Board of Directors

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Board of Directors

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Board of Directors

Mark D. Ein
Mark D. Ein
Chairman of the Board
Mark D. Ein

Mark D. Ein has served as our Chairman of the Board and Director since March 2013. Mr. Ein served as Chief Executive Officer, Treasurer and Secretary of Capitol Acquisition Corp. II (“Capitol”) until its merger with Lindblad on July 8, 2015, and is currently the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors of Capitol Acquisition Corp. III. Mr. Ein is an investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, who has created, acquired, invested in and built a series of growth companies across a diverse set of industries over the course of his 25-year career.

From June 2007 to October 2009, Mr. Ein was the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Capitol I, a blank check company formed for substantially similar purposes as Capitol. Capitol I completed its business combination with Two Harbors Investment Corp., a Maryland real estate investment trust, in October 2009. From October 2009 to May 2015, Mr. Ein served as the Non-Executive Vice Chairman of Two Harbor’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Ein is Co-Chairman and Principal Shareholder of Kastle Holding Company LLC, which through its subsidiaries conducts the business of Kastle Systems, LLC, a leading provider of managed security systems for commercial real estate that he acquired in January 2007. In 2008, Mr. Ein founded and is the owner of the Washington Kastles, the WorldTeamTennis (“WTT”) franchise in Washington, D.C., that has won the league championship six times in its nine years in the league. In 2009, he was given the key to the city of Washington, D.C. by Mayor Adrian Fenty for the team’s contributions to the city and broader community. On March 13, 2017, Mr. Ein led the acquisition of WTT, the iconic American pro team tennis league owned and founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, of which the Kastles are a franchisee. He serves as the Chairman of WTT. Mr. Ein is also the Founder of Venturehouse Group, LLC (“Venturehouse”), a holding company that creates, invests in and builds companies, and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since 1999. He is the Chairman of the Board of Visual Systems Group, Inc. (“VSGi”), a provider of videoconferencing solutions that is owned by Venturehouse. Venturehouse’s portfolio includes or has included the seed investment in Matrics Technologies in August 2000 (sold to Symbol Technologies in September 2004), the lead investment in the buyout of Cibernet Corporation from the CTIA in March 2003 (sold to MACH S.à.r.l. in April 2007), the acquisition of VSGi from Net2000 Communications, and an early investment in XM Satellite Radio. Previously in his career, Mr. Ein worked for The Carlyle Group, Brentwood Associates and Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Mr. Ein is the Chairman of the Board of the District of Columbia Public Education Fund (DC-PEFF), which serves to catalyze private sector support for the D.C. Public School System and that has raised over $100 million of philanthropic funds in his seven years as Chairman. Mr. Ein also serves on the Board of Directors of the United States Tennis Association (as Vice President), The District of Columbia College Access Program (DC-CAP) and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He was appointed by Mayor Vincent Gray to be a member of the D.C. Tax Revision Commission in 2012 and he serves on the Executive Committee of the Federal City Council and the D.C. Policy Center that he co-founded in 2016. Mr. Ein received a B.S. in Economics with a concentration in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Sven-Olof Lindblad
Sven-Olof Lindblad
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
Sven-Olof Lindblad Sven-Olof Lindblad founded Lindblad and has been its President and Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Mr. Lindblad has served as our Director since July 8, 2015. Mr. Lindblad’s travel background and familiarity with adventure-travel and wildlife dates back to his childhood and with his father, Lars-Eric Lindblad. Mr. Lindblad founded Lindblad in order to offer innovative and educational travel expeditions to the world’s most remarkable places, capturing the true spirit of adventure. In May 2006, Mr. Lindblad received international recognition for his model of tourism in a ceremony hosted by HRH, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg at the Grand-Ducal Palace. In addition, a newly discovered endemic species of moth in the Galápagos Islands, Undulambia lindbladi, has been named in honor of Mr. Lindblad. He is an honorary member of the General Assembly of the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galápagos Islands; serves on the Board of The Safina Center and on the National Geographic Council of Advisors; is commissioner of the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Arctic Climate Change, is a founder of the non-profit organization, Ocean Elders, which brings together global leaders to pursue the protection of the ocean’s habitat and wildlife, and serves on the Board of Advisors for Pristine Seas.
L. Dyson Dryden
L. Dyson Dryden
Director
L. Dyson Dryden L. Dyson Dryden has served as the President and Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Capitol Acquisition Corp. III since July 2015 and was our Chief Financial Officer from March 2013 until the merger with Lindblad Expeditions, Inc. (“Lindblad”) on July 8, 2015. Mr. Dryden is the founder of Dryden Capital Management, LLC, a private investment firm that invests in and builds private companies, and has served as its President since March 2013. From August 2005 to February 2013, Mr. Dryden worked in Citigroup’s Investment Banking division in New York, most recently as a Managing Director where he led the coverage effort for a number of the firm’s Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications clients. From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Dryden held the titles of Associate and Vice President at Jefferies & Company, a middle market investment banking firm. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Dryden worked in the investment banking group at BB&T Corporation. Mr. Dryden holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a dual concentration in finance and management from the University of Richmond.
John M. Fahey
John M. Fahey
Director
