Our People & Leadership

Ed is the Chief Financial Officer of ForteOne. In addition, Ed engages in Administrative functions for the firm including, Operations, IT and Human Resources.

Ed has gained over 30 years of experience in developing and implementing financial and operational infrastructures for financial services companies. His entrepreneurial spirit was tapped in 1996, when Ed, as CFO, was part of a group that formed a publicly held commercial bank. Starting as a concept, Ed designed, developed, and put in place a platform allowing the organization to reach $500M in assets, before being sold. That spirit continued when he joined a $45B International Bank Holding company headquartered in Taiwan.  There he was hired to increase the holding company’s investment in the US operations.

Ed was the CFO of a family office focused on making control investments in middle market businesses. He was the fund accountant, a board member and operational leader within various portfolio companies. In his most recent role, Ed was the President and CEO of a building products portfolio company. Ed holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from The University of Toledo, Toledo Ohio.

As the Chief Marketing Officer Manda is responsible for directing and implementing FortéOne’s marketing strategy, driving brand awareness, and promoting our Accelerator Solutions.

Manda brings to FortéOne her creative energy, persistent drive for client-focused solutions, and diverse marketing experience. She has spent the last 15 years as a marketing consultant in the financial industry, creating award-winning websites; designing brand strategies from concept to launch; and managing multifaceted campaigns across print, digital, and social platforms.

Simon Ferns is FortéOne’s Consultant Relations liaison. He is a highly experienced Competitive Intelligence and Executive Search Professional with over 25 years’ global experience.

Simon has completed many complex and intense projects for Fortune 100 organizations; piecing together disparate information from multiple cold sources to produce cogent, coherent and actionable intelligence that has aided C Suite Strategy making. Highly experienced in all parts of the Executive Search process, he has successfully executed C-Suite positions in the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Previously, he was the Senior Vice President of the Americas region for Talent Intelligence (TI), a global consultancy that uses its expertise to find, recruit, and retain key talent through proactive management consulting and Executive Search. Simon was with TI from 2003, initially in the Sydney office, and then from 2007-2019, in  Chicago. He was responsible for the operational delivery of all the Americas output including, compliance, internal HR and recruitment strategy, and delivery of new revenue streams.

Simon also has experience as an executive search consultant and was the Australasian Research Manager for a large global Executive Search firm.  His earlier career was in recruitment in Hong Kong and the UK.  He has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from the University of Manchester, UK.

Simon’s 25 years of multinational and multi-industry experience allows him to swiftly plug in to industry networks across a broad variety of functional markets.

Amy Green is an accomplished supply chain professional with over 25 years’ experience in distribution and logistics, transportation, operations, and network optimization. Her strengths include operational turnarounds, strategic planning, process improvement, profitability enhancement and teambuilding. She has experience successfully managing private and contract distribution networks with fleets in excess of 300 trucks in same day/next day service environments.

Amy has worked on and led several successful engagements with FortéOne in supply chain, transportation, and logistics as well as serving as interim Chief Operating Officer. Prior experience includes senior leadership at Robeks Corporation as VP Supply Chain, McLane Foodservice as Director of Operations, and Home Depot Supply as Director of Logistics as well as roles with Coca-Cola, Penske, and Whirlpool. Amy received her BA in Materials and Logistics Management and completed the Logistics Executive Development Program, both from Michigan State University.

Amy held the title of international Pro-Am women’s jet ski champion for four years and continues to organize races for the international committee.

Doug Spitler has been a CEO for multiple private-equity-owned companies as well as a group president for Fortune 500 and FTSE-50 companies. He specializes in general management, manufacturing and construction consulting and has implemented Lean Enterprise, Lean Manufacturing and Lean Construction methods in multiple companies. He has also successfully integrated multiple acquisitions in the aerospace and computer industries and has served on the boards of two companies.

As a CEO and group president, Doug dramatically increased the EBITDA of the businesses he led, and in one case increased EBITDA by 600%.

Doug’s industry experience includes filtration, construction, aerospace, electronics, defense, oil & gas equipment, controls and industrial products. His process expertise includes Lean Enterprise, Lean Construction, Lean Manufacturing, the Strategy Deployment Process, organizational alignment, strategic selling, strategic pricing, new product introduction and operational financial analysis.

With FortéOne, Doug has consulted with companies ranging from $100M to $600M in revenues in multiple industries.

Doug began his career with Exxon Chemical, holds a BA summa cum laude from Miami University and an MBA from the University of Nebraska. Doug is also the holder of nine patents.

George is a proven CEO who has turned around, grown and sold at strong multiples of EBITDA several private equity and family owned portfolio companies. He has decades of experience as Interim CEO, board advisor, consultant and executive roles at Procter & Gamble, other Fortune 100 and middle market firms. George often is called in to rebuild the bottom and top lines (as well as the organizations and functions) of companies in distress, stalled, or looking for a highly successful sale / transition to new ownership.

