| ABOUT THE FIRM | |
| James E. Braden, CPA Smith A. Brownlie III, CPA Kevin L. Borg, CPA Antonio J. DiGesualdo Charles J. Tusa Robert Thomas Russell Ryan M. Childress Blake M. Cameron M. Susan Wilson, CPA Courtney H. Faison John Anthony Sheneman, Jr. Zachary A. Kuhlman |
This firm is not a CPA firm. James E. Braden, CPAMr. Braden, a Certified Public Accountant and Personal Financial Specialist, has spent most of his career working with privately owned companies and high net worth families. Prior to co-founding Brownlie & Braden, LLC, his experience included working with the accounting firm of Peat Marwick (now KPMG), as well as privately held Lincoln Property Company, a national real estate developer based in Dallas. His expertise includes the areas of gift and estate taxation, business succession planning, charitable planning, and related issues confronted by the wealthy family. Mr. Braden is an active private equity investor, and serves as Managing Director of Cotton Creek Capital Management, LLC, the general partner of the firm's private equity funds. He currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of Graco Holdings, Inc. and is a member of the board of directors of Waste Partners of Texas, Inc. Additionally, Mr. Braden manages BKB Capital, Ltd., a private investment vehicle. Mr. Braden is active in various civic and charitable organizations. He presently serves on the board of directors and is past chairman of the Clayton Dabney Foundation for Kids with Cancer. He is also a previous member of the board of directors and treasurer of Literacy Instruction for Texas (LIFT). He is an active member of Park Cities Baptist Church, where he has chaired and served on various committees, and is a member of the Fellowship of Deacons. Mr. Braden currently serves on the Advisory Council of the Dallas Foundation. He is a member of the Dallas Estate Planning Council and the Fort Worth Business & Estate Council as well as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) and the North Texas Chapter of the National Committee on Planned Giving. Mr. Braden is a magna cum laude graduate of Baylor University where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and was the recipient of the Tenneco Accounting Scholarship. Mr. Braden is married, has two grown children, and resides in Dallas, Texas.
James E. Braden, CPA
Smith A. Brownlie III, CPAMr. Brownlie, a Certified Public Accountant and Personal Financial Specialist, has spent over twenty five years working with closely held companies and high net worth individuals. In addition to being a co-founder of the Firm, Mr. Brownlie is president of Cotton Creek Investments, LLC, managing partner of Cotton Creek Investment Company, Ltd. and Managing Director and a principal of Cotton Creek Capital Management, LLC. His previous experience includes work with the accounting firm of Peat Marwick (now KPMG) addressing the needs of privately-held companies in the firm's Private Business Advisory Services section. He has provided his clients with planning and consulting services in which he has addressed various tax and financial issues including estate planning, business continuity planning, income tax planning, investment and insurance due-diligence, and non-qualified deferred compensation design. Mr. Brownlie has been active in private equity due diligence and private equity investing over the last fifteen years. Mr. Brownlie is currently chairman of the board of directors of Waste Partners Environmental, Inc., serves on the board of managers of Terrace Energy, LLC, serves on the board of directors of Knight Waste Services, Ltd. and Oncore Onsite Services, LLC and is an advisory director to NBE, Ltd. Mr. Brownlie is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and a member of the Personal Financial Planning and Tax Sections of the AICPA. He is also a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) and has been a speaker for the TSCPA's continuing education programs. He is past chairman of the board of directors and a current member of the Fort Worth Business & Estate Council, and is a member of the Dallas Estate Planning Council and the North Texas Chapter of the National Committee on Planned Giving. He has also served on the Estate Planning and Planned Giving Advisory Boards for Baylor University. He was an Anderson Clayton Fund Scholarship recipient and received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University. Mr. Brownlie is a supporter of children's charities and has served on several boards. He has served on the board of trustees of Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth and he chaired the school's endowment committee from 2002-2011. He is a member of the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate and professional advisor to the Community Foundation of North Texas, and has served on the board of directors of the Arlington Independent School District's Education Foundation, the board of directors of the Community Enrichment Center, the Welcome House Youth Service Center Advisory Council in Arlington, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Arlington. Mr. Brownlie is married, has three children, and resides in Fort Worth, Texas.
