HRV has assembled an elite Advisory Board consisting of experienced venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs, and industry leaders who provide strategic guidance and to HRV fund managers and portfolio companies alike.
Bob Buckler
Bob recently held the position of Chief Operating Officer of the City of Detroit, having been appointed by Detroit Mayor, Dave Bing. Bob spent his entire 35-year professional career with Detroit Edison and DTE Energy. He joined Detroit Edison as an engineer in 1972 and was President and Chief Operating Officer of Detroit Edison at the time of his retirement in December 2008. He held various positions of greater responsibility throughout and was elected president & COO of DTE Energy Distribution in 1998 and of Detroit Edison in 2005. In addition to his contributions to DTE Energy, Buckler has been deeply involved in the community and has been instrumental in efforts to boost the economic development of the region and state.
Buckler is a trustee of the University Musical Society, the Rackham Engineering Foundation and past president of the Engineering Society of Detroit, and served on the State Fundraising Committee for Habitat for Humanity, the YMCA Camping Services Board of Directors and the United Way Community Services Campaign Cabinet. He is also Chairman of start-up Michigan-based alternative energy company, Accio Energy’s Technical Advisory Board.
McKeel Hagerty
McKeel is the CEO of Hagerty Insurance, the world’s largest specialty provider of classic car insurance. Headquartered in his hometown of Traverse City, MI, McKeel has grown the family business from a small agency of 30 employees to more than 500 employees worldwide and offices in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The company also writes classic car policies through more than 30,000 independent agents worldwide. This growth has resulted in total insured value coverage in excess of $20 billion.
Seeing that no software programs specific to classic car insurance existed, McKeel led a team of in-house software developers to create a custom program for internal business and working with the 30,000+ independent agents. He was also the first to embrace the internet for online quoting and policy management—long before any of his competitors.
To maintain Hagerty’s growth trajectory, McKeel also launched several new ventures including Hagerty Plus, Hagerty Classic Car, and Hagerty Institute. Hagerty Plus provides roadside assistance for classic cars and other informational resources as well as the first and largest network of flatbed only tow trucks. Hagerty Classic Car magazine is the largest circulated classic car magazine with circulation exceeding 300,000 people. Hagerty Institute is one of the most comprehensive archives of all automotive reference materials, sales literature, books, magazines, from the last 100+ years of automotive history, securing Hagerty’s reputation as the authority on classic cars.
McKeel attended Pepperdine University, Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary and Boston College for graduate work in Philosophy and Classics. McKeel’s knowledge and enthusiasm have given him a reputation as an authority within the automotive industry, representing the classic car community on numerous boards and advisory groups, and appearing regularly as a commentator for ESPN, SPEED and Discovery. He is also the youngest judge to ever serve at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and has continued to serve for more than 10 years. McKeel has been a member of the Young Presidents Organization since 2000. He has been Chair of his chapter twice and is the current region chair (2010-2012)
Craig Hall
Craig has over thirty-eight years’ experience in logistics and information services management. An early innovator, he has founded 8 successful supply chain and related technology companies including LeanLogistics, Inc. and Total Logistic Control in Holland, Michigan. Combining his experience in logistics, technology and the internet, he founded LeanLogistics, Inc. LeanLogistics created a revolutionary web-native On-Demand Transportation Management System (TMS) utilizing the Internet to create a real-time, on-line collaborative environment for shippers and carriers. They developed patented Software as a Service (SaaS) technology for shippers and carriers to proactively manage their entire supply chain from planning to execution and settlement. Their customers include such companies as Meijer, Pepsi Americas, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Barilla Pasta, McDonald’s, Ace Hardware and Chiquita among others. In 2008, Craig sold the company to Brambles Limited, an international public company providing global supply chain support services.