George has a down-to-earth, pragmatic approach that leverages good judgement, relationship-building and strong leadership, financial, operational and analytical skills. Highly effective at forging trust with PE owners/family owners/investors, boards, bankers and senior management, George handles major time-sensitive matters – including loss or pending departure of CEO and/or other key executives (i.e. President. COO, CMO) due to non-performing EBITDA / bottom line losses, pricing problems, declining revenues, customer relationship and/or customer buyer issues, as well as potential unexpected departures, illness and leaves of absence.

George has been recognized in several industries for solving urgent situations, achieving significant business growth, and completing turnaround successes in a broad range of sectors: Brand & Private Label Foods; B-to-B as well as Consumer Goods; Retail & Wholesale Distribution; and Industrial as well as Technical/Technology Products & Services. His experience spans all core functions – CEO & executive management, finance, sales, marketing, R&D / new products, operations, planning / budgeting, systems, human resources, and supply chain / purchasing / inventory / warehousing.

George has received many industry awards and attained them for clients, too. Prior to his professional career, George worked in skilled trades / plant labor positions, was a university counselor, and graduated from University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with top-of-class honors including: Beta Gamma Sigma, Bronze Tablet, Mortar Board and Student Leadership awards.

Juliann Larimer is an accomplished technology solutions executive with 30 years of experience building and managing organizations to deliver profitable growth both organically and through M&A. She has served in senior leadership positions that have included CEO and President and held board positions in both private equity and public companies. She began her career with a series of technical, sales and marketing roles at companies like Bridgestone, IBM, and Accenture and has had broad experience in software, services, and technology hardware companies serving the retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation and logistics industries. Juliann’s key leadership experiences include Chairperson, President and CEO of Peak Technologies, a technology systems integrator serving F500 customers in North America and Europe. She served in multiple executive positions at Zebra Technologies, including Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager of North America. Prior to Zebra, she held global commercial roles reporting to the CRO and CMO of Motorola Solutions.

Juliann has been recognized for her leadership, channel, and industry expertise. In 2019, she was recognized as one of “Seven Outstanding Women in Supply Chain and Logistics” by Inbound Logistics as well as named to the “Pros to Know” by Supply & Demand Chain Executive. In 2017, Larimer was awarded Women of M2M IoT by Connected World Magazine, and in 2016, the Internet of Things Institute named her one of Fifty Most Influential Women in IoT. CRN has recognized her multiple times for channel leadership and vision including Channel Chiefs, Power 100, and Channel Pros to Know. The Illinois Diversity Council granted her a Leadership Excellence Award and named her one of Illinois Most Powerful and Influential Women for her leadership and commitment to DEI initiatives in the workplace.

Juliann holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Vanderbilt University. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Culver-Stockton College and in February 2022 was appointed to the Board of Directors of Twin Disc, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWIN) where she serves on the Audit and Compensation & Executive Development Committees.

Josh Onishi is an innovative global thought leader with extensive executive experience, having worked deeply within the foodservice and food distribution industries. Josh is an expert in new market identification and strategic positioning, working within turnaround of high-growth and fast-paced environments. He has a proven ability to increase sales and bottom-line growth through leading with core values and operational excellence. Some key accomplishments include:

• Led a $140 million company with 300 direct-owned stores, 70 franchised stores and 20 delivery partner clients. Increased revenues by 33% and EBITDA by 65% within a 3-year period as CEO.
• Created franchising subsidiary to open 70 franchised stores within 2 years.
• Turned around profits and managed overall process for sale of 5 separate companies.
• Helped company to provide sustainable and best-quality sushi brands and leader in the U.S. retail markets by aligning goals and projects to incorporate core values and company’s mission statement.

Prior experience includes President and CEO of Hana Group North America as well as Peace Dining Corporation. He has also held multiple roles as Chief Financial Officer.

Josh received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Osaka University in Japan. He then earned his Master of Science in Management Engineering from University of Bridgeport and an MBA from Columbia University (with distinction).

Tom Wright has over twenty-five years of domestic and international officer-level supply chain leadership experience with responsibility for materials budgets over $500 million and logistics budgets over $400 million. His extensive experience in manufacturing, wholesale, and retail environments has led to demonstrated results in improved service levels, working capital improvements, and direct materials/logistics cost reductions.

Tom has executed over 30 mid-market FortéONE engagements since 2011 leveraging his experience and expertise in: Supply Chain Management – Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SI&OP), Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) – Information Technology  – Organizational Development- Sales, Inventory/Operations Planning – Multi-Site Management – Advance Planning and Scheduling – Direct and Indirect Sourcing for International Operations – Distribution Resource Planning (DRP) – Order Management – Warehousing and Logistics – Supply Base Development – Customer Alignment – General Leadership

Tom has a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Kalamazoo College and an MBA in Materials and Logistics Management from Michigan State University.

Laura Mangini has extensive Human Resource Management experience in all facets of the HR function, spanning the entire employee lifecycle. Her specialty is providing Human Resources services on an outsourced basis to clients including the development, support, and administration of the following: Recruiting, Hiring Process, and Onboarding; Benefits, Employee Handbook, and Employee Relations; and Performance Management including Corrective Action and Termination Process.

