Robert Sires
Partner
Robert Sires is a builder and operator turned investor who leads TRS Investments’ strategy of partnering with legacy industrial businesses and unlocking growth through lean operations, disciplined capital allocation, and a buy-and-build playbook. Over three decades, he has scaled U.S. manufacturing and distribution companies by modernizing processes, automating production, and aligning incentives with management teams.
He founded and scaled American Elite Molding into the nation’s leading U.S. manufacturer of nylon cable ties—running 24/7/365 with 175 employees, 1.5B units produced annually, and $35M in sales—before exiting the business in 2020. As President and board member of Unipharm, he doubled sales, quadrupled earnings, reduced administrative costs by $5M annually, and expanded gross margins by 5+ points. Earlier in his career, he led complex operational turnarounds at Leeds & Northrup and Leach Holding across the U.S., Europe, and Mexico.
Robert’s operating lens continues to shape TRS’s approach: protect culture and people, implement lean systems that scale, maintain inventory discipline, and deploy strategic capital to expand margins and markets. He has founded and invested in multiple U.S. manufacturing and distribution platforms (including U.S. Meltblown and Cable Tie Express) and serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of West Florida. Select early investments include Wheels Up and Chopt.
Brandon Sires
Brandon supports TRS with sourcing, diligence, and portfolio projects across industrial and distribution businesses. His background includes client-facing sales and account development at U.S. Meltblown, Thermosleeve USA, and Cable Tie Express, as well as co-owner and Director of Sales at 2aDays, where he leads partnerships and revenue initiatives.
He previously served as Managing Partner at Premier Asset Services (PAS) and completed a process-efficiency engagement with Frescobene toward a Six Sigma Green Belt, further grounding his operational approach.
At TRS, Brandon applies a commercial mindset and strong data orientation to drive value creation. He turns sales and customer information into actionable analyses and dashboards that prioritize pipeline, quantify retention, and inform pricing and outreach. He also supports portfolio management by bridging sales execution with operational efficiency, helping businesses scale while maintaining customer focus.
Larry Goodman
Lawrence is a partner in the Private Equity & Venture Capital and Mergers & Acquisitions groups at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP. His practice spans private equity, venture capital, M&A, and securities matters, with experience across general corporate and cross-border work. He advises entrepreneurs, fund-less sponsors, and domestic and international PE/VC funds on investments ranging from mezzanine and convertibles to preferred and common equity—whether minority positions or full buyouts. His M&A work covers public and private stock and asset acquisitions in the U.S. and abroad.
At TRS, Lawrence helps design efficient, repeatable transaction workflows: structuring deals, negotiating core documents, and streamlining closings to increase certainty and speed. He supports buy-and-build execution (bolt-ons, roll-ups), minority protections and governance, and securities/compliance considerations for growth equity and control deals.
Matthew Battaglia
Matthew is a Yale-trained, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt finance leader with ~15 years of experience building FP&A, reporting, and operating cadence in high-growth environments. He most recently served as CFO of FlexWork Sports, guiding the company’s finance function through its 2025 sale. He was previously CFO of Community Labs, where he helped scale the business from launch to a ~$100M run-rate in six months, owning budgeting, reporting, contractor onboarding, and contract negotiations.
As a consultant, Matthew spent 15 months with a private tech unicorn to stand up FP&A, optimize sales operations, and standardize reporting/analytics ahead of IPO readiness. Earlier, he led FP&A for the largest department at Bridgewater Associates (P&L management, budgeting, strategic planning) and spent five years at Gartner, earning the CFO Award of Excellence in 2016 and serving on the integration team for a $3B acquisition.
Adam Hallet
Adam is a business transformation leader with more than 20 years of experience in quality, process improvement, and operational excellence across financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing. As Vice President and Master Black Belt at ING Retirement Services, he built a continuous improvement team from the ground up to more than 40 professionals, delivering over $100 million in benefits within five years. Earlier, at The Hartford Insurance Company, he achieved nearly $25 million in savings in just two years and was honored with the Chairman’s Award in 2012 for his team’s transformational work.
At TRS, Adam brings deep expertise in Lean Six Sigma and performance improvement to support diligence and portfolio execution. His ability to design scalable processes, lead large teams, and generate measurable impact strengthens TRS’s approach to building long-term value in industrial and service-oriented businesses.
