M. Wesley Schrader
Chief Executive Officer and Director
M. Wesley Schrader has served as our Chief Executive Office since January 2022 and will serve as a Director upon the closing of this offering. Mr. Schrader has over 25 years of experience encompassing both non-executive and executive roles. Mr. Schrader founded Waverider Partners LLC, an advisory and investment firm, in 2021 and has served as its managing member since inception. Mr. Schrader founded Capital MW LLC, a management consulting firm, in 2008 and has served as its managing member since inception. Mr. Schrader serves as Senior Advisor to Columbine Logging, Inc. d/b/a Columbine Corporation, a privately held company, where he served as Chief Executive Officer from March 2018 to December 2021. Mr. Schrader served as Director of Eagle Energy Inc. (TSX: EGL) from June 2018 to February 2019. Mr. Schrader also served as a Director of Littleton Public Schools Foundation from November 2014 - June 2019.
Previously, Mr. Schrader has held various executive and management positions, primarily focused on corporate development and finance. Mr. Schrader holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Valparaiso University, a Master of Business in Administration from the University of Denver, and a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Denver.
Mark Penway
Chief Financial Officer
Mark Penway has ten years of experience in a variety of accounting roles, primarily focusing on financial reporting and analysis for publicly traded companies in the financial services and insurance space. Mr. Penway has served as the Director of Accounting of FG Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FGF) (formerly known as 1347 Property Insurance Holdings, Inc.), which operates as a reinsurance and asset management holding company, since September 2021. From February 2021 to September 2021, Mr. Penway held the position of Senior Financial Analyst at Kemper Corporation (NYSE: KMPR). From June 2019 to February 2021, and from May 2013 to August 2018, Mr. Penway held accounting positions at Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (NYSE: KFS), most recently as Senior Accounting Analyst. His previous experience also includes the position of Senior Accountant at Arthur J. Gallagher (NYSE: AJE), which he held from August 2018 to June 2019. Mr. Penway obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Loyola University Chicago in 2013.
D. Kyle Cerminara
Senior Advisor
D. Kyle Cerminara will serve as a Senior Advisor upon the closing of this offering. Mr. Cerminara has over 25 years’ experience as an institutional investor, asset manager, director, chief executive, founder and operator of multiple financial services and technology businesses. Mr. Cerminara co-founded Fundamental Global in 2012 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Cerminara is a member of the board of directors of a number of companies focused in the reinsurance, investment management, technology and communication sectors, including FG Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FGF) (formerly known as 1347 Property Insurance Holdings, Inc.), which operates as a diversified reinsurance and investment management company, since December 2016; BK Technologies Corporation (NYSE American: BKTI), a provider of two-way radio communications equipment, since July 2015, serving as Chairman from March 2017 until April 2020 and again beginning July 2022; FG Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: FGH) (formerly Ballantyne Strong, Inc.), a holding company with diverse business activities focused on serving the entertainment and retail markets, since February 2015; and Firefly Systems Inc., a venture-backed digital advertising company, since August 2020. Since July 2022 Mr. Cerminara has served as the Chairman, President, Secretary and Treasurer of FG Communities, Inc., which owns and manages manufactured housing communities to preserve and improve affordable housing. Mr. Cerminara has served as President since February 2021 and will serve as a director of FG New America Acquisition II Corp., a special purpose acquisition company currently in the process of completing its initial public offering and which is focused on searching for a target company in the financial services and insurance industries, and he is also the chairperson of the board of directors of FG Acquisition Corp. (TSX: FGAA), a Canadian special purpose acquisition company focused on searching for a target company in the financial services sector.
Mr. Cerminara was appointed Chairman of FG Financial Group, Inc. in May 2018 and served as its Principal Executive Officer from March 2020 to June 2020. From April 2021 to December 2021, Mr. Cerminara served as a director of Aldel Financial Inc. (NYSE: ADF), a special purpose acquisition company co-sponsored by Fundamental Global, which merged with Hagerty, a leading specialty insurance provider focused on the global automotive enthusiast market. From July 2020 to July 2021, Mr. Cerminara served as Director and President of FG New America Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: FGNA), a special purpose acquisition company, which merged with OppFi Inc. (NYSE: OPFI), a leading financial technology platform that powers banks to help everyday consumers gain access to credit. Mr. Cerminara has served as the Chairman of FG Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: FGH) since May 2015 and previously served as its Chief Executive Officer from November 2015 through April 2020. He served on the board of directors of GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. (TSX: GFP) (formerly Itasca Capital Ltd.), a public company focused on investments in the forest products industry, from June 2016 to October 2021 and was appointed Chairman from June 2018 to June 2021; Limbach Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMB), a company which provides building infrastructure services, from March 2019 to March 2020; Iteris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITI), a publicly-traded, applied informatics company, from August 2016 to November 2017; Magnetek, Inc., a publicly-traded manufacturer, in 2015; and blueharbor bank, a community bank, from October 2013 to January 2020. He served as a Trustee and President of StrongVest ETF Trust, which was an open-end management investment company, from July 2016 to March 2021. Previously, Mr. Cerminara served as the Co-Chief Investment Officer of CWA Asset Management Group, LLC, a position he held from January 2013 to December 2020.
Prior to these roles, Mr. Cerminara was a Portfolio Manager at Sigma Capital Management, an independent financial adviser, from 2011 to 2012, a Director and Sector Head of the Financials Industry at Highside Capital Management from 2009 to 2011, and a Portfolio Manager and Director at CR Intrinsic Investors from 2007 to 2009. Before joining CR Intrinsic Investors, Mr. Cerminara was a Vice President, Associate Portfolio Manager and Analyst at T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) from 2001 to 2007, where he was named amongst Institutional Investor’s Best of the Buy Side Analysts in November 2006, and an Analyst at Legg Mason from 2000 to 2001.
Mr. Cerminara received an MBA degree from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia and a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, where he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, an NCAA Academic All American and Co-Captain of the men’s varsity tennis team. He also completed a China Executive Residency at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing, China. Mr. Cerminara holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.