Industries she has worked in include education, staffing, transportation, restaurants, marketing agencies, architecture, medical, financial and manufacturing.

Laura is also a member of the HR Mentor Subscription and Outsourcing Team, and the Voyageur One Organizational Development Team.

Previously, Laura was the Business Manager for a human resource consulting firm, where she managed the human resources function internally, providing human resource support for clients, the recruitment, training and management of staff, and development and documentation of company operations and procedures.

Laura graduated from Elmhurst College, with highest honors, with a B.S. in Business Management.

Johan is a senior strategy expert who leverages traditional strategy tools, methods, and frameworks along data-driven analytics to efficiently shape, structure, and resolve a problem, tempering the ‘art of the possible’ with a high level of pragmatism. Previous experience includes strategy consulting (Booz & Company, PwC), technology-enabled business transformations (IBM, Cognizant) balanced with line management and P&L experiences. (P&G, Sara Lee, NutraSweet (Monsanto). More recently, he has applied his strategy and operations experience to help mid-market firms shape their strategies and professionalize their operations.

Johan brings proven success in shaping, structuring, and solving complex business problems, with laser focus on creating client value across industries, processes, and categories. Some selected experience includes:

• For a mid-market insurance brokerage/services firm, worked with the family and other owners to develop a growth strategy using our “Agile Strategy” approach.  Customer retention ratios improved from 1.5 wins for each lost customer to 2.75:1, representing a double-digit increase in sales.
• For a family office portfolio company that manufactured commercial and residential garage door operators, developed a pricing strategy and enabling software tool to enable a more structured approach to pricing.  The company goes to market through distributors and dealers, each of whom had a unique pricing structure.  The project resulted in a drop from 40 price brackets to 8, significantly delivered higher correlation between pricing and growth (there was near zero before), and yielded a modest reduction in overall discounts.
• Was general manager of a $20MM, 80-member consulting practice, posting 28% CAGER over 3 years.  I accomplished this by developing a growth strategy that focused on high margin, larger clients and projects that were highly repeatable and readily scalable, lowering ramp-up overhead costs.

Johan’s experience covers a wide range of industries, including professional and financial services, manufacturing, retail, consumer goods. In his spare time, Johan rehabs houses, works with Rebuilding Together and enjoys cooking (and eating).

In his 30-plus years of consulting, Mark has developed sales teams, revenue improvement programs, and VOC (voice of the customer) programs with middle market firms and public companies. He has been responsible for assisting firms with sales growth in excess of several hundred million dollars. Mark’s clients have included Monsanto, BellSouth, Hewlett Packard, Metavante, Dun & Bradstreet, Belden Wire & Cable, Bell Canada, Newark Electronics, Reedy Industries, MasterCard International, Rockwell Automation, Fiserv, Troxell, and Corporate Express.

A frequent speaker for numerous international marketing and business associations, Mark pioneered IAM (Integrated Account Management); a sales improvement tool adopted by hundreds of Fortune 500 corporations worldwide. In addition to authoring the book, Integrated Account Management, he has conducted CRM, strategic planning, and business-to-business sales and marketing oversight, and built training programs and workshops. Mark has worked with hundreds of product and/or service-oriented businesses directing strategic and tactical marketing campaigns, website developments or re-developments, and electronic media campaigns.

Jeff is a proven senior executive with a unique blend of finance and operations experience stretching across both corporate and high-growth entrepreneurial organizations. Over the last 30 years he has consistently achieved top and bottom-line financial objectives and delivered operational excellence within highly collaborative work environments.

A proven strategist yet a “hands-on” leader, Jeff is skilled at creating and executing blueprints for rapid business growth and delivering shareholder value. He is frequently called upon by executive management of both Fortune 1000 and privately held companies to develop and implement business strategies and execute tactics that advance organizations to the next level of financial and operational excellence.

Wellens started his career with NCR where he established a solid foundation in finance and operations, ending his 10-year career leading a global software manufacturing & fulfillment business unit. He enjoyed the next 10 years at WorkflowOne (DBA: Taylor Communications). While at WFO, he led no less than 6 business transformation projects and was a senior leader of the highest growth and most profitable business unit of the company.

Over the last 12 years Jeff has held executive positions, as COO, CFO & SVP within healthcare, technology and marketing services companies that have received national acclaim for achieving exponential growth, and innovative industry leading solutions (i.e., 136th on Inc. magazine’s 2011 list of Fastest Growing Companies, 2014 Gardner Group Coolest Vendors, 2019 Global Shop! – Outstanding Merchandising Achievement Awards)

Jeff earned his BA in Finance and MBA at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN) and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Jeff has been committed to supporting youth educational programs and has served on multiple non-profit boards supporting youth education and development since 2007.

Outside of work, Jeff enjoys time with his wife and 2 adult children, travel, DIY projects, running and playing hockey.