TEAM INFO
Trusted success partners
Principals
Douglas Song
Mr. Song has a diverse background with over 30 years in principal investments, investment banking, and operational experience. Prior to co-founding Prodos Capital ("Prodos"), Mr. Song was the head of investments and corporate finance for Verus International, a boutique merchant banking firm that was co-founded by Citigroup, where he led investments in both private and public companies in the emerging growth and middle market. Prior to Verus, Mr. Song was SVP of Corporate Development at On2 Technologies. At On2, Mr. Song led all aspects of strategic planning, financial analysis, mergers & acquisitions, financings and the capital markets. Prior to joining On2, Song was a Managing Director at Bluestone Capital Partners, where he was a senior banker and a manager in that firm's Corporate Finance Department. At BlueStone, Mr. Song was responsible for the execution of public offerings and private placements as well as merger and acquisition transactions. Mr. Song was a member of BlueStone's Management Committee and Commitment Committee. Previously, he held positions as an investment banker at Smith Barney in the Global Energy and Power Group and Chase Manhattan Bank in the M&A Group and subsequently in the Workout Group. Mr. Song received a B.S. in Finance, School of Management at Boston University.
Alberto Garofalo
Mr. Garofalo's background includes corporate and M&A law, as well as investment banking and principal investments. Prior to joining "Prodos", Mr. Garofalo was a Senior Associate with Rabobank International's Mergers & Acquisitions Group. At Rabobank, Mr. Garofalo worked on advisory mandates for both private and public companies in the consumer industry, with a focus on cross-border deals (Latin American & Europe) and food and agribusiness. Prior to joining Rabobank, Mr. Garofalo was an Associate in the Global M&A Group at JPMorgan, where he covered a range of industries, including technology, consumer, and healthcare. Prior to investment banking, Mr. Garofalo was in-house counsel for Cerveceria Regional, and a member of GURI (the legal team representing the Cisneros Group holdings). In this role Mr. Garofalo focused on corporate matters covering general contract drafting and negotiation as well as financing. In 2000, Mr. Garofalo received his J.D. from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Caracas, Venezuela; he also attended New York University School of Law where he obtained an LL.M. in Corporate Law and gained admission to the New York State Bar. Mr. Garofalo received his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Matthew Cohen
Mr. Cohen has a diverse background which includes M&A, principal investing, real estate and politics. Prior to joining "Prodos", Mr. Cohen was Director of Investments at AlphaTerra Partners. Prior to AlphaTerra, Mr. Cohen was a Senior Associate at Delancey Street Partners, a boutique merchant bank where he focused on advisory mandates for public and private middle market companies. Prior to Delancey Street, Matt was an Analyst at UBS Investment Bank in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group based in New York. At UBS, he covered a range of industries including media, telecom, consumer, healthcare, real estate and energy. Prior to investment banking Mr. Cohen served as an integral member of Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and in-between his time at Delancey Street and UBS, Matt served on Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. Mr. Cohen received both his MBA and BBA from The George Washington University.
Advisory Board
Harlan Irvine
Mr. Irvine is currently involved with Prodos as an operating partner, providing support to and advise the management on operational and strategic matters.
Mr. Irvine has worked with clients and companies in a wide range of industrial products including aerospace and defense, automotive, chemicals, consumer goods, industrial products and medical devices focusing on strategic and performance improvement.
Mr. Irvine was a senior partner at Deloitte Consulting and Bain & Company as a management consultant for over 30 years.
Previously, Mr. Irvine was a chemical engineer and marketing manager for the industrial controls divisions of Emerson Electric Company and ITT Corporation.
Mr. Irvine earned his MBA from UCLA and BS in Chemical Engineering at the University of California.
Mark Lambert
Mr. Lambert is a senior executive with extensive experience in the Water and Environmental industries and has a strong track record of success in the management of small and large organizations. Mr. Lambert has held various senior management positions in the Water Industry including IDE Americas Inc., American Water, Culligan, US Filter Corporation and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).
Mr. Lambert is Founder and Managing Partner of WaterMark Resource Development Inc. WaterMark is a project development firm focused on developing, building, and managing water infrastructure and related assets in California, Texas and Hawaii with a specific focus on new water resources and supply side management as well as storm water and wastewater treatment.
Formerly Mr. Lambert was Chief Executive Officer of IDE Americas Inc. While CEO, Mr. Lambert led the process design, engineering and procurement process for the Claude Bud Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad, CA. and presided over its operation and maintenance responsibilities for the first 4 years from commissioning. In addition, Mr. Lambert led the successful bid and implementation of IDE’s Design-Build-Operate (DBO) services for the Charles Meyer Desalination Plant in Santa Barbara, California. In this project, he oversaw all aspects of the design, construction, start-up, commissioning and operation and maintenance of the desalination plant.
