Biography

“What makes Dennis unique from other Human Resource leaders is his ability to always see the strategic impact of his decisions across the entire business equation. He has a mind like a steel-trap, tremendous energy, and a work-ethic like no other.”

– Monique Honaman

Executive Vice President and CHRO, International Market Centers
Former Chief Executive Officer and Partner, ISHR Group

Dennis Donovan
President & CEO

Dennis Donovan is President and CEO of Beacon Advisors International LLC, an advisory and consulting firm focused on achieving strategic, operating and financial objectives to improve performance and create value. His multi-industry global experience includes: private equity; manufacturing; industrial; automotive; distribution; health care; power systems; energy; technology; aerospace; defense; government services; consumer; retail; transportation; banking; financial services; materials; chemicals; engineering; construction; maritime; infrastructure; and, building products.

Dennis currently serves on the Executive Board of Staple Street Capital in New York – a private equity firm that invests in market-leading businesses. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of White Wolf Capital in Miami, Chicago, New York and Montreal – a firm investing in private equity, private credit and private funds. In addition, Dennis serves on the Board of Directors, Compensation Committee and Chairs the Multi-Employer Pension Plan Committee of Titan Acquisition Holdings – a bicoastal leader with five companies in ship repair, ship modernization, marine and complex fabrication services located in Norfolk, San Diego and Portland. He is also a Board Member of CentroMotion in the Milwaukee area – a global company that designs, manufactures and delivers highly engineered products for hydraulics, braking systems, power transmission, machine intelligence and emissions systems. Dennis also serves on the Board of Advisors of Wellist in Boston and Pittsburg – a digital health and benefits company that combines precision resource matching, hyper targeted activation campaigns and data driven insights to simplify access, maximize value and drive measurable cost savings.

He was formerly Vice Chairman & Executive Officer, Co-Lead and Senior Advisor at Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company LLC, the global operating affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. During his tenure, Cerberus was one of the world’s leading private investment firms. Cerberus affiliates held controlling or significant interests in more than sixty companies globally which employed nearly 400,000 people around the world and generated aggregate revenues in excess of $70 billion per year.

Prior to Cerberus, Dennis was Executive Vice President at The Home Depot, a $90B company with 380,000 employees. The company is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States and a multinational home improvement retail corporation with 90 distribution centers and more than 2,000 stores. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of Raytheon, a $15B+ company with more than 100,000 employees at the company’s diversified businesses engaged in engineering and construction; commercial and special mission aircraft; and, commercial, government and defense electronics. Prior to Raytheon, Dennis was a corporate officer of General Electric and served as Vice President for GE Power Systems. He joined GE on a Corporate Leadership Program, then worked with a number of GE businesses including Plastics, Defense Systems and Transformer. Dennis subsequently joined GE’s corporate staff with responsibilities in industrial relations and business transitions in the consumer products sector, which included housewares, major appliances, lighting and consumer electronics. Dennis then served as an executive for the Turbine Business Group, Power Generation, Industrial and Power Systems.

He has served as an Advisor to the North America entity of Lone Star, a leading private equity firm headquartered in London, investing globally through 24 private equity funds with aggregate capital commitments totaling approximately $92 billion. Dennis served as a Managing Director and Compensation Committee member of Reydel Automotive Management B.V. in the Netherlands and the Board of Directors of Reydel Automotive, LDC in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Reydel is an interior systems business headquartered in Paris, with 27 manufacturing facilities, just-in-time assembly sites and technical centers in Europe, South America and Asia. He was an Advisor to the Board of Directors and Compensation Committee of ABC Group in Canada, one of the world’s leading automotive systems and components manufacturers with global operations. Dennis was also Managing Director and member of the Compensation Committee of The Traxis Group, B.V. in the Netherlands and served on the Board of Directors and Compensation Committees of NABI- Optima Holdings, Inc., Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD) and Traxis Financial Group, Inc. – involved in the design, production, financing and sale of school buses and transit vehicles. He was a member of the Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee of Tower International, Inc., (NYSE: TOWR), an integrated global manufacturer of engineered structural components and assemblies. Dennis also served as an Advisor to the Board of Directors, Compensation Committees and Executive Management of: Cyanco, the global leader in mineral extraction chemicals for the gold and silver mining industries; Sparton Corporation, a Defense contractor; FLP2 Limited, a U.K. retailer; GMI Holding Corporation, a leading international fabric supplier; and, the NewPage Corporation, a manufacturer and distributor of printed paper.

