Potomac Business Group

Herbert S. Ezrin
President & CEO

As President and CEO, Mr. Ezrin oversees all activities of the firm, with a primary focus on M&AQ and Financial matters. He concentrates on developing business by providing the highest quality services through the insight and experience gained from his diverse background in accounting, law, real estate and venture capitalism.

Mr. Ezrin has over thirty-five years of experience with clients on M&A activities and financial matters. He has lectured on the subject and has written several articles for the Washington Business Journal.

Mr. Ezrin is active in the Association for Corporate Growth, National Capital Chapter, being a prior Member of Board of Directors and Treasurer, and active on numerous committees. He has also been active with the University of Maryland Michael Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, Mentor, the Macklin Institute at Montgomery College, and is a Maryland and D.C. Real Estate Licensed Broker. Mr. Ezrin has practiced accounting and law, and has been involved in many business enterprises.

A graduate of Benjamin Franklin University, American University, American University Washington College of Law, and Georgetown University College of Law, his degrees include: BCS, MCS, BA, JD and LLM in Taxation.

Mr. Ezrin is active in many civic and charitable organizations.

ASSOCIATES

Mel Gould
Associate

Mr. Gould is a Turnaround Business Leader, New Venture Development and M&A Specialist in the communications, technology, electronics manufacturing, consumer products, automotive components, marketing and distribution & logistics business environments. He has an international expertise covering Asia Pacific, South America, Mexico, Canada and Europe.

Using a strong distribution/logistics, supply chain, materials, financial, operations, quality and strategic and tactical planning background, he has melded ROI-based investor objectives into market focused leadership. His products background includes expertise in computer and computer peripherals, manufacturing, consumer products, electronics, cellular and wireless products, medical components and products, RF products and basic industries such as metal, plastic and wire/ cable manufacturing.

He has transformed six (6) six different companies, with distinct market challenges, business cycles and financial constraints into top performing corporations with strong market share and corporate value. With twenty-five (25) years of experience in Fortune 500 global businesses, privately held start-ups, and venture capital companies, he has P&L experience with companies ranging from start-ups to $200,000 million in revenue.

Mr. Gould has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Finance. He is a Member and prior Board Member of the Chesapeake Chapter of TMA (a turnaround management association).

Benjamin Bolinger
Associate

Mr. Bolinger has a strong banking background, having worked for over thirty years with banks such as Suburban Trust Company and American Security and Trust Company. His experience included credit approval, merchant sales and marketing, designing new products such as IRA and Keogh Plans, cash management, commercial lending for real estate, accounts receivable and business contracts.

After leaving commercial banks, Mr. Bolinger formed his own commercial mortgage company, and has arranged for financing for shopping centers, office building construction and acquisition, as well as for hotels and restaurants.

Olga Ryzhuk
Associate

Olga Ryzhuk offers a unique blend of international and business experience. She started her career in 1996 as a Chinese/Russian interpreter and business consultant in Beijing, China, where she spent two years. During this time she facilitated trade with major Chinese manufactures and suppliers by negotiating new contracts and contacting exportimport transaction. That allowed her to gain an extensive experience in international market research, quality control, credit and shipping procedures and all other activities necessary to effectively service an extremely critical retailer in developing economic conditions for China and former Soviet Union countries.

Olga graduated from Baylor University with MBA/MSIS degrees and came to Washington, DC to work for Freddie Mac as a financial analyst, structuring mortgage backed securities. She worked with external and legal counsel, Wall Street underwriters and accountants in REMIC prospectus preparation.

Acting in an independent capacity as a financial services representative Olga developed an extensive client base and built portfolios that include mutual funds and insurance products.

Thomas H. Harrington III
Associate

Tom Arrington attended Queens College & University of Phoenix, majoring in Business Management. With 23 years in the energy industry and numerous completed courses in energy transportation, sponsored by D.O.E., NYFD, NYPD and Metropolitan Gas School, which specializes in anti terrorism measures against U.S. energy infrastructure, he started his career as a meter reader with KeySpan Energy , the largest energy company in the Northeastern United States. Through hard work and determination he worked his way up to one of the highest and most respected positions in management, Gas Systems Operator. In this role Tom was responsible for the purchasing, numerical tracking and distribution of natural gas that supplied the majority of the New York City Metropolitan Area and all of Long Island.

