Team
Tenex has built a strong, multi-disciplinary team, with each partner having over 19 years of experience employing the hybrid skill set of operational leadership and capital markets structuring. The team brings a sense of urgency to each assignment, with the mindset of operators focused on results. We embrace the highest standards of integrity in everything we do.
Michael Green, CEO and Managing Director
Mr. Green is a highly experienced investor with a diverse background in private equity investing, distressed and turnaround investing and business operations leadership. Prior to the re-establishment of Tenex Capital Management, he was a Managing Director, senior member of the Investment Team and a member of the Investment Committee at Cerberus Capital Management from 2004 to 2009. From 2004 to 2006, in addition to his responsibilities as an investment professional, Mr. Green also served as President of Cerberus Operations, where he led the establishment and growth of a multi-industry, multi-functional investment support entity of more than 100 professionals.
From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Green was the General Partner of TenX Capital Partners, and joined Cerberus in 2004 when Cerberus acquired certain portfolio investments from TenX Capital Partners. From 1993 to 1999, he financed and actively participated in acquisitions of underperforming companies. In two cases, Mr. Green assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer (Trispan Solutions and Naviant Information Systems). Earlier in his career, Mr. Green spent 12 years at General Electric (GE), where he worked in several operating departments and held positions in engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing and general management. During his tenure at GE, his industry experience included aerospace, transportation, telecommunications, manufacturing and software systems. Mr. Green currently serves, or has previously served, on numerous public and private boards including ACE Aviation , Air Canada, Fila, AerCap, SSA Global, Tandem Staffing and Teleglobe International.
He received a MSEE from Villanova University and BSEE from the State University of New York at Buffalo and is a graduate of the GE Management Training Institute.
Varun Bedi, Managing Director and Principal
Prior to Tenex, Mr. Bedi was Senior Vice President at Cerberus Capital Management from 2004 until 2009, where he played a wide-ranging role, piloting the restructuring of several high profile portfolio companies from both an operational and financial perspective. Varun also led large-scale diligence teams on new investment opportunities.
Mr. Bedi joined Cerberus in 2004 from Time Warner, where his roles included senior business development and financial positions in the publishing division. These included CFO of Time Canada, one of the company’s strongest performers during his tenure, and of Life Magazine, Time Warner’s highest circulation magazine at the time. Mr. Bedi was previously founder and co-CEO of Parlo Inc., a 70-person language learning company backed by Rho, Sevin Rosen, and Goldman Sachs (acquired in 2002). Before founding Parlo, he was a top-ranked consultant at McKinsey & Co, specializing in media, technology, and healthcare. He started his career as a M&A banker and commodity derivatives analyst for JP Morgan. Mr. Bedi also served on the board of ChrysCapital, a leading India-focused private equity fund with $2 billion under management.
He is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Haverford College (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and speaks five languages.
J.P. Bretl, Managing Director and Principal
Mr. Bretl has a diverse background spanning private equity, operational leadership and management consulting. Prior to Tenex, he was a Senior Operations Leader at Cerberus Capital Management where he supervised high profile due diligence efforts, provided management and consulting support for portfolio companies, and was active in capital markets efforts, including M&A and monetization efforts for portfolio companies.
Mr. Bretl joined Cerberus from Cingular Wireless, where he led retention marketing and was responsible for revenue management for the company’s 52 million customers. Mr. Bretl was chosen to join Cingular from AT&T Wireless and played an important role in designing the new marketing organization for the combined companies subsequent to their merger in 2004. Prior to joining AT&T Wireless, he was a senior consultant with McKinsey & Company’s Brussels and Los Angeles offices from 1998 to 2003, serving primarily telecom and health care clients. Mr. Bretl began his career with GTE (now part of Verizon), where he focused on process reengineering, distribution strategy and product management at the cellular, landline, and Airfone businesses. While working at GTE Mobilnet, he received GTE’s highest employee award for the success of his business process reengineering work.
