Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Gladstone is the founder of The Gladstone Companies and has been the Chief Executive Officer since inception.

From August 1997 to August 2001, Mr. Gladstone served as Chairman or Vice Chairman of American Capital Strategies; a publicly-traded leveraged buyout fund and mezzanine debt finance company. From 1974 to February 1997, Mr. Gladstone held various positions, including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, with Allied Capital Corporation, Allied Capital Corporation II, Allied Capital Lending Corporation, Allied Capital Commercial Corporation and Allied Capital Advisors Inc. Under his leadership at Allied, the Company grew assets from $10MM to $750MM.  During this period, the company experienced 18 consecutive years of increasing shareholder dividends with less than 1% of assets written off. The Allied companies were the largest group of publicly-traded mezzanine debt funds and were managers of two private venture capital limited partnerships. During the period from 1982- 1997, shareholder IRR returns averaged 22.4%. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Gladstone served as a Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Business Mortgage Investors, a private mortgage REIT managed by Allied Capital. Mr. Gladstone is the author of Venture Capital Investing and Venture Capital Handbook (Prentice Hall). Mr. Gladstone received a MA from American University, a BA in Government and Economics from the University of Virginia and obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School.

President and Chief Investment Officer

Mr. Stelljes is the President, Chief Investment Officer and a Director of The Gladstone Companies. Mr. Stelljes has extensive experience with debt investments in small and medium sized companies across the United States. At Gladstone, Mr. Stelljes is responsible for operational activities, directing marketing strategy, deal flow generation and underwriting.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Mr. Stelljes was a General Partner of Camden Partners and Cahill, Warnock & Company, later stage private equity funds, where he directed investments in communications and business services. ?Previously, Mr. Stelljes served as a Managing Director and Partner of Columbia Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investments in communications and information technology. From 1989 to 1997, Mr. Stelljes held various positions including Executive Vice President and Principal with Allied Capital Corporation and its affiliates.?

Mr. Stelljes currently serves as a General Partner and Investment Committee Member of Patriot Capital, a private equity and mezzanine fund, is a Board Member of Intrepid Capital, a money management and mutual fund manager, and is an Advisory Board Member of FedCap Partners, a private equity fund focused on investments in government contractors. He is a former board member and regional president of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC). Mr. Stelljes received a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia .

Senior Managing Director, Private Finance
McLean, VA Office
 

Mr. Dullum joined The Gladstone Companies in February 2008. He currently serves as Senior Managing Director in our McLean, VA Headquarters focusing on debt and equity investments. Mr. Dullum has extensive experience in equity investing and middle market buyouts.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Mr. Dullum was a General Partner of Chicago-based Frontenac Company, from 1976 to 1990. He currently serves as a General Partner of New England Partners, a Boston-based private equity fund. Mr. Dullum is also the President and Director of Harbor Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation listed on AMEX. Mr. Dullum is a former member of the Board of Governors and former Chairman of the National Association of Small Business Companies (NASBIC) and a former Trustee of the Stanford Business School Trust. Mr. Dullum received a BME from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

Mr. Brown joined The Gladstone Companies in October 2005 as Managing Director and opened a Dallas office for the firm. Mr. Brown has over 23 years of principal mezzanine, senior equity investing and portfolio management experience to middle-market manufacturing, distribution and business service companies located throughout the United States.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Mr. Brown was Co-founder and Managing Partner of Stratford Capital Partners, LP and Stratford Equity Partners, LP, a Dallas-based $130 million mezzanine and senior equity investment fund affiliated with Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. At Stratford, Mr. Brown was responsible for private equity and debt transactions. Prior to Stratford, Mr. Brown was a Partner with The Sunwestern Investment Group, a Dallas-based private equity fund. Mr. Brown received a BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia and obtained an MBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Cooper joined The Gladstone Companies in June 2001. He currently is a Managing Director of Gladstone Commercial where he is responsible for identifying, underwriting, managing, financing and servicing the firm's commercial real estate investment projects.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Cooper served as a Senior Vice President or Principal of Allied Capital Corporation and its affiliate funds from 1986 - 2000. At Allied Capital, Mr. Cooper was responsible for servicing all forms of commercial real estate. During his time at Allied Capital, Mr. Cooper also administered an investment portfolio of over $250 million. Mr. Cooper received a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Washington and Lee University.

