Mr. Bye is currently a Managing Director and Partner with Morgan Stanley Private Equity in London, where he leads the group’s European activities and global efforts in industrials, chemicals, and basic materials. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Bye served as President and CEO of DyStar, GmbH, a German-based private equity-owned 1B€ leading global provider of dyes, chemicals, and services to the textile, leather, and fashion industries. Mr. Bye also provides consulting and advisory services to companies in chemicals and industrial space through his company, The Bye Group, LLC. Prior to moving into private equity, Mr. Bye spent 23 years with Air Products and Chemicals Inc. At Air Products, he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility, finally leading the $7 billion industrial gases and equipment group which represented 80% of the company’s business. His breadth and depth of experience with the company included leadership positions based in Asia, Europe, and the United States, as well as extensive representation of the firm with external constituencies in the investment community, government, and media. He is also an active investor in technology based start-ups. Mr. Bye holds both a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is a graduate of INSEAD’s Advanced Management Program. He serves on several industry, corporate, and not-for-profit boards.

Ms. Carus is Chairman of Carus Group Inc., a role which she has held since 2013. She served as President from 2005 until 2013 and as Chief Executive Officer from 2005 until 2016. Ms. Carus joined Carus in 1992 as European Sales Manager and returned to the U.S. in 1993 to become Director of Marketing. She was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing from 2001 until August of 2005. Prior to joining Carus, Ms. Carus worked for Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (APCI) from 1987 until 1992, primarily serving in commercial positions in Europe, where she had responsibility for APCI’s specialty chemicals for the German speaking regions. Ms. Carus received her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and Master of Business Administration, both from the University of Chicago. Ms. Carus is a Director of the American Chemistry Council, the Society of the Chemical Industry, a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, and also serves on the boards of the Canal Corridor Association, the Hegeler Carus Foundation, and Landmarks Illinois.

Mrs. Carus is Founder and former Editor-in-Chief of The Cricket Magazine Group, previously published by Carus Publishing Company. Mrs. Carus was also Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Cricket Books, a trade book line that published quality chapter books and middle-grade novels for children ages six to twelve. With Clifton Fadiman, she co-authored Cricket's Choice, an anthology of the best stories and poems of CRICKET's first year, which was also translated into German for Cricket Books. Mrs. Carus edited That's Ghosts for You, Fire and Wings, and Celebrate Cricket, 30 Years of Stories and Art. She has spoken about children's literature, creative writing, and children's magazines at many universities and conferences here and abroad.  From 1982-1986, Mrs. Carus served as a Director on the American Library Service for Children board, and from 1990-1994, she was Vice President of the Executive Board of the International Board on Books for Young People. She is also a Director of the renowned International Youth Library in Munich. In 2003, Mrs. Carus received an honorary doctorate degree from Illinois Wesleyan University for her work in children's literature. In 2006, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Association of Educational Publishers. A native of Germany, Mrs. Carus majored in English and German literature at the University of Freiburg, and completed additional studies in French Literature and Art History at the Sorbonne, Paris, and the University of Chicago.

Mr. Carus is Chairman Emeritus and Chief Technical Advisor. Mr. Carus served (by Presidential appointment) as a member of the National Council on Education Research, which established policy for the National Institute of Education of the U. S. Department of Education. He was instrumental in establishing the International Baccalaureate North America (IBNA) in 1973 and was Chairman of the IBNA until June 1985.  Mr. Carus was also a Council member for the International Baccalaureate in Geneva, Switzerland from 1977 to 1994 and recently rejoined the International Baccalaureate Organization to help raise funds to strengthen the curricula and the infrastructure, preparing for major growth. In 2001,  Mr. Carus was named Man of the Year by the Manufacturing Technology and Management Program of the Illinois Institute of Technology. He received the national Vanguard Award from the Chemical Education Foundation in 2002, and an honorary doctorate from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2003. In 2004, Mr. Carus received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Caltech. In 2006, he and his wife, Marianne, were inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Association of Educational Publishers, and in 2007 Mr. Carus received the SRA McGraw-Hill Lifetime Achievement Award in Education. In 2013, Mr. Carus was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Illinois Valley Community College, and received the Living Out the Vision Award from the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions. Mr. Carus holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1949, after having served from 1945-1946 in the U.S. Navy. He studied foreign languages and chemistry at Mexico City College, the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the Sorbonne, Paris. He joined Carus in 1951 as a Development Engineer and holds seven U.S. patents for his work during that period.

