Vistage Board of Directors
World-class advisors aligned in greater purpose.
Vistage Worldwide Board of Directors
General (R) Robert B. “Abe” Abrams
Over a 39-year career of active duty service, General (R) Robert B. “Abe” Abrams led combat troops in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan during multiple combat tours spanning Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He commanded the Army’s largest formation, US Army Forces Command, with more than 750,000 soldiers and Department of the Army Civilians across all three components for more than three years. His final assignment was as the Commander United Nations Command, the ROK-US Combined Forces Command and US Forces Korea. General (R) Abrams is a board advisor for NOCTEM Health Inc, senior advisor to the CEO and board of VAYA Space and is the Vice Chairman for the Korea Defense Veteran’s Association. General (R) Abrams also speaks publicly on leadership and Korean Peninsula affairs.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and holds masters degrees from Central Michigan University and the U.S. Army War College.
Tom Burger
Tom Burger is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Gridiron Capital. He has more than 25 years of acquiring and building middle-market companies. Prior to co-founding Gridiron Capital, he was a managing director of RFE Investment Partners and Butler Capital Corporation, where he acquired and built middle-market companies in the manufacturing, service, and specialty consumer markets. Previously, Burger worked as a consultant and project manager with The Boston Consulting Group out of its Chicago office. Prior to BCG, Burger was with General Electric as a manufacturing and marketing manager, a technology project consultant, and a global sourcing manager in GE’s Manufacturing Management Program. He started his career working in his family’s manufacturing business.
He currently serves on the boards of AML RightSource, Class Valuation, Erie, Esquire Deposition Solutions, Vistage, Foundation Wellness, Jacent Strategic Merchandising, Leaf Home™, The Lattice Companies, Travel Nurse Across America, Vertical Supply Group.
Burger received a B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Duke University where he played football and holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Secretary Maria Contreras-Sweet
In over three decades of service in the public and private sectors, Secretary Maria Contreras-Sweet has remained dedicated to promoting America’s competitiveness and global leadership. Her mission-driven career has focused on the small and medium-size business community and their ability to access capital, with inclusivity as a hallmark. Contreras-Sweet served on the President’s cabinet as the 24th administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Earlier, she was appointed as cabinet secretary of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, and then founded ProAmérica Bank, a Latino-owned community financial institution in Los Angeles to provide capital to small and mid-size businesses.
She served on the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board, which advises the university and supports research opportunities for female professors. She was a founding director of The California Endowment, a multi-billion-dollar philanthropic foundation to help improve the health status of Californians. Honorable Contreras-Sweet has been bestowed with five Honorary Doctorates from Tufts University, Mount St. Mary’s University, Whittier College, La Verne University and California State University, Los Angeles.
Mike Duran
Mike Duran is the Founder, former CEO, and Executive Chairman of Colibri Group, a company with over 25 brands that has grown to become one of the largest professional licensure and continuing education companies in the US. Through a combination of steady double digit organic growth and accretive acquisitions, Colibri Group and its predecessor company McKissock Education have employed people first strategies to achieve a compound annual growth rate approximating 30% dating back to his initial involvement in 2004. Prior to Colibri Group, Duran was one of the Founding Partners of Alpine Investors, where he held both investing and operating roles and served on multiple boards.
He received his BA in Economics and Philosophy from Claremont McKenna College and subsequently earned an MBA from Stanford University.
Robert Finocchio
Robert J. Finocchio, Jr. is a corporate director, private investor, and part-time professor. He has been a dean’s executive professor at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business for more than 20 years. Prior to that, he served as President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Informix Corporation, an information management software company. Finocchio also served as President of 3Com Systems. He is a trustee emeritus at Santa Clara University where he served on the board from 1999 to 2021, serving as chair from 2009 to 2015. He was also a venture partner at Advanced Technology Ventures.
Finocchio has previous service on 12 public and 10 private company boards, primarily in data networking, enterprise software, computer systems, and semiconductors. He currently is a director at JustAnswer.com and Skyfront, as well as Vistage.
He holds a B.S. in economics from Santa Clara University and an MBA (Baker Scholar) from Harvard Business School.
Will Hausberg
Will Hausberg is Senior Managing Director at Gridiron Capital. Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Will was an associate at Nautic Partners, where he was responsible for transaction execution and portfolio company management. Previously, Hausberg worked as an analyst at Credit Suisse in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group.
Hausberg currently serves on the boards of AML RightSource, Class Valuation, Colibri Group, Royal Paper, Esquire Deposition Solutions and Travel Nurse Across America.
He received a B.A. in Economics & Government from Cornell University, and holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Sam Reese
Sam Reese brings more than 35 years of experience leading and advising senior leaders in complex organizations. As Chief Executive Officer of Miller Heiman, Inc., he implemented an effective international strategy and redesigned the business model to position the company as a brand leader in executive development. The independent distribution model he and his team built became a model for other companies to follow and contributed greatly to outstanding customer experiences and extremely high retention rates. Reese also previously held senior positions at Corporate Express (now owned by Staples), Kinko’s, Inc. and British Telecom.
In addition to his professional experience, Reese serves on multiple boards, mostly in the technology space. He is the author of two published books on account management and an experienced keynote speaker. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado and has completed various executive programs at Stanford University and Northwestern University.
Doug Rosenstein
Doug Rosenstein is Managing Director at Gridiron Capital. Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Rosenstein served as an Associate at Sterling Partners, where he was responsible for transaction execution and portfolio company management. Previously, Rosenstein worked as an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
He currently serves on the boards of Class Valuation, Colibri Group, Travel Nurse Across America, Vistage and Esquire Deposition Solutions.
He received a B.S. in Business from Indiana University, and holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Nick Weido
Nick Weido is a Principal at Gridiron Capital. Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Weido served as an associate at Genstar Capital, where he was responsible for transaction execution and portfolio company management. Previously, he worked as an analyst at Morgan Stanley.
Weido currently serves on the board of Cubii and Vistage.
He received a B.B.A in Finance from the University of Notre Dame, and holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.