Board of Advisors
Jeff Lampe
Mr. Lampe is a Principle of Hopewell Ventures (www.hopewellventures.com). Mr. Lampe's responsibilities include identifying investment opportunities, coordinating due diligence, negotiating equity financings, and working with portfolio company management teams. Mr. Lampe most recently was Co-Founder and Senior Associate of Gazelle Tech Ventures, a $63 million Indianapolis-based venture capital firm founded in 1999, where he was instrumental in all aspects of the firm's operations and portfolio. Prior to Gazelle, Mr. Lampe was a Senior Associate with Monument Advisors/Monument Capital Partners. Mr. Lampe currently serves on the board of directors for several technology, food safety, and medical device companies. He holds a BS from Purdue University and a MBA from The University of Notre Dame (High Honors). He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Society of Chicago.
Glenn Richardson
Mr. Richardson is the Vice President, Packaging & Driven Equipment Supply Chain Unit for Rolls-Royce Energy Systems, Inc. (www.rolls-royce.com) where he is responsible for the packaging of the aero-derivative power generation and oil & gas pumping units. This cost center includes package engineering, purchasing, assembly & test, quality and support functions. Mr. Richardson is a leader with global experience building customer relationships while driving innovation and operational performance to achieve business growth and bottom-line results. He has experience in Aerospace, Automotive, and Off-Highway industries where he has driven strategic initiatives for growth, operational excellence, and financial results. He earned a BSME from Purdue University (Cum Laude), and from The University of Notre Dame a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering and an Executive MBA (High Honors).
Jeff VanBuskirk
Mr. VanBuskirk currently serves as Vice President of System Development and Engineering at Rieter Automotive Systems (www.rieter.com), a Tier 1 Automotive supplier operating on a global basis. At Rieter, Mr. VanBuskirk is responsible for all aspects of North American product development, engineering, and design; and provides leadership for product innovation and marketing on a global basis. He holds a BSEE from Michigan Technological University, and a MBA from The University of Notre Dame (High Honors). In his 25 year tenure in the Automotive NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) supply sector, Mr. VanBuskirk has established himself and his team as recognized leaders in the field, has been a regular speaker and technical contributor at industry forums, and has been instrumental in the successful industrialization of award winning/market changing products.
CEO
Warren Davidson founded Yasotay in 2007 in order to consolidate and grow a global portfolio of manufacturing companies, diversified by sector and stage. He is a results-oriented learner and leader.
Enlisting in the Army after high school, he gained admission into the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) where he earned a Bachelor of Science, graduated Phi Kappa Phi and finished in the top 10% of his class. Warren served as a Company Executive Officer in the elite 75th Ranger Regiment, and was recognized as best among his peers. Warren later continued his education by earning a MBA (with Honors) from The University of Notre Dame.
His Army career concluded in 2000 he joined West Troy as the company’s Operations Officer. Four months into his new role, Warren pushed for an aggressive business model change. Once implemented, the change produced exceptional results: West Troy has grown nearly 350% since that change of product mix. Under Warren’s leadership West Troy successfully transitioned from a small tool & machine job shop, to a high volume contract manufacturing company. He purchased the company in 2005.
Following the acquisition of West Troy, Warren established Global Source Manufacturing (GSM) to compliment the business model by focusing on new product development (with offices in Ohio, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, China), and to connect West Troy with global markets. GSM provides global reach to support customers with a single relationship for tooling (dies & molds), and component parts (machined, molded, stamped or assembled).
Currently, Warren leads Yasotay, directs its investment strategy, and serves on the Board of the Dayton Tooling & Manufacturing Association.
President
Jeff Hunter is an accomplished executive who, during his 25 year business career across 7 different industries, has successfully navigated challenges unique to start-ups, turn-arounds of distressed businesses, and had P&L responsibility for family-owned as well as publicly held organizations. Most recently Jeff served as President of Judius Group based in Sydney, Australia where he was responsible for improving existing operations in Australia while growing the international business that included a start-up in the U.S. He has been a leader in creating empowered business cultures, realizing significant cost savings, building brands, developing and launching Intellectual Property, improving organizational design, strategic and succession planning, global supply chain and lean manufacturing. In addition to having launched several companies Jeff has 3 U.S. Patents, 6 U.S. Patents Pending, 4 International PCT, and 3 Chinese Patents Pending in the field of energy storage and distribution.
Jeff graduated Cum Laude from Ball State University with a B.S. in Industrial Technology/Management, and with Honors from The University of Notre Dame with a MBA in Marketing. He is currently pursuing a M.A. in Military History from Norwich University.