Board of Directors

Andrew Jhawar is a former Partner, Private Equity at Apollo, having retired after 25 years, where he oversaw its Los Angeles office. After joining Apollo in February 2000, Andy has led, structured, managed and exited private equity transactions primarily focused on the consumer and retail industry. Andy currently serves as Chairman of the Board at Michaels and The Stand, and Board member at Heritage Grocers Group (El Rancho/Cardenas Markets/Tony’s Fresh Market), The Fresh Market, and the parent entity of PetSmart. He also previously served as Chairman of the Board of The Fresh Market, Smart & Final (Fund IX), Qdoba Restaurants, Sprouts Farmers Market and lead Board member at Hostess Brands, Smart & Final (Fund VI), General Nutrition Centers, and Board member at Rent-A-Center. Transactions for Apollo that Andy has led have resulted in excess of $6 billion in investment profit dollars for Apollo Funds. Prior to joining Apollo, Mr. Jhawar was an investment banker focused on leveraged finance transactions for five years with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation and Jefferies & Company.

Andy graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated, summa cum laude, with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In December 2020, Andy was featured in the Business Insider video related to the Rise and Fall of Twinkies, and the April 2015 Forbes Magazine cover story for Hostess Brands. In addition, in May 2012, Andy was the featured cover story in Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine related to Apollo’s successful investment in Sprouts Farmers Market as well as being named in September 2007 as one of the “Top Dealmakers Under the Age of 40” by Dealmaker Magazine.

David Boone joined Michaels as CEO and member of the Board of Directors in February 2025, bringing with him extensive experience in retail strategy, e-commerce, and business transformation, as well as a proven track record of driving innovation and growth.

He most recently served as interim CEO of Essendant, a wholesale, e-commerce, and third-party logistics company. Prior to that, he spent six years as CEO of Staples Canada, where he led a company-wide transformation, enhancing the retail experience, expanding product offerings, and scaling its services and B2B businesses through acquisitions and strategic partnerships.

Earlier in his career, David held leadership roles at TD Bank USA and spent 16 years at Loblaw Companies, where he led the National Wholesale Club Division and shaped merchandising strategy across multiple businesses.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Monte Ford is currently the Principal Partner at the CIO Strategy Exchange, an organization of the top 50 sitting Chief Information Officers in business. From February 2012 until September 2013, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Aptean Software Corporation, a provider of enterprise application software.

Prior to joining Aptean, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of American Airlines, Inc. from December 2000 through December 2011.

Monte currently sits on the board of directors of Akamai Technologies, Inc., a leading internet network and security company where he serves on the Talent, Leadership and Compensation Committee and the Environmental, Sustainability and Governance Committee; JetBlue Airways, a major American passenger airline, where he serves on the Audit Committee; Iron Mountain Incorporated, a storage and information management company where he serves on the Compensation Committee, the Technology Committee and the Risk and Safety Committee; JetBlue Airways Corporation, a publicly held major American airline, where he serves on the Audit Committee and the Technology Committee; and Centene Corp., a multi-national healthcare company, where he serves on the Compensation and Talent Committee and the Value Creation Committee. Monte previously served on the Board of The Michaels Companies, Inc. from September 2015 to April 2021 and was appointed to the Board in June 2021.

Mr. LeBlanc is a Tower Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and he runs his family office, White Stone Associates. From 2012 to 2019, Mr. LeBlanc was the Founding Partner of CapRidge Partners, LLC, a fully integrated real estate and private equity operating company focused on value investments in commercial properties in the growth markets of the U.S. From January 2008 until 2012, he was the senior managing director of private markets, overseeing the real assets, private equity, and principal investments for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas with $200 billion of assets under management. From June 1998 until February 2005, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of Summit Properties, a NYSE listed company. Prior to joining Summit Properties, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Urban Growth Property Trust from April 1996 to April 1998. From March 1992 until March 1998, Mr. LeBlanc served as the Executive Vice President for Archstone Communities Trust.

Mr. LeBlanc is the Chairman of the board of 35 South Capital and a partner in East Avenue Ventures, and also serves on the board of Monday Properties, Temerity Capital Partners, SineCera, Capital Creek Partners, and the Austin Presbyterian Seminary. Mr. LeBlanc formerly served as the Chairman of the board of Affordable Central Texas and as a board member, trustee and governor of the Urban Land Institute and the ULI District Council in Austin. Mr. LeBlanc received a Bachelor of Business Administration in real estate/finance from The University of Texas at Austin where he is the Associate Director of the Real Estate and Finance Council and was an adjunct professor at the McCombs School of Business. He also participated in the Harvard Graduate School Senior Leadership Forum, the Darden Graduate School Transformational Leadership Program, and the UNC Bell Leadership Program.

Riddi Kline currently serves as an Executive Partner of Comvest Partners, a role that she has held since April 2016. She also founded Provencal Partners, LLC in April 2015.

Riddi previously served in various roles with Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. from August 2002 to March 2015, most recently as its EVP, Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer. Prior to joining Jo-Ann Stores, Riddi also had roles with Kraft Foods, RadioShack and Michaels Stores, Inc.

She earned a Bachelor of Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin.

David Lenhardt previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of PetSmart from October 2000 to March 2015.

Prior to joining PetSmart, David also had roles with Bain & Company and Merrill Lynch. David currently serves on the boards of Casey’s General Stores, Phoenix Art Museum, Dogtopia, and Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

David received an M.B.A from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a B.S. from Cornell University.

Richard Maltsbarger is a member of the board and President & Chief Executive Officer of Pet Valu Holdings Ltd. (Pet Valu) since November 2018, and also served as President from November 2018 to August 2024. At Pet Valu, his leadership team has shaped the modernization of Pet Valu’s technology, operations and supply chain platforms and led the completion of Pet Valu’s initial public offering in June 2021. Prior to joining Pet Valu, he held multiple senior positions at Lowe’s Companies over a 14-year period, including Chief Operating Officer for United States Operations, President of International (Canada and Mexico), and Chief Development Officer where he had oversight of strategy, mergers & acquisitions, analytics, and innovation.

Richard currently serves as Chair of the Internal Affairs Committee, Treasurer, and Member of the Executive Committee on the National Board of Trustees for the National 4-H Council and serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Business of the University of Central Florida. He earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri and a Master of Business Administration from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Salim Hirji is a Partner, Private Equity at Apollo where he is responsible for analyzing and monitoring investments across industry sectors, including Consumer, Retail, and IT Services.  Prior to joining Apollo in 2013, Salim was an analyst in the Financial Institutions Group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. from July 2011 to August 2013. Salim serves on the board of directors of the parent entity of PetSmart. He has previously served on the board of directors of Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate Holding Ltd., Mood Media Corporation, Presidio, Inc. and the parent entity of Yahoo!. Salim is a member of the TEAK Fellowship, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping students from low-income families gain admission to top high schools and universities. Salim graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science.