Mr. Eastland is a Partner at Seidler Equity Partners (SEP), a private investment firm headquartered in Marina Del Rey, California, which entered into a strategic partnership with Carus in 2019. Mr. Eastland is involved in all SEP activities, including sourcing and closing new investments, advising partner companies on strategic planning, and evaluating and implementing growth initiatives. Prior to joining SEP in 2004, Mr. Eastland was an attorney at O’Melveny & Myers LLP. His practice focused principally on mergers and acquisitions and private equity investment, as well as representation of public and private companies in commercial transactions. Mr. Eastland holds a Bachelor of Science and a Juris Doctor from University of Southern California.

Mr. Lorraine most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Eastman Chemical Company, from which he retired in 2010. Mr. Lorraine began his career with Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1963. In 1978, he joined Clark Equipment Company where he held various financial positions.  In 1980 Lorraine joined ITT Corporation as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company's Fluid Technology Group, and over the next four years, he rose to the position of Chief Financial Officer of ITT's Automotive Group. In 1990, he was named president of ITT Automotive Aftermarket Group. In 1995, Mr. Lorraine joined Occidental Chemical Corporation as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Occidental Chemical Corporation, OxyChem, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation and is a chemical manufacturer, with interests in basic chemicals, vinyls, and performance products. In addition to his finance responsibilities, Lorraine also led the purchasing, logistics, and e-business functions of the $3 billion chemical company. He held these positions until joining Eastman in 2003. A native of New York City, Lorraine graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. 

Mr. Ryan is a Partner at Seidler Equity Partners (SEP), a private investment firm headquartered in Marina Del Rey, California, which entered into a strategic partnership with Carus in 2019. Mr. Ryan is involved in all SEP investment activities, including assisting partner companies with strategy development, process improvement, performance measurement and decision support analysis. Prior to joining SEP in 2009, he served as COO of Tomah Products, a former partner company of SEP. Prior to Tomah, Mr. Ryan held positions with Bain Consulting and General Electric. Mr. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Arts from University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Harvard University.

Mr. Shropshire is Chairman of the Board of American Chemet Corporation. He began his career with the International Nickel Company of Canada (now owned by Vale) at its Huntington, WV rolling mill in 1961. Commissioned in the U.S. Army in 1959, he entered active duty in 1961, returning to Inco in 1962 in a Sales capacity. In 1970 he was transferred to Boston as New England District Sales Manager. In 1973, Mr. Shropshire joined the corporate staff in New York city as Manager, Ventures Development, where he was responsible for evaluating mining opportunities and startups in Latin America, the U.S., and Australia. In 1976, he joined American Chemet Corporation, a copper and zinc-based chemicals processing company, as its President and CEO. He retired from executive responsibility in June 2010 and was elected Chairman of the Board. Mr. Shropshire was a founder of Peninsula Copper Industries in 1982 and also served as its CEO for 20 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from Purdue University, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago. He is active as an ABET accreditor for Materials Engineering Programs and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Engineering Programs at Carroll College in Helena, MT and for the school of Materials Engineering at Purdue. 

Mr. Venegoni is currently acting as a consultant for the Stepan Company in Northfield, IL, where he most recently served as Vice President & General Manager, responsible for the company’s global surfactants businesses. Mr. Venegoni joined Stepan in 1982 and held a number of progressive roles, from Product Development Engineer to Global Business Director.  At Stepan, Mr. Venegoni successfully led and managed a $1 billion global surfactant business, which achieved record income performance during his tenure.  He was a member of Stepan’s Operating Committee and a contributor to the overall strategic direction of the company. Mr. Venegoni assumed responsibility for Stepan’s Personal Care business in 1990.  He went on to hold numerous positions in Business Management.  Mr. Venegoni had a one-year leave from Stepan, during which he worked at American Hoechst and was responsible for production and quality improvements in a PVC manufacturing facility. Mr. Venegoni served on the Board of Directors for the Chemical Specialty Products Association from 2003 to 2006.  He served on the Board of Directors of the American Cleaning Institute from 2007 to 2014. Mr. Venegoni holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemical Engineering, both from the University of Illinois.

Mr. Vincent's most recent position was as Chairman of The HallStar Company, the parent company of several businesses involved with chemical innovations, manufacturing, and distribution.  Mr. Vincent served as CEO of The HallStar Company for twenty years.  The Company, headquartered in Chicago, specializes in materials science and markets its products worldwide.  Mr. Vincent served on several boards and not-for-profits. He served as Chairman of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association from 2006 to 2007, as a Director of the American Chemistry Council, as President of the Chemical Educational Foundation, and as Chairman of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois. Mr. Vincent worked for a total of 35 years in the chemical industry with General Electric Company, FMC Corporation, and HallStar. A native of Fairfield, Connecticut, Mr. Vincent majored in Chemistry at Dartmouth College. After serving as a surface line officer in the U.S. Navy, he earned a Master of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.