Jason Adam Oleet, Managing Director
The Founder and a Managing Director of Oleet & Co., Mr. Oleet has been an investment banker and private equity investor his entire career. At Oleet & Co., Mr. Oleet originates transactions, supports the firm's portfolio companies, and assists corporate and municipal finance advisory clients as they navigate the capital markets. Mr. Oleet has served as a Director of NSA Industries since its acquisition in 2007.
After receiving his A.B. in history from Middlebury College, Mr. Oleet moved to New York to join Deutsche Bank's Industrials Group, where his work covered a diverse range of sophisticated transactions. In 2002, Mr. Oleet returned to Vermont and began work as an advisor to the private equity arm of a Colorado-based family office, a role that he held until he co-founded Worth Mountain Capital Partners, a predecessor firm to Oleet & Co.
Before moving to Burlington in late 2009, Mr. Oleet spent eight years living in Lincoln, Vermont. While a resident of Lincoln, Mr. Oleet served the Town for four years as a delegate to the Addison County Regional Planning Commission, where he was a member of the Commission's Natural Resources Committee during the first revision of the Green Mountain National Forest Plan since the late 1980s. Mr. Oleet has been an active supporter of the Vermont Land Trust, and was appointed in 2007 to the Governor's Commission on the Future of State Parks.
Mr. Oleet spent ten years as an interior structural firefighter, first with the Middlebury Fire Department and then with the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Company. Mr. Oleet remains a trustee of the Battell Hose Company.
From 2006 through 2009, Mr. Oleet served on the Board of the Middlebury College Alumni Association.
When not at his office in Burlington, Mr. Oleet can often be found in the Green Mountain National Forest, snowshoeing in the woods of Lincoln or fly fishing in the headwaters of the New Haven River.
Charles P. Smith, Managing Director & COO
Charlie Smith was the Regional President and Senior Commercial Lender for Key Bank N.A. prior to joining the cabinet of Vermont Governor Jim Douglas in 2003. Mr. Smith has served as a Senior Advisor to Oleet & Co., and is now Chief Operating Officer with primary responsibility for day to day operations, ensuring that firm resources are allocated appropriately and that focus is maintained on the firm’s strategic objectives.
In the Douglas Administration, Mr. Smith served first as Secretary of Human Services, the largest and most complicated agency in state government. He was subsequently appointed to be Secretary of Administration which, functionally, is the Chief Operating Officer role for the state.
Prior to his service in state government, Mr. Smith spent six years as Vermont District President and Senior Commercial lender for KeyBank, a position he assumed after serving as Vice President of KeyBank and its predecessors beginning in 1988. From 1984 – 1987, Mr. Smith was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Transphase Systems, Inc. in California, and from 1981 – 1983, he was the Staff Director for Vermont’s Congressman James Jeffords. In 1980 he was Assistant to the Chair of the Vermont Public Service Board. While in college, Mr. Smith served two terms in the Vermont Legislature representing Burlington, from 1975 – 1978. He graduated from Harvard College in 1978.
Charlie Smith is married to Amy V. Mellencamp, Principal of Burlington High School. They have two adult children, Emily and Chas, and live in Burlington, Vermont.
Hudson Holland III, Managing Director & CFO
Tucker Holland has over twelve years of senior management responsibility overseeing finance and business strategy as a partner in a privately-held wintersports company. At Oleet & Co., Mr. Holland manages the firm’s finance, regulatory compliance, and risk management functions. Mr. Holland is also actively involved in transaction origination and serves on Oleet & Co.’s credit committee.
From 1997-2010, Mr. Holland was Executive Vice President of Trak Sports USA, Inc., a $20 million ski and snowboard company with operations in Burlington, VT, and Cowansville, QC. In functioning as chief financial officer for Trak, Mr. Holland set annual operating and capital budgets, managed seasonal cash flows, directed foreign exchange hedging, negotiated all contracts, and headed strategic planning. Additionally, Mr. Holland led a Series A round of investment in Trak by a best-in-class private-equity firm and secured working capital lines for the company.
Before joining Trak, Mr. Holland was one of twelve executives selected to develop the business model for an entrepreneurial division of the fifth largest electric utility company in the US, where he was tasked with capitalizing on the deregulated marketplace.
Mr. Holland has served on the Shelburne (VT) Planning Commission since 2004, serving as Chairman from 2007-2009. In addition, Mr. Holland currently serves on the Deerfield Academy Alumni Executive Committee.
Mr. Holland graduated from the College of William & Mary in 1989, and attended the University of Michigan where he earned his MBA in 1996. Tucker lives in South Burlington with his wife, Michelle, and their children, Eli, Edward, and Bea.
Brennen L. McConnell (马映宏), Director, China Operations
As the Director of China Operations for Oleet & Co., Mr. McConnell is responsible for managing all aspects of the firm’s affairs in the Peoples Republic of China. Based in Oleet & Co.’s Shanghai office, Mr. McConnell’s principal focus is facilitating the commitment of capital by Chinese investors to cross-border transactions.
Mr. McConnell has spent three years living and working in Beijing and Shanghai. Prior to joining Oleet & Co., Mr. McConnell was a management consultant with Streetsmart International, a boutique firm based in Shanghai. At Streetsmart Mr. McConnell worked with a range of corporate clients, helping them to develop strategies for accessing the Chinese market. Mr. McConnell’s introduction to finance came from Brown Brothers Harriman, where he spent a summer with the firm’s Financial Institutions Group.
Mr. McConnell received a B.A. in Economics and International Studies from Denison University in Ohio. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Mr. McConnell studied at both Beijing Foreign Studies University and Shanghai International Studies University.
When not at the office or traveling through China, Brennen can be found playing basketball in Shanghai or enjoying the outdoors.
Mr. McConnell resides in Shanghai.
Alexander Lévesque Kent (柯国安), Vice President, China Operations
As Vice President of China Operations for Oleet & Co., Mr. Kent is responsible for managing relationships with Chinese investors and counterparties. Based in Oleet & Co.’s Shanghai office, Mr. Kent’s principal focus is working with Oleet & Co.’s US team to manage the firm’s investor relations program in China.
Mr. Kent has a diverse range of previous experience, having: interned with the Associated Press team covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics; worked as assistant to Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York; and spent six months as part of a strategic planning team at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the New York-based foreign policy think tank.
In addition, after completing studies at Zhejiang University of Technology in Hangzhou, PRC, Mr. Kent worked for Emerging Asia, a business intelligence firm in Shanghai. While at Emerging Asia, Mr. Kent’s responsibilities included due diligence, market entry analysis, industry research, and supply chain investigation.
Mr. Kent co-founded and remains on the advisory board of Heal the Rift, an educational, student-run non-profit. Heal the Rift was organized by two western students and two Muslim students to address the increasing polarization between the West and the Islamic world. He is also a partner in TRI Federation LLC, a US and China-based sports venture.
Mr. Kent is bilingual in English and French, and fluent in Mandarin Chinese. He received his A.B. in International Studies from Middlebury College, where he completed independent research on Chinese investment in Africa.
Mr. Kent resides in Shanghai.