Advisors

Members of CD&R’s advisor group work actively with the Firm on sourcing and evaluating new transactions, as well as providing strategic insights related to CD&R portfolio company matters.

Similar to CD&R’s full-time operating partners, our advisors have held senior leadership positions in major global corporations across a range of industries.

  • William J. Conaty


    Mr. Conaty spent his entire 40 year career with the General Electric Company, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Human Resources from 1993 until 2007. In this capacity, he was responsible for all human resources activities for GE’s 330,000 employees worldwide. He is the co-author of The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers, which was published in 2010. He serves as a Trustee at Bryant University and is on the Advisory Board of Cornell University’s Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. He chaired the National Academy of Human Resources and the Human Resource Policy Association from 2001 to 2007.


  • Philip W. Knisely


    Mr. Knisely has served for over 20 years as a senior executive in the diversified industrials category. He is currently Chairman of Atkore International, a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of electrical and metal products, and Roofing Supply Group. Mr. Knisely spent a decade as Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer of Danaher Corporation, where he was responsible for businesses totaling more than $4 billion in sales. Prior to Danaher, Mr. Knisely co-founded Colfax Corporation, a designer, manufacturer, and distributer of fluid handling products, serving as President and Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Mr. Knisely was President and Chief Executive Officer of AMF Industries, a privately held diversified manufacturer, and spent ten years at Emerson Electric. He serves on the board of trustees of the Darden School Foundation at the University of Virginia, where he received his M.B.A. Mr. Knisely was also a GM Fellowship Scholar at General Motors Institute, where he earned a B.S. in industrial engineering.


  • Richard L. Olver


    Mr. Olver was appointed Chairman of BAE Systems, the global defense and aerospace company, in 2004. Previously, he had a 30 year career at BP culminating in his appointment as Deputy Group Chief Executive in 2003. He was a non-executive director of Reuters and Thomson Reuters from 1997-2008. Mr. Olver is an advisor to HSBC, a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group, a UK Business Ambassador, a member of the Trilateral Commission and a member of the GLF Global Leadership Foundation. Mr. Olver is a chartered engineer with a First Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering and is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institution of Civil Engineers. He holds honorary doctorates in science from both City University, London and Cranfield University, Bedfordshire. He was awarded the prestigious Non-Executive Director (NED) of the Year Award at the 6th annual NED Awards sponsored by The Sunday Times in March 2012.


  • Sir Nigel Rudd, DL


    Sir Nigel is Chairman of Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited (formerly BAA Limited) and Invensys plc. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Sappi Limited. He was appointed Chairman of the UK & Ireland Private Bank, Barclays Wealth in December 2009. In February 2011 he became Chairman of a new £2.5 billion Business Growth Fund set up to invest in and partner hundreds of UK companies that need long term capital to achieve growth. He became Chancellor of Loughborough University in July 2010.


  • William S. Stavropoulos


    Mr. Stavropoulos, former CEO and chairman, is chairman emeritus of the Board of Directors of The Dow Chemical Company. His career with Dow spanned 39 years, serving in a variety of positions in research, marketing, and general management. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1993-1995; President and Chief Executive Officer from 1995-2000; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 2002-2004; and Chairman from 2000-2006. Mr. Stavropoulos was a member of the Board of Directors of Dow from July 1990 to March 2006. He is president and founder of the Michigan Baseball Foundation, the Great Lakes Loons. Mr. Stavropoulos is Lead Director at Univar. He is a director of Teradata Corporation, Maersk Inc., and Tyco International, Inc, and is on the Advisory Board for Metalmark Capital LLC. He is a trustee of the Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds’ Board. Mr. Stavropoulos holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University and a doctorate in medicinal chemistry from the University of Washington.


  • George W. Tamke


    Mr. Tamke joined CD&R 13 years ago and serves as Lead Director of Hertz. He has played an active role in CD&R’s investments in ServiceMaster, where he served as Chairman, and Kinko’s. Serving first as Chief Executive Officer and continuing as Chairman of Kinko’s, Mr. Tamke worked closely with his successor to drive the transformation and growth into the corporate market. Previously, Mr. Tamke served as Vice Chairman and co-Chief Executive Officer of Emerson Electric Co., where he managed the company’s global expansion and diversification into non-traditional, higher-growth market segments. He also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Cullinet Software, Inc. and spent seventeen years at IBM Corporation. Mr. Tamke holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University and an M.S. in management science from Stanford University.


  • Ronald A. Williams


    Mr. Williams served as both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aetna Inc. from 2006 to 2010, and as Chairman from November 2010 to April 2011. He currently serves as Chairman of Emergency Medical Services Corporation. Prior to joining Aetna, Mr. Williams was Group President of the Large Group Division at WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and President of the company’s Blue Cross of California subsidiary. Mr. Williams joined Blue Cross of California in 1987 and accepted a series of increasingly prominent roles. Previously, Mr. Williams was co-founder and Senior Vice President at Vista Health Corp., group marketing executive at Control Data Corp., and President and co-founder of Integrative Systems. Mr. Williams is a member of President Obama’s Management Advisory Board, assembled to help bring the best of business practices to the management and operation of the federal government. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Boeing Company, Johnson & Johnson and American Express Company, as well as the Boards of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and Save the Children and National Academy Foundation. Mr. Williams is a graduate of Roosevelt University and holds an M.S. in Management from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



Advisors

Members of CD&R’s advisor group work actively with the Firm on sourcing and evaluating new transactions, as well as providing strategic insights related to CD&R portfolio company matters.