Mr. Lambert graduated with an MBA from Golden Gate University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley
Bob Skandalaris
Robert Skandalaris is the Chairman and CEO of Quantum Ventures of Michigan. Mr. Skandalaris’ entrepreneurial and investor experience includes successfully executing many middle-market transactions. He has held several senior officer positions including: Founder, Chairman and CEO of a billion dollar publicly traded automotive parts supplier, Chairman and CEO of an international asset management corporation and Senior Vice President of Investments at a New York-based investment bank. Mr. Skandalaris began his career as a CPA with Touche Ross & Co. Mr. Skandalaris has received honorary doctorate degrees from Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University. He is a trustee at Washington University in St. Louis where he established the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Geoffrey Davis Jr.
Mr. Davis has 30+ years of experience in the transportation sector. Prior to acting as an Operating Partner for Prodos, Mr. Davis was CEO of Unified Logistics, a specialty logistics company.
Mr. Davis founded ES3, which he grew to a $6 billion company. In addition, Mr. Davis led restructuring of Pinnacle foods, sold for $2.2 billion (Manufacturing and Supply Chain Restructuring).
He also held management positions at Penske/GE Capital, TNT Logistics, Halbart Air Services, and Unistar Air Cargo / UPS International.
Mr. Davis is a Board Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE, 1992) and earned an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Mark Cleaves, Esq.
Mr. Cleaves has over 30 years of industry experience in the energy distribution sector with significant experience in propane and heating oil distribution in the Northeast.
Mr. Cleaves has attracted, developed, and aligned C-suite and operating talent across organizations, partnering effectively with investors and boards of directors while scaling global C-suite and operating teams.
Mr. Cleaves was President & CEO of North American Propane from 2003 – 2012 which he successfully exited to NGL Energy Partners (NYSE: NGL).
Prior to that, he was President & CEO of Energy USA, Inc. from 2001 – 2003.
Also acted as Executive Vice President of Operations, Business Development, Strategic Planning and Administration at Columbia Propane from 1999 – 2001.
From 1990 through 1999, Mr. Cleaves was Principal of Columbia Energy Ventures and Corporate Counsel for Columbia Energy Group.
Mr. Cleaves has built businesses through the raising of capital funds and aggressive acquisition programs.
Mr. Cleaves has a BS / MS from Northeastern University, a JD from The Delaware Law School and an LL.M from Georgetown University.
Karl Michael Millauer
Mr. Millauer is a Consultant and Advisor focusing on M&A and Business Development for the water industry.
Mr. Millauer was Founder and CEO of the Aquarion Group, an international water treatment technology company. He was also Senior Vice President of Aquatech International responsible for global business development.
Mr. Millauer was CEO of Christ Water Technology Group, a public spinoff from BWT; prior to the spinoff, he was a COO of BWT Group.
Before that, Karl Michael was CFO of Wolford AG, a luxury brand.
Mr. Millauer earned a Doctorate degree at University of Law in Vienna, an MBA from University of Economy of Vienna, and BA at BG Obserchutzen in Austria.
Ajmal Khan
Mr. Ajmal Khan is the President at Verus International Group Ltd. since 1992, which he founded in 1990, as well as the President of Verus Group of companies, since 1993. Mr. Khan serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Verus International. His responsibilities include investment strategy, identification of investment opportunities, placements, and exit strategies. He has been the President, Secretary, and Director of Royal Holdings Services Ltd. since July 1999. Mr. Khan founded Verus Capital Corp. in 1989 and has served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Mr. Khan has made investments in companies in the process of reconstruction. He serves on the Boards of Directors of several private and publicly quoted companies. Mr. Khan has been a Director of Predict It Inc. since 1999 and Booktech.com Inc. since March 31, 2000, Wattage Monitor Corp. since February 1999, Advanced Bodymetrics Inc. since October 1998, iParty Corp. since July 1998, and On2.com Inc.
James A. Mitarotonda
Mr. Mitarotonda is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Barington Capital Group, L.P., an investment firm that he co-founded in November 1991 that has significant experience investing in retail, apparel and footwear companies. He currently serves as a director of A. Schulman, Inc. and The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack and is a former director of a number of publically traded companies, including Griffon Corporation, Gerber Scientific, Inc., Register.com, Inc. and Ameron International Corporation. Mr. Mitarotonda received an M.B.A.
from New York University’s Graduate School of Business Administration (now known as the Stern School of Business) and a B.A. in economics from Queens College, where he now serves as Chairman of its Business Advisory Board.
Not the typical Private Equity Firm.