Mr. Nerbonne was a director of The Middleby Corporation from 2019 until 2026 and formerly the CEO and President of multiple commercial food service equipment companies.
Mr. Nerbonne was an officer and board member of Cooper-Atkins Corporation, a company that manufactures thermometers, timers and wireless monitoring solutions, from 2014 to 2018. He was a consultant for Cooper-Atkins Corporation from 2012 to 2014. Earlier in his career, Mr. Nerbonne was Chief Executive Officer of Ali Group North America, a manufacturer of equipment for the food service industry, from 2009 to 2011. He was Group President, Americas of Enodis (today Welbilt), and held other senior roles at that company, from 2002 to 2009. Prior to 2002, he held various leadership positions in the commercial food service industry, including President of Pitco from 1988 to 1998, before Middleby acquired Pitco.
Mr. Nerbonne earned an M.B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University and a B.S. in Business Administration from University of New Hampshire.
Mr. Nerbonne’s extensive and varied leadership roles within the commercial food service industry, as well as his mergers and acquisition background, provide the Board with valuable insight on how to proactively address market conditions and develop long-term strategy.
Mr. Fernandez served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Villa Food Srl from January 2024 until June 2025. From 2012 until 2023, Mr. Fernandez was employed by JBT Corporation (“JBT”), now JBT Marel Corporation, where he held various positions, including Executive Vice President and President, Diversified Food & Health and Executive Vice President, Customer Sustainability & Market Development, overseeing customer sustainability initiatives, end-market development and strategic partnerships across JBT’s FoodTech segment, from 2017 until 2023, and Executive Vice President and President, Liquid Foods, leading the global Liquid Foods business, from 2016 until 2017, after previously holding the roles of Vice President (2014) and General Manager within JBT FoodTech’s Fruit & Juice Solutions division (2012–2014). Earlier in his career, Mr. Fernandez held a variety of finance and general management roles at FMC Corporation and FMC Technologies, beginning as a Business Analyst in Madrid in 1996.
Mr. Fernandez earned a B.Sc. in Economics & Business from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and completed additional executive education in strategy, marketing and leadership.
Mr. Fernandez has been an independent Board Member at OptiCept Technologies since May 2024 and is a partner at Stratumm Partners. Mr. Fernandez’s experience in the food industry makes him well-qualified to serve as a director of Midera.
Mr. FitzGerald has been Chief Executive Officer and a director of The Middleby Corporation since February 2019. He joined Middleby in 1998, serving as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2003 to 2019. Before joining Middleby, Mr. FitzGerald was a manager with Arthur Anderson LLP for seven years in the consulting and audit practices. Mr. FitzGerald has broad-based experience in manufacturing, distribution, mergers and acquisitions and global operations.
Mr. FitzGerald led the development of Middleby’s Food Processing Group since its inception in 2005, making him uniquely qualified to serve as a director of Midera. Mr. FitzGerald also has significant expertise in the food processing industry, along with insights specifically with respect to the Midera business.
Mr. FitzGerald earned his CPA in 1991 and his MBA in 2004 from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business majoring in Finance and International Business.
Mr. Glerum most recently served as Vice Chairman, Investment Banking at Citigroup, retiring in July 2024. Prior to joining Citigroup in 2011, Mr. Glerum held senior leadership positions in investment banking at UBS and Credit Suisse in Chicago and New York City.
Over his 40-year investment banking career, Mr. Glerum executed corporate finance and strategic transactions with an aggregate value of over $500 billion. Mr. Glerum’s clients spanned multiple industry sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, consumer and retail. Mr. Glerum serves on the Board of Directors of Amcor plc (NYSE: AMCR), a global leader in consumer and health care packaging, and Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC), a manufacturer of specialized industrial equipment. Further, Mr. Glerum serves on the Board of Trustees of Denison University and The Ravinia Festival.
Mr. Glerum earned an M.B.A. from The Harvard Business School and a B.A. cum laude in Economics and Mathematics from Denison University. Mr. Glerum’s long career in investment banking and recent public company board experience qualifies him to serve as a director of Midera.
