Michael Merriman Founding Partner

From August 1995 through April 2004, Mr. Merriman was the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co./Dirt Devil Inc., a $400 million public company until its sale in April 2003. Mr. Merriman led a turnaround of the company through an accelerated new product development and aggressive marketing strategy. Mr. Merriman joined Royal in 1992 as Vice President of Finance and was appointed President and CEO in 1995. He is responsible for initiating Royal's Product Launch Partners Initiative, which focused on partnering with inventors and start-up companies to launch unique proprietary consumer products into Royal's retail channel. For the past five years, he served on the twelve-member WalMart Supplier Council.

From 1978 to 1992, Mr. Merriman worked with Arthur Andersen & Co., where he managed merger, acquisition and audit engagements in the firm's closely held business division. In 1990, he became a partner in the firm's Special Services Division, where he provided business consulting services to high-growth companies.

Mr. Merriman serves on the boards of John Carroll University, The Singing Angels, and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), where he was past national chairman.

Mr. Merriman, a Certified Public Accountant, earned a B.S. in Business Administration from John Carroll University.