Mr. Ward has over thirty years experience in commercial banking, investment banking and private equity investing. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer of two private equity- sponsored portfolio companies, both with SEC reporting requirements. He has been responsible for the successful investment of over $600 million in equity capital in transactions valued over $2 billion, and has served as a director of 13 middle market companies working in partnership with management teams to build shareholder value. Mr. Ward’s experience includes working with leveraged capital structures in both an advisory and principal role and has been active in numerous financial restructurings, both in and out-of-court.

Prior to working with the Scotland Group, Mr. Ward served as a partner, managing director and principal for sixteen years with three middle market private equity firms. At American Industrial Partners he led a successful going-private transaction for Bucyrus International, a supplier of large surface mining equipment, spare parts and related services. Bucyrus ultimately earned the sponsor an attractive return and it has re-emerged as a publicly-traded company. Mr. Ward also led the investment transactions at American Industrial Partners for Stanadyne, a manufacturer of fuel injection engine components; Day International, a supplier of offset printing consumables; and Great Lakes Carbon, the world's leading producer of calcined petroleum coke used by aluminum companies in the fabrication of carbon anodes. His private equity investment experience in the manufacturing sector also includes leadership roles in transactions for suppliers of precision machined components, electronic connectors and cable assemblies, test and measurement systems and after-market automobile seating. Within the business service sector, he has led investment transactions for a chain of public refrigerated warehouses and a supplier of contractor services for open pit mines.

During his career Mr. Ward served as the Chief Financial Officer of Plantronics, the world's leading supplier of lightweight telephone headsets. He represented the management team in a going-private transaction, arranged the debt and equity financing for the buyout, sold non-strategic operations and significantly reduced inventory to generate cash for debt service. Plantronics' financial sponsor earned a return of over 20X on its original investment and the company is once again traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

During his years at American Industrial Partners Mr. Ward also served as the Chief Financial Officer for their largest portfolio company, Sweetheart Cup, a supplier of paper and plastic disposable foodservice items. He played a key role in preparing Sweetheart for sale, working with a major investment bank to run an auction process targeting both strategic and financial buyers.

Mr. Ward began his career in commercial lending at Manufacturers Hanover Trust in New York and served as an investment banker for ten years with Kidder, Peabody & Co. in New York and San Francisco. He holds a BA from Harvard College in Economics and an MBA from Columbia in Finance.