John Hale Bio

John Hale III is an experienced director with board experience in the financial services, energy, and healthcare industries. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of FSC First (community bank) and as an Operating Partner of Cadiz Capital. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Next Energy, an energy services firm focused on the development and dissemination of smart mobility and smart grid technologies. John previously served on board of the 600 bed St. John Providence Hospital System West Region – Ascension Health Great Lakes Ministry and on the board of the Michigan Education Trust (MET), the first in the nation tuition pre-payment trust with over $1.0 billion in assets. John is founder and CEO of the Cornerstone Group, LLC, a project finance, and business consultancy that partners with businesses to develop and implement growth strategies and facilitates capital funding for renewable energy and commercial real estate projects. In addition, he is a co-founder and CFO of Raincoat Technologies LLC, which designs and develops proprietary software deploying blockchain, AI, and RPA. focusing on governmental activities such as grants administration, contract management and risk management. John is shaped by his experiences holding leadership positions in the public and private sectors. He is an executive and entrepreneur with significant experience in financial services, technology, health care, energy, federal government, commercial real estate, and industrial sectors. He is a consensus builder who designs and implements strategies for companies and organizations interested in a values-based approach to sustain their growth. Prior to launching The Cornerstone Group, LLC, John served, by Presidential appointment, in two federal government senior executive positions. First, he served as the Deputy Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access at the U.S. Small Business Administration. Second, John served as the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) at the U.S. Energy Department. While Director of the OSDBU, he held the “Q” clearance (U.S. Department of Energy classification), which is a Top Secret/Restricted Data (TS/RD) security clearance. Prior to his government service, John served as a CFO and CRO charged with the financial turnaround of under-performing mid-market companies. John holds the Certificate of Private Company Governance provided by the Private Directors Association. John earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science in Finance from the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University.