Meritus Team

Scott has 37+ years experience in the industrial gas industry. He spent his entire career at Praxair and Praxair Distribution Inc. Scott held various senior executive operating roles at Praxair in the following areas: Healthcare (President), Global Helium/Rare Gases, Energy Services, Electronics & Specialty Gases, Merchant/On-site. He was president of Praxair Distribution, Inc. when he left in 2016.

Rob has 25+ years of experience in the industrial gas industry. He was the owner/president of Welco Gases in Newark, NJ making him a 3rd generation independent distributor. Rob merged with GTS to form GTS-Welco and later did a JV with Praxair Distribution, Inc. He moved into a VP Corporate Development role with Praxair Distribution Inc. where he oversaw sourcing, acquisition, integration of >100 distributors.

Mike has 20+ years experience in the industrial gas industry. He held multiple senior management positions at Praxair/Linde following a 16-year career at DuPont. His impressive resume includes financial, operating (P&L), and sales roles.

Dave has 40+ years experience in the industrial gas industry. He held senior and executive roles at Praxair and Praxair Distribution Inc., NuCO2, Air Products and Union Gas. While he was the Director of Business Development, Praxair Distribution Inc. and NuCO2, Dave was responsible for sourcing 60+ acquisitions.

Allen has 30+ years professional experience including 25+ years in the industrial gas industry. Before joining Meritus, Allen held senior roles at Linde/Praxair including merchant sales, onsite sales, pricing and product management, packaged gases marketing and ecommerce.

Ashley started Gas Innovations as a partner in 2002 with the goal to create a wholesale company to supply the industrial gas industry with hydrocarbons and related products, packages and services. Gas Innovations celebrated 20 years of exciting growth in 2022. They are widely regarded as the leading supplier of hydrocarbon gases in the US.

Jason co-founded Gas Innovations with Ashley Madray in 2002. The company is a leading supplier of hydrocarbon gases in the US.

Bill worked for a major compressed gas company for over a decade. He owned and operated a compressed gas distributorship in Alabama for 13 years. Bill served as GAWDA President 2015-2016. He partnered with Meritus to leverage his expertise globally rather than regionally, diversifying his portfolio while benefiting from Meritus’ growth.

Dick has 38+ years experience in the packaged gas business in Canada and the US including significant experience in operations, business performance management, sales process, acquisitions. Some of his roles included VP Packaged Gases for Praxair Canada as well as VP Operations and later President of Praxair Distribution Inc.

Alan joined AEA in 1989 as a Partner and currently co-heads the AEA Small Business Funds and is a Partner of the AEA Middle Market Funds. Alan serves on the boards of CIMSense, Dayton Parts, LoneStar, Meritus Gas Partners, Omega, Pexco, SBP, SGLT, Sparrows, Spectrum Plastics Group, Unisyn Precision Components and Veseris. He has also served on the boards of former AEA portfolio companies Aramsco, Balboa Instruments, Behavioral Interventions, Flow Control Group, Implus Corporation, In the Swim, Kranson, NCS, Phillips Pet Food and Supplies, PLZ Aeroscience, PPC, Shoes for Crews, SRS Roofing Supply, and Troxell Communications.

As a Partner from 1989 to 1999, Alan concentrated his investment activities in Industrial and Consumer / Retail companies, overseeing many of AEA’s successful investments during that period. Alan left AEA in 1999 and joined Peter Solomon Company, a boutique advisory firm, and then returned to the private equity business in 2002 with Saratoga Partners. He rejoined AEA in early 2004 and helped establish the AEA Small Business Funds.

Prior to joining AEA, from 1984 to 1989, Alan was with Lehman Brothers, first in the mergers and acquisitions department and then with the principal investment group. Previously, Alan worked at Citicorp and Pricewaterhouse and became a Chartered Accountant in England in 1980.

Dan joined AEA in 2008 as a member of the Small Business Fund team and was promoted to Partner in 2020. Dan currently serves on the board of 50 Floor, Meritus Gas Partners, Omega and SBP. He also served on the board of former AEA portfolio companies Colony Hardware, Galco and NCS.

Prior to joining AEA, Dan was a strategy consultant with L.E.K. Consulting.

Blake is a Vice President on AEA’s Small Business Private Equity team. In his role, he focuses on investment opportunities in the industrials, consumer and services sectors. Blake serves on the boards of Meritus Gas Partners, Chemtron RiverBend, Rees Scientific, and 50 Floor.

Prior to joining AEA, Blake worked as an investment banking analyst at Lincoln International.