BIO

Professional Background: Gordman is president of Jeff Gordman Advisory, which is engaged in two primary activities: providing strategic and operational consulting services to both companies and private equity firms; and providing private equity, venture capital and angel capital to highly differentiated and scalable businesses.

From 1996 to 2014, Gordman served an 18-year tenure as president and CEO of Gordmans Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: GMAN), which operated 95 off-price department stores in 20 states, employed 5,000 associates and generated annual revenues of $620 million. Gordman sold the Company to a large private equity firm in 2008, continuing as CEO to lead an initial public offering of common stock in 2010 as well as a secondary public offering in 2012.

In 2012 Forbes magazine ranked Gordmans number 29 on its list of America’s best small-cap companies based on growth in sales and earnings over the previous three-year period. In 2011 Gordman was the recipient of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Central Midwest region. Gordmans has been the recipient of several 25 Fastest Growing Companies in Omaha and Excellence in Business awards, and was the 2005 Nebraska Retail Federation Retailer of the Year.

Gordman currently serves on the board of directors of Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply, which  sells a broad selection of apparel, pet supplies, animal feed, outdoor gear, home goods and more; AML Foods, a publicly-traded retailer based in the Bahamas operating grocery stores, warehouse clubs and franchised restaurants; and Elevator, which develops and operates co-warehousing facilities throughout the United States.

Gordman previously served on the board of directors of Insight2Design, a multi-channel pioneer in the outdoor camping equipment industry until its sale to a financial sponsor. Gordman also served on the board of directors (and chaired its compensation committee) of Hayneedle, a venture capital-backed online retailer, until its sale to Jet.com in 2016.  Gordman previously served a 5 year board term for Regency Beauty Institute, a private equity-owned operator of post-secondary cosmetology schools. Revenues expanded more than 7-fold during his board tenure.

From 1986 to 1988, Gordman was a mergers and acquisitions analyst for New York investment bank Lehman Brothers, and his responsibilities included developing valuations of client and target companies, preparing confidential sales memoranda and performing various financial analyses.

Educational Background: Gordman graduated cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics, and earned a Master of Science degree in management from the Sloan School at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990.

Community Involvement: Gordman currently serves as the chair of the board of New York City-based Inheritance Theater Project, a national social impact organization engaged in community bridge-building. He previously served as Chair of the Retail Development Committee of the Omaha Chamber’s Economic Development Council, was co-Chair of the ADL Great Plains Region, and served on numerous other non-profit boards including Habitat for Humanity, Omaha Community Foundation, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Omaha Symphony and advisory board of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Nebraska.