From crab cakes to skin care, Robert Cohen has evolved a portfolio of luxury lifestyle brands into a powerhouse consumer products company. Over the past five years, Astral Brands has grown from a one-brand business to a multi-brand marketer using TV, web and direct retail to reach consumers.

Before purchasing the publicly held brand Aloette Cosmetics in 1998, Robert helped develop Legal Copies International (LCI) into one of the largest facilities management and document outsourcing companies in North America. The company reached approximately $100 million sales in seven years.

Leveraging his business expertise from LCI, along with other investment enterprises including Enterpulse, Cyberstarts and Servigistics, Robert began a mission to completely reposition Aloette and develop Astral Brands. Since his Aloette acquisition, Robert has expanded Astral Brands organically with the inception of additional makeup and skincare lines, as well as through acquisition with the purchase of additional brands including Mackenzie Limited and Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes & More.

Robert has built an innovative business offering by focusing on two core sectors: Astral Health and Beauty, featuring the finest makeup and skincare brands, and Astral Foods, which features gourmet food items and large-scale perishable shipping. Each brand provides meaningful customer experiences and a selection of unique products that offer strong consumer appeal and satisfaction.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Astral Brands generates approximately $100 million in wholesale revenue. With Robert at the helm, and business relationships in the works in Europe and Asia, Astral Brands is well on its way to becoming an international powerhouse.

As Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Astral Brands, Rob Turner’s responsibilities include management of finance, operations and administrative departments. Rob’s financial duties include GAAP and management reporting, tax, treasury and internal control. His operational responsibilities include managing the North American distribution network, customer service teams and the process improvement sector. Rob’s administrative responsibilities include managing human resources and information technology teams.

Rob’s 24-year career has included CFO and Group CFO roles at Black & Decker, Philips Consumer Electronics and most recently, Newell Rubbermaid. Rob began his career with Ernst & Young’s Baltimore office. He and his family spent three years living in the United Kingdom, and he has significant business experience in Europe, Latin America, Australia, the Far East and throughout North America.

Rob is a Certified Public Accountant, as well as a graduate of the University of Maryland. His family resides in Roswell, GA.

John Stiles joined the Astral Brands group on November 26, 2007. Over his 16-year career, John has held numerous positions in the IT field and brings a wealth of knowledge to Astral Brands. His core role is to effectively evaluate and implement the right IT solutions that will benefit Astral Brands and prepare the company for future growth.

John has spent the last three years managing the IT office for the Home & Family segment of Newell Rubbermaid (Calphalon, Goody, Graco and Little Tikes), supporting roughly 1,500 knowledge workers. Prior to his role at Newell Rubbermaid, John was IT Director for Goody Products, where he specialized in IT process mapping. Here, John’s innovative IT solutions shortened the product development lifecycle by 33%, translating into over one million dollars in annual company savings.

John also served as the Director of IT for Kemira Chemicals, Inc., a chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Kennesaw, GA. During his six year tenure at Kemira, John built up an IT staff of 12 employees and was intimately involved in five mergers and acquisitions.

Other former positions include time spent as a Senior Systems Engineer with GE Capital IT Solutions for three years. It was at GE that John was able to gain valuable experience managing large-scale systems integration and software development projects including companies like Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze), IBM and Microsoft.

John holds a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics from the State University of New York. He resides with his wife and their three children in Canton, GA.

Robert Baker has more than 17 years of experience in the cosmetics industry. His knowledge of cosmetics and television retail serve him well in his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Astral Health & Beauty.

For nine years, Robert worked in various capacities for Clinique Services, Inc., an Estee Lauder company. He began in 1987 as Manager of Sales Development, and later worked as Regional Marketing Director of the St. Louis market where he managed a $35 million territory, including national accounts with Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor. In 1991, he became Regional Marketing Director of the Atlanta area, managing a $50 million sales territory of 125 stores.

In 1997, Robert joined the Home Shopping Network (HSN) as a merchandise planner, overseeing a $100 million retail sales plan. His most recent position with HSN was Operating Vice President of Merchandising where he oversaw the global merchandising efforts for the cosmetics department, including a $160 million retail plan for 2001.

In 2001, Robert started Cosmetic Resources Inc., a consulting firm that draws on his financial, marketing and product experience in helping cosmetic companies grow and achieve their goals.

Robert joined the Astral Brands group in the fall of 2002.

Greg Tobias joined Astral Health & Beauty in August 1993 as Vice President of Product Management. He has more than 15 years of experience in the cosmetics and retail industries, and has been involved in managing and directing allocation processes for corporations throughout North America.

Greg has extensive expertise in the field of research and development, with a focus on product formulation and distribution within the consumer packaged goods industry. Along with Aloette Chairman Christie Cohen, he is responsible for all phases of new product development including formulation, design, marketing and competitive analysis.

In addition to his crucial role in product development, Greg manages the Astral Health & Beauty supply chain, overseeing purchasing, inventory control, quality assurance, transportation and distribution.

Steve Cohen joined Astral Foods in 2004 and brings with him 25 years of executive hospitality and restaurant operations experience. Steve began his career in 1979 with Westin Hotels where he served as Food and Beverage Director in Atlanta and Houston.

