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 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. His multi-industry experience includes: private equity; manufacturing; industrial and automotive; distribution; health care; energy; technology; aerospace & defense; government services; consumer & retail; transportation; financial services; materials and chemicals; engineering & construction; and, building products. Dennis and his work have received extensive media coverage.

He was formerly Vice Chairman of Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company, LLC, the operating affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. (‘Cerberus’). Dennis also served as Senior Advisor, Co-Lead, Senior Executive & Director and CHRO for the Company. Cerberus and its affiliates are one of the world’s leading private investment firms having approximately $45 billion under management in funds and accounts. Cerberus affiliates have held controlling or significant minority interests in more than sixty companies globally. The firm’s portfolio of companies 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. His responsibilities covered all aspects of human resources, organizational effectiveness and change management for the company’s 380,000 associates, as well as communications and external affairs. Previously, Dennis was Senior Vice President at Raytheon, a $15B+ company with more than 100,000 employees. He had worldwide responsibility for human resources, change management and organizational effectiveness  for the company’s diversified businesses engaged in engineering and construction; commercial and special mission aircraft; and, commercial, government and defense electronics.

He was an officer of GE and served as Vice President for GE Power Systems with responsibility for human resources, labor & industrial relations, communications, public relations and government affairs. Dennis joined GE on the Corporate Human Resources Leadership Program. He worked with a number of GE businesses, including Plastics, Defense Systems and Transformer. Dennis later joined the Corporate Labor Relations and Human Resources staff with responsibility for the consumer products sector, which included housewares, major appliances, lighting and consumer electronics. He subsequently led Human Resources for the Turbine Business Group and also GE Power Generation. Dennis then held the top Human Resources position for Industrial and Power Systems. At GE, he created and led a global initiative which leveraged HR processes as a channel to market with customers.

Dennis serves on the Executive Board of Staples Street Capital, a private equity firm that invests in market-leading businesses. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of White Wolf Capital, a firm investing in private equity, private credit and private funds.  Dennis was Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company, LLC, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. He also served as Managing Director and Compensation Committee member of Reydel Automotive Management B.V. in the Netherlands., an interior systems business with headquarters in France and 27 manufacturing facilities, just-in-time assembly sites and technical centers in Europe, South America and Asia. Dennis was an Advisor to the Board of Directors and Compensation Committee of ABC Group headquartered in Canada, one of the world’s leading automotive systems and components manufacturers with global operations. He was 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. Dennis was also 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. He 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.

He 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. (JAG); GALLUP’s CHRO Roundtable; and, the Board of Advisors of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, Chairman – International Committee. Dennis was also a member of the Board of Advisors for the HR Policy Association and the National Employability Partnership. He also 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 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. Dennis was also selected by a White House Advisor to assist with a United States Department of Defense initiative.

Dennis was elected as a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources and served on the Academy’s Board of Directors. He was named HR Executive of the Year by Human Resources Executive Magazine. Dennis was the first recipient of the Trailblazer Award at the Board of Directors Institute for Human Resources. He has been a frequent guest lecturer at universities, corporations, government agencies and professional associations. Dennis 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 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. He also studied at INSEAD in France in an executive program.