Dave became involved in the steel industry while working as an investment banker. Early in his career on Wall Street, Dave helped a newly formed start-up company, Steel Dynamics, structure and raise the debt and equity capital it needed to build a greenfield flat-rolled steel mini mill. Dave is extremely proud of the fact that many of the original participants in the Steel Dynamics transaction have continued to support his steel industry projects for almost thirty years.

Building on Dave’s successes as an investment banker, GPP was formed to provide capital raising and hands-on management services to metals industry participants in North America and Asia. Based on the firm’s early success in working with both mini mill and integrated steel producers, GPP expanded its business to include direct investments. A good example of this is one of GPP’s recent mini mill projects, Big River Steel. On the Big River Steel project, GPP teamed with a small group of industry professionals to form, develop, and manage the company. GPP served as a 20% investor and owner while also structuring and raising the remaining portion of the $1.6 billion necessary to build and operate the facility. Dave served as chief executive officer of Big River Steel. Currently, Dave serves as chief executive officer of Hybar following a $700 million debt and equity capital raise in which GPP became a 25% investor and owner.

During his career, Dave has also led and structured a number of transactions involving scrap metal recycling companies and scrap substitute facilities.

Dave focuses on using advanced technology and data analytics as tools to increase product quality, improve labor efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and generally support his drive to manage steel making facilities based on profitability per time on the mill rather than the more traditional tons per year mentality. On his two most recent greenfield mini mill projects, SeverCorr, now SDI Columbus, and Big River Steel, Dave led the effort to bring a high level of automation into the operations. Dave is doing the same thing on the Hybar mini-mill project, which is currently under construction.

Dave is laser focused on environmental sustainability, and he drove Big River Steel’s efforts to become the first LEED certified steel producer in the world. While leading Big River Steel, Big River Steel received Daimler Mercedes-Benz Group’s Sustainability Supplier of the Year award covering all materials purchased by Mercedes anywhere in the world. Big River Steel was also the first steel producer in the world to issue long-term “Green” bonds. Dave's sustainability focus has continued at Hybar with Hybar being the first steel producer in the world to issue “Climate” bonds. (Green bonds and Climate bonds are third-party designations applied to bonds issued by industry sustainability leaders.)

Dave holds an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. in accounting from Bowling Green State University.

Ari helped establish GPP in 2003 following several years of work in investment banking. While at GPP, Ari has leveraged his experience in assisting clients in designing every layer of the capital structure. This accelerated GPP’s push to become the project finance leader in the metals industry, with a particular focus on greenfield projects. Projects of note include the founding, financing and building of SeverCorr, now SDI Columbus; the mill modernization of Severstal North America, now Cleveland Cliffs; the launch of Mississippi Silicon; and the founding, financing, building, and expansion of Big River Steel. These transactions and others benefitted from Ari’s work in structuring taxable and tax-exempt bond financings, export credit agency-supported bank loans, institutional term loans, working capital facilities, new market tax credit transactions, EB-5 loans, tax credit monetizations, government incentives, mezzanine debt and equity.

Ari began his career as an investment banker for Gleacher & Company focusing on structuring merger and acquisition and high-yield transactions for his clients. Following his move to KeyBanc Capital Markets to join its investment banking steel industry practice, Ari led one of the most high-profile debt restructuring and steel industry mergers in Southeast Asia, Millennium Steel Public Company Ltd., today Tata Steel (Thailand) Public Company Ltd.

Given his leadership in project development and capital structuring, Ari is oftentimes called upon to serve in senior financial executive roles on the projects in which GPP invests. After helping lead the initial $1.6 billion debt and equity financing efforts for Big River Steel, Ari assumed the role of chief financial officer. In addition to leading Big River Steel’s financial reporting and stakeholder communications, Ari was responsible for the company’s capital structuring decisions and led more than $2 billion of refinancing and expansion financing transactions. He also helped lead the structuring and execution of Big River Steel’s sale to U. S. Steel in which Big River’s original investors realized outsized returns.

Ari is currently serving as Hybar’s chief financial officer after having led Hybar’s $700 million debt and equity capital raise. In this role, Ari is overseeing the development and construction of three greenfield projects: Hybar’s scrap metal recycling steel rebar mill; an adjacent solar and battery storage facility; and a Mississippi River port facility to support the rebar mill.

Ari holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

Julie joined GPP in 2003 and has supported the organization in numerous roles, including preparing transaction documents, comprehensive information memorandums, management presentations and financial schedules. She assists with site selection and capital raising for greenfield industrial projects and has extensive contact with GPP's clients, attorneys, consultants, and debt and equity providers who support GPP-led transactions. She also serves as GPP's controller, working with corporate accounting firms that provide tax compliance for the organization’s managed investment partnerships.

Upon the completion of a project’s original financing, Julie assists GPP’s clients with the organization necessary to launch the venture. These efforts include prospective staff evaluation and hiring, systems creation and process development.

In 2014, following the $1.6 billion debt and equity transaction closing of Big River Steel, Julie became the company’s project coordinator working on day-to-day operations alongside the management team, including assisting in the refinancing and expansion financing transactions. Julie also assisted in the structuring and execution of Big River Steel’s two-part sale to U. S. Steel where she coordinated and executed the due diligence process alongside company management and legal counsel to complete the transaction.

Prior to joining GPP, Julie worked at KeyBanc Capital Markets in the investment banking steel practice, where she was instrumental to multiple complex investment banking and restructuring transactions, including capital-raising transactions, debt restructurings and M&A transactions in North America and Asia.

Currently, Julie serves as project manager for GPP’s greenfield venture, Hybar, following a $700 million debt and equity capital raise. In this role, Julie’s involvement extends to various areas of company formation including accounting, human resources, marketing, and operations.

Ahab has a long history of providing industrial companies with capital raising, merger & acquisition, crisis management and restructuring services. Throughout his twenty-five-year career with Global Principal Partners, Mr. Garas helped many Global Principal Partner clients in North America and Southeast Asia grow and expand their businesses by identifying and helping implement strategic initiatives, including strategic capital funding plans.

Mr. Garas has served in various executive and director roles for private and public companies within the steel and recycling industries, including serving as co-chief executive officer of a flat-rolled steel producer with an annual capacity of over three million tons. The knowledge gained while serving in his various executive and director roles allows Mr. Garas to provide valuable input to Global Principal Partners when designing executive management and operational organizational structures.

Mr. Garas holds M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from Case Western Reserve University, and a B.A. degree from Boston University.

Rebecca Li has supported GPP's efforts since GPP’s formation, over twenty-five years ago. During this period, Rebecca has provided advice to GPP on various matters, including matters involving GPP’s engagements in Asia. Rebecca has also supported GPP by fostering relationships with investors, suppliers, and customers throughout the world.

Alongside her GPP advisory role, Rebecca focuses her attention on several health and wellness businesses she owns. Rebecca and her businesses are frequently featured in wellness and fashion publications. Rebecca also works to promote the advancement of women in China, especially in the fields of art and education. This is now her passion. 

Early in her career, Rebecca was involved with coaching and supporting the U. S. national and Olympic women's gymnastics teams, while working at the USA Gymnastics National Team Training Center. This work followed Rebecca's own gymnastics career in China.

Rebecca has a master's degree from the University of Oklahoma and several professional designations in the health and wellness fields.