Smith A. Brownlie III, CPA
Kevin L. Borg, CPAMr. Borg, a Certified Public Accountant, currently serves as the firm's Chief Compliance Officer primarily responsible for overseeing and managing compliance issues within the firm. Mr. Borg began his career with 17 years of progressive accounting and credit management experience with privately held Collmer Semiconductor, Inc., in Dallas, Texas, gaining insight into the electronics manufacturing and distributing industry. He subsequently founded his own private investment company and managed this for several years before joining nationally recognized Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children to account for hospital investments and endowments. Mr. Borg is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, majoring in accounting. Mr. Borg is married, has two children, and resides in Dallas, Texas.
Kevin L. Borg, CPA
Antonio J. DiGesualdoMr. DiGesualdo, a Managing Director of Cotton Creek Capital Management, LLC, has spent over fifteen years working with middle-market companies as both an advisor and an investor. Prior to CCCM, Mr. DiGesualdo was a Partner at TGF Management Corp., a private equity firm with approximately $700 million under management focused on control transactions with middle-market companies, primarily in the Southwest. Prior to TGF Management Corp., Mr. DiGesualdo was an Associate in the Leveraged Finance and Financial Sponsors Group of NationsBanc Montgomery Securities LLC. Mr. DiGesualdo is an active investor having invested across a diverse group of companies across a range of industries. Mr. DiGesualdo currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of AirReady Holdings, Inc. and is a member of the board of directors of Magnablend, Inc. and M&M Manufacturing, Inc. and previously served as a director of Omniflight, Inc. and First Texas Holdings Corporation. Mr. DiGesualdo has earned a Master of Professional Accounting degree from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Rice University. Mr. DiGesualdo is married, has five children, and resides in Austin, Texas.
Antonio J. DiGesualdo
Charles J. TusaMr. Tusa is a Director for the Firm and has over thirty-five years of business experience in management consulting, family office executive management, and private industry. Prior to joining the Firm, as a Principal in the management consulting practice of Peat Marwick (now KPMG), Mr. Tusa's management consulting experience focused on the human resource and strategic planning needs of private and public organizations. He subsequently held officer positions within The Rosewood Corporation where he was Managing Director of the Crescent Joint Venture and, later, President of Rosewood Management Corporation, a family-office subsidiary. His experience also includes executive management positions in the service and distribution industry. Mr. Tusa is active in various civic, charitable and educational organizations. He presently serves as a member of the board of directors and is on the executive committee of the University of Dallas. He is also a Life Member and former board member of the Salesmanship Club of Dallas. In addition, he has also served as a past president of the Catholic Foundation of Texas, past president of the Dallas chapter of the Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is a past board member of the Notre Dame Special School for Children and the Jesuit Foundation. Mr. Tusa is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and has a Masters of Business Administration degree for the University of Dallas' Graduate School of Management. Mr. Tusa is married, has three children, and resides in Dallas, Texas.
Charles J. Tusa
Robert Thomas (Tom) RussellMr. Russell is an Advisory Director of Cotton Creek Capital Management, LLC. Prior to joining CCCM, Mr. Russell gained over twenty-five years of business experience in business consulting and private industry. Recent consulting engagements have included mergers, acquisitions, restructuring and workouts, liquidations, including proceedings under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Private industry experience includes public and private board membership, and officer positions, including serving as chief executive officer. Mr. Russell received his bachelor's degree from Dallas Baptist University in 1970, and held a CPA license in the State of Texas from 1974 to 1994. Through his church affiliation, Mr. Russell has been involved for fifteen years in an outreach program for adults with cognitive challenges. He and his wife have supported various civic organizations, including the Blanton Museum of Art and The Ballet in Austin, Texas. Mr. Russell is married, has two sons, and resides in Austin, Texas.
Robert Thomas Russell
Ryan M. ChildressMr. Childress is an Associate with Cotton Creek Capital Management, LLC. Prior to joining CCCM, he was an Assistant Vice President at Madison Capital Funding, a Chicago-based leveraged finance firm providing senior debt and equity co-investments for middle-market private equity buyout transactions. While at Madison, his primary responsibilities included deal structuring, due diligence management, and legal negotiation. Prior to joining Madison, he began his career at Comerica Bank as a commercial credit analyst specializing in middle-market and distressed debt financing. Mr. Childress earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University and his Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin where he was also a McCombs Venture Fellow. Mr. Childress is a native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and now resides in Dallas, Texas.