Dennis has held memberships in: National Association of Corporate Directors; Industrial Relations Committee of the U.S. Council for International Business; Board of Advisors for the Employment Policy Foundation; Board of Advisors for the Human Resource Institute; Board of Directors for Jobs for America’s Graduates, Inc.; GALLUP’s CHRO Roundtable; and, the Board of Advisors of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, Chairman – International Committee. He was also a member of the Board of Advisors for the HR Policy Association and the National Employability Partnership. Dennis held membership in the Cowdrick Group, HR50, the Human Resources Roundtable Group, The Human Resources Policy Institute and the Personnel Roundtable. In addition, Dennis was a member of the Human Resources Executive Council of the National Retail Federation and the People Leaders Council of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. He provided guidance to a U.S. Congressional Committee on proposed legislation. Dennis was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs to serve on the Advisory Committee on Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom for Veterans and Families. He was also selected by a White House Advisor to assist with a United States Department of Defense initiative.

He was elected as a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources and served on the Academy’s Board of Directors. Dennis was named HR Executive of the Year by Human Resources Executive Magazine. He was selected as Corporate Executive for Cornell University. Dennis was the first recipient of the Trailblazer Award at the Board of Directors Institute for Human Resources. He also received the Commemorative Recognition Award from General Eric K. Shinseki, Chief of Staff, United States Army. Dennis has been a frequent guest lecturer at universities, corporations, government agencies and professional associations. He delivered the keynote address at the inaugural meeting of the United States Chief Human Capital Officers and has testified before the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.

Dennis and his achievements have been recognized by: Bloomberg; Associated Press; New York Times; Business to Business Magazine; GI Jobs; Business Week; CEO Magazine; Fast Company; Human Resource Policy Institute; Financial Times; Harvard Business Review; Fortune Magazine; HR Executive Magazine; The Wall Street Journal; Time Magazine; Strategy + Business; Stars & Stripes; Workforce Management, Hewitt; SharedXpertise; Business Wire; Leathwaite; Mercer; WNEC Perspectives; and, CAHRS HR Spectrum.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Massachusetts and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law. Dennis also studied at INSEAD in France in an executive program.

Dennis Donovan
President & CEO
Beacon Advisors International, LLC

Dennis Donovan is President and CEO of Beacon Advisors International LLC, an advisory and consulting firm focused on achieving strategic, operating and financial objectives to improve performance and create value. His multi-industry global experience includes: private equity; manufacturing; industrial; automotive; distribution; health care; power systems; energy; technology; aerospace; defense; government services; consumer; retail; transportation; banking; financial services; materials; chemicals; engineering; construction; maritime; infrastructure; and, building products.

Dennis currently serves on the Executive Board of Staple Street Capital in New York – a private equity firm that invests in market-leading businesses. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of White Wolf Capital in Miami, Chicago, New York and Montreal – a firm investing in private equity, private credit and private funds. In addition, Dennis serves on the Board of Directors, Compensation Committee and Chairs the Multi-Employer Pension Plan Committee of Titan Acquisition Holdings – a bicoastal leader with five companies in ship repair, ship modernization, marine and complex fabrication services located in Norfolk, San Diego and Portland. He is also a Board Member of CentroMotion in the Milwaukee area – a global company that designs, manufactures and delivers highly engineered products for hydraulics, braking systems, power transmission, machine intelligence and emissions systems. Dennis also serves on the Board of Advisors of Wellist in Boston and Pittsburg – a digital health and benefits company that combines precision resource matching, hyper targeted activation campaigns and data driven insights to simplify access, maximize value and drive measurable cost savings.

He was formerly Vice Chairman & Executive Officer, Co-Lead and Senior Advisor at Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company LLC, the global operating affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. During his tenure, Cerberus was one of the world’s leading private investment firms. Cerberus affiliates held controlling or significant interests in more than sixty companies globally which employed nearly 400,000 people around the world and generated aggregate revenues in excess of $70 billion per year.