In 1985, Steve moved to Chicago and joined Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., one of the most prolific and respected restaurant groups in the food service industry. There, he served as Vice President and Managing Partner, developing new concepts and overseeing multiple restaurants, including The Pump Room, The Everest Room, and The Lasalle Club Hotel and Catering Facility.

Steve served as a Corporate Vice President for Ogden Entertainment in New York, building and overseeing $50 million of national franchise business in the Food Service Division. He has also held franchise territory development positions for Kenny Rogers Roasters and Einstein Bagels.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Delaware, as well as a Master of Science from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.

Gus "El Chile Mayor" Chavez is the Quality Assurance and Quality Control Director at Astral Foods. With nearly twenty years of experience in the food industry, Gus helps assure that Chesapeake Bay Gourmet consistently produces the highest quality crab cakes and seafood delicacies on the market.

Gus began his multi-faceted career working with some of the best Mexican chefs in the Los Angeles area, and in 1996, his passion for food and his entrepreneurial spirit led him to open his own restaurant, the Wrap and Roll Grill. Gus went on to become a corporate chef for Big Pink Restaurants, and later served as the executive chef of Wilderness Grill Paradise Down Under, where he fused his Mexican culinary skills with Australian and Continental cuisine.

It was during his tenure with Wilderness Grill that he first appeared as a guest on “Despierta America,” Univision’s highly acclaimed daily morning program. Since 2001, Gus has made over 100 appearances on the show, entertaining and educating viewers about the richness of Mexican culture and its cuisine. Gus’s popularity on “Despierta America” not only earned him the nickname "El Chile Mayor," the Spanish phrase for “The Big Chile,” but it also led to his own radio program, “Cocinado con el Chile” (“Cooking with the Chile) on Miami’s Radio Paraiso 88.3 FM.

Antonio Gracias serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Investment Committee for Valor Equity Partners. His duties include an overall responsibility for the firm's management, operations and investing. These include but are not limited to: human resources; management of the firm's board; raising capital; limited partner communication; deal generation; investment committee management; transaction structuring; and portfolio management and improvement.

Antonio has over 17 years of experience investing in a variety of sectors, including private equity, public equity and real estate transactions. Before founding Valor in 2001, he served as Founder and Managing Member of MG Capital, a private equity firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. As the lead transaction principal, Antonio sourced investments in nine middle market manufacturing companies where MG Capital played the role of lead equity sponsor. He also sourced three non-lead investments in a diverse set of industries. Prior to MG Capital, Antonio was an associate with Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York where he served the firm's institutional clients in the International Equity Division.

Antonio is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Board of Directors of the Grand Victoria Foundation, the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Board of Directors of Columbia University's School of Public and International Affairs. He is also a member of several Valor Equity Partners L.P. portfolio company Boards.

Antonio holds a joint B.S. and M.S.F.S. honors degree in International Finance and Economics from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He also studied corporate structures and economic development at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to completing his Master’s degree, Antonio returned to Japan as a Nikko Securities Fellow. He holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. Antonio is fluent in Spanish, proficient in Portuguese and has a working knowledge of Japanese.

David Ivey advises both publicly traded and closely held businesses on a wide variety of general business matters, focusing primarily on mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, joint ventures and general contractual relationships.

David has served on the Board of Directors, Audit Committees and Compensation Committees of several public and private companies, including NOVA Corporation. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors of Valor Equity Partners, a Chicago-based private equity fund.

David is active in community affairs, having served on the Board of Directors, the Administrative and Finance Committee and as General Counsel of the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta.

Victor Morgenstern serves as Chairman of Valor Equity Partners. He is involved in investment generation and selection, capital raising and portfolio management. He serves on the Board of Directors of Astral Brands, Inc. and Plastag Holdings, LLC.

Victor’s professional background includes 30 years of investment experience. He was one of the founding principals of Harris Associates in 1976, a Chicago-based investment advisory firm with institutional, private client and multi-manager product offerings. There, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 1992–1998 and as Chairman from 1996–2000. He was also President and later Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Harris Associates Investment Trust, the Oakmark Family of Funds. At the time of Victor’s retirement from Oakmark in 2003, Harris Associates managed an excess of $40 billion in equities including over $20 billion in the seven fund series of funds comprising Oakmark.

In 1995, Harris Associates was acquired by NVEST, a NYSE listed investment management firm that managed approximately $120 billion in public and private funds in equity, debt and real estate asset classes through subsidiary management firms. Victor was a director of NVEST from 1996–2000, at which point CDC IXIS Asset Management acquired NVEST. Prior to his entry into the investment business, Victor was admitted to the Maryland and District of Columbia Bars and the CCPA as a patent attorney.

Victor currently serves on the Board of Overseers of the Pritzker School of Bio Medical Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is also Managing Partner of Resolute Partners, a private family investment partnership, and has been an active investor in private start-up companies for over 25 years. His experience includes investments in several private equity funds, including both early stage venture capital and buyout funds. He has made direct equity investments in 18 private equity companies during the past 25 years.

Victor founded the Morgenstern Family Foundation, which is actively involved in Chicago area charitable activities. He holds a J.D. from American University Law School and a B.S. ChE from Illinois Institute of Technology.