Ron Lasko draws on his early tax training with Touche Ross & Co. beginning in 1976, and as a practicing attorney, in his legal representation of a wide array of closely-held companies in their acquisition efforts. He has been involved in all aspects of the merger and acquisition business, as managing partner of a successful law practice (Lasko & Lind Co., L.P.A.) and in investment banking as president of Amerge Corp.

Ron is responsible for the planning, development and performance of Amerge Corp., and each of the group's specialty practice groups. His acquisition experience goes back to transactions in the 1980's and exceeds 100 M&A deals.

Professional Affiliations: Merger Network Affiliate, International Business Brokers Association, Association for Corporate Growth, American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry, American Bar Association, Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, Surety Association of Ohio, Construction Financial Managers Association, Construction Industry Consultants/CPA Association, Ohio State Bar Association (Construction Law Subcommittee), Construction Employers Association, Mechanical Contractors Association of Cleveland, and Cleveland Bar Association.

Admissions: Ohio State Bar Association, State of Ohio, 1976, United States Tax Court, United States District Court, United States Court of Claims

RICHARD A. TAYLOR
Marketing & Research

Rick is involved in research and marketing at Amerge. Formerly the Director of Research for the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Arthur Andersen LLP in Cleveland, he has conducted many successful acquisition searches over the years through his advanced research techniques and analysis of deals. Rick has an extensive background in analyzing economic, market and demographic trends used in forecasting industry growth, valuations and long range planning. Prior to Arthur Andersen Rick worked as Director of Research for Northstar Industries, an established financial intermediary in Minneapolis, assisting in over 100 buying and selling assignments including targeting qualified middle market acquisition candidates for buyers and the location of qualified buyers for selling clients. In the past, he held the position of Manager, Business Analysis for General Mills, Inc., General Mills Fashion Group for such brands as Foot-Joy®, IZOD® and Monet® and Market Analyst for Harris Corporation, a NYSE electronics and graphic arts manufacturer. Rick holds an M.B.A. from Indiana University and a B.A. in Economics from Kent State University.

WILLIAM R. SHIRY
Debt and Equity Relationships

Bill Shiry, former Managing Director - Private Capital Markets of Ernst & Young Corporate Finance, LLC is affiliated with Amerge as liaison to debt and equity markets. Most recently at E&Y, Bill was responsible for private capital raising activities in the Midwest region advising companies on capital structure alternatives as well as placing senior debt, subordinated debt and equity capital to finance leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, acquisitions, growth initiatives, and balance sheet restructurings. While at E&Y, Bill also served as financial advisor to clients on numerous successful merger and acquisition transactions. At Heller Financial, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, Bill held the position of Vice President in the Leveraged Finance Group - Syndications where he structured, priced and placed non-investment grade debt for highly-leveraged transactions. Previously, he was with Bank of America where he held the title of Assistant Vice President, Private Placements/Syndications/Corporate Finance. Bill has successfully completed transactions for middle market companies operating in a wide range of industries including Andersen Corporation (window and door manufacturer), Bayou Steel, Inc. (steel mini mill), Hawthorne Metal Products/Veltri International, Inc., (automotive stamper), and numerous other clients which required detailed analysis of capital structure and formulation of strategy in order to raise the required capital. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Business from Miami University.

ROBERT B. NIGHTINGALE
Managing Director, Manufacturing & Distribution

Before joining Amerge, Bob was CFO of a group of manufacturing companies having $400 million sales, and was CEO of an $18 million manufacturer within that group. He also has served as CFO of a $40 million machinery manufacturer where he planned and executed a turnaround and was responsible for refinancing.

Bob brings to our clients in-depth operating and financial experience, having functioned as CEO, COO, and CFO. His background includes turnarounds, restructuring and profit improvement, raising capital and refinancing, and acquisitions. He has worked with middle market companies and very large international firms in several industries: forging, foundry, industrial machinery, refractories manufacturing, software development and catalog retailing.

Bob's experience includes acquisition searches, negotiations and due diligence, financial analysis and modeling, and refinancing.

Bob earned a Bachelor's degree from Princeton, a Masters in Economics from Western Reserve University, and a Masters in Accounting from Adelphi University. He has been active in the National Association of Accountants, the Financial Executive Institute, and the Association for Corporate Growth.

JOHN C. SKUREK
Managing Director, Metalworking

John brings a distinguished career in manufacturing, distribution and finance to Amerge. His background includes restructuring, capital raising, mergers & acquisitions, securities offerings, strategic planning, general management, marketing, real estate, risk and investment management and public, government, community and investor relations. He has more than 30 years experience with both small and large businesses in a wide variety of industries.

Before joining Amerge, John held several senior management positions at LTV Steel, a major metals producer and fabricator with extensive holdings in mining, manufacturing, distribution, transportation and fabrication assets ranging in size from $10 million to $3 billion. He has served as Vice President and Treasurer, CFO, General Manager, Strategic Planning Vice President, Public Affairs Vice President and a Consultant.

His management experience with LTV Steel included a variety of start-up and turnaround situations. He was involved in start-up operations across a wide spectrum of businesses from natural resources (oil and gas production and coal mining) to financial services (property/casualty insurance and insurance brokerage). John's diverse experience in the restructuring and turnaround field includes activities such as preparing and selling four business units, environmentally remediating and liquidating a 200,000+ acre facility and real estate position and the restructuring of several debt portfolios.

John's accomplishments include managing a successful Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and recapitalization for metals & mining operations for Fortune 500 Company that led to an initial BB+ debt rating, accelerating growth rate and increased Revenue by 60% after 4 acquisitions and 8 new startup operations in 18 months for oil & gas equipment distribution division of Fortune 500 Company, liquidating business segment and sold 6 subsidiary companies in 12 months, and managing an abandoned plant site demolition and environmental remediation, together with the sale of more than 70,000 acres of mining land and industrial real estate in more than 100 different transactions.

John has a Bachelor's degree in mathematics from Baldwin-Wallace College and a Master's degree in business administration from Kent State University. He is a member of the Turnaround Management Association, the National Association of Corporate Treasurers and the Financial Executives Institute.