Sal Webber
Sal brings more than 20 years of experience in process improvement and customer experience design, with executive leadership roles spanning contact centers, financial services, software, manufacturing, telecom, and cloud technologies. He has served as President & COO of Community Labs, a non-profit focused on rapid-turnaround PCR testing, and is a partner in Maion Business Solutions, a boutique consulting firm. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at Intuit, TIAA, Symantec, Rackspace, and Andeavor.
At TRS, Sal leverages his track record of operational problem-solving to improve efficiency and drive measurable outcomes. His experience leading large-scale initiatives—such as reducing insurance claim processing from 15 days to 24 hours and cutting downtime on critical projects by over 90%—brings a proven capability to unlock value in portfolio companies. He holds a BS in Nuclear Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Courtney Shires
Courtney is a strategic leader in Operational Excellence with more than 20 years of experience driving business transformation through Lean Six Sigma. She has partnered with leading organizations in the financial industry to streamline processes, optimize resources, and leverage technology to deliver measurable results.
At TRS, Courtney brings that expertise to portfolio companies by fostering collaboration and a culture of continuous improvement. She empowers teams to align initiatives with business goals while improving productivity, reducing costs, and setting new standards for operational efficiency.
John Gaynor
John builds and scales private-label and national-account channels for TRS portfolio companies, drawing on a career across controls, lighting, and electrical products. He began in his family’s controls business, rising to GM/VP, growing the company and positioning it for sale to Gardner Bender, where he later supported multiple acquisitions. He then joined ACT to expand private-label customers and broaden the product line.
John founded Gen Four Industries to help small businesses prepare for sale and to represent manufacturers as a commissioned sales representative; Gen Four supplies private-label controls and lighting to blue-chip customers. In 2010, he became Director of National Accounts at TCP Lighting, contributing to revenue growth from $19M to $61M in three years. He joined American Elite Molding in 2013 as VP of Sales Development to pursue large private-label opportunities and support strategy and sales-force development.
Keirsten Sires
Keirsten is the Founder & CEO of 2aDays, a platform that helps student-athletes make informed college decisions through verified reviews, education, and community. A graduate of the Harvard Business Analytics Program, Keirsten brings a practical data toolkit to growth—turning marketing, product, and customer signals into clear action and operating rhythms that improve acquisition, retention, and lifetime value.
At TRS, Keirsten applies that operator mindset to portfolio companies and deal flow. She leverages a large, national network across athletics, media, and operators to source proprietary and off-market opportunities, coordinate outreach, and pre-qualify targets for the investment team.
Chris Adamo
Chris is an experienced operator and finance leader with more than 25 years across manufacturing, healthcare, and advanced materials. He formerly served as Chief Operating Officer of US Meltblown, where he helped establish the company as a trusted source of American-made meltblown material exceeding ASTM Level 3 and MERV 13 standards for PPE and air filtration. Earlier, he was General Manager of Unipharm and spent over a decade as VP of Finance at Technology Plastic, building expertise in operational scale-up, regulatory compliance, and financial discipline. His career also includes senior finance roles at OCI Chemical and Leach International, following four years in audit with Deloitte.
Chris has also led the opening of a pharmaceutical packaging facility with Bottle and Blister operations, where he secured economic incentives, designed the facility, sourced equipment, built and trained the workforce, and implemented cGMP-compliant procedures in line with FDA and multi-national regulatory requirements. At TRS, he draws on this blend of operational execution, regulatory knowledge, and financial rigor to evaluate opportunities, support portfolio companies, and drive sustainable growth.
Tim Bagley
Tim is a commercial leader with 30+ years in industrial distribution and manufacturing. He began on the warehouse floor, advanced to Shipping Manager, and then became a Territory Sales Manager for a national distributor calling on fastener, electrical, STAFDA, and transportation accounts—selling cable ties and wiring accessories.
As one of the first employees at Bay State Cable Ties (later American Elite Molding, “AEM”), Tim was quickly promoted to Vice President of Sales. He built national-account and private-label programs, scaled distributor/OEM channels, and supported a 24/7/365 manufacturing operation in Crestview, Florida. During his sales leadership tenure, AEM grew from roughly $200k in year one to over $35M in revenue.
Expo Serrano
Expedito most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of American Elite Molding, the nation’s leading manufacturer of cable ties. With nearly three decades of experience in plastic injection molding and 18 years focused on cable ties and nylon products, he oversaw Manufacturing, Maintenance, Assembly, Quality, and Shipping.
At AEM, he was promoted to COO in 2012 and drove sales growth from $6 million to $35 million by expanding manufacturing capacity and redesigning tools with advanced cavitation and automation. His efforts enabled the company to compete effectively with imported products. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico.
