Advisory Board
Robert Landis
Founding Partner (Origination) The Riverside Company
“Over the past 30 years, I have attempted personally to be helpful to veterans transitioning into the private market, but with marginal success. I speak from personal experience that the transition is not easy. What I really needed was a supportive organization, focused 24/7, dedicated to this proposition, with a credible website to tell the story, and a 501 (c) (3) imprimatur to convince donors that their contributions of both time and money were legitimate. Americans and corporations want to use their hiring practices and connections to place veterans. 51Vets provides this opportunity. Employers know that a veteran they hire or help place will be one of their most valuable employees.”
Robert Landis joined Riverside in 2002 and has over 42 years of commercial, investment banking, and private equity experience. AT Riverside, Mr. Landis was hired to reinvent the focus on Origination. In 2019 he transitioned to managing the “exit” process for Riverside N.A. Prior to Riverside from 1986 until 2002, he was a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and in his final role from 1996 to 2002, created and led the Aerospace and Defense Group. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Mr. Landis was a Vice President in the Multi-National Group at Citibank. After undergrad, he entered the U.S. Army in 1971 and retired with the rank of Major. Mr. Landis holds a BS in Marketing and French from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management (now part of ASU).
Jeremy Holland
Managing Partner (Origination) The Riverside Company
“51 Vets has provided me with a channel to have a direct impact. The caliber of veterans I’ve met through the program is remarkable. The feedback received to date from employers that have given these veterans a shot has been absolutely glowing.”
Jeremy R. Holland is a Managing Partner at The Riverside Company, leading the Origination team across various funds/strategies in North America. Jeremy joined the Riverside in 2010, when they recruited him to switch from executing deals to focusing on originating new investment opportunities in the Western US & Canada. He has 25 years of private equity experience, across a range of industries and throughout the capital structure. He began his private equity career with Buttonwood Capital Group immediately after completing his undergraduate studies. Jeremy earned a B.S. degree in Finance from California State University Northridge.
The Riverside Company is one of the largest and oldest global private equity firms that remains committed to the entrepreneurial end of the market. Riverside has approximately $13 billion in assets under management. The firm makes control acquisitions up to $400 million in total enterprise value and has a variety of non-control solutions. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 850 transactions and currently has a portfolio that includes more than 140 companies worldwide. The firm’s specializations include: healthcare, education & training, manufacturing, tech-enabled business services & software, consumer branded products and franchising.
More information on The Riverside Company can be found at www.riversidecompany.com.
Steve Won
Deal Strategy Partner at PwC
“Having transitioned from the military myself, I see the value in 51 Vets and the approach to helping veterans help themselves. Mentorship and opportunity meet careful preparation and astounding success can germinate.”
Steve Won is a Partner in PwC’s Deals Strategy team based in Chicago, and leads the Industrial Products and Services topic. His work focuses on M&A related strategy topics including commercial due diligence, portfolio strategy, integration and divestiture strategy, and target identification for PE and corporate clients across a variety of industrial markets and segments, spanning both equipment and services.
Before joining PwC, he was Partner & Associate Director for Aerospace and Defense at BCG. Steven holds a PhD in physics from Northwestern University, and did his graduate research at the CERN LHC experiment as a member of the CMS collaboration. He served as an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps and leads PwC’s Deals Veterans Diversity & Inclusion Network.
Board
Staff
John R. “Johnny” Todd
Chief of Staff, 51 Vets
“As a Green Beret leaving active duty in the next 12 months, 51 Vets has provided me and my family the resources, mentorship, and confidence to be successful in the private sector. Each Member and Mentor bring a unique set of skills and resources to improve the 51 Vets community. I am honored to be a part of this outstanding group of elite people.”
Johnny currently serves as a Special Forces (Green Beret) Officer. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he was first an Infantry Officer in Vicenza, Italy as a member of the famed 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade. He led teams of varying sizes as a rifle platoon leader, mortar platoon leader, and headquarters company executive officer. He deployed to Ukraine, Turkey, the Baltics and Balkans, and all over Western Europe before attending Special Forces Assessment and Selection in 2017. Upon earning his Green Beret, he was a Detachment Commander in 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colorado. He led his 12-man Detachment through a deployment to Afghanistan in 2021 as Coalition Forces withdrew. Johnny was greatly affected by the humanitarian crisis after the collapse of the Afghan government and continues to sponsor his Afghan partners who he personally evacuated to safety. As a result of his time in Ukraine, Johnny also hopes to be involved in rebuilding after the conclusion of Russian hostilities.
In 2022, Johnny and his family made the decision to pursue an MBA on a path toward a career in finance and, ultimately, private equity. He joined 51 Vets for career mentorship and has been working as the Chief of Staff since September. He hopes to capitalize on the incredible opportunities that an MBA program and 51 Vets afford him and ultimately settle down in Denver, Dallas, or Atlanta with his family.
Contact Johnny at [email protected]
William “Billy” O’Neil
51 Vets Treasurer and former Chief of Staff
“Without 51 Vets there’s no way I would be where I am today. The lessons learned from Jordan and the impressive men in 51 Vets helped convince me that I could not only attend a top MBA program but that there was a financial world of endless possibilities that awaited me after. The connections made and the internship with Greg Bondick of Windjammer Capital, facilitated through 51 Vets, put my life on a trajectory that I could never have dreamed of before. Truly an amazing network.”
Billy is a current MBA Candidate at The Wharton School where he is pursuing concentrations in finance, entrepreneurship, and accounting. Enlisting directly into the United States Marine Corps after high school, Billy served as a mortarman and then Scout Sniper with 3 rd Battalion, 7 th Marines, “No shit”, where he completed 3 consecutive deployments to Sangin, Afghanistan from 2010 – 2014. Upon returning he was chosen for the highly selective position as a Scout Sniper Instructor and taught at the Quantico, VA Scout Sniper Instructor School, where his specialties included long-range marksmanship, indirect fire, and advanced patrolling techniques. After 2 years and hundreds of students instructed, Billy attended Assessment and Selection for Marine Special Operations (MARSOC), becoming a Marine Raider in 2017.
As a Raider, Billy attended Marine Freefall and Special Operations Tactical Air Controller Course (SOTACC) becoming a long-range specialist. Along with these competitive courses Billy also completed 2 more deployments to Mosul, Iraq and then back to Helmand Province Afghanistan. During this time he also completed a B.A. in Strategic Studies and an M.A. in Organizational Leader from Norwich University.
In 2022, Billy decided to leave service after nearly 14 years and pursue his MBA on a path toward a career in finance and operations. Billy joined 51 Vets in February of 2021 and served as the Chief of Staff for over a year before matriculating at The Wharton School, and subsequently accepting a board seat as the Treasurer for 51 Vets where he still serves.