LET’S FIRST START WITH WHO I AM NOT

I am not a grower, BUT I worked on a daily basis with my expert growers for the past several years during my time as CEO, to establish high quality produce.

I am not a construction expert, BUT I’ve learned how to adjust to and deal with all the construction issues that a large CEA project must face.

I am not a technical person, BUT I worked with a wide range of technical managers and vendors for all our CEA systems that we built from scratch.

SO, WHO AM I?

I speak multiple critical languages 

I speak “our” industry language and can help you analyze Operations, from Labor to Management to Sales to Marketing and Branding, to coordinating all the above with available finances. I learned these skills during my six years as COO and CEO of our start up CEA company.

I speak “investor, bank and lender” language and successfully raised over 20MM on 12 different occasions for our pre-revenue startup project. I learned these skills during my several decades as a practicing attorney representing companies seeking funds, and based on several years of representing banks themselves, and learning their perspectives and interests.

I speak “attorney language” and can help you understand the many contracts and financial documents you are constantly bombarded with. I know where to find the landmines, what to avoid and what to ask for. I learned these skills from decades of work as an attorney and in working hand in hand with a great law firm in Kentucky for 6 years, representing my company.

MY CV

I am formerly the Managing Partner and CEO of Kentucky Fresh Harvest LLC (KFH), and formerly the Managing Partner and COO of Kentucky Hi Tech Greenhouses LLC (the holding company which is the majority owner of Kentucky Fresh Harvest). 

I became CEO of KFH back in January 2019.  Prior to that date, I was the COO of the company since 2015.  At the time I stepped in as CEO of KFH (at the request of my partners), the company was at a low point; mired in construction delays and cost overruns, and close to failing.  Under my leadership, the company accomplished a dramatic turn-around, and had begun full scale production of grape/cherry tomatoes in its 10.6 acre hi-tech greenhouse, hydroponic facility, with anticipated sales of 2-3 million pounds of our specialty produce a year.  At the time I left management of the company, the company had approximately 70 full time workers, and I had developed plans for expanding its operations by over 40% in the near future.

Most of this was accomplished during the pandemic, adding extra complications that we also overcame.

I was also the lead partner responsible for the successful negotiations with our financial investor and our banks, which permitted us to close and begin construction back in September 2015.

In addition, I have a strong record of successfully finding outside funding for large greenhouse projects. I brought in over 20 million dollars to our KFH project on 12 different occasions over the past six years.  This encompassed multiple bank and other loans, bringing in outside investors, finding local and state incentives, loans and grants, having a successful crowdfunding raise and most recently compiling an ask of over four million dollars from a government/private lending program for energy efficiency improvements.

In addition, I have years of experience in creating business models for the greenhouse and other industries, along with projections that led to much of the above success.

Separate from my work for KFH, I had the honor of serving on the Board of Trustees of Felician University, a liberal arts university in New Jersey, from 2013-2019.  I retired from that volunteer service in 2019.

Before my involvement with KFH, my business emphasis had been on developing global markets for green and sustainable technologies. I acted as President of several green technology transfer companies such as International Energy & Environmental Solutions Ltd. and Demeter Technology Ventures Ltd., bringing western environmental, agricultural and hi-tech companies into international markets. 

I also have years of experience in creating business models for the greenhouse and other industries, along with projections that led to much of the above success.

Prior to that work, I was a practicing attorney in NYC for many years, through my own law practice. The focus of my work was as a transactional attorney, representing many companies domestically and internationally, supporting their entry into new markets and assisting with their Growth, Merger and Acquisition strategies.  In these fields I performed numerous and varied work including mergers and acquisitions, contract work of all sorts, and numerous negotiations with banks and lenders for my clients. I represented them in complex financing, fundraising and corporate restructuring transactions.  I’ve also had several years of specific experience representing three different commercial banks over a wide range of commercial transactions.

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Education & Achievements

Education

  • Bachelor of Science (Major in Environmental Studies), State University of New York at Binghamton
  • Master of Science degree (in Human Ecology), Rutgers University
  • Juris Doctor, Brooklyn Law School, graduated with several honors

Bar Admittance

  • State of New York
  • United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
  • First and Second Circuit Court of Appeals

Publications & Speaking

I have published several articles on topics of international business, investment and trade. Additionally, I have also spoken on these issues at prominent events, including a sampling of the following:

  • I was a panel speaker representing Felician University at a U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development
  • I was a keynote speaker at a Native American Tribal Conference in Oklahoma, on foreign Investment Opportunities
  • I gave a lecture at Felican University on International Business

I am married and have two adult sons, two wonderful daughters-in-law and an amazing granddaughter.  Although a long-time resident of NYC, I have regularly traveled for my work throughout the United States and abroad for several decades.