Our People

Randall Kane is the Managing Director of Solidea.

Prior to forming Solidea he co-founded Acquis Consulting Group in 1998 where he remains a Managing Partner. Acquis is a boutique management consulting firm that defines itself by its commitment to flexibility and its ability to precisely customize solutions and strategies to each individual client's specific needs.

Randall has worked on an on-going basis with some of the world's leading enterprises in an array of industries, including numerous Fortune 500 companies. His characteristically innovative and personalized strategies continue to drive some of the world's largest and most profitable corporations.

In 1989, Randall Kane joined Morgan Stanley as an Associate Vice President in the Equity Capital Markets Group and trained his focus on high technology. Creating financing strategies for technology clients in the context of merger and acquisition activity and public market restructurings allowed him to develop critical strategic vision and the ability to consider much beyond what a company does and what market it competes in.

While lending his significant expertise in operations and emerging technology to our portfolio companies, Randall's focus is around the identification of emerging companies that will derive benefit from our deep passion for creativity and strategic guidance. He strives to eliminate as much risk as possible to increase value, so that nothing holds back an entrepreneur. The premium Randy places on innovative thinking along with uncompromising standards of excellence permeates the culture of Solidea and, more importantly, drives its operation.

Mr. Kane plays an active role in the financial community maintaining significant institutional relationships within investment banking, hedge funds, and private equity firms. In addition to his finance and management consulting experience, Mr. Kane serves in a direct advisory capacity to fone2fone, Inc. a Philadelphia based mobile wireless technology company and to the executive management team of many of Soldiea's portfolio companies including First Juice, Inc., Blandi Products, LLC, and Convos, LLC.

As a native New Yorker, Randy actively serves the philanthropic community as a member of the Board of Directors of Room to Grow where he has been an active supporter since 2004. Room to Grow focuses on enriching the lives of babies born into poverty throughout their critical first three years of development. He also plays a strategic role as an advisor to the management committee of New York based God's Love We Deliver, whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other serious illnesses by alleviating hunger and malnutrition.

Randall Kane holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and international business from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He lives in New York City with his wife, Alexandra, and their three children.

Assistant: Natalie Thrasher nthrasher@solideacapital.com

Douglas Locke is Director of Private Placements for Solidea. With over 15 years consulting experience, Douglas has a strong track record of success working with both Fortune 500 and emerging companies. Douglas specializes in early phase companies that are considering go-to-market alternatives and private placement strategies, and currently provides direct support to companies such as Saber Seven and First Juice.

Douglas joined Solidea's affiliate, Acquis Consulting Group, LLC, in January 2004, and today is a partner at the firm, maintaining numerous client relationships and overseeing a team of consultants.

Before joining Acquis, Douglas was a Vice President in charge of Business Innovation for Equient, a consulting division of General Dynamics, and he was Director of the New York office BDO Seidman. He began his career in 1992 as a consultant with Accenture, then Andersen Consulting, supporting large change initiatives for consumer products and telecommunications clients.

Douglas Locke holds an MBA and BS from Clarkson University.

Eric Baum, Principal, brings over ten years of experience in management consulting to his role shaping business strategy and advising Solidea's portfolio companies. An active participant in the entrepreneurial and venture capital arena, Eric has worked with companies in various stages of growth. He has deep expertise advising start-up companies, evaluating risk factors, developing creative solutions, and determining go-to-market strategy. He executes across the full spectrum of service needs for emerging companies such as Convos, LLC, from idea conception through to market deployment.

Prior to the formation of Solidea, Eric joined its affiliate, Acquis Consulting Group, in April 2003. Concurrent to his role with Solidea, Eric manages client engagements and serves a leading role in internal strategy and business development at Acquis.

Before joining Acquis, Eric spent several years working in the Strategy Group at Deloitte Consulting, where he lead client engagements across a diverse spectrum of industries for companies both large and small.

Eric Baum holds a BBA from Emory University, where he graduated valedictorian.

Nicole Ru, Senior Associate, focuses her strong analytical background on the consumer products industry and real estate. Some of her recent work for Solidea's portfolio companies includes performing a market study of the emerging beverage industry, managing a vendor selection process, constructing a business model to transform sales data into business intelligence, and advising a client team in the development of marketing collateral.

Prior to joining Solidea, Nicole worked in Cushman & Wakefield, Inc's Corporate Strategy Group, where she worked to improve the firm's profitability with a two-fold approach: perform market analysis to identify ways to increase revenue in new and existing markets, and find opportunities to reduce costs across the firm's operations. Nicole has worked in project management, financial modeling, market analysis, and location analysis.

Nicole began her career at a boutique engineering firm as an Industrial Engineer. Her experience there involved several strategic planning initiatives, including the development and execution of training materials, and supporting operational projects of the executive team.

Nicole Ru has a Bachelors of Science degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University.

Celina Belizan is a Senior Associate of Solidea, LLC. Celina brings eight years of experience working with emerging companies at various stages of development. She first joined Solidea as a summer associate while working towards her Masters of Business Administration from New York University's Stern School of Business.

Prior to her MBA, Celina collaborated with Spotlight Live's founder to plan and execute all aspects of a $10MM start-up restaurant/entertainment business. There she led the development and management of both the retail and media divisions, sourcing and designing merchandise while creating a supply chain between China and Los Angeles. Before joining Spotlight, she was an early member of Amaranth LLC, as an Investor Relations Associate. Wearing many hats, she facilitated the hedge fund's rapid growth, playing an integral role in fundraising, recruiting, and strategic planning. She also spent time as a working actress in Los Angeles where she learned the value of hard work and perseverance.

Celina spends much of her free time skiing, cycling, and hiking. She believes strongly in giving back and works with several New York organizations mentoring children and teens.

Celina graduated as a Forte Fellow in May of 2009 and was the recipient of the Dean's MBA Scholarship. She also holds a graduate degree from the London School of Economics (Finance) and graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University (BS in Economics and Human and Organizational Development).

Justin Anderson, Analyst, offers Solidea's portfolio companies the expertise gained from years of experience in the technology space. Justin has had key involvement with several technology and internet-based application start-ups, and his technical skill set includes online infrastructure strategy, online application systems design, and database design.

In 2000, Justin launched Netatic Technologies, a firm specializing in online application solutions. In 2001, Justin was recognized by YoungBiz Magazine as one of America's Top 100 young entrepreneurs, and in 2006, Justin was recognized by Merrill Lynch and The Initiative for a Competitive Inner-City as one of the country's top inner-city entrepreneurs. He is an expert in brand development, project management, and product delivery strategy.

Prior to joining Solidea, Justin began his career at Morgan Stanley's Prime Brokerage in the Technology Strategy group.

Justin Anderson earned a Bachelors of Science in Economics, with concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Management, from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.