Prior to Cerberus, Dennis was Executive Vice President at The Home Depot, a $90B company with 380,000 employees. The company is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States and a multinational home improvement retail corporation with 90 distribution centers and more than 2,000 stores. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of Raytheon, a $15B+ company with more than 100,000 employees at the company’s diversified businesses engaged in engineering and construction; commercial and special mission aircraft; and, commercial, government and defense electronics. Prior to Raytheon, Dennis was a corporate officer of General Electric and served as Vice President for GE Power Systems. He joined GE on a Corporate Leadership Program, then worked with a number of GE businesses including Plastics, Defense Systems and Transformer. Dennis subsequently joined GE’s corporate staff with responsibilities in industrial relations and business transitions in the consumer products sector, which included housewares, major appliances, lighting and consumer electronics. Dennis then served as an executive for the Turbine Business Group, Power Generation, Industrial and Power Systems.

He has served as an Advisor to the North America entity of Lone Star, a leading private equity firm headquartered in London, investing globally through 24 private equity funds with aggregate capital commitments totaling approximately $92 billion. Dennis served as a Managing Director and Compensation Committee member of Reydel Automotive Management B.V. in the Netherlands and the Board of Directors of Reydel Automotive, LDC in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Reydel is an interior systems business headquartered in Paris, with 27 manufacturing facilities, just-in-time assembly sites and technical centers in Europe, South America and Asia. He was an Advisor to the Board of Directors and Compensation Committee of ABC Group in Canada, one of the world’s leading automotive systems and components manufacturers with global operations. Dennis was also Managing Director and member of the Compensation Committee of The Traxis Group, B.V. in the Netherlands and served on the Board of Directors and Compensation Committees of NABI- Optima Holdings, Inc., Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD) and Traxis Financial Group, Inc. – involved in the design, production, financing and sale of school buses and transit vehicles. He was a member of the Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee of Tower International, Inc., (NYSE: TOWR), an integrated global manufacturer of engineered structural components and assemblies. Dennis also served as an Advisor to the Board of Directors, Compensation Committees and Executive Management of: Cyanco, the global leader in mineral extraction chemicals for the gold and silver mining industries; Sparton Corporation, a Defense contractor; FLP2 Limited, a U.K. retailer; GMI Holding Corporation, a leading international fabric supplier; and, the NewPage Corporation, a manufacturer and distributor of printed paper.

Dennis has held memberships in: National Association of Corporate Directors; Industrial Relations Committee of the U.S. Council for International Business; Board of Advisors for the Employment Policy Foundation; Board of Advisors for the Human Resource Institute; Board of Directors for Jobs for America’s Graduates, Inc.; GALLUP’s CHRO Roundtable; and, the Board of Advisors of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, Chairman – International Committee. He was also a member of the Board of Advisors for the HR Policy Association and the National Employability Partnership. Dennis held membership in the Cowdrick Group, HR50, the Human Resources Roundtable Group, The Human Resources Policy Institute and the Personnel Roundtable. In addition, Dennis was a member of the Human Resources Executive Council of the National Retail Federation and the People Leaders Council of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. He provided guidance to a U.S. Congressional Committee on proposed legislation. Dennis was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs to serve on the Advisory Committee on Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom for Veterans and Families. He was also selected by a White House Advisor to assist with a United States Department of Defense initiative.

He was elected as a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources and served on the Academy’s Board of Directors. Dennis was named HR Executive of the Year by Human Resources Executive Magazine. He was selected as Corporate Executive for Cornell University. Dennis was the first recipient of the Trailblazer Award at the Board of Directors Institute for Human Resources. He also received the Commemorative Recognition Award from General Eric K. Shinseki, Chief of Staff, United States Army. Dennis has been a frequent guest lecturer at universities, corporations, government agencies and professional associations. He delivered the keynote address at the inaugural meeting of the United States Chief Human Capital Officers and has testified before the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.

Dennis and his achievements have been recognized by: Bloomberg; Associated Press; New York Times; Business to Business Magazine; GI Jobs; Business Week; CEO Magazine; Fast Company; Human Resource Policy Institute; Financial Times; Harvard Business Review; Fortune Magazine; HR Executive Magazine; The Wall Street Journal; Time Magazine; Strategy + Business; Stars & Stripes; Workforce Management, Hewitt; SharedXpertise; Business Wire; Leathwaite; Mercer; WNEC Perspectives; and, CAHRS HR Spectrum.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Massachusetts and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law. Dennis also studied at INSEAD in France in an executive program.

Beacon Advisors International, LLC. is an advisory and consulting firm focused on achieving strategic, financial and operating objectives to improve performance and create value through acquisitions, commercial partnerships, change management, investment opportunities, process improvements, marketing, human capital platforms, restructurings, organization effectiveness, transformations, executive management, business development and asset monetization.

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