Nick Howland

About Nick Howland

My career has been buying, running, growing, and exiting $50m to $500m private equity portfolio companies in the defense, law enforcement, aerospace, offshore, and marine industries.However, in early 2020, I became the first CEO of The Fire Watch, Florida’s fight to end veteran suicide. This is a national challenge, as 20 veterans die by suicide across the U.S. each day. Veteran suicides have dropped 25% in Northeast Florida since The Fire Watch’s 2019 launch, far outpacing the rest of the State (5%).In 2022, I was elected to Jacksonville City Council, now serving a 4-year term. At the same time, I am still Managing Director of Great Bridge Capital Advisors advising Wing Group and its subsidiary Patten Company on various growth initiatives. Before Wing, I completed an interim assignment as Board Director and President at August Equity-owned 3Si Group, a global manufacturer of inflatable liferafts and lifejackets. 3Si successfully exited in late 2018.Before Great Bridge, I was Vice President and Managing Director of Warburg Pincus-backed Survitec Group, where my Americas team increased Sales by 15% and EBITDA by 30% compounded annually over a 3-year period through product introductions, program wins, footprint optimization and tuck-in acquisitions. These improvements generated $80m in exit value.Earlier in my career I worked in M&A and General Management for Raytheon and Armor Holdings, and served as a U.S. naval officer aboard USS CHANDLER and SBU-22.

Experience

1. Strategic Advisor

   Wing Group

   Jan 2020 — Present · Jacksonville, FL, US

   Consultant to marine and defense company, the Wing Group. Wing, backed by Armada Partners, is the global leader in inflatable solutions for defense and aerospace applications. Group businesses include Wing Inflatables, Patten Company, Mustang Survival and Henshaw Inflatables. Products include boats, life rafts, flotation and other marine safety products for recreational, commercial and military customers worldwide.

Education

• The Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School

  Certificate in Negotiation and Leadership, Autumn 2017

• The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

  MBA, Finance, International Business

  2001 — 2003

• Duke University

  BA, History, Economics

  1991 — 1995

Skills

• New Business Development
• Proposal Writing
• Project Management
• Management
• Six Sigma
• Defense
• Project Planning
• Military
• Mergers
• Competitive Analysis
• Start-Ups
• Program Management
• Systems Engineering
• Government
• Product Management
• Aerospace
• Product Development
• Analysis
• Business Development
• Corporate Development
• Leadership
• Executive Management
• Operations Management
• Government Contracting
• Process Improvement
• Dod
• Business Process Improvement
• Earned Value Management
• Strategic Partnerships
• Strategy
• Manufacturing
• Security
• Change Management
• Engineering Management
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Business Strategy
• Strategic Planning
• Performance Improvement
• P&L Management
• Integration