John M. Fahey John M. Fahey served as Chairman of the National Geographic Society from January 2011 to February 2016 and was Chief Executive Officer of the National Geographic Society from March 1998 to December 2013 and President of the organization from March 1998 to December 2010. During his tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fahey led the Society’s entry into cable television with the National Geographic Channels; the international growth of National Geographic magazine; and the extension of National Geographic content into digital media. Mr. Fahey joined National Geographic in April 1996, as the first President and Chief Executive Officer of National Geographic Ventures, the nonprofit Society’s wholly owned, taxable subsidiary. Prior to that, he was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Time Life Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., for seven years. He worked previously for Home Box Office, where he was instrumental in the startup of CINEMAX. In February 2014, former President Obama appointed Mr. Fahey to a six-year term on the Smithsonian Board of Regents, the governing body of the Smithsonian Institution. He also serves on the board and executive committee of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as well as the boards of Time Inc., where he is lead director, and Johnson Outdoors Inc. Mr. Fahey received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Manhattan College and his master’s in business administration from the University of Michigan. In 2008, he received the David D. Alger Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Catherine B. Reynolds
Catherine B. Reynolds
Director
Catherine B. Reynolds Catherine B. Reynolds is a founder of Educap Inc., which has provided more than $5.0 billion in education loans to hundreds of thousands of qualified students and families, and has been its Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President since 1989. She is a successful business leader and social entrepreneur who currently devotes her time and abilities primarily to philanthropic pursuits through the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation. In 2004, Mrs. Reynolds was selected by BusinessWeek magazine as one of the 50 most philanthropic living Americans and the first self-made woman to make their list. She is also the recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, bestowed annually on America’s most outstanding business leaders by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She is a current or former trustee of a number of organizations including New York University, Vanderbilt University, Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the American Academy of Achievement and serves as the Chairman of the board of directors of Lyndra, Inc. Mrs. Reynolds started her career at the accounting firm of Arthur Young as a certified public accountant and is a graduate of Vanderbilt University.
Paul J. Brown
Paul J. Brown
Director
Paul J. Brown Paul J. Brown has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. since May 2013. He served as President, Brands and Commercial Services for Hilton Worldwide, Inc., a global hospitality company, from 2008 to April 2013. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Brown was with Expedia Inc., most recently serving as President, Expedia North America and Expedia Inc. Partner Services Group. From 2001 through 2005, Mr. Brown was a Partner with McKinsey & Co., Inc. in their London and Atlanta offices. Earlier in his career, he was Senior Vice President of Brand Services for Intercontinental Hotels Group, Inc., a Manager with the Boston Consulting Group, Inc., and a Senior Consultant with Andersen Consulting. Mr. Brown is currently a director of H&R Block, Inc. and J.C. Penney Company, Inc., and serves as a member of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Advisory Board, and the boards of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Arby’s Foundation. Mr. Brown was previously a director of Borders Group, Inc. from 2009 until 2011, where he was a member of the Audit Committee. Mr. Brown holds a B.A. in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.
Bernard W. Aronson
Bernard W. Aronson
Director
Bernard W. Aronson Bernard W. Aronson is currently Founding Partner of ACON Investments, L.L.C., a middle market private equity group. He served as the U.S. Special Envoy to the Columbian Peace Process, appointed by former President Obama in February 2015. His distinguished career has included positions in the private and government sectors, including international advisor to Goldman, Sachs & Co. from 1993 to 1996; Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs from 1989 to 1993 where he was presented with the State Department’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award for his role in ending the conflicts in Central America, and again for ending the conflict in Columbia; and several White House positions under the Carter Administration. Mr. Aronson previously served as a director of Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD from 1993 until 2015, and also serves or has served during the past five years as a director of Kate Spade Inc., Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Chroma Oil and Gas, LP, Sequitur Energy, ACON Franchise Holdings, Mariner Energy and Northern Tier Energy. He serves on several non-profit boards, including The Amazon Conservation Team and the National Democratic Institute for International affairs and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He graduated with Honors from the University of Chicago.
Daniel J. Hanrahan
Daniel J. Hanrahan
Director
Daniel J. Hanrahan Daniel J. Hanrahan brings more than 30 years of experience, including a variety of marketing, sales, general management, president and chief executive officer roles across the consumer packaged goods, retail, travel, service and hospitality sectors. He most recently served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Regis Corporation, a global leader in beauty salons and cosmetology, from 2012 to 2017. Prior to joining Regis Corporation, from 2007 to 2012, he was President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, a cruise line and division of Royal Caribbean Cruises. His distinguished career has also included executive-level positions with Polaroid Corporation and Reebok International Ltd. Since 2012, Mr. Hanrahan has served as a Director of Cedar Fair, L.P., a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and active entertainment, and is a member of their Audit and Compensation Committees. In 2004, he was named one of the “Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality Sales and Marketing” by Hospitality and Sales Marketing Association International. He received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin.