George A. Valaika 

George has over 30 years of operational, planning and corporate finance experience.  He was the Director of Financial Planning for Ameritech Corporation and was the President of Ameritech Credit Corp.  In addition, George also previously served as Chairman of the Board of Central European Telecom Investments, a private equity telecommunications fund with investments in Central and Eastern Europe, and as a Director of Poland Telecom Operations.  George has a BS from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and an MBA from DePaul University.  He also completed advanced management work at Stanford University. 

Jay has over 17 years of management, operations and planning experience as a part of both small companies and very large corporations including Amoco and GATX Corporation.  His career has focused on working with senior managers and companies facing difficult changes by bringing practical solutions to the complexities of human and organizational transition.  He has been a founder of a new and successful business as well as acquired companies.  Jay has an MS in Management and a BBA in Finance, both from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Paul G. Schneider  

Paul has over 25 years of business experience in a variety of industries from plant level to Corporate Headquarters (Reynolds Metals Company, International Harvester, USG Corporation, Griffith Laboratories.)  He has both started and acquired businesses that assist executives with career changes including purchasing businesses.  Prior to founding SSP, Paul held senior level positions for Griffith Laboratories and USG Corporation, a Fortune 100 Company.  Paul has a BS from St. Benedict’s (Kansas) and a Masters Degree from Loyola University.  He also has completed advanced management work in marketing, manufacturing, strategic planning and finance at Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Thomas G. Paulick  

Tom has extensive business experience working both domestically and internationally with small, mid-size and large organizations.  Much of his career has focused on marketing and business development where he has been both the founder of a new business as well as assisted others in starting or acquiring businesses.  Tom’s deep and varied background also includes experience in the packaged goods industry, international business and corporate human resources.  Tom holds an MPA from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA from the University of Notre Dame.  Tom is also an active member of several associations and not-for-profit organizations.

Frank has over 30 years of corporate financial experience that includes an overseas international assignment, strategic planning and ERP implementation.  He was Vice President of Finance for USG Corporation’s Worldwide Ceilings Group.  He has served on the Board of Directors for a Middle East joint venture and the advisory board of the Finance Leaders Association.  He is a member of Executives Networking Group and Financial Executives International.  Frank has both his BS in Accounting and MBA in Finance from DePaul University.  He also earned an Illinois CPA certificate.

The Buckingham Group has experience in a wide variety of industries and business settings.