YOUR PRIVATE EQUITY & BUSINESS MANAGEMENT EXPERTS

HOWARD LUBERT, REGIONAL PRESIDENT – KEIRETSU FORUM MID-ATLANTIC

Mr. Lubert co-founded the Mid-Atlantic Region in 2010.  After 25 years in the private equity space he recognized the unique features of the Keiretsu Forum process and model and sought out Randy Williams to explore opening chapters on the East Coast.  Randy introduced him to Vince Leusner who was also contemplating a Philadelphia Chapter and they opened the first Mid-Atlantic Chapter in Philadelphia in March, 2011. 

He is the Founder and Managing Partner/Senior Analyst at SafeHatch LLC, a business acceleration and corporate advisory services consultancy that supports startup and early stage technology companies.  Mr. Lubert spun SafeHatch out of Safeguard Scientifics in 2000 after the dot.com implosion.  The Company typically takes senior management role(s) in the portfolio companies it supports and works with them until they are prepared to complete their management teams with full-time employees.  Business Acceleration services are provided for companies in many disciplines, but are usually focused in the Internet, e-business, security, SaaS, infrastructure, software, e-learning, mobile or wireless spheres.

Mr. Lubert helped create and became the Managing Director of the Rowan University Innovation Venture Fund (RIVF) in November of 2014.  RIVF started out as a $5m Evergreen Fund designed to support the entrepreneurial and innovation initiatives on the Rowan University campuses as well as the South Jersey area.  The Fund expanded to $25m in 2023 and often syndicates deals too large for the Fund first with Keiretsu Forum and then other area angel groups.  Howard stepped down as the Fund's GTM in October 2019 to focus on his own family of funds and the expansion of his Keiretsu Regions.
 

Mr. Lubert brings 37 years of formalizing and optimizing the due diligence and deal flow processes for various venture capital funds including Safeguard Scientifics and its family of private equity funds, as well as other angel investment groups to Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic.  Lubert was also a senior manager at Deloitte & Touche, where he played a principal role in the development of the e-business consulting practice.  He is a renowned Term Sheet creator and negotiator and takes on this role in every due diligence project in the Mid-Atlantic, South-East, & Texas Regions.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

• Due Diligence
• Business Acceleration
• Business Remediation/Turnaround
• Term Sheet Development & Funding

INTRODUCING:

BARRY ETRA, ENTREPRENEUR SERVICES DIRECTOR- KEIRETSU FORUM MID-ATLANTIC  

Barry’s role at Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic, South-East, & Texas continues into his second year as our Entrepreneur Services Director.  Barry has long been engaged in growing entrepreneurial ecosystems in the greater Atlanta area, leading the RAISE Forums he executes twice a year in partnership with Emory University.  Barry has a BA and an MBA from Columbia, and over 25 years of manufacturing expertise, mainly in corrugated and in plastic materials.  

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

• Operations & Logistics
• Market Strategies
• Executive Management & Leadership

INTRODUCING:

sTEVE KOZACHYN, DUE DILIGENCE DIRECTOR – KEIRETSU FORUM MID-ATLANTIC    

Steve, a serial entrepreneur and educator, officially joined the K4-MA team as the Director of Due    Diligence on March 1, 2018 but has been active with K4-MA for the last two years in his role with Rowan  and the RIVF.  With a master's degree in business administration and advanced degrees in mechanical engineering and engineering management, he is a skilled instructor in the engineering and business disciplines. He has 25 years of industry experience in developing over 300 successful consumer products.  He has developed children's toys for Tyco, Mattel and Empire Industries (Big Wheel, Slip-n-Slide). Mr. Kozachyn’s experience includes engineering, project management and operational disciplines. 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

• Due Diligence
• Engineering Design & Management
• Prototyping, Project Management

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