Bio

Mr. Pickard’s extensive operating background as the CEO or top business leader at several different companies and large divisions of Fortune 500 companies allows him to partner with management in a value added fashion unlike private equity investors without operating experience. He is often the first phone call a portfolio company CEO makes when there is an issue because his broad background guarantees he will have a viewpoint. Before Stewart Capital, Mr. Pickard previously ran American Identity, where he reversed five years of declining sales and profits and led the company to record earnings. American Identity is a large apparel manufacturing and promotional products distribution company, with the largest decorating capacity in the promotional products industry. Paul also led National Pen, a world-wide direct marketer and pen manufacturer, through a demanding three-year repositioning initiative. During his three year tenure, National Pen grew over 50% in sales and over 100% per year in profit. Before joining National Pen, Paul established and built a $250 million manufactured housing business in the western United States through seven acquisitions and 14 greenfield start-ups. Paul’s earlier career was with the Taco Bell Division of PepsiCo, where he was responsible for the Los Angeles market, an information technology department, and a key marketing department. He introduced many new products into the Taco Bell system, achieved dramatic cost savings leveraging information technology, and contributed leading-edge ideas to the marketing program. Paul began his post-MBA career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. Prior to attending business school, he worked for Texas Instruments and Hewlett-Packard in engineering, sales, and strategy development roles. Paul holds an M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance and Marketing and a B.S. in Engineering with a major in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, earning both degrees at Duke University.