Kiawah Capital, LLC

OUR TEAM

PRESIDENT

Ronald C. Owens

Ron Owens is President of Kiawah Capital, LLC where he oversees financial and portfolio investment management activities for Kiawah Capital.  Kiawah Capital is a family office devoted to the owners and developers of Kiawah Island.  The family office provides equity and debt funding as well as management support to privately owned, small to middle market enterprises based in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida for purposes of facilitating growth plans, recapitalizations and buyouts. 

Ron has more than 20 years of experience with Kiawah and Seaboard Partners, in Charleston, South Carolina.  While at Seaboard, the fund grew from $200 million to $1 billion in assets under management, with investments in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, and media.  Ron primarily focuses on evaluating and selecting investment opportunities in real estate, private equity, high-yield securities and syndicated bank loans. 

Ron received a B.S. in Business Administration from Winthrop University, he is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder.  He serves on the Board and Executive Committee of Wings for Kids and Lowcountry Housing Trust.  Ron is a native of Charleston and currently lives there with his wife, Myriam, and two children.

THE OPERATING PARTNERS

Michael Sexton

Michael is the President of PBI and previous President of PDC since August 2000. His detailed knowledge of operational management and manufacturing engineering has allowed him to implement the restructuring of PBI and envision its growth and future. Characterized by a direct yet approachable management style, Michael runs this facility with goals of total customer satisfaction and efficiency excellence. With nearly 20 years of manufacturing management experience and 12 years in leveraged situations, Michael understands both the core drivers and added nuances of his business. Michael has an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management (Northwestern University) and is a graduate of Clarkson University.

J. Brett Bennett

Brett is an executive with 20 years of experience in general management, strategic planning, marketing, and business development with organizations ranging from a multi-national medical device manufacturer to a small physician practice management software venture.

Presently, Brett heads the Quality Indicator Project®, a leading provider of clinical performance measurement, reporting and analytical systems supporting hundreds of hospitals across the United States. Previously, he served as a senior executive with the Informatics division of Premier, Inc., an alliance of 2,100 hospitals and healthcare systems.  Earlier, Bennett successfully served in management posts at Nuesoft Technologies, Inc., a maker of advanced healthcare information technology; and medical equipment supplier Hill-Rom, Inc., where he led its most profitable business unit.  Brett started his career with Ernst & Young’s management consulting practice where he completed market assessments and financial feasibility studies for a wide range of healthcare organizations.  He holds an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University and a graduate degree from Duke University.

James C. Verney (Jim or JV) 

Jim has over 30 years of experience in the restaurant business. Most recently Jim completed a five year turnaround and sale assignment at the Western Sizzlin Corporation as CEO/President of the parent and later of the subsidiary - Western Sizzlin Franchise Corporation. He has been a member of the International Franchise Association has had international restaurant experience, primarily in Mexico and Southeast Asia with Winchell's and El Pollo Loco. Jim played an integral role in the development of four fast growing restaurant companies. (Denny's, El Pollo Loco, Have a Nice Day Cafe and Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon. In addition he has worked in two turnaround and sell situations at Winchell's Donut House and Western Sizzlin Corporation. His restaurant experience positions and assignment stretches from Manager in Training to Chief Executive Officer. He has had restaurant responsibility up to 650 restaurants and over 6,000 employees.

Jim holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky and took a mid-career MBA at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. In addition Jim taught Hospitality Management for five years at the college level.

His management skills were highlighted in the 1994 management communications book, "Top Dog" by Professor J. David Pincus and Professor Nick Debonis. The book was published in over 10 countries and Mr. Verney has spoken on executive communications.

D. Keith Barnes

Keith is an executive with over thirty years of experience in manufacturing and operations. Keith recently served as Vice President for Operations with Atrium Windows and Doors, an $800 million privately owned supplier of specialty vinyl building products. There he led manufacturing, quality assurance, engineering, purchasing, transportation and logistics, information technology and human resources. While at Atrium’s predecessor firm – Ellison Windows and Doors – Keith was instrumental in growing the business from $6 million to $150 million in sales in just 17 years while consistently returning operating margins of twenty percent and greater. 

Keith presently serves as Principal of D. Keith Barnes Leadership Development, providing direction to manufacturing and distribution firms. He is a champion of Lean Manufacturing techniques as well as strategic planning for growth and has been highly effective in leading such initiatives to the factory floor.

Keith was educated at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Wingate University. In addition, Keith holds Lean Manufacturing qualifications from the Lean Enterprise Systems Design Institute at the University of Tennessee and has completed numerous management development courses throughout his career.