ABOUT US
Our firm was founded by a team of executives and investors with a broad experience base in industry, government, and finance; with particular emphasis on growing small to medium sized companies. The resulting operational expertise and key outside relationships held make possible significant levels of assistance for the companies we manage.
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We team with the owners of businesses that have reached a natural transition point such that a liquidity event can bring about various options. This can take the form of the sale of a majority equity share for owners who wish to diversify their personal holdings yet continue to operate the business. This can also mean an outright sale of the company for owners who wish to bring about discontinuation of their day-to-day involvement in the firm.
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We also help family-owned businesses address estate planning and tax issues, and attend to the needs of family members who wish to remain with the company post-transaction. Additionally, we identify solutions for organizations under divestiture from parent companies. In all cases, we work closely with the seller, middle managers, and employees to ensure a seamless transition and to position the company for long-term growth.
We invest in healthy businesses with favorable future prospects, and seek to maximize investor value by building a foundation for long-term growth.
Our strategy is simple. We work to provide superior returns for our investors by focusing on the quality of our efforts to build great companies one-at-a-time. We look for healthy businesses with a history of success, and team with owners who wish to realize a secure future for their company upon its sale.
FOUNDER BIO
Ken Gordon is founder and president of The Granada Group LLC, where he leads the firm's activities in support of privately held small- and medium-sized businesses. He further serves as cofounder and CEO of fitness device startup company VALR.
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Ken has more than 25 years of private and public sector experience in operational, strategic, and managerial roles. He previously served as chief operating officer of CSSI, Inc., where he led a $75 million P&L with 300 direct employees. In this role, he oversaw daily operations and business development activities, with responsibility for executing CSSI’s strategic plan, revenue and sales growth, and financial goal management.
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He previously founded and led Antelum Capital Partners, a private equity investment fund focused on helping privately held companies to achieve scaled growth.
He previously directed the strategic planning process for a $700 million line of business at Raytheon, and supported the planning process for a $2.5 billion business unit. Prior to this role, Ken served in the Pentagon as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics); the Department of Defense's "Acquisition Czar" and #3 official. Ken was appointed to serve as a member of the Senior Executive Service by Presidential appointment.
PRINCIPAL
Ms. Suzanne Kecmer is founder of SKB Capital and Registered Representative of Finalis Securities LLC Member FINRA/SIPC. With a distinguished track record comprising over 20 years of experience in investment banking and in operational roles within the technology sector, she has helped build large-scale, next-generation capability through acquisitions, partnerships and other investment vehicles. She has gained one-of-a-kind perspective from blending life as an investment banker with the market visibility, mission understanding, and contacts garnered through a career at Raytheon Company, a prime global information systems company.
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Sue was most recently Vice President at Norwich University Applied Research Institutes (NUARI) focused on the commercialization of its distributed live exercise software funded by the Department of Homeland Security to concentrate on cyber security for critical infrastructure.
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Prior to this role, Sue was a Director at Teneo Capital, a New York- based merchant bank. She co-led the cybersecurity practice and was actively engaged on several private placements and sell/buy side transactions. From 2015-2016, she served as a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Cyber Policy Task Force, a bi-partisan effort, co-chaired by Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), to identify and recommend new U.S. policies for cybersecurity that will allow for rapid implementation under the incoming 2017 administration. Prior to joining Teneo, Ms. Kecmer was Vice President at KippsDeSanto & Co., as a member of the Senior Team focused on cybersecurity sell side acquisition transactions.
Sue spent eight years with the Raytheon Company. While at Raytheon, she was a member of the Washington, DC based Corporate Strategy operation. In this role, she served as a liaison among Raytheon senior executives, Business Units, the United States Government, investment banks, key members of the scientific customer set, and Raytheon’s Strategic Advisory Board. She led the enterprise-wide strategy for Information Operations / Information Assurance, including the stand-up of this new business area. During this time frame, Raytheon closed on multiple acquisitions to bridge the company’s technology gaps. Sue also led the enterprise-wide strategy for Federal Information Technology, including Raytheon’s formation of this business area.
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Prior to joining Raytheon, Sue was Assistant Vice President within the Merrill Lynch Equity Research Department, based in New York City. As a member of the Institutional Investor-rated Aerospace and Defense research team, Ms. Kecmer was responsible for lead coverage of mid-sized commercial aerospace and defense firms and assisted coverage on the larger firms.
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Ms. Kecmer holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and an MBA from Columbia University.
OUR VISION
Prior to his role in the Department of Defense, Ken served as Professional Staff Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, where he contributed to Congressional oversight of NASA and drafted legislation in support of commercial space. He previously gained operating experience in the technical and professional services sector as a systems engineer at The Aerospace Corporation, where his assignments included a tour at the Pentagon and the NRO—the agency that develops and operates space reconnaissance systems, and conducts intelligence-related activities.
Ken holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, with a dual concentration in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management. He holds an MS in Engineering Magna Cum Laude from the University of Southern California, a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, and is a graduate of DoD's Defense Systems Management College.
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He serves as company mentor at startup incubator Founder Institute; and has lectured on public policy, politics, and business management at numerous universities including Cal Tech, Purdue University, the University of Michigan, the Wharton School of Business, and the U.S. Air Force Academy; at a number of Washington, D.C. area non-profits including the Brookings Institution; and has appeared on Fox Business News.
He is Past President of the National Defense Industrial Association Washington, D.C. chapter, where he led the Board of Directors' management of programs that serve the chapter's 11,000 members; he is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and is a previous member of the Board of Directors of Women in Aerospace after election by the general membership. He is a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, the Sigma Gamma Tau Aerospace Engineering Honor Society, and was honored with the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.
Outside of professional endeavors, Ken competes as a road race cyclist and tinkers in bicycle maintenance. He resides in Fairfax County, Virginia in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. with his wife, Tatiana where they look forward to the occasional visits home of their two adult children.