Industry Operating Advisors:

Gale Bensussen, a founding partner and President of Leiner Health Products with broad experience in sales and marketing, has been part of the North Castle team since 1997. During his 32 years with Leiner Health Products, he facilitated one of the early leveraged buyouts, participated in a public offering and transitioned the company to private equity and through subsequent recapitalizations. Gale has been instrumental in building a portfolio of companies to achieve... Read more

Dennis Madsen is the former President and CEO of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a national retail cooperative of outdoor gear and clothing. Dennis spent 39 years with REI, where he began working as a stocking clerk at the company's Seattle store, when the organization had only 33 employees. He rose through the ranks, becoming COO in 1987 and CEO in 2000. At his retirement in 2005, REI had grown to 6,000 employees and 72 stores. A focus on core values, continuous... Read more

John McCarthy, a founding Executive Director of the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), the largest trade association in the world for the health club industry representing 7,000 member clubs across four continents, has been the face of the Health and Fitness Club industry for 25 years. During his tenure at IHRSA, he created four magazines for the industry: Club Business International, Club Business Europe, Club Business Latin America and Club Business... Read more

Augustine "Augie" L. Nieto II is one of the most successful and innovative pioneers in the U.S. fitness industry. In 1977, at the age of 19, he co-founded Lifecycle, Inc., when he invented the now-famous computerized bicycle of the same name. He negotiated the sale of Lifecycle to Bally Manufacturing Corporation in 1984. A year later, Augie was named President of Life Fitness, Inc., the newly coined Bally subsidiary. Today, Life Fitness, having repeatedly multiplied in size... Read more

Functional Operating Advisors:

Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. is widely viewed as the nation's foremost authority on the lifestyle, marketing and workforce implications of the "age wave." He is a psychologist, gerontologist, entrepreneur and best-selling author of sixteen books on aging-related issues, including Bodymind, Age Wave, Age Power, The Power Years, Workforce Crisis, Gideon's Dream: A Tale of New Beginnings (children's book) and A New Purpose: Redefining Money, Family, Work, Retirement, and Success... Read more

Pamela "Pam" Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP, a Pew Foundation Scholar in Nutrition and Metabolism, is an internationally recognized physician and expert in the fields of nutrition, fitness, stress and integrative medicine. Pam has been recognized as one of the foremost physicians in America by the American Council of Consumers and has been honored as one of America's leading physicians by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Pam is Chief Medical Correspondent... Read more

Jane Pemberton joined North Castle in 2008 as Operating Advisor and CEO in Residence bringing over 20 years of branded multi-channel, lifestyle and consumer products experience. A consumer-focused and growth driven operator, Jane has held a number of senior level operating roles for market leading companies including The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, Gaiam and Mommy & Me Company. Jane has repeatedly built profitable consumer branded... Read more

Monty Sharma has been an integral part of the North Castle team since 1999. Monty has significant experience in consumer packaged goods and has served as CEO at three successful North Castle portfolio companies. Most recently, Monty was President and CEO at Atkins where in partnership with North Castle he assembled a ten member senior management team to establish the infrastructure to rebuild the iconic Atkins brand and drive growth. Under his leadership... Read more

Jeffrey "Jeff" E. Stiefler brings more than 40 years of business leadership and operational experience to North Castle and its portfolio companies. Jeff served as President and a Director of American Express Company, CEO and President of American Express Financial Advisors (now Ameriprise), Chairman, CEO, and President of Digital Insight (now Intuit Financial Services), and in a variety of senior roles at Citicorp. Jeff also has extensive private equity and venture capital... Read more

Arthur H. Warshaw has run successful businesses for more than 50 years. A master of organizational assessment, he is known for his extreme pragmatism and his ability to quickly understand and turn around businesses by efficiently identifying, prioritizing, and addressing key issues. In 1977, after 20 years of building, running and selling smaller businesses, Arthur joined apparel company Warnaco, Inc. As a member of Warnaco's four-person management team... Read more