P. A. (Andy) Weber III
Corner Capital Partners, LLC was founded by P. A. (Andy) Weber III to provide investment banking and advisory services in the Downstream Energy and multi-unit retail industry.
Mr. Weber began his career at Shell Oil Company, serving in various sales and marketing management capacities, responsible for Shell’s investments in dealer and company-operated retail markets including New Orleans, Birmingham, and Chicago.
Subsequent to Shell Oil, Mr. Weber was an international consultant in Arthur D. Little’s Global Energy Practice, with a principle responsibility for the downstream strategy practice. He and his team developed the Dynamic Brand Management practice model for ADL’s marketing practice, and utilized the methodology for country and market entries for multi-national energy companies, with an emphasis in Asia and the United States. Several projects included a Retail Brand Strategy engagement with a Sunoco, a new country market entry plan for a Kuwait Petroleum in Thailand, a retail consolidation plan for a Mobil Oil Company in Japan, a global refinery optimization plan for a British Petroleum, and a retail strategy plan for an Indian oil company.
Mr. Weber most recently spent 10 years at Roundtree Capital, a private equity group in Santa Barbara. During this time, Mr. Weber was a principal in the company and served as Director – M&A, VP & CFO, and President with overall responsibilities for the growth of the portfolio from 100 to 230 stores through acquisition and organic growth. Outside the retail industry, he conducted Roundtree’s M&A and Treasury activity in its manufacturing investments. Mr. Weber earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and his MBA from Rice University.
Carl Ray Polk
Carl Ray began his career in 1989 in Tyler, Texas, selling fuels and lubricants for their family business, Polk Oil Co., Inc., located in Lufkin, Texas and founded in 1937. Polk Oil Company was comprised of its lubricants businesses, convenience retailing, fast food franchises, and wholesale fuels distribution for Exxon, Mobil, and Texaco.
Carl Ray conducted a buyout of the family Company in 2003, and subsequently sold Polk Oil to Brookshire Brothers, LTD in 2007. Subsequent to the sale, Carl Ray served as Executive Vice President for three years and was appointed to the Board of Directors. While maintaining his Board position, he also serves on the Audit Committee.
He is the Past Board Chair of the Texas Petroleum Marketers Association, a member of Coca Cola’s National Retailers Council, served on several national committees for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), and is Past Chairman of the Board of Lufkin’s Chamber of Commerce. In February of 1999, he was appointed by then Governor George W. Bush to the Angelina Neches River Authority where he served a six year term.
Carl Ray received his education from Kilgore College and The University of Texas-Austin, with additional studies in the Mergers and Acquisition Program through the Anderson School of Business at UCLA in Los Angeles, California.
Jerry Richards
Jerry Richards, Senior Vice President of Business Development, has enjoyed a long and successful career in the petroleum industry, and brings to Corner Capital a lifetime of relationships and expertise in all aspects of our business.
Early in his career, Mr. Richards worked internationally with Exxon, managing energy supply for the US Government in Southeast Asia, and subsequently led the re-introduction of the Esso brand into the South Pacific. Upon his return to the States, Mr. Richards became Corporate Credit Manager of Getty Oil based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After the sale of Getty Oil, he became Credit and Finance Manager of Texaco, where he managed corporate workouts and bankruptcies, and served as Committee Chairman during numerous high profile bankruptcies.
Due to the scarcity of funding to the retail petroleum distribution industry as a result of environmental concerns, Mr. Richards negotiated a guaranteed loan program with CitiCorp which funded over $300 million in a four year period. He also developed and implemented the first joint venture in the U.S. between Texaco and its wholesale distributer.
Mr. Richards joined CitiCapital Franchise Finance in Irvine, California where he assisted in the startup of its loan program for petroleum distributors. He originated over $400 million in loans during this assignment. After the Citi sale of its Franchise Finance business, Mr. Richards was manager of a $500 million convenience store and a gas portfolio for GE Capital in Irvine California.
An alum of Drexel University, Mr. Richards has an MBA in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh and a Juris Doctorate from Western State University in California. Mr. Richards resides in Long Beach, California.
Ellen Lehto
Ellen Lehto joins CCP with over 15 years experience in providing sales, marketing and credit services within the Franchise Finance Industry working for past industry leaders such as Merril Lynch, GE Capital and FMAC.
Ms. Lehto also created a Franchise Lending Group for a $5 billion Bank with no prior lending experience in this arena. The Bank booked strong performing assets and later sold its portfolio to competitors at above par pricing.
Ms. Lehto has extensive experience structuring and analyzing diverse transactions within the gasoline and convenience retail industry, car wash, truck stop and automotive after market industry. Experience includes cash flow analyses, due diligence, covenant tests, appraisals and valuation.