Mr. Jacoby is a Founding Partner and Head of Research at Garden Investments. Since 2023, Mr. Jacoby has led the firm’s investment sourcing, directed due diligence, managed the investment team and engaged with portfolio companies. Prior to founding Garden Investments, Mr. Jacoby spent nearly two decades as a Partner and Senior Analyst at Trian Fund Management and its predecessor, where he helped oversee investments including Domino’s, DowDuPont, Hu Chocolate, InterContinental Hotels Group, PPG, Tiffany and Wendy’s. During his tenure, the firm scaled assets under management to over $13 billion. Mr. Jacoby began his career in investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney, rebranded as Citigroup.
Mr. Jacoby received a B.B.A. with high distinction in Finance and Accounting from the University of Michigan.
Mr. Jacoby previously served on the boards of Arby’s, Inspire Brands and Meridian Audio. He also brings hands-on operating experience as a former Wendy’s franchisee in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Mr. Jacoby’s investment and capital allocation skills, operating perspective and deep sector expertise in consumer and industrials qualify him to serve as a director of Midera.
Ms. McCarthy was a director of The Middleby Corporation from 2015 until 2026, and since 2011, has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cross Tack Consulting, Inc., a management consulting firm. From 2007 to 2011, Ms. McCarthy served as President and Chief Executive Officer of SM&A, a public company that provides business strategy, competition management and project management consulting services. Before becoming President and Chief Executive Officer, Ms. McCarthy served in various senior executive positions at SM&A, including Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary from 2005 to mid-2007. Prior to her time at SM&A, Ms. McCarthy was Chief Financial Officer of PIA Merchandising, an in-store merchandising company; Giant Group, Ltd., an investment firm; and Wherehouse Entertainment, a major music and video retailer. Ms. McCarthy began her career at Mellon Bank, N.A., where she was Vice President of several lending departments responsible for the oversight of highly leveraged and distressed assets and commercial lending. Ms. McCarthy’s operating experience as a Chief Executive Officer and a Chief Financial Officer of numerous public and private companies, combined with her extensive background in strategy, mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting and internal controls, provide the Midera Board with valuable strategy and financial oversight capabilities.
Mr. Salman became Midera’s Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Midera Board in 2026. Mr. Salman has served as the President of Middleby’s Food Processing Group since January 2018. In that role, he led the growth and transformation of Middleby’s Food Processing Group, dramatically growing the business’ revenue, EBITDA and EBITDA margin through a combination of organic growth and integrating new companies into the Middleby Food Processing portfolio, and acted as the chief architect of strategies that expanded the business into new distribution channels and established a clear and differentiated position in the marketplace. Prior to becoming President, Mr. Salman served as President of Middleby Bakery from November 2015 to December 2017.
Ms. Zelenka joined the board of directors of FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) in March 2025 and serves as a member of the Audit Committee and the Nominating, Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Committee at FTI. Ms. Zelenka also currently serves on the boards of IDEAL Industries, a global manufacturer of power management devices, interconnect solutions and electrician tools and supplies, and U.S. Venture, a distributor of energy, tires, lubricants and transportation products, and is the Audit Committee Chair and a member of the Compensation Committee on both boards.
Ms. Zelenka is the former Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer of Stericycle, Inc., a medical waste disposal company, which she joined in 2019 and retired from in 2024 following its acquisition. Prior to Stericycle, Ms. Zelenka served as a leader for 15 years with Essendant Inc. (formerly known as United Stationers), culminating in serving as Chief Financial Officer. While at Essendant, she also served in the roles of Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Integration. Earlier at Essendant, she served in Vice President roles in finance, pricing and internal audit. Earlier, Ms. Zelenka worked at SBC Ameritech (now AT&T), serving in a range of IT, financial and operational roles, including Chief Financial Officer of the IT division and Vice President of IT.
Ms. Zelenka received an M.B.A. from Northern Illinois University and a B.A. in Economics from Rockford University.
Ms. Zelenka brings to the Midera Board her experience as a chief financial officer and chief information officer and knowledge of corporate finance, accounting, internal controls, mergers and acquisitions, IT, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. In addition, Ms. Zelenka possesses experience serving on the audit and other committees of various public and private company boards.