Paul R. Charron
Thomas F. Darden
Thomas P. Hollowell
Paul E. Tierney, Jr.
Paul R. Charron
Mr. Charron, a Fidus operating partner, was recently named chairman-elect of the board of Campbell Soup Company and currently serves
as a senior advisor at Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, where he focuses on
investment activities in the consumer and retail industries. He was chairman and chief executive
officer of Liz Claiborne Inc. from 1996 until his retirement in 2006. He joined Liz Claiborne
in 1994 as vice chairman and chief operating officer, becoming president in 1995 and chairman
of the board in 1996. Prior to joining Liz Claiborne, Mr. Charron served as executive vice president
of VF Corporation, the largest publicly-held apparel manufacturer in the United States. Prior to
joining VF in 1988, Mr. Charron served in various executive capacities at Brown & Bigelow, Inc., Cannon
Mills Company, General Foods Corporation and The Procter & Gamble Company. Mr. Charron earned a
bachelor of arts from the University of Notre Dame and a master of business administration from
Harvard Business School.
Back to top
Thomas F. Darden
Mr. Darden is the chief executive officer of Cherokee Investment Partners and founder of its predecessors.
Cherokee is the leading private equity firm investing capital and expertise in brownfield redevelopment.
The firm has more than $2 billion under management and is currently investing its fourth fund. Beginning
in 1984, he served for 16 years as the chairman of Cherokee Sanford Group, the largest privately-held brick
manufacturing company in the United States and previously the Southeast's largest soil remediation company.
From 1981 to 1984, Mr. Darden was a consultant with Bain & Company in Boston. Mr. Darden is on the boards of
Woodberry Forest School, Shaw University and the University of North Carolina's environmental department. Mr.
Darden serves on the board of governors of Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, NC. Mr. Darden
earned a masters of regional planning in environmental planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a juris doctor
from Yale Law School and a bachelor of arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was
a Morehead Scholar.
Back to top
Thomas P. Hollowell
In addition to his affiliation with Fidus Partners, Mr. Hollowell currently serves on the board of directors of
Faison Enterprises. Mr. Hollowell retired in 1999 as managing director and co-founder of Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. a
Charlotte, North Carolina based investment banking company. The company was established in 1975 as an investment
banking firm specializing in middle market transactions, advising leveraged buy-out firms and corporations on
transactions from $10 million to $150 million in size. Prior to co-founding the firm, he was a member of Arthur
Andersen’s tax department (1969-1971), vice president of corporate and public finance for Interstate Securities
Corporation (1971-1975), and executive vice president of Textron Inc. in Providence, Rhode Island (1992-1995).
Mr. Hollowell earned a bachelor of arts in accounting, a juris doctor, and a masters of law in taxation; all
degrees from The College of William and Mary.
Back to top
Paul E. Tierney, Jr.
Mr. Tierney serves as chairman of the board of managers and managing partner of Fidus Mezzanine Capital. He is a leader in the investment
world with over 30 years of experience. He has proven his investment skill in a variety of partnerships, all of which
he has founded or co-founded, grown and liquidated. In 1978, Mr. Tierney was a founding principal of Gollust, Tierney
and Oliver ("GTO"), the general partner for Coniston Partners and other investment entities. From 1996 through 1999,
Mr. Tierney was a managing member of the general partner of Corporate Value Partners, L.P. In 1999, Mr. Tierney was
a founding principal of Darwin Capital Partners, L.P. Mr. Tierney is currently a senior principal of Aperture Venture
Partners, LLC, a firm focused on investing in early-stage healthcare and healthy living businesses. In addition to
serving on a number of corporate boards, Mr. Tierney also serves as chairman of TechnoServe, Inc., a not-for-profit
economic development company serving Africa and Latin America. He is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School,
teaching a course on private equity. Mr. Tierney earned a bachelor of arts at the University of Notre Dame and a master
of business administration as a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School.
Back to top