Advisory Board
Jim Kornfeld
Jim has served as PAX President and CEO since its inception in 2015 and is responsible for oversight of company operations. Prior to the creation of PAX Holdings he was President and CEO of Sucor LLC, a private investment and distribution firm, and President and CEO of Sharp Packaging Systems, where he served from 2001 until the sale of the Company in 2011. In addition to growing companies, Kornfeld has built a broad range of experience in manufacturing and packaging over the past thirty years, with emphasis on operations, sales and marketing, product development, strategic initiatives and corporate development.
Kornfeld’s early career included various positions with Kelley Company, a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of loading dock equipment, and CNC machine tool sales and finance for various Japanese manufacturers. Jim serves on the boards of PAX Holdings, Sussek Machine Company and Waukesha Metal Products, as well as other corporate and community boards including the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business and Finance from Marquette University in 1986. Kornfeld has a passion for growing long-term sustainability with the organizations he serves, job creation, diversity and analytics. In his spare time Jim enjoys reading, golf and backpacking. His favorite book is Brave New World, favorite golf course is The Royal County Down and favorite National Park is Glacier.
Todd Osburn
Todd is a Founding Partner of Greyrock Capital Group. Formed in 2001, Greyrock is a private investment firm with offices in San Francisco, Chicago, and Wilton, CT. The firm, with assets under management in excess of $500 million, invests in mezzanine debt and equity securities to finance buyouts, recapitalizations, and internal growth needs of middle-market companies.
Prior to the formation of Greyrock, Todd co-managed the Midwest Regional Office for the Corporate Finance Division of Bank of America (f/k/a NationsCredit) and was jointly responsible for transaction origination, underwriting and portfolio management.
From 1988 to 1996 Mr. Osburn held several positions of increasing responsibility at Continental Illinois National Bank, both in the Chicago headquarters and the Atlanta Regional office. Earlier in his career, Mr. Osburn worked in Finance for Roadmaster Corporation, located in Olney, Illinois.
Mr. Osburn sits on various boards of Greyrock’s portfolio company investments and is a member of the Indiana State University Foundation and Sycamore Holding’s Board of Directors.
Brian Quandt
Brian is co-founder of Quandt, Berndt & Company, LLC (QB Company). QB Company is a tax/financial consulting and compliance focused accounting firm in the Milwaukee area. The firm was founded on deep, long-term relationships with clients and business partners. The team at QB Company strives to be a valued business advisor to their clients in all aspects of financial reporting, tax, and succession planning – in short, the “central hub” of your financial and tax team.
QB Company’s team of professionals helps their clients develop best practices for financial reporting, tax compliance, tax minimization, and strategic planning initiatives. QB Company team members have served as advisors to hundreds of clients with a focus on tax minimization and enhanced financial reporting, reduced risk and increased, long-term cash flow from transactions.
Robb Risch
Robb is one of the founding members of SBRK Law Group and concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, general corporate matters and tax-related planning for a variety of business transactions.
Offering his clients a complete range of general corporate counsel and services, Robb represents closely held businesses, venture funds, institutional investors, and both borrowers and lenders in credit matters. He provides legal advice relating to business formations, private placements, succession planning, general management and contractual issues (both on behalf of U.S. companies and in an international context for their foreign affiliates). Robb has also handled numerous mergers and acquisitions ranging from management buyouts to the acquisitions and sales of publicly traded entities.
A Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Robb received his preparatory education at the University of Wisconsin, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He served as an editor for the Wisconsin Law Review and is a member of the Order of the Coif. Robb serves as a board member for several businesses throughout Wisconsin. He is a member of the Waukesha, Butler and Brookfield Chambers of Commerce, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Bar Association. He is also involved in charitable and civic organizations and is a member of the Board of Directors of The Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation.
Paul Stewart
Over the past thirty years, Paul has developed significant experience in a wide range of private equity investing from venture capital to leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations. Before forming PS Capital, Paul was one of three partners at Horizon Partners, Ltd, a middle-market buyout firm, where he was involved in all aspects of its operation including investment decisions and portfolio management. Prior to joining Horizon in 1990, he was vice president in the venture capital subsidiary of Republic Bank, which was acquired by NationsBank (now Bank of America). His primary focus at Republic was the development and management of a diversified venture capital investment portfolio.
Paul currently serves on all the Boards of the PS Capital Partners portfolio companies including Milwaukee Composites, Waukesha Metal Products, PAX Holdings, International Thermal Systems, JTS Direct, CM Global, Sussek Machine Company, Engineered Custom Coatings, and Pack Logix. He also serves on the Board of the Novo Group. Paul is a member and former Chairman of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG is an international organization comprised of over 50 chapters and 14,000 plus professionals involved in various aspects of corporate growth) and currently serves on the Board of the Wisconsin Chapter (“ACG WI”). In addition, Paul served as a Trustee on the State of Wisconsin Investment Board.
Paul received his bachelors of science degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1982 and a master’s degree of business administration, with a finance concentration summa cum laude from Texas A&M University in 1984. In addition, Paul completed the 13th Annual Venture Capital Institute Seminar in 1987. Paul currently serves as an Adjunct Professor, Bostrom Entrepreneur-in-Residence, for the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee teaching Business Modeling and Venture Finance.
Paul Sweeney
Over the past twenty-five years, Paul has developed significant experience in a wide range of private equity investing from venture capital to leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations. Before forming PS Capital, Paul was a founding partner at Horizon Partners, Ltd, a middle market buyout firm, where he was involved in all aspects of its operation including investment decisions and portfolio management. Prior to forming Horizon in 1988, he worked for The Corporate Development Group of Arthur Young.
Paul currently serves on all the Boards of the PS Capital Partners portfolio companies including Milwaukee Composites, Waukesha Metal Products, PAX Holdings, International Thermal Systems, Superior Health Linens, Sussek Machine Company, CM Global and JTS Direct. Paul also serves on the board of Wisconsin Bank & Trust (a wholly owned subsidiary of Heartland Financial USA, Inc., a publically traded bank holding company with $6.8 billion in assets), Novo Group, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC), MMAC’s Council of Small Business Executives, United Way of Greater Milwaukee, Milwaukee Scholars Charter School and Children’s Hospital and Health Systems.
Paul received his bachelor’s of science degree in finance from Georgetown University’s School of Business Administration in 1987. In addition, Paul completed the 16th Annual Venture Capital Institute Seminar in 1990.