mr. Aronson began his career in the syndications group of Chemical Banking Corporation. He also currently serves on the Board of Kids in Crisis in Greenwich, Connecticut. Mr. Aronson graduated cum laude from Tufts University and received an M.B.A. with honors from Columbia Business School.

Mr. Aronson’s expertise in sponsored lending and his experience as our Chief Executive Officer and Group Head of the U.S. direct lending platform of H.I.G. Capital are among the attributes that led to the conclusion that Mr. Aronson should serve on our Board.

Jay Carvell, Director
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Mr. Carvell has served as a director since 2012. He is responsible for all aspects of our investment process, including sourcing, structuring and post-closing strategies, as well as portfolio management. Until May 2016, Mr. Carvell served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Carvell was a founding partner of WhiteHorse Capital Partners, L.P., a leading credit investor and manager of collateralized loan obligations. At WhiteHorse Capital Partners, Mr. Carvell co-managed portfolios of par and distressed loans across numerous industries and sectors through several market cycles. Mr. Carvell has over 22 years of experience in credit investment and management, including structuring and placement, trading and restructuring and reorganization. This experience branches across lower mid-cap, mid-cap and broadly syndicated investments. Before founding WhiteHorse Capital Partners in 2003, Mr. Carvell held various positions with Highland Capital Management, L.P. and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Mr. Carvell earned both a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Mr. Carvell was selected to serve as a director on our Board due to his experience investing in credit instruments and managing WhiteHorse Capital Partners. Mr. Carvell’s experience building WhiteHorse Capital Partners brings expertise in developing a successful credit investment firm to our Board.

Rick D. Puckett, Independent Director
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Mr. Puckett has served as a director since 2012. Mr. Puckett currently serves as (i) a director and member of Audit Committee of Pet Valu Holdings LTD., a Canadian retail company that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, (ii) a director and chair of the Audit Committee of Driven Brands, Inc., a consumer products and services company (NASDAQ: DRVN), and (iii) a director and chair of the Audit Committee of SPX Corporation, a public company in the heavy industrial equipment industry (NYSE: SPXC). He previously served on the Board of Advisors of Wake Forest University in Charlotte, North Carolina from 2012 to 2018 and also served on the Board of Blumenthal Performing Arts as chairman and director from February 2007 to 2017.

From 2006 to 2017, Mr. Puckett held various positions at Snyder’s-Lance, Inc., including (i) was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer from January 2006 to December 2016 and (ii) a consultant in 2017. Mr. Puckett has been retired from Snyder’s-Lance, Inc. since December 2017. From December 2003 to January 2006, Mr. Puckett served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of United Natural Foods Inc. where he was responsible for the company’s finance, technology, human resources, legal, accounting and treasury functions. From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Puckett was employed at Suntory Water Group Inc., where he held several executive positions, including Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer, Vice President, Corporate Controller and Vice President, Business Development and Planning. Mr. Puckett is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MBA in Finance from Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky and a BA in Accounting from the University of Kentucky.

Mr. Puckett’s experience as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at a public company and his training as a Certified Public Accountant are among the attributes that led to the conclusion that Mr. Puckett should serve on our Board.

Stacy Smith, Independent Director
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Mr. Smith has served as a director since 2015. Mr. Smith currently serves on the board of directors of Independent Bank Group, a bank holding company (NASDAQ: IBTX), to which he was elected in February 2013. He also currently serves on the board of directors of USD Partners LP, an energy-related logistics company (NYSE: USDP), to which he was elected in October 2015. Mr. Smith co-founded in February 2013 and remains a partner of Trinity Investment Group, a firm which invests in private equity transactions, public equity securities and other assets. Since 2013, he has also served as a partner of SCW Capital, LP, a hedge fund. In 1997, Mr. Smith co-founded Walker Smith Capital, a Dallas-based small- and mid-cap equity hedge fund, where he was a partner and served as a portfolio manager until December 2012. Mr. Smith received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990.

Mr. Smith’s experience as a board member, partner for several investment companies and manager for a hedge fund are among the attributes that led to the conclusion that Mr. Smith should serve on our Board.

Rick P. Frier, Independent Director
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Mr. Frier has served as a director since 2016. He is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee for Trivium Corporation. He is currently a board member of US Salt Corporation. He previously served as the Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee for Exal Corporation. He previously served on the Board of Affinion Group, Inc., where he was the Chairman of the Audit Committee. Mr. Frier also served as a Chairman of the Board of Shearer’s Foods Inc. Prior to these positions, Mr. Frier was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Chiquita Brands International, Inc. Before his position with Chiquita Brands, Mr. Frier served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and director of Catalina Marketing Corporation.

Mr. Frier received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, and an M.B.A. from the Claremont Graduate University.

Mr. Frier’s experience as a board member and chief financial officer of several companies are among the attributes that led to the conclusion that Mr. Frier should serve on our Board.

Kevin F. Burke, Independent Director
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Mr. Burke has served as a director since 2017. He currently serves as an Independent Investment Professional to Churchill Asset Management LLC, a leading provider of senior and unitranche debt financing to middle market companies and as a consultant to Encina Private Credit, a non-bank specialty finance company. From February 2017 to February 2020, Mr. Burke served as a Senior Advisor to THL Credit Advisors LLC, an alternative credit investment manager for both direct lending and broadly syndicated investments through public and private vehicles. From January 2016 until December 2016, Mr. Burke served as Senior Managing Director of the loan syndication sales and trading department of Antares Capital, a company specializing in acquisition finance for private equity firms. Prior to this position, from April 2003 until December 2015, Mr. Burke was a Senior Managing Director of GE Capital, a leading provider of debt financing to the U.S. sponsor middle market. Mr. Burke received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Harvard University in 1976.

Mr. Burke’s experience as a senior managing director and his debt financing expertise is among the attributes that led to the conclusion that Mr. Burke should serve on our Board.