Jon has over thirty years experience in guiding companies from challenging circumstances to successful outcomes with a particular expertise in leading companies that have either lost their way or have yet to find their way.

His first successful turnaround began in 1991 with a mid sized public company that had completely lost its way. The Company was saddled with crushing levels of debt, declining revenues, steep and growing losses, and sagging morale. In less than one year Jon helped guide the Company back to profitability by lowering operating costs, restructuring  bank debt, dramatically increasing revenue, and reinvigorating the workforce with new energy and excitement.
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Since that first turnaround over thirty years ago, Jon has gone on to provide similar results to multiple companies across several industries and differing levels of size and complexity. He has helped startups, private equity backed mid sized companies and public companies. In one particular case, Jon and his team led a Company back to stability and profitability that was days away from insolvency on the day they arrived at the company’s  offices.
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Jon advises companies, Boards and shareholders and not only brings his unique expertise, but he brings with him a team of partners that includes Paul Colan with similar successful results, and Delbert Bray who is a former senior sales executive of GE often tasked with rescuing divisions within GE falling short in their respective revenue targets.

Bringing over 25 years of financial mastery to Hidden Trail Partners.

With a career spanning over a quarter of a century, Paul's journey started in Public Accounting and includes two decades as CFO for various companies. From spearheading dynamic and creative financial strategies in established companies to nurturing start-ups, Paul's expertise in steering companies through turbulent markets is unparalleled. With expertise in distressed situations, his ability to understand business complexities, provide a deep understanding of the financial landscape, and communicate effectively with vendors, customers, shareholders, and debt holders is core to his success.

Paul's mastery lies in transforming financial complexities into streamlined, profitable outcomes. His acumen in strategic financial planning, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance is not just about numbers; it's about crafting stories of success. His approach involves a deep understanding of the market's pulse and an ability to predict and adapt to financial currents, ensuring not just survival but prosperity in the ever-evolving business landscape. At Hidden Trail Partners, Paul's role transcends traditional CFO responsibilities. He's a strategist, a leader, and most importantly, a visionary. From 2000, when Paul teamed with Jon Hopper to save a distressed private company on the verge of bankruptcy to a successful exit in less than 9 months, he has led financial operations of multiple companies in complex financial landscapes.

Paul believes that the core of financial management is not just in reporting the numbers, but in a deep understanding of the financials and what is “behind the numbers” that is imperative to making good business decisions. He views every financial challenge as an opportunity to innovate and every success as a stepping stone to the next breakthrough. His philosophy is simple yet profound – finance is the art of turning challenges into opportunities.‍

With over 30 years of experience across a broad range of pioneering cutting-edge industries, Mark is a results-driven and accomplished engineering and technology executive with extensive skill in driving innovation, operational excellence, and strategic growth.

With a track record in leading cross-functional teams, managing large-scale engineering programs, and spearheading new product introductions to enhance market competitiveness, he has demonstrated success in optimizing engineering operations, streamlining processes, and fostering high-performance cultures to achieve business objectives. He has proven expertise in research and development, technology commercialization, and corporate engineering leadership, with strong background in telecommunications, manufacturing, and defense sectors. He is recognized for delivering transformative solutions,securing intellectual property advancements, and driving revenue growth through innovative engineering leadership.

Mark led the design and development of the first commercial, AI machine vision system, and its application to automated PCBA and semiconductor package inspection for tier-one contract manufacturers.  The system was trained by existing operators,rather than programmed by expensive image processing engineers. He then went onto architect, develop and deploy the “Optima” telecommunications system that replaced four, aging application-specific product lines with a new modular general-purpose system. The Optima line was used for the deployment of the first nation-wide 100G coherent network, spanning the country of Mexico with over 25,000km of connectivity. This was followed by program management for next-generation military ocean-based test range development, and the refocusing of an R&D-centric technology company into a product-based business with sustainable product lines in cutting-edge industries.

Mark’s key strength is his ability to rapidly assess new technologies/products,development teams, and business environments, generate and execute targeted recovery efforts, and lay the foundation for future growth. Many high-tech companies focus almost primarily on their core technology, and may lack appreciation for the production, technical support and lifecycle management challenges of their products. Stabilizing the current products and business is a major first step that enables more efficient and productive development going forward. The discipline and processes put in place during the stabilization efforts, in turn, lead to clearer product requirements and development objectives, enabling the technical teams to focus on innovation in a structured business framework.

Delbert has 25 years of experience in the development of comprehensive sales and operations organizations in companies of all sizes. His tenure as an executive for GE provided him with multiple opportunities to build, run, and manage global businesses for over 15 years.
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As a Black Belt in Lean 6 Sigma, his strategic and analytical approach results in sustainable profit and consistent growth. His extensive experience driving revenue growth for many businesses is due to his commitment to the development of strong sales and marketing teams motivated by engaged managers, all focused on achieving and surpassing sales goals.

After leaving GE Delbert used his skills as a good communicator with strong presenting and soft skills, as well as strong marketing management, logic, and problem-solving abilities to work and consult for businesses struggling to grow revenue or enter new markets. Delbert has consulted for Fortune 100 companies to start-ups and has been successful on all levels. Being awarded for meeting these companies' goals many times.

Delbert is a dynamic and result-driven Senior Executive with a proven track record in building high-performance sales and marketing teams, known for exceeding management’s goals and customer’s expectations.‍