After leaving the natural gas business, Tom worked with T. Boone Pickens. He serves as the Virginia 4th Congressional District Leader for the Pickens Plan. As his interest in alternative energy grew, Tom founded, and serves as CEO of Atlantic Wind Energy. Just recently, Tom was named President of Tidewater Biodiesel, a five million gallon per year facility that will be built and located in Chesapeake, VA. Tom expects operations to begin in mid-2011.

Tom’s personal accomplishments are of great satisfaction to him and include serving on the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Chesapeake Mayors’ Committee for People with Disabilities. Tom is the recipient of the 2011 Robert Ross Award Personal Achievement Award offered by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), which acknowledges philanthropic prowess in helping children with disabilities. "Success to me is being willing to do what the average person is not willing to do."

Mark D. Gatanas
Consultant to the Company

Mr. Gatanas is Chairman, CEO, and President of VizorNet, Inc., which company’s mission is to develop, market and support a new generation of high performance information-centric security products for customers who need to protect their sensitive information – by enforcing the “need to know” throughout the enterprise – while empowering their groups to share, collaborate and work securely across operating domains.

Mr. Gatanas has 20 years experience in Information Technology and Information Systems Management, as senior officer in large corporations and as President and Chief Executive Officer of two corporations. Prior to that, he retired as a US Army Colonel with more than 26 years experience as an Army Infantry officer and Middle East Foreign Area specialist. He held the full range of command and staff assignments, leading and managing various organizations in size up to 2,500 personnel. Additionally, he had diplomatic postings in the Middle East and assignments included duty as assistant to three of President Reagan’s senior representatives to the Middle East (Habib, McFarlane, and Rumsfeld). He traveled extensively in the Middle East, to include, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Kuwait, Turkey, and other countries.

Mr. Gatanas has worked for Impowerment LLC, as CEO and President, for CACI, Inc. as Vice President Business Development, for EDS, Inc. as head of Army and Defense marketing and sales, winning over $1.25B in new business, and US Army Infantry and Foreign Area Officer (Middle East).

Boris Maslov
Consultant to the Company

Dr. Maslov is the founder, President and CEO of EnergyOne, and brings with him a unique perspective on business development, finance, entrepreneurship, technology, and renewable energy. Being a business and project owner, project developer, investment professional and technology expert gives him a rare ability to balance the various complex aspects of each project. Dr. Maslov is the foremost expert on development, construction, and ongoing operations of renewable energy facilities.

Most recently, Dr. Maslov was the CEO at Ecron Corporation - a company that has developed the largest ethanol manufacturing plant to be built on the East Coast of the United States. Prior to working at Ecron, Dr. Maslov co-founded Wavecrest Laboratories – a leading engineering company that develops advanced electric motors for propulsion - most notably for automotive and stationary applications. He was involved in all aspects of the company’s creation from his small home office to a 150 people-strong manufacturing and engineering company with several offices across the United States and Asia.

Dr. Maslov is a Senior Member of IEEE; he has authored numerous scientific papers and holds more than 30 US and international patents. Prior to forming Wavecrest Laboratories, Dr. Maslov was the CEO at GlobalGate, a Virginia-based investment advisory company. He continues to be a full member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Washington, D.C. Dr. Maslov is a founding member and sits on the Executive Board of Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Coalition; he also manages the Clean Technology Investment Fund targeting early stage pre-revenue companies in renewable energy and clean technology.

As a leading Russian scientist, Dr. Maslov founded the Electronics and Software Company, the first privately owned corporation registered in Russia. He spent more than 10 years working in Moscow for various organizations, including the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, the Foreign Policy Association established by Edward Shevardnadze, and the Soviet-American Foundation Cultural Initiative established by George Soros. He was advising the government of Moscow Region and Russian Ministry of Higher Education on science and technology development. He was also appointed to the Special Advisory Committee under the Prime Minister of Soviet Union.

Dr. Maslov received a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering and computer sciences, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.