Ryan M. Childress
Blake M. CameronMr. Cameron is an Associate with Cotton Creek Capital Management, LLC. Prior to joining CCCM, Mr. Cameron was an Associate with The Cypress Group in New York City, a middle market private equity firm. There, he analyzed new investment opportunities while closely monitoring portfolio companies to preserve and maximize wealth. He began his career as an investment banking analyst at J.P. Morgan in New York City. There, in the Diversified Industrial Group, he worked on over fifty billion dollars of M&A and financing activities. He also helped to advise Fortune 500 clients on corporate M&A defense strategies. Mr. Cameron graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance. Since graduating, he has been a proud supporter of Aggies on Wall Street, a program dedicated to introducing fellow Aggies to the finance industry, and currently serves as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Finance Department at Texas A&M University. Mr. Cameron is a native of Salado and now resides in Dallas, Texas.
Blake M. Cameron
M. Susan Wilson, CPAMrs. Wilson is a Financial Analyst with the Firm. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the state of New Jersey and she holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. She obtained a Paralegal Certification from the University of California, Irvine where she graduated with honors. And, she received an academic award for excellence in CPA Education from Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey where she obtained her Certificate of Accountancy. Prior to joining the Firm, Mrs. Wilson was the Director of Administration for ADT Security (Tyco) and had the responsibility for managing the administrative operations for 12 national offices. She received the President Circle Award for achievement and excellence in recognition of her extraordinary contributions to the organization. Other areas of experience are in licensing, contracts, due diligence, credit and compliance. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA). Ms. Wilson is married and resides in Fort Worth, Texas.
M. Susan Wilson, CPA
Courtney H. FaisonMrs. Faison is the Controller for the firm. Her duties include overseeing the accounting functions. Prior to joining the firm, she was an auditor for Deloitte & Touche with a concentration in the Energy industry. Mrs. Faison has graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Culverhouse School of Accountancy at the University of Alabama. She has also earned a Masters of Accountancy at the University of Alabama while being a Graduate Assistant Teacher. Mrs. Faison is a native of Mobile, Alabama and now resides in the Dallas area.
Courtney H. Faison
John Anthony (Jack) Sheneman, Jr.Mr. Sheneman is a Financial Analyst with the Firm. Prior to joining Brownlie & Braden, Mr. Sheneman worked as an intern at Belle Haven Investments in New York, specializing in municipal bonds. While at Belle Haven, Mr. Sheneman conducted research specific to fixed income markets as well as focused on building and maintaining client relationships. Mr. Sheneman is an Eagle Scout and a graduate of The Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University where he earned a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance. Mr. Sheneman is a native of Austin, Texas and now resides in Dallas, Texas.
John Anthony Sheneman, Jr.
Zachary A. (Zak) KuhlmanMr. Kuhlman is a Financial Analyst with the Firm. Prior to joining Brownlie & Braden, Mr. Kuhlman worked as a Financial Advisor with AXA Advisors, LLC. in Austin, Texas. While at AXA, Mr. Kuhlman worked to write holistic financial plans for small businesses and individuals, primarily using investment accounts and risk management products to achieve client goals. Mr. Kuhlman is a graduate of The Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University where he earned a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance and Real Estate. Mr. Kuhlman is a native of Austin, Texas and now resides in Dallas, Texas.
Zachary A. Kuhlman
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rownlie & Braden, LLC, provides services specifically addressing the needs of individuals and families that have accumulated significant wealth. Our approach to providing these services is sensitive to the individual and personal objectives of each client in evaluating the alternatives available. These services address our clients' objectives in the areas of gift and estate tax planning, asset protection planning, life insurance due diligence and alternatives, family risk management, private equity due diligence, and various other related issues often important to the wealthy individual and his family. We also are frequently called upon to perform private equity due diligence and address corporate turnaround opportunities, as well as to assist with the selection of asset managers and fiduciaries. The backgrounds of our principals follow.