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| AAVIN Principals have over 120 years of cumulative venture capital and business development experience. We have extensive investment experience along with significant operational experience in all aspects of building successful companies. We have been active in telecommunications, financial services, consumer products & services, industrial products & manufacturing, medical devices & services, computer & software related companies and many other industries. Our success record includes investments in over 125 portfolio companies. | |
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 JAMES D. THORP
Managing Partner
jthorp@aavin.com
James D. Thorp founded AAVIN in 1999. He has over 20 years of private equity experience and venture capital investment experience.
Prior to AAVIN from 1983 to 1993 he served in various investment management positions, progressing to the level or Principal with Allsop Venture Partners, a major Midwestern private equity and venture capital firm. From 1993 to 1999 he was responsible for the private equity and investment banking activities of Berthel Fisher & Company, a major regional broker/dealer.
He currently has board responsibilities with America's PowerSports, Inc., Celleration, Inc., Dakota Services Corporation and Varidigm Corporation.
Mr. Thorp received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration - Accounting from Oklahoma University in 1981 and a Master of Business Administration – Finance degree from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 1983. He is a graduate of the Ninth Annual Venture Capital Institute. He is a member of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC), the Regional Association of Small Business Investment Companies (RASBIC) and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). From 2000 through 2004, he served on the Board of Governors of NASBIC.
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|  ERIC M. HENDER
Senior Partner
ehender@aavin.com
Eric M. Hender co-founded AAVIN and has worked in corporate finance and management for over 30 years. He is a co-founder and Managing Member of Marshall Venture Capital, L.C. a venture capital and private equity fund that concentrates on investment opportunities in the Midwest.
From 1977 through 1996, he served in various executive positions at SCI Financial Group, Inc., a regional investment bank with diversified financial services including brokerage, investment banking, money management and venture capital. He served as President of Securities Corporation of Iowa, a registered broker-dealer, and was in charge of SCI Financial Group's venture capital activities.
Mr. Hender presently has board responsibilities with Destinations Unlimited, BrightPlanet Corporation, Compendium Corporation, Hackett Precision Company, Inc., Handy Industries, LLC, RuffaloCODY, LLC, Spinal Designs International and Inter-Med, Inc.
In 1962, he graduated with a degree in Business and Banking from the Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Mr. Hender also attended the Banking Institute at the University of Wisconsin and the Securities Institute at Wharton. He is a registered principal with the National Association of Securities Dealers. He previously served on the District Four Conduct Committee and the Securities Industry Associations Central States Committee.
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|  KIRK E. KAALBERG
Senior Partner
kkaalberg@aavin.com
Kirk E. Kaalberg joined AAVIN in 1999 and has 19 years of operational experience in the telecommunications, software and networking industries. His extensive experience in executive management and corporate development includes leading and participating in numerous mergers and acquisitions. He has identified new markets and developed and launched products and services to capitalize on opportunities.
Mr. Kaalberg was a co-founder of McLeodUSA which was formed in 1992 and completed its initial public offering in 1996. From 1992 through 1999, Mr. Kaalberg served in various executive positions at McLeodUSA, finally serving as President, Network Services.
From 1990 through 1992 he was senior manager of MCI following its acquisition of Telecom*USA. From 1987 to 1990 he held senior management positions at Teleconnect and its successor, Telecom*USA.
Mr. Kaalberg currently has board responsibilities with BrightPlanet Corporation, Coolibar, Inc., Dynamic Broadband Corporation, Halo Innovations, Inc., Hoffco, Inc., Metalforming Controls Corporation, WindLogics, Inc. and Limolink, Inc.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration - Accounting from Central College in Pella, Iowa in 1981. He received his Master of Business Administration – Marketing degree in 1983 from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
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|  PAUL D. RHINES
Senior Partner
prhines@aavin.com
Paul D. Rhines co-founded AAVIN and has over 30 years of experience in private equity and venture capital investment.
He was a founding general partner of Allsop Venture Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm with three partnerships that managed $105 million of institutional capital. All three funds generated top quartile performance.
He is also co-founder, Managing Member and Executive Vice President of Marshall Venture Capital, L.C., the general partner of Marshall Capital Fund, L.P., a venture capital and private equity fund formed in 1997.
Prior to co-founding Allsop, Mr. Rhines spent 11 years as an officer and investment professional with MorAmerica Capital Corporation, a venture capital company operating one of the largest Small Business Investment Company's in the nation at that time.
He presently has board responsibilities with GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation, Diversified Graphics, Inc., Dynamic Broadband Corporation, Metalforming Controls Corporation, PMT Industries, LLC, RuffaloCODY, LLC and Stamats Communications, Inc.
Mr. Rhines received a Bachelor of Arts - Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa in 1965. He attended the Harvard University Venture Capital Executive seminar and has served as both a regional and a national officer of the National Associating of Small Business Investment Companies. |
|  THIES O. KOLLN
Partner
tkolln@aavin.com
Thies O. Kolln joined AAVIN in 2002. From 2000 through 2002, he was a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago, Illinois, working on business strategy projects for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. During that time among other projects, he was a member of the start-up management team of Orbitz. He has worked with companies in the consumer goods, retail, and technology industries.
From 1996 through 1999, Mr. Kolln practiced corporate law at Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago, Illinois, representing venture capital and private equity funds and large corporations in acquisitions, divestitures, public and private offerings and fund formations. He served as a law clerk to Judge James B. Loken of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Paul, Minnesota from 1995 through 1996.
Mr. Kolln currently has board responsibilities with Coolibar, Inc., Dakota Services Corporation, Diversified Graphics, Inc., Hackett Precision Company, Inc. and PMT Industries, LLC.
He received a Juris Doctorate with honors from the University of Chicago in 1995 where he also served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Law Review. Mr. Kolln graduated with a bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1992. He is a member of the Illinois Bar Association and the Bar of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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