Avantce Capital

Mike Abbaei

Mike is a seasoned senior executive with extensive experience in the business, technology, and operations divisions of the financial industry.  He has over twenty seven years of experience in business, with twenty four of those working for financial institutions.

Mike has an extraordinary track record of delivering high quality products on time and within budget.  He has managed many large and small scale projects, ranging from multi-billion dollar business transitions and global integrations to developing systems and processes which ranked in the top three within their respective markets.

As a Managing Partner for Finix Business Strategies, Mike works with a number of asset managers, brokerage firms, technology companies, and financial institutions to guide them through technology and/or operational overhauls, integration and transition efforts, creating business opportunities and strategies, and helping them address day to day business challenges.

Rod Anderson

Rod is currently President/CEO of Aviva Solutions Inc. in Montreal, Canada and also holds the role of Operating Partner with Avantcé Capital, LLC in Naples, Florida.

Rod is an angel investor in primarily Ottawa, Canada based early stage companies and a partner in the Ottawa angel investing group, the Band of Scoundrels

Rod participated in the Ventures West Entrepreneur in Residence program in 2002 – 2003. Ventures West is Canada’s largest private venture capital firm.

Rod was a member of the Executive Leadership Team of Nortel Networks and Vice President of Marketing & Business Development for a Nortel Networks software business unit. His responsibilities included marketing, strategy, business development, and mergers & acquisitions.

Rod founded ISOTRO Network Management Inc. in 1990 and held the position of CEO through to 1997, at which time the company was acquired by Santa Clara based Bay Networks. ISOTRO developed software products for Internet name, address and policy management. Rod moved to Nortel Networks when Nortel acquired Bay Networks in 1998.

Rod began his career as a geophysicist with Amoco Canada Petroleum in Calgary Alberta, prior to studying optical communications at the University of Alberta. After completing his master’s degree in electrical engineering he joined the Optical Lab of Bell Northern Research (Nortel Networks).

Rod received Nortel Networks’ “Top Talent” and Bell Northern Research’s “Award of Excellence” awards during his tenure with BNR / Nortel Networks.

Rod resides in Ottawa with his wife and two sons.  As a family they enjoy playing music and numerous outdoor sports and recreation.   

• Member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA)
  
• Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, University of Alberta
  
• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan
  

David Benjamin

David is a Managing Director of Exedient LLC, focused on accelerating profitable growth for portfolio companies and clients.

Previously, David was the founder and CEO of Charter Consulting, Inc., a management consulting firm focused on operational strategy development and implementation for Global 2000 clients.  David grew Charter to a 40+ person firm before its sale to a publicly traded services company. 

Prior to founding Charter, David was a partner at Bricker & Associates, and in Ernst & Young’s consulting practice.  David began his career at Arthur Andersen’s Management Information Consulting Division (now Accenture), and then at McKinsey & Co.  He has had experience serving global clients in the information technology, financial services, distribution, transportation and automotive sectors.

David currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the Monitor Group, a global strategy consulting firm.  He is a member of the national board of Public Allies, where he is the Treasurer.  He is also an active member of the Chicago Club and the Economic Club of Chicago, and serves on the membership committees for both.

David holds a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Grinnell College, and an M.B.A in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (Booth).

Eric Meerschaert

Eric is a Managing Director of Exedient LLC, focused on accelerating profitable revenue growth for portfolio companies and clients. 

Previously, Eric was President of Click Commerce where he led four separate operating groups providing eCommerce software solutions, clinical research administrative solutions, service management solutions and outsourced labor management solutions.  Click Commerce was a division of ITW, and Eric played a critical role in preparing the company for and successfully leading the company through its sale to a private equity firm.

Prior to joining Click Commerce, Eric held a variety of executive leadership roles in software companies.  Eric was SVP of Global Marketing for Sterling Commerce.  At Sterling Commerce, Eric rebuilt the marketing organization and accelerated marketing results dramatically while integrating 3 new acquisitions.  Eric also held leadership positions at JD Edwards and Optika software companies.

The earlier part of Eric’s career was spent at Arthur Anderson’s Management Information Consulting Division (now Accenture) and McKinsey & Co. driving corporate change and bottom line results for Global 1000 companies.  Eric helped his clients achieve operational excellence across insurance, banking, manufacturing, information technology, pharmaceuticals and high-tech manufacturing.  A majority of Eric’s consulting expertise is focused on optimizing customer-facing processes, but he also brings expertise in regulatory filing and supply chain management.

Eric holds a Bachelors of Business in Management Information Systems with a minor in Operations Research from Drake University.

Michael Myers

Michael joined the Avantce Capital team to focus on investments and acquisitions in software, internet applications, infrastructure, and communications.  He had extensive experiences in management, sales, marketing, and operations and is an active venture investor in Telecom, Datacenter, Asset Management, Billing, Provisioning, Business Intelligence, Supply Chain, Collaboration, Process Improvement, Content, Document, and Integration Management technology companies.

Michael built a proven track record over the last twenty years in his roles at GlobalCenter, Global Crossing, Red Hat, Visual Sciences (Now Omniture), and Metastorm.  His experiences include both public and private companies focused on delivering high value customer solutions and operational efficiency.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Ohio State University and sits on several boards.

Jeff Sim

Prior to joining Avantcé Capital, Jeff was the Chief Financial Officer for GeoLogic Solutions, a private equity-owned hardware and software company focused on providing telecommunications solutions to the transportation industry.  GeoLogic was spun out from Aether Systems, Inc. (nasdaq: AETH)  in 2004 through an acquisition by Platinum Equity, LLC and successfully sold to Xata Corporation (nasdaq: XATA) in 2008.

As a key member of the GeoLogic Management team, Jeff partnered with the CEO to architect and develop a multi-faceted turn-around strategy, which allowed the business to survive a critical blow from an underlying service provider that significantly impaired the previously acquired business.  After completing the business makeover, Jeff and his team completed the sale of GeoLogic to Xata.

From 2000-2004, Jeff held various finance roles of increasing responsibility with Aether Systems, where he saw the company grow from 100 to 1,400 people and revenues grow from $2.4m to $130m.  With his roles culminating as Director of Finance, Jeff participated in acquisitions of 12 businesses, with specific roles ranging from post-merger integration back through to due diligence lead and terms negotiation.  Additionally, Jeff managed corporate finance initiatives such as Investor Relations, Financial Planning & Analysis, Treasury, periodic public reporting and secondary offering registrations and was division controller for two of Aether’s operating units.

Prior to his work at Aether Systems, Jeff was a practicing CPA with KPMG in the Baltimore, Maryland and Northern Virginia offices and before that with Mann Frankfort Stein and Lipp, PC, in Houston, Texas.  Jeff also has prior experience as a Financial Analyst and Real Estate/Economics Market Analyst.

Jeff is a currently licensed CPA and holds the degrees of Master of Business Administration from Texas State University and Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Our Partners

Our partners assist well-managed companies through their corporate financial challenges with sophisticated and creative solutions that emerge from many years of superior client service.

RSM McGladrey

RSM McGladrey, Inc. is a leading national business consulting, accounting, and tax firm that focuses on mid-sized companies.

Mike Abbaei 

Rod Anderson

David Benjamin

Eric Meerschaert

Michael Myers

Jeff Sim