Bruce Lancaster is Chief Financial Officer for Gilbert & Pardue Transaction Advisors (GaP). He brings over 27 years of senior executive experience to the firm including leading turnarounds in challenging environments as well as M&A initiatives on both the buy and sell sides for public and private companies. With his proven ability as a change architect in diverse industries, Bruce offers GaP clients real-world perspective and practical ideas to shape their businesses, achieve desired objectives, and increase value.

Prior to GaP, Mr. Lancaster served as CFO at Dynacon, Inc, a private manufacturer of subsea launch and recovery equipment. Within one year, he positioned the company for transition to new ownership with Forum Energy Technologies, a public company. This transition resulted in a cash sale at double previous offers, and his efforts enabled the owners to realize a 33% savings in capital gains tax. Bruce stayed on with the new ownership for