Similar to CD&R’s full-time operating partners, our advisors have held senior leadership positions in major global corporations across a range of industries.

  • William J. Conaty


    Mr. Conaty spent his entire 40 year career with the General Electric Company, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Human Resources from 1993 until 2007. In this capacity, he was responsible for all human resources activities for GE’s 330,000 employees worldwide. He is the co-author of The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers, which was published in 2010. He serves as a Trustee at Bryant University and is on the Advisory Board of Cornell University’s Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. He chaired the National Academy of Human Resources and the Human Resource Policy Association from 2001 to 2007.


  • Philip W. Knisely


    Mr. Knisely has served for over 20 years as a senior executive in the diversified industrials category. He is currently Chairman of Atkore International, a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of electrical and metal products, and Roofing Supply Group. Mr. Knisely spent a decade as Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer of Danaher Corporation, where he was responsible for businesses totaling more than $4 billion in sales. Prior to Danaher, Mr. Knisely co-founded Colfax Corporation, a designer, manufacturer, and distributer of fluid handling products, serving as President and Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Mr. Knisely was President and Chief Executive Officer of AMF Industries, a privately held diversified manufacturer, and spent ten years at Emerson Electric. He serves on the board of trustees of the Darden School Foundation at the University of Virginia, where he received his M.B.A. Mr. Knisely was also a GM Fellowship Scholar at General Motors Institute, where he earned a B.S. in industrial engineering.


  • Richard L. Olver


    Mr. Olver was appointed Chairman of BAE Systems, the global defense and aerospace company, in 2004. Previously, he had a 30 year career at BP culminating in his appointment as Deputy Group Chief Executive in 2003. He was a non-executive director of Reuters and Thomson Reuters from 1997-2008. Mr. Olver is an advisor to HSBC, a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group, a UK Business Ambassador, a member of the Trilateral Commission and a member of the GLF Global Leadership Foundation. Mr. Olver is a chartered engineer with a First Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering and is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institution of Civil Engineers. He holds honorary doctorates in science from both City University, London and Cranfield University, Bedfordshire. He was awarded the prestigious Non-Executive Director (NED) of the Year Award at the 6th annual NED Awards sponsored by The Sunday Times in March 2012.


  • Sir Nigel Rudd, DL


    Sir Nigel is Chairman of Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited (formerly BAA Limited) and Invensys plc. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Sappi Limited. He was appointed Chairman of the UK & Ireland Private Bank, Barclays Wealth in December 2009. In February 2011 he became Chairman of a new £2.5 billion Business Growth Fund set up to invest in and partner hundreds of UK companies that need long term capital to achieve growth. He became Chancellor of Loughborough University in July 2010.


  • William S. Stavropoulos


    Mr. Stavropoulos, former CEO and chairman, is chairman emeritus of the Board of Directors of The Dow Chemical Company. His career with Dow spanned 39 years, serving in a variety of positions in research, marketing, and general management. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1993-1995; President and Chief Executive Officer from 1995-2000; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 2002-2004; and Chairman from 2000-2006. Mr. Stavropoulos was a member of the Board of Directors of Dow from July 1990 to March 2006. He is president and founder of the Michigan Baseball Foundation, the Great Lakes Loons. Mr. Stavropoulos is Lead Director at Univar. He is a director of Teradata Corporation, Maersk Inc., and Tyco International, Inc, and is on the Advisory Board for Metalmark Capital LLC. He is a trustee of the Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds’ Board. Mr. Stavropoulos holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University and a doctorate in medicinal chemistry from the University of Washington.


  • George W. Tamke


    Mr. Tamke joined CD&R 13 years ago and serves as Lead Director of Hertz. He has played an active role in CD&R’s investments in ServiceMaster, where he served as Chairman, and Kinko’s. Serving first as Chief Executive Officer and continuing as Chairman of Kinko’s, Mr. Tamke worked closely with his successor to drive the transformation and growth into the corporate market. Previously, Mr. Tamke served as Vice Chairman and co-Chief Executive Officer of Emerson Electric Co., where he managed the company’s global expansion and diversification into non-traditional, higher-growth market segments. He also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Cullinet Software, Inc. and spent seventeen years at IBM Corporation. Mr. Tamke holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University and an M.S. in management science from Stanford University.


  • Ronald A. Williams


    Mr. Williams served as both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aetna Inc. from 2006 to 2010, and as Chairman from November 2010 to April 2011. He currently serves as Chairman of Emergency Medical Services Corporation. Prior to joining Aetna, Mr. Williams was Group President of the Large Group Division at WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and President of the company’s Blue Cross of California subsidiary. Mr. Williams joined Blue Cross of California in 1987 and accepted a series of increasingly prominent roles. Previously, Mr. Williams was co-founder and Senior Vice President at Vista Health Corp., group marketing executive at Control Data Corp., and President and co-founder of Integrative Systems. Mr. Williams is a member of President Obama’s Management Advisory Board, assembled to help bring the best of business practices to the management and operation of the federal government. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Boeing Company, Johnson & Johnson and American Express Company, as well as the Boards of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and Save the Children and National Academy Foundation. Mr. Williams is a graduate of Roosevelt University and holds an M.S. in Management from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.