Russell Flaum
Aaron Gellman
Robert Geckle
Humberto Vainieri
Douglas Hazel
Russell Flaum
Mr. Flaum was the executive vice president of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) until his retirement in 2009. He spent 34 years at ITW and led more than 40 acquisitions. He grew ITW’s revenue from $300 million in 1990 to $2.5 billion in 2007. He also managed ITW's $2.5 billion Global Industrial Packaging Group. This group consisted of 93 autonomous business units operating in 38 countries.
Mr. Flaum joined Signode Corporation (acquired by ITW in 1986) in 1975 as a sales representative. From 1979 through 1986 he worked in several marketing positions, leading to vice president of marketing in 1986. He became president of Signode’s U.S. business in 1990.
Mr. Flaum has served on the boards at numerous organizations, including Quanex, Ryerson, Orion Energy Systems, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corporation, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, and the National Association of Manufacturers. He currently serves on the board at Z Capital Partners.
Mr. Flaum earned a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He currently serves as director at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corporation; Quanex Corporation in Houston, Texas, the National Association of Manufacturers; and Ryerson.
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Aaron Gellman
Professor Gellman joined the faculty of the Kellogg School of Management in 1992 as a professor of management and strategy. He also holds an appointment as professor of industrial engineering at the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University. Dr. Gellman was the Director of the Transportation Center, Northwestern University, a position he assumed in January 1992 through August 2000. He founded and was formerly president of Gellman Research Associates, Inc., a consulting firm. He served 24 years as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Professor Gellman's research and teaching include transportation economics and policy, the regulation of transportation, and the management and utilization of research and technology. He is the author of numerous published papers and has served on government panels and committees, as well as corporate boards. His projects include an economic and financial review of Airbus Industry; a study of the drawbacks arising from restrictions on all-cargo air carriers in Hong Kong; comparative analyses of intermodal systems; and a study of the privatization of airports in a developing nation.
Professor Gellman is a member of the American Economic Association; Transportation Research Forum; Transportation Research Board; American Railway Engineering Association; and the Pennsylvania Conference of Economists. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His areas of expertise are: Airline Industry, Innovation, New Product Development, Strategy, Transportation.
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Robert Geckle
Mr. Geckle has more than 30 years of industry experience, including extensive line management responsibilities in marketing, sales, and general management. Mr. Geckle is currently an advisory director at Investcorp International. Prior to joining Investcorp, Mr. Geckle was president of Textron’s Fluid and Power Group. Previously, he was chairman and president of Branson Ultrasonics Corp., a subsidiary of Emerson Electric. His early career was in the health care industry, with Glaxo Smithkline.
Mr. Geckle is on the board of directors of three Investcorp portfolio companies: Illinois-based CCC Information Services, Texas-based FleetPride, Inc. and North Carolina-based PlayPower, Inc. He is also a Director of the Danbury Health Systems.
Mr. Geckle received his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT and an M.B.A. from Wharton Graduate School, at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Humberto Vainieri
Dr. Vainieri currently operates a strategy consulting practice after spending 30 years working in R&D, plant operations, human resources, acquisitions & divestitures, and senior executive management roles in several of the oil sector’s most successful global companies.
Dr. Vainieri has held posts such as Senior Vice President – Global Refining in British Petroleum (BP plc.), President & CEO of Universal Oil Products LLC (UOP), and Senior Vice President – R&D and Engineering at Yukos Oil Company. His business travels have taken him across the world, including postings in London, Madrid, Moscow and India.
In 1999 Dr. Vainieri received the Executive of the Year Award from World Refining Magazine. He was also recognized as Outstanding Alumnus by the Engineering School of the University of Pittsburgh in 2003.
Dr. Vainieri holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and also an M.B.A. from John Carroll University.
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Douglas Hazel
Mr. Hazel is president of a family holding company, Hazel Investments, L.P., which has interest in commercial and residential real estate developments in Florida, Missouri and Minnesota.
Mr. Hazel has extensive experience in the banking industry as a shareholder, director, board officer, and commercial investor. He is chairman of the board of Marine Bank & Trust Company and serves on the boards of United Bank of Union and Citizens National Bank of Greater St. Louis.
Mr. Hazel is the chairman of the business development committee and is a member of the audit, executive, finance, human resources, and executive loan committees at Citizens National Bank. Since Mr. Hazel acquired an interest in Citizens in 1986, the privately held bank has expanded five-fold in locations and more than quadrupled in assets.
In addition, Mr. Hazel is active in various agricultural ventures in Georgia and Florida. He majored in Economics and Business Administration at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.
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