Mr. Bretl received his MBA from Stanford University and his B.A. from Brown University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Joe Cottone, Managing Director and Principal
From 2004 through 2009, Mr. Cottone was a Senior Operations Leader within Cerberus Capital Management. He served as the Vice President of Strategy, Supply Chain, Information Technology, and Integration of a Cerberus portfolio company from 2005 until 2009.
Prior to joining Cerberus, Mr. Cottone was employed by General Electric (GE), where he held various positions in Sales, Finance, and Operations. Specifically, he successfully managed assignments in engineering and sourcing in GE’s Edison Engineering Leadership Management Program. Subsequent to that, joined GE’s Corporate Audit Staff, where he audited numerous GE industrial and financial services businesses and received his Six Sigma Black Belt certification. Mr. Cottone went on to serve as Finance Director of NBC’s Washington DC television station, the 7th largest market in the US. He became Vice President of Interactive where he helped transform the NBC owned stations on-line departments from a cost center into a profit center. Mr. Cottone then moved into a Business Development and Commercial role within NBC taking responsibility for revenue generation and inventory management for the NBC-owned stations through the Eastern United States and for the NBC-owned station in Miami, Florida.
Mr. Cottone holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland.
Chad Spooner, CFO and Managing Director
From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Spooner served as a Senior Operations Leader at Cerberus Capital Management. He served as the Chief Financial Officer and acting Chief Operating Officer of a Cerberus portfolio company from 2005 until 2009, during which time he supervised the company's capital market activities, initiating and maintaining corporate and bond ratings with rating agencies, and managing investor relations.
Prior to joining Cerberus, Mr. Spooner was employed by GE, where he held various positions in manufacturing and finance, including Chief Financial Officer for GE Energy's Contractual Service business, a global multi-billion dollar turbine maintenance business. He also held assignments in sourcing, engineering, and manufacturing in GE's Manufacturing Management Program and, subsequent to that, spent four years on GE's Corporate Audit Staff, where he audited numerous GE industrial and financial services businesses. Mr. Spooner also served as a divisional CFO for GE Healthcare Europe in Paris, France, and was then promoted to GE's Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis Group, where he monitored the financial performance of numerous GE industrial businesses.
Mr. Spooner holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Scott Galletti, Managing Director
Mr. Galletti brings to Tenex 20 years of investing, lending and capital markets experience. Prior to joining Tenex, Mr. Galletti was a Managing Director at Chilton Investment Company where he led the firm’s middle market private equity investing efforts. Prior to Chilton Investment Company, Mr. Galletti was a Managing Director at General Electric Capital Corporation and Capital Markets, where for over 12 years he sourced and executed leveraged finance and equity investments and oversaw a number of financial restructurings and turnarounds. His extensive credit, loan work out and restructuring experience is the result of participating in a number of both in and out of court company restructurings. Prior to General Electric, Mr. Galletti gained operating experience by overseeing manufacturing operations at a $125 million retailer/manufacturer, assisting in the turnaround of the domestic manufacturing facility and preparing the company for an initial public offering.
Mr. Galletti holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in finance from Boston College.
Todd Riggs, Senior Vice President
Mr. Riggs has a diverse background in finance, operations, and corporate development as well as experience in both the investing and the operating sides of private equity and venture capital. Prior to joining Tenex, Mr. Riggs did strategy, financial, and operations consulting for a variety of businesses ranging from a startup cellulose insulation manufacturer to a middle market nonwovens manufacturer. For three years prior, Mr. Riggs served as V.P. of Corporate Development at Sellars Wipers & Sorbents, a manufacturer of industrial wipes and other non-woven absorbent materials. From 2004-2005 he was V.P. of Operations at HospiScript Services, a Prescription Benefit Manager exclusively serving the hospice market. Prior to these operating roles in venture-backed portfolio companies, Mr. Riggs served as an Associate at Symmetry Growth Capital, a late-stage venture capital fund where he oversaw all aspects of the venture capital life cycle. Mr. Riggs also spent 1999-2000 at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he executed restructuring assignments for various clients including the IRS’s and received both Booz Allen’s and the IRS’ top awards for performance.
