John is a Co-Founder, Partner, Significant Investor, and Member of the Investment Committee at Enceladus. He is primarily responsible for helping founders and families manage growth and prepare for ownership transitions. In addition, John focuses on sourcing investment opportunities, raising outside funds to invest alongside his own, and driving value creation efforts with clients and portfolio companies.

Prior to founding Enceladus, John spent the last 32 years of his career at his family’s business, Allentown, a global provider of Life Science Solutions. At Allentown he served as owner, Chairman, CEO and a variety of other roles while the company was family owned, and under his leadership the company doubled in size in 3 years. He successfully transitioned the business from over 50 years of family ownership to private equity ownership when he led the sale of the company to Heartwood Partners in 2020 (which marked the beginning of his relationship with Russ Spieler). After deciding to continue owning a significant minority of the company and to stay on as CEO, John collaborated with Heartwood Partners to triple the size of Allentown in 3 years, before leading the company’s sale to the private equity firm Aterian in 2022. John again decided to rollover a minority equity position and stay on as CEO. In 2023, John worked with Aterian to recruit and transition Allentown to a new CEO. He remains a significant investor and serves on its Board of Directors.

Having spent his entire life enduring the various life cycles of a family business, John is uniquely positioned to help founders and families prepare for and navigate through growth and business transitions. As an operator, John has a proven track record of driving organic growth, working with private equity partners, and achieving successful ownership transitions. His combination of experiences and skills make him an ideal partner for family owners thinking of transitioning to the next chapter of their journey, whatever that chapter looks like.

John earned a BA from Roanoke College in Criminal Justice and Business. Outside of work, John likes to spend his time golfing, boating, cooking, and traveling.