Board of Directors
As CEO of Apex Tool Group, Jim is responsible for the strategic direction of this privately-held company as well as its day-to-day operations. Jim’s career spans 30 years with leading consumer and commercial products companies.
Prior to becoming Apex’s CEO and member of the Board of Directors in February 2016, Jim served as CEO of The Chamberlain Group, a leading provider of access control solutions serving industrial, commercial, automotive and consumer markets worldwide. During his tenure, Jim drove significant new product development and brand building initiatives for this 4,500 employee company, as well as delivering improvements in working capital, productivity and quality/safety.
Jim brings more than two decades of tool industry experience to Apex Tool Group. He held several senior executive positions at Newell-Rubbermaid, including leading its IRWIN Tools & Hardware segment. Previously, he was President of Worldwide Hand Tools and Hardware at The Stanley Works. Prior to that, he spent 19 years at Black & Decker including serving as President of Worldwide Accessories.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The University of Delaware.
Robert Bass, 65, has served as a Board Member since December 2014, and chairs the audit committee. He was a vice chairman of Deloitte LLP from 2006 to 2012, and a Deloitte partner from 1982 to 2012 specializing in e-commerce, mergers and acquisitions, and SEC filings. At Deloitte, Bass was responsible for all services provided to Forstmann Little and its portfolio companies and was the advisory partner for Blackstone, DIRECTV, McKesson, IMG and CSC. Mr. Bass currently serves on the Board of Directors for Sims Metal Management since September 2013, and became chairman of its risk and audit committee in November 2014. Additionally, Mr. Bass was named to Groupon’s Board of Directors in June 2012, and was elected chairman of its audit committee in early 2013. He also previously was the advisory partner for priceline.com, RR Donnelley, Automatic Data Processing, Community Health Systems and Avis Budget. Mr. Bass is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in New York, Connecticut and California, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the New York and Connecticut State Societies of Certified Public Accountants.
Mr. Bass holds an MBA from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Emory University.
Boston
Experience:
Mr. Barnes was appointed to serve as a director of Holdings in December 2017. Mr. Barnes is a Managing Director at Bain Capital and joined the firm in 1988. He is head of Bain Capital’s North America Private Equity business, and is also the global head of the Firm’s Industrial & Energy Vertical. Mr. Barnes has also served in various leadership positions within Bain Capital portfolio companies including CEO of Dade Behring, a global medical diagnostic company, President of Executone Business Solutions, a telecommunications company and President of The Holson Burnes Group, a publicly traded consumer products company. Prior to joining Bain Capital Private Equity, Mr. Barnes held several senior management positions in the Mergers & Acquisitions Support Group of PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Education:
Mr. Barnes received a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Experience:
Mr. Robbins joined Bain Capital in 2008. Prior to joining the firm, he held several operating roles at Sentient Jet, a leading provider of private jet membership services. Previously, he was a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group.
Education:
Mr. Robbins received an MBA from the Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar and a Ford Scholar. He graduated magna cum laude with an AB in Social Studies from Harvard College.
New York
Experience:
Mr. Spiller joined Bain Capital Private Equity in 2011. He is an Operating Partner in the Portfolio Group and a member of the North America Private Equity team. He is based in New York and works primarily on investments in the Consumer sector.
Prior to joining Bain Capital Private Equity, Mr. Spiller was an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company, working primarily with consumer goods manufacturers on growth strategy, portfolio optimization, and revenue management topics. Prior to McKinsey, he worked with Latin American financial institutions clients at Citibank.
Education:
Mr. Spiller received an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He graduated cum laude from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.