Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
As Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Steve leverages more than 25 years of strategic, financial and operational experience in raising capital and providing financial oversight, which greatly benefits Safeguard’s shareholders and partner companies. During the course of his career, Steve has demonstrated an ability to successfully grow and manage entrepreneurial enterprises.
As Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Steve is responsible for all financial and administrative matters for Safeguard. He is also directly involved in providing oversight and support to Safeguard's partner companies, as well as participating in the development of Safeguard's long-term business strategy.
Steve has the necessary public company skills that will ultimately drive value in Safeguard and its partner companies. Steve is responsible for analyzing and helping to identify the value-add that each partner company brings to Safeguard and its shareholders. Steve's experience complements Safeguard’s rich history and ensures a strong, disciplined financial infrastructure which drives excellence and accountability. Steve served as the interim Chief Financial Officer of Safeguard from December 2006 to June 2007.
Prior to joining Safeguard, Steve held a number of financial and operating roles in both venture-backed and publicly traded companies. Today, in addition to his responsibilities at Safeguard, he is also the non-executive Chairman of the Penn Valley Group, a middle-market management advisory firm which launched in 2005. Prior to the creation of the Penn Valley Group, Steve served as the Chief Financial Officer of Fiberlink Communications Corp., a leading provider of remote access VPN solutions for large enterprises. Steve’s prior experience includes serving both as the Chief Financial Officer and then Chief Executive Officer of US Interactive, Inc. where he led the company’s initial and secondary public offerings. Steve also served as Chief Executive Officer of Concellera Software, Inc., orchestrating the sale of its proprietary technology to Hewlett Packard, and spent over a decade with Deloitte & Touche, where he was responsible for developing an emerging business practice for the firm in Philadelphia.
The opportunity to rejoin Safeguard in June 2008 as its full time permanent Chief Financial Officer appealed to Steve’s desire to further apply his strategic, financial and operating skills to a broad array of companies. Steve has raised more than $200 million of growth capital through both venture sources and public offerings for a number of businesses. The application of these skills along with the financial oversight responsibilities of Safeguard serve to significantly leverage Steve’s substantial experiences for the benefit of Safeguard’s shareholders and partner companies.
EXPERIENCE
- Penn Valley Group – Founder and Managing Partner
- Fiberlink Communications Corp – CFO
- Concellera Software, Inc. – CEO
- US Interactive, Inc. – CFO and CEO
- Deloitte & Touche – Senior Manager
BOARD MEMBER
Safeguard and Partner Companies
Independent Organizations
- Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia – Treasurer
- Cadient, Inc.
- Drexel University LeBow College of Business, Center for Corporate Governance
Economics Pennsylvania – Regional Chairman
- LaSalle University – Business Advisory Board
- NutriSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI) – Director and Chairman of Audit Committee
EDUCATION