Management Team
Hesham M. Gad
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Hesham M. Gad has been Chief Executive Officer of the Company since June 2014, Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors since March 2012, and a director of the Company since 2010. From 2013 to 2017, Mr. Gad served as Chairman and CEO of SED International Holdings, Inc., a multinational distributor of IT and computing products. Mr. Gad is the author of "The Business of Value Investing: Six Essential Elements to Buying Companies Like Warren Buffett." Mr. Gad is a graduate of the University of Georgia and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Program.
Deborah Mertz
Chief Financial Officer
Deborah R. Mertz is an accounting professional with over 40 years' experience in both publicly held and privately held companies. From 2006 to 2013, Ms. Mertz held the position of Assistant Controller of ASSA ABLOY Inc. Americas Division. ASSA ABLOY is the largest global supplier of intelligent lock and security solutions. From 1999 to 2006, Ms. Mertz was the Controller/CFO of Sargent Manufacturing Company. Sargent Manufacturing Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASSA ABLOY Inc. and manufactures architectural hardware used primarily in commercial construction. Ms. Mertz has held various other senior accounting positions. Ms. Mertz is a CPA and has an MBA from Rider University and a B.S. in Accounting from King's College.
Board of Directors
Hesham M. Gad
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Hesham M. Gad has been Chief Executive Officer of the Company since June 2014, Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors since March 2012, and a director of the Company since 2010. From 2013 to 2017, Mr. Gad served as Chairman and CEO of SED International Holdings, Inc., a multinational distributor of IT and computing products. Mr. Gad is the author of "The Business of Value Investing: Six Essential Elements to Buying Companies Like Warren Buffett." Mr. Gad is a graduate of the University of Georgia and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Program.
Jack H. Jacob
Board Member
Jack H. Jacobs is the Senior Fellow of the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he has been teaching since 2005, and for more than 20 years has been a principal of The Fitzroy Group, Ltd., a firm that specializes in the development of residential real estate in London. He has served as an on-air military analyst for NBC News since 2002, where he was a member of the team that produced the segment "Iraq: The Long Way Out," which won the 2011 Murrow Award. Colonel Jacobs was a co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of AutoFinance Group Inc., one of the firms to pioneer the securitization of debt instruments, from 1988 to 1989; the firm was subsequently sold to KeyBank. He was a Managing Director of Bankers Trust Corporation, a diversified financial institution and investment bank, where he ran foreign exchange options worldwide and was a partner in the institutional hedge fund business. Colonel Jacobs' military career included two tours of duty in Vietnam where he was among the most highly decorated soldiers, earning three Bronze Stars, two Silver Stars, and the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest combat decoration. He retired from active military duty as a Colonel in 1987. Colonel Jacobs has been a member of numerous public companies and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the USO of New York. He is the author of the book "If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need." Colonel Jacobs received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master's degree from Rutgers University.
Samual S. Weiser
Board Member and Audit Committee Chairman
Samuel S. Weiser is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Foxdale Management LLC, a consulting firm founded by Mr. Weiser that provides operational consulting, strategic planning, and litigation support services in securities related disputes, which has been operating since 2003. He is also the Founder and CEO of JMP OppZone Services, LLC, a fund administration and business support services firm focused exclusively on supporting investment activities in designated Opportunity Zones which were created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to drive investment into depressed areas of the country. JMP began operations in May 2019. From August 2009 until April 2015, he was a member of the Board of Directors and from August 2014 until March 2015 was Executive Chairman of Premier Exhibitions, Inc., a provider of museum quality touring exhibitions then listed on Nasdaq. In addition, Mr. Weiser served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. from November 2011 until June 2014. Mr. Weiser was a member of SED International Holdings, Inc.'s Board of Directors from October 2013 until October 2014. Previously, Mr. Weiser served as a member and Chief Operating Officer of Sellers Capital LLC, an investment management firm, from 2007 to 2010. From 2005 to 2007, he was a Managing Director responsible for the Hedge Fund Consulting Group within Citigroup Inc.'s Global Prime Brokerage Division. Mr. Weiser also served as Chairman of the Managed Funds Association, a lobbying organization for the hedge fund industry, from 2001 to 2003, and was formerly a partner in Ernst and Young. He received his B.A. in Economics from Colby College and a M.A. in Accounting from George Washington University.