Mr. Riggs began his career at General Electric (GE). From 1996-1999, he executed numerous financial and operations improvement projects in various locations worldwide on the Corporate Audit Staff, GE’s global internal consulting organization and premier leadership development program. From 1994-1996, Mr. Riggs executed assignments in manufacturing, engineering, and sourcing in the Manufacturing Management Program.
Mr. Riggs holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, where he received the Shermet Award (top 5% of his class), and two B.S. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Sandi Tevelow, Vice President
Ms. Tevelow was previously a Vice President at MatlinPatterson, a $9.0 billion distressed private equity fund, where she evaluated public and private securities across the capital structure. She focused on originating and analyzing investment opportunities as well as negotiating, structuring and executing transactions both in and out of bankruptcy. She was also responsible for monitoring the performance of and providing board representations for portfolio companies.
Prior to MatlinPatterson, Ms. Tevelow began her career in the Mergers and Acquisitions group at Merrill Lynch, where she executed a number of transactions in the energy, industrials, and retail sectors.
Ms. Tevelow received her B.S. in Economics, with a concentration in finance, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Patricia Debiaggi, Senior Associate
From 2003 through 2009, Ms. Debiaggi held various finance positions in General Electric (GE). Prior to GE, she was a Business Development Manager for NBCU Cable Entertainment, where she supervised the successful completion of several acquisitions and dispositions, provided financial and strategic guidance, and aided in the structuring of transactions.
Prior to her Business Development role she was the Financial Planning & Analysis (“FP&A”) Manager for the Syfy channel. Where she developed and managed the P&L and cash strategic forecast for the business. Concurrently, Miss Debiaggi was also the FP&A manager for the Sundance Channel Joint Venture. Prior to her roles in NBCU Miss Debiaggi completed the Financial Management Program at GE Energy, where she performed financial roles in Controllership, Global Sourcing, Operational and FP&A.
Miss Debiaggi Graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Finance from Michigan State University.
Nicholas Ravlin, Associate
Mr. Ravlin was previously an Associate at EOS Partners, where he worked with their Credit Opportunities Fund, an opportunistic credit group with over $2 billion of assets under management. He focused on a variety of credit-oriented investments, from bonds and bank debt, both performing and defaulted, to related equities in reorganization situations. In this role, he was responsible for idea generation, fundamental credit analysis and due diligence.
Mr. Ravlin joined EOS from the Investment Banking division of Jefferies & Company, where he worked with the Restructuring and Recapitalization group, advising debtors and creditors through distressed situations. Mr. Ravlin received a B.S. in Economics, with a concentration in finance, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Arion Robbins, Associate
Mr. Robbins was previously an Associate in the Credit Risk, Restructuring and Workout Group at Barclays Capital where he was responsible for assessing the financial conditions of companies, identifying risks underlying poor performing loans/leases and determining the optimal capital structure for companies. From 2006 - 2008, Mr. Robbins was an analyst in the Sponsor and Leveraged Finance Group at Barclays Capital.
Mr. Robbins began his career in the Private Client Group at Wachovia Securities as a Registered Account Specialist where he managed $30MM in fixed income and equity assets. Mr. Robbins is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a B.A. in Economics. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the CFA Institute.
Kyler Eng, Analyst
Mr. Eng was previously an Analyst in the Workout Group at CIT where he assisted in managing the bank's underperforming loans portfolio. His responsibilities included analyzing various companies within the commercial and industrial sector, as well as identifying potential credit risks to the firm. During 2008, Mr. Eng worked as a summer analyst at Merrill Lynch, where he supported the debt instruments trading desk.
Mr. Eng received a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.
Roberto Tolosa, Analyst
Mr. Tolosa was previously engaged in the summer analyst program at Tenex, after which he was selected to continue his involvement. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, Mr. Tolosa joined Tenex on a full-time basis.
Mr. Tolosa received his B.S. in Economics, with concentrations in Finance and in Operations and Information Management, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.