leadership team

As CEO at ACG Brands, Chris leads the strategic vision and entrepreneurial spirit that extends throughout the company. Prior to joining ACG, Chris served as Chief Commercialization & Strategy Officer for Plano Synergy. Chris came to Plano Synergy by way of Synergy Outdoors, which he co-founded in 2002. Before entering the outdoor industry, Chris spent five years working in strategy and corporate development at Transamerica Corporation and JC Penney. Chris received a BBA in International Business and Finance from Loyola University New Orleans.

As Chief Strategy Officer, Derek is responsible for establishing and driving the strategic growth initiatives across our business. His financial acumen and broad leadership experiences uniquely qualifies him to identify the opportunities which help ACG achieve its vision and marketplace goals.

Derek spent his early career as an associate partner with Bain and Company where he led mergers, acquisitions, and private equity ventures for clients in the consumer goods and retail industries. He also led commercial excellence and strategy engagements which delivered growth and value creation plans for many consumer goods clients. Additionally, as vice president corporate development and strategy at VISTA Outdoor he helped develop a new business model and strategy resulting in a two-company structure, achieving revenue and growth targets while improving profitability. Derek then served as the President and Chief Integration Officer for Simms Fishing following their acquisition by VISTA, developing a rapid value creation plan while supporting an accelerated integration of the company’s functions into VISTA Outdoor. Derek earned his Bachelor of Business Administration at University of Texas (Austin) and his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

As Chief Financial Officer at ACG Brands, Curt is responsible for the formulation and execution of the corporate financial strategy, financial reporting, and treasury management. He has more than 20 years of experiencing working in a financial leadership role across a variety of industries and business models, and experience working with several different private equity sponsors. Curt has a BBA degree in Finance from the University of Texas at Arlington, and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Indiana University. In addition to Finance and Accounting, at ACG Curt also manages Information Technology and the Project Management Office (PMO).

As Chief Operations Officer, Phil is responsible for developing and executing our strategies to deliver our products across the globe to customers and consumers. As our brands and products expand, he leads his team of supply chain and distribution experts to assure we can meet or exceed our customers’ expectations. Phil brings more than 20 years of experience with Overhead Door, Haggar and most recently, AmesburyTruth, an innovative hardware supplier to the window and door industry. His positions have spanned inventory management, logistics, distribution and supply chain. In addition to formal training in six sigma, Phil received his M.B.A. from Texas Christian University, with a focus on evolving corporate strategies to accelerate growth.

As Chief People Officer, Jackie leads our mission to assure that every team member is an ambassador of our brands. Jackie has more than 30 years of experience in human resources, consulting and coaching, focused largely within the consumer products industry. Within ACG Brands, she is responsible for our talent and leadership development, culture, rewards and recognition programs. Prior to joining ACG Brands, Jackie served as the Chief People Officer of Easton-Bell Sports for nearly a decade. Previous to that role, she was a practice leader for Mercer HR, a division of a global consulting firm. She is an accredited executive coach and holds a Masters Degree in Human Resources from Loyola University, Chicago. Jackie leads our team of people business partners, talent finders, and leadership developers.

As Executive Vice President - Commercialization, Allen is responsible for the commercialization strategy across all brands and products. Allen ensures our brands deliver authentic products that enhance adventures and everyday life. Allen has more than 20 years working with iconic brands at General Mills, Proctor and Gamble and Pure Fishing. His brand building-passion assures our customers and consumers will benefit from technological advancements, advancing product development through active curiosity and a focus on how to exceed marketplace expectations. Allan holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

As EVP - New Product Development, Brandon leads all efforts related to our company's product development. Brandon holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with a Finance minor from the University of Texas at Arlington. Upon graduation, Brandon worked as a financial analyst for PepsiCo and later became a controller for the Ozarka Water Company (subsidiary of Nestle). After ten years in the corporate world, Brandon joined his brother-in-law Chris and co-founded Synergy Outdoors where he successfully developed and launched several new product categories. Departments that report up to Brandon include the Engineering, Industrial Design, and Product Development teams.

As Senior Vice President of Corporate, Hybrid, TV and Marketplace sales, Tom is responsible for the overall sales strategy and revenue growth across these channels. Tom comes with more than 20 years of experience in sales leadership with Kraft Foods, Spectrum Brands, Generac Power Systems and most recently, at Thermos, LLC where he was Vice President of North America Sales and Customer Service. Tom received his MBA from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Iowa.