Saddle Creek, LLC was founded in 2002 by John Sipala as the successor company to Elite Investment Group, LLC, a firm he co-founded in 1996. Saddle Creek was founded with the mission to deliver high quality corporate advisory services to mid-market businesses.

Saddle Creek brings a comprehensive perspective to its engagements through a blend of senior management operating experience and consulting and transaction expertise. Saddle Creek and its associates have completed numerous acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, recapitalizations and restructurings with companies ranging in revenues from $2 million to over $100 million

Managing Partner & Founder

Mr. Sipala has been providing investment banking and consulting services to mid-market companies since 1996. His senior management operating experience, consulting and transaction expertise spans over 30 years.

As part of his consulting practice, Mr. Sipala has functioned in senior management positions with day-to-day responsibilities including:

• Chief Operating Officer of Delta Corporate Services (www.deltacorp.com) an information technology solutions provider in both the commercial and federal government space from June 2010 through October 2013.
• Chief Executive Officer of TCS a leading perimeter detection and security company operating in the New York City area June 2005 through March 2008.

In addition, Mr. Sipala is Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors & Co-founder of MSRC Co., an independent distributor of computer and electronic components and automation and industrial controls.

Mr. Sipala has also been a senior dealmaker for Woodbridge International from 2008 through 2017. His work with Woodbridge included buy-side and sell-side engagements for companies and private equity firms in a variety of industries including business services, distribution and manufacturing.

Prior to establishing Saddle Creek and Elite Investment Group, Mr. Sipala held key management positions in industries that include private investment, manufacturing, service, distribution and retail. Some specific positions include:

• Managing Partner – Saddle River Capital, a private investment firm, where he was responsible for all aspects of the investment and acquisition of mid-market companies.
• Senior VP Finance & CFO of a $700 million NYSE retailer, where his responsibilities included all day-to-day activities of the company during its Chapter 11 liquidation process.

Mr. Sipala’s operating background also includes extensive experience in financial restructuring, cost containment, operational reorganizations and strategy development. Mr. Sipala also holds an Advanced Certification from Perth Leadership Institute, the world’s leader in behavioral finance consulting.

He holds an MBA in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University where he focused his studies on acquisitions and turnaround situations.

Managing Director

David Walsh is a Managing Director of Saddle Creek, LLC. He has been engaged in acquisition, integration, and divestiture from an operating perspective to transaction work for 34 years. He spent nine years as a Senior M&A Advisor for Woodbridge International completing assignments in consumer products, manufacturing, environmental services, specialized laboratory services, and the waste industries. Previously he was SVP of Sales & Media Operations at Monster Worldwide where he prepared the company for Strategic Alternatives. He served as Vice President of Sales at United Site Services a $500M successful private equity consolidation. Throughout his career David has been highly regarded for his significant operating and revenue improvements in a variety of senior roles with Iron Mountain, software and technology division of GE, EASEL, and analytical device divisions of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Mr. Walsh is also currently Founder & Managing Director at Harbinger Partners, LLC , a mergers and acquisitions firm specializing in small to middle market companies serving sellers and buyers.

Operating Partner & Advisor

Mr. Muscari is an operating partner and advisor who has run public and private companies under $100 million within diverse industries such as process equipment, game technology, manufacturing, machine vision, communications and web-based, and B2B distribution. He is the founder of Pivotal Management Services, an on-demand senior level management crisis and change management company. Mr. Muscari has been the CEO of a number of mid-market businesses including his most recent position as the CEO of MSRC Co. and its operating division, Tier 1 Automation.

His accomplishments range from commercializing new technologies to business turnarounds within mature industries. He has raised over $50 million in support of these missions. He has been the CEO and or President of several mid-market businesses including Video Network Communications, Inc., a publicly traded company; RVSI Acuity Imaging, now part of Siemens; and Exos Inc., a company purchased by Microsoft.

Mr. Muscari is also Lead Director on the Board of Directors for CollabRx, Inc, a public company (NASDAQ: CLRX). CollabRx is a data analytics company that uses cloud-based expert systems to inform healthcare decision-making.

Mr. Muscari holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. He is also a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).

Advisor – CEO & Founder of Perth Leadership Institute

Dr. E. Ted Prince is CEO and Founder of the Perth Leadership Institute, a research-based company which provides programs to senior executives in corporations worldwide focusing on behavioral finance in leadership and business acumen in leadership utilizing innovative new approaches.  Dr. Prince is the architect of the Perth Leadership Outcome Model™, the basis for the Institute’s innovative business acumen and financial impact programs, which it conducts in corporations worldwide.  This model is based on extensive field research with senior executives and has led to the development of several innovative online assessment instruments by Perth to assess and measure the business acumen and financial and valuation impact of executives and managers.

He is the author of The Three Financial Styles of Very Successful Leaders; Strategic Approaches to Identifying the Growth Drivers of Every Company which sets out a revolutionary approach to leadership performance and business acumen.  Dr. Prince is also the author of Business Personality and Leadership Success: Using the Leadership Cockpit to Improve Your Career and Company Outcome” and numerous articles.

Dr. Prince has had extensive operating background over a period of 20 years at the CEO level in both public and private companies in the US and the UK.  In addition to his work with the Perth Leadership Institute, Dr. Prince holds the positions of Visiting Professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and was a Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship at the University of Florida.  Dr. Prince holds a BA First Class Honors degree in languages and political science from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and MA and Ph.D., degrees in political science from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.