LEADERSHIP

Donald Bennett, Chairman 

Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2013, Donald Bennett is the sole founder and past President and Chief Operating Officer of Bennett Bolt Works, a precision manufacturer/distributor of engineered fasteners for highway, bridge and building construction, headquartered in Jordon, NY.

Mr. Bennett has more than 40 years’ experience in public markets, including advising multiple public companies on growth, expansion, and marketing plans as they introduced various products to national and international markets. He is a former member of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Road and Transportation Builder’s Association, among others. He was also a task force member of the Association of General Contractors Joint Committee on New Highway Materials.

Mr. Bennett attended Cooper Union School of Engineering where he studied Civil Engineering. He also studied Engineering in the Coast Guard Academy. Mr. Bennett is a veteran, serving as an officer in the U.S. Army.

Teresa McWilliams, Chief Executive Officer

For more than 30 years, Teresa McWilliams has applied strong analytical skills, strategic planning, and guidance for public, nonprofit, and privately held companies. Since 2011, Ms. McWilliams has been co-leading Aluf Holdings, as Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Secretary. Currently, as Aluf’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. McWilliams is responsible for developing and managing acquisitions, growth, financial strategies and regulations, capital generation, and relationships with key financial institutions and private equity firms.

Prior to joining Aluf, Ms. McWilliams was involved in a number of IPOs in the BioTech industry and later became Chief Financial Officer and Acting Director for a leading biotech company where she secured over $5,000,000 in working capital through private placements.

Ms. McWilliams began her professional career in finance with Merrill Lynch. She was later recruited by a highly regarded regional CPA firm. She has worked in securities as a Compliance Officer, and Corporate Controller for a securities broker-dealer, and founded and operated a successful professional tax and business consulting firm specializing in compliance, accounting, business, and personal tax issues. During extensive consulting engagements with various C-level executives, she has participated in a number of complex IPOs and Mergers and acquisitions. Teresa is a key asset in driving ongoing acquisitions, development, and future growth of Aluf Holdings, Inc.

Ms. McWilliams attended Sawyer College, the University of Phoenix, and Trinity Colleges  University for her postgraduate degrees in Accounting, Finance, Economic Development, and Business Administration. She currently serves on the board of directors for two nonprofit organizations, and is an Associate Pastor in her local church.

Larry G. Striggles, Director of Accounting and Financial Reporting

Larry G. Striggles served over 23 years as Senior Accountant for the Housing Finance Authority of Broward County, Florida where he was responsible for the oversight and preparation of multiple financial statements and information technology enhancements for the agency with over one billion of revenue bonds issued.  Larry was primarily responsible for overall activities to ensure integrity of financial statements, operational budgets, and investment portfolio review and analyses.  He also evaluated, developed, and initiated revisions in established accounting systems, procedures, records, and controls, and prepared and distributed monthly financial statements and investment reports to  the HFA Board of Directors, Senior Management, and professional team and ensured all reports and disclosures complied with applicable governmental standards, professional standards, and organizational policies.  Larry established budgeting systems and procedures to monitor actual performance against budget ensuring all risks are identified, reported and mitigated in accordance with internal policies and communicated to management for cost-savings or profit maximization. Larry was responsible for reviewing LOC and wire transfer transactions, reconciliation of investment portfolio, and monitoring movement of investment funds at maturity.

Larry has a Bachelor Degree of Science in Accounting from Florida State University and has served on the Board of Directors for a number of non-profit organizations throughout his career, including serving approximately four years on Aluf’s Board of Directors beginning in March 2015.

Dr. Aditya Ganguli, CPA,  Director of Corporate Affairs and Global M&A

Aditya has rich experience of pure play IT development and consulting for over two decades.

An eminent finance and investment banking professional in the US, and is a practicing Chartered Accountant in the UK. Having collated numerous professional accolades to his credit. Aditya is also an accomplished “techie” honed by a homogenous mix of experience in all fields of IT and consulting.

His work experience has taken him across industries and verticals right from Tech giants like Infosys and SAP to very successful startups.

Lisa Marks-Canty, Director/Treasurer

Lisa Marks-Canty (Blockchain Ninja)  is a progressive and exceptional entrepreneur with a solid track record of success in a variety of industries. Ms. Canty is the Founder and President of a blockchain based next generation document management, digitization and workflow automation company, NEST Global Solutions. Lisa is focused on evangelizing the intersection of RPA and Blockchain technology for the Enterprise.

Lisa has been a process improvement specialist for overs 15 years and continues to foster new innovation for the enterprise with her experience in Strategic Management and Strategy Execution.  She has held leadership roles in multinational companies, as well as small organizations; leading and managing multifaceted and multicultural business organizations.

Lisa has an in-depth understanding of various business operations, with a proven track record driving and supporting business growth by streamlining processes, reducing operational costs while improving quality, efficiency and productivity. She uses her diversified experience and leadership in business to create process improvements and efficiencies for the enterprise by using new distributed ledger technologies and analytics. Lisa has gained recognition for her work from a number of professional organizations including:

*2021 Saint Armand Ventures NY Businesswoman of the Year Award Winner
*2021 Top 25 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of New Jersey – Customer Innovation Leader
*2019 NJ Small-business Leader of the Year

*2006 International Woman in Aviation Award – NAS

 

 

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