Team
Russell Cree
MANAGING PARTNER
Russell is fortunate to combine his passion for outdoor recreation and business in daily work. As an entrepreneur himself, Russell has previously launched businesses at the intersection of fitness and technology and taken them from launch to successful exit. Recognizing a gap in the market for M&A advisors solely focused on outdoor and active lifestyle industries in small and lower mid-markets, and a disconnect between entrepreneurs and traditional advisors that have not been through the process themselves. He founded Bell Lap Advisors to bridge this gap and support business owners with a thoughtful M&A process to secure top outcomes for their venture, with the best price, terms, and legacy. Russell completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Arizona University, and earned his MBA through Portland State University. When he is not working, Russell can be found pedaling singletrack in Central Oregon, on an adventure in his conversion van, or at a cafe in the Bend, OR (probably with his laptop).
Thomas Hausmann
EUROPEAN NETWORK PARTNER
With an engineering background and a broad international track record in strategic business development and M&A, Thomas is as passionate about his work as he is about outdoor sports. Merging his love for business strategies with adventure makes him a powerhouse who absolutely loves what he does. The personal relationship he builds with clients, seeing them strive through the success of joint projects, and connecting them to helpful contacts in the field, while sharing his love for cycling and other sports, make him an unstoppable tour de force. The diversity of crafting valuable micro-steps one moment, then switching to long term global strategies the next, is as exciting to him as racing down a mountain with lightning speed, accurately handling rocky bumps along the way. Thomas holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Technical University Dresden, Germany, as well as in Production Engineering from his studies at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH Stockholm, Sweden. He is based in the "cycling capital of the world" Amsterdam and can be either found kitesurfing on the Dutch west coast or on a mountain bike trip in one of his favorite spots Lenzerheide in Switzerland or Morzine in France, when not working in his office in downtown Amsterdam.
Keith Levesque
PRINCIPAL
Keith brings a wide range of financial services to the team. Admittedly, Keith "loves numbers more than anything" which propelled him to a successful 15-year career on Wall Street with investment firms that included Hedge Funds and Family Offices. As an Analyst and Portfolio Manager he was charged with identifying and analyzing public and private companies for investment consideration. He has experience in corporate restructurings (in and out of bankruptcy), mergers, takeovers, special situation investing, and optimization of capital structures. Keith earned a degree from the University of Florida in Business Administration and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He has also held Series 7, 24 and 27 FINRA / Securities Licenses. Keith is passionate about the outdoors and recreation whether it involves the road, trail, or snow. Keith lives in Bend, OR where those can sometimes be done all in one day and finished with a local craft brew.
Partners
The Bell Lap Advisors "Brain Trust"
As a boutique professional services business, we strive to remain small, agile, and focused. With deep roots at the intersection of the athletic and outdoor industries, management consulting, and investment banking, we are able to scale-up for larger projects and add specialists to our team as needed to best suit our clients needs. This nimble approach allows our group to remain cost-effective for small to lower mid-market businesses, while still offering a comprehensive service at the highest integrity. We have close partnerships with businesses for legal, banking, accounting, digital, creative, design, executive recruiting, and more that we have worked with in the past and share our values. Additionally, we have a team of best-in-class free agents to call upon to join our team when needed.