Craig is a director of Nucraft Furniture Company, Alpena Power Company, the Behler-Young Company, Cascade Engineering, Comfort Research, the Grand Valley Research Corporation, Lakeshore Advantage, NewNorth Center for Design in Business, Oversight Committee of the Michigan State University Bioeconomy Institute, Past Chairman of the Michigan Chapter of Young President’s Organization (YPO) and Founding Director of the Grand Angels.
Brad Oleshansky
Brad Oleshansky is an entrepreneur and corporate attorney with a demonstrated track record in executive level leadership positions. From 2004 to 2008 Brad served as COO of Big Communications, which he helped grew from 5 employees and less than $1M in revenue in 2004 to 125 employees and $30M+ in revenue in 2008, at which point it was acquired by Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP). After the acquisition, Brad became CEO, where he led all aspects of the company’s business, including strategic planning, finance, business development, legal and operations. Brad left the company in December 2012 to pursue new entrepreneurial ventures.
Earlier in his career, worked at law firm Lowy & Zucker and subsequently as In-House Counsel at several companies, representing clients in the entertainment, licensing, and marketing working with a marquis list of consumer, entertainment, and retail clients including Burger King, Warner Bros., Shell Oil, McDonald’s, Toys “R” Us, Safeway, Old Navy, and Hallmark. He also spent two years as Vice President of Business Affairs at Game Show Network, where he was responsible for structuring all business relationships and developing ancillary revenue opportunities.
Brad is a graduate of Ithaca College and Southwestern University School of Law. He is a member of the California and District of Columbia Bars. Brad is on the advisory boards of Vitality, Inc., First Sense Medical, LLC, the Michigan Device Accelerator and Pitch, Inc. He is also Vice President of the Board and a member of the Executive Committee of ORT Michigan.
Brad was honored with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for Michigan & Northwest Ohio in 2012.
Steve Percy
Steve is the former Chairman and CEO of BP America, Inc., BP’s U.S. subsidiary prior to its merger with Amoco Corporation, and served in that capacity from 1996 until 1999. Prior to assuming those duties, he was President of BP Oil in the United States from 1992 to 1996. Mr. Percy returned to BP America in 1992 from London, England where he served as Group Treasurer of BP p.l.c. and Chief Executive of BP Finance International.
Since retiring from BP he has served as the head of Phillips Petroleum’s Refining, Marketing and Transportation Company, visited as a Professor of Corporate Strategy and International Business at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, lectured at Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment, and conducted workshops on corporate governance for the AHC Group, a strategic consultant in the areas of environment, energy, and materials. Mr. Percy has recently contributed to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as Coordinating Lead Author with respect to its Conceptual Framework and its Responses working group as well as leading the writing of its synthesis report for business and industry.
Mr. Percy is a member of the Board of Directors of Omnova Solutions Inc. and is Chair of its Audit Committee, and is also Non-executive Chairman of Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc., a Canadian company that has developed and commercialized innovative technologies for fluid flow and process monitoring in the environmental and energy sectors. Past corporate board memberships include GenCorp, Inc., the Tranzonic Companies, KeyBank National Association, and Transtar International. Steve currently serves as the Chairman of the Chautauqua Foundation, the Development arm of the Chautauqua Institution.
Steve is also a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute for Sustainable Enterprise, is Vice Chair of the Cleveland State University Foundation Board, serving as head of its Investment Committee, and is Chair of the National Advisory Council of the Cleveland Marshall College of Law.
Previously, Steve has served as a member of President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development in the role of Co-Chair of its Climate Change Task Force, and also served as Vice Chair of the board of Resources for the Future, an environmental and economic research organization. He has Chaired Cleveland State University’s Foundation, was Vice Chairman of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and Chair of its Finance Committee and was Chairman of Neighborhood Progress, Inc. He has also served as a member of the boards of University Hospitals of Cleveland, the American Petroleum Institute, the National Association of Manufacturers, Junior Achievement International, the British American Chamber of Commerce and the Council on Economic Priorities.
Born in 1946, Mr. Percy is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctorate from Cleveland Marshall College of Law. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar.
Tim Peterson