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DeVry Inc. -
Dennis J. Keller is the Co-Founder and former Chairman and CEO of DeVry Inc., one of the largest publicly held, international, higher educational organizations in North America. DeVry Inc. is the parent organization for DeVry University, Ross University, Apollo College, Western Career College, Chamberlain College of Nursing, Fanor, Becker Professional Education, and Advanced Academics, Inc.
DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management, co-founded by Dennis in Chicago in 1973, is now one of the largest part-time graduate schools in the United States with more than 14,000 students each year benefitting from its practitioner-oriented approach and emphasis on excellence in teaching and service to working adults.
Dennis stepped down as DeVry Inc.’s Chairman in November of 2008 as part of a planned management succession. He was replaced by Harold Shapiro, President Emeritus of Princeton University. |
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TK Capital, LLC Chicago, Lake Geneva |
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Templeton Kenly & Co., Inc. -
Templeton Kenly & Co was founded in 1899 in Broadview, Illinois, and was owned and operated by the Templeton Family for 4 generations before the sale of the company in 2007. At the time of the sale, the company had revenues in excess of $30 million and was debt free. TK Simplex, as the company was known in the industry, manufactured mechanical and hydraulic lifting equipment and actuators for use in a broad range of industrial applications.
The Keller family had a variety of leadership roles over the years with Dennis, who married Connie Templeton in 1966 serving on the board from 1970 to 2002, Connie serving from 1988 to 2007, and Jeff serving from 1999 to 2007.
Over the last thirty years the company tripled the size of its core business through a rigorous focus on new product development for niche markets and by maintaining a strong core business in the mechanical and hydraulic industrial jack market that serves global distributors. Additionally, the company acquired, grew and successfully sold Miller Fluid Power, a related fluid power products business, and acquired and integrated a small related product line for its actuator business called PowRJac.
When Templeton Kenly & Co was sold, the Templeton and Keller families managed that process directly, negotiating and executing a successful transaction with a strategic buyer. |
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Precision Plastics of Indiana, Inc. -
For more than 50 years Precision Plastics has served the industrial, consumer electronics, aerospace/defense and automotive industries with high quality, cost effective thermal plastic components. Precision Plastics’ services include start to finish engineering support, custom injection molding, piece-part finish and assembly work, and an in house tool & die division.
The Keller family acquired a controlling interest in Precision Plastics in 1980 and managed the company for a group of like minded shareholders for nearly 20 years. During that time the company built out a state of the art 75,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Columbia City, Indiana, and achieved its initial ISO 9001:2000 compliance.
In 1999 the Keller family worked with the companies management and employees to structure and execute a successful Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The family has maintained strong ties to Precision’s management team, and David Keller has served on the company’s board of directors since 1999. |