Managing Director, Real Estate
Morristown, NJ Office

Mr. Corry has been with The Gladstone Companies since November 2003. He currently serves as a Managing Director in our New Jersey office focusing on investments in commercial real estate projects.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Mr. Corry was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and National Loan Production at CBA Mezzanine Capital Finance, LLC, a commercial real estate mezzanine conduit from 2001 to 2003. Prior to joining CBA Mezz Cap, Mr. Corry was a Principal at Allegiance Capital Partners, LLC where he was Chief Credit Officer. From 1992 to 2000, Mr. Corry was a Managing Director at Allied Capital Corporation. At Allied, Mr. Corry originated and securitized conduit loans, co-managed the CMBS B-Piece buying operation, co-managed the CMBS portfolio and originated corporate sub-debt for LBO transactions. Prior to Allied, Mr. Corry held senior management and lending positions at two commercial banks. Mr. Corry received his B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Richmond and obtained an MBA in Accounting from American University.

Mr. Emmons joined The Gladstone Companies in April 2008 as Managing Director and opened an Atlanta office for the firm.  Mr. Emmons’ focus is on originations and he has over 17 years of leveraged finance and principal equity investing in lower middle market companies located throughout the United States.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Mr. Emmons was an initial founder and Managing Director for Cratos Capital Partners, an Atlanta-based specialty finance company focused on providing senior cash flow financing to the lower middle market. Prior to Cratos, Mr. Emmons was a Managing Director within the Corporate and Investment Bank division of SunTrust Bank. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Emmons originated and closed new investments for Sun Capital Partners, a Boca Raton-based private equity fund. From 1997 to 2002, Mr. Emmons was a Senior Vice President- Marketing Manager with CIT Business Credit for the Southeast Region.  Mr. Emmons received a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance from Georgia Southern University.

Mr. Freal has been with The Gladstone Companies since February 2002. He currently serves as a Managing Director in our McLean, VA Headquarters focusing on debt and equity investments in privately held companies. Mr. Freal has extensive experience in sourcing, structuring and negotiating preferred equity and mezzanine debt transactions for small and medium sized businesses.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Mr. Freal was a Managing Director of American Capital Strategies. From 1995 through 1997 he was a private investor and financial consultant. From 1989 to 1995, Mr. Freal was President of RDS Capital Partners, a private merchant banking company that he co-founded to acquire middle-market commercial and industrial companies. Prior to founding RDS, he was employed by several Washington D.C. area and Philadelphia banks as a Loan Officer providing general corporate and buyout financing to middle-market and national companies. Mr. Freal received a BS in Business Administration and obtained an MBA from George Mason University.

Managing Director, Private Finance
New York, NY Office

Ms. Gladstone has been with The Gladstone Companies since August 2001. She serves as a Managing Director of our New York office where she works with our mezzanine debt financing team.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Gladstone worked as an Associate in equity research at ING Barings, where she was responsible for covering companies in the telecommunications industries from 2000 to 2001. From November 1999 to May 2000, Ms. Gladstone worked for Salomon Smith Barney as an Assistant Analyst in equity research. From 1997 to November 1999, Ms. Gladstone worked for HSBC, an international bank, as their only Syndications Analyst in Argentina. At HSBC, she completed numerous loan transactions in diverse industries, including cable, telecommunications, oil, manufacturing and distribution. From 1994 to 1997, Ms. Gladstone served as the Marketing Director at Allied Capital Corporation and its affiliate companies. She received her BBA from The George Washington University. She is the co-author of two books on lending to small business: Venture Capital Handbook and Venture Capital Investing both published by Prentice Hall.

Mr. Kimbrough joined The Gladstone Companies in September 2008 as a Managing Director for the Portfolio Management group and opened our Richmond office for the firm. With 30 years of experience in operations, management consulting, and M&A transactions, he concentrates on portfolio management.

Prior to joining the firm he was a Managing Director of Windward Advisors, an investment banking firm and advisor to lower middle-market companies. Before Windward, Mr. Kimbrough spent eight years as a management consultant to process manufacturing companies as President of Heads Up Systems. He was President of Alliance Agronomics, an agriculture consulting and services firm, from 1996-1998. Prior to Alliance he was Vice President and Group Executive of the Consumer Specialties Division of James River Corporation, a paper manufacturer where he served in various capacities over 15 years, including responsibility for Corporate Development. He began his career in production at a family-owned manufacturing firm. He received his MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University and his BS from Tufts University.

Mr. Massey has been with The Gladstone Companies since May 2004. He currently serves as a Managing Director in our McLean, VA Headquarters focusing on investments in commercial real estate projects.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Massey was Vice President of Asset Management with Kennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel, a $6 billion pension fund advisor where he was responsible for $450 million of Class A office and industrial properties and over 200 tenants. Formerly, Mr. Massey was President of a broadcast tower acquisitions company and Director of Business Development for two cellular tower & in-building network companies. Mr. Massey also held asset management roles with other commercial real estate firms where he evaluated nonperforming loan and REO portfolios, and analyzed underwriting debt and equity investments valued at nearly $4 billion. Mr. Massey began his career in consumer banking responsible for daily operations at a 3,000-member credit union. He received a BA in Political Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Managing Director, Private Finance
Chicago, IL Office

Mr. Meier joined The Gladstone Companies in 2007 as a Managing Director focusing on new business development in the Media & Communications industry in our Chicago office.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Mr. Meier was a Vice President in Wells Fargo Foothill�s Specialty Finance division. At Wells Fargo Foothill, Mr. Meier was responsible for originating and underwriting senior loans in the media and telecommunications sector. Prior to Wells Fargo, Mr. Meier was with Westburg Media Capital and a Vice President of FINOVA Capital Corporation, where his primary responsibility was the origination of media loans of up to $250 million.

From 1990-1994, he served as a Vice President at Heller Financial Inc. Mr. Meier began his banking and lending career at Continental National Bank in 1986. Mr. Meier received a BS in Finance from Western Illinois University, attended Washington University in St. Louis, and obtained a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois.

Mr. Pierce has been with The Gladstone Companies since May 2004. He currently serves as a Managing Director in our Chicago office focusing on debt and equity investments in private businesses.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Mr. Pierce was with GE Commercial Finance where he was a Senior Vice President in the Global Sponsor Finance Group. While at GE, Mr. Pierce was responsible for aggregating $1.5 billion in commitments from senior debt opportunities and private equity sponsors in the Midwest. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Pierce was Vice President with Heller Financial in Chicago, originating and underwriting transactions. From 1985 through 1996, Mr. Pierce was with Bank of America in Chicago, and its predecessor, Continental Bank, in a variety of roles, including loan workouts, asset based lending, and leveraged finance. Mr. Pierce received a BS in Accounting from Marquette University and obtained an MBA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Management
McLean, VA Office

Mr. Sateri has been with The Gladstone Companies since April 2007. He currently serves as a Managing Director in our McLean, VA Headquarters focusing on private business debt, equity, and real estate Portfolio Management.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Mr. Sateri directed an independent consultancy providing distressed debt valuation, CMBS securitization and loan sale advisory services to institutional investors, national advisory firms and government clients. From 1989 to 1998, Mr. Sateri worked for Wachovia Bank (predecessor/affiliated companies) in a variety of areas including credit risk management, special assets, commercial lending, and lastly capital markets where he served as Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manger overseeing a team responsible for underwriting, servicing and managing an asset based loan portfolio with half a billion dollars in commitments to highly leveraged, growth oriented, middle market companies.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from The University of Hawaii at Manoa, a master’s degree in Real Estate Development from the University of Maryland at College Park, and is a member of the Risk Management Association.

Ms. Simpson joined The Gladstone Companies in early 2007 as a Managing Director for the Investment Management group focusing on structured financing and due diligence.

Prior to joining Gladstone, Ms. Simpson worked for Morgenthaler Partners arranging debt financing for their leveraged buyouts. From 1999 to 2006, Ms. Simpson worked for National City Bank, most recently as Senior Vice President in Credit Administration, as well as a relationship manager for closely held and equity sponsor-owned middle-market companies. Ms. Simpson served on active duty for four years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. She received a BS in Economics from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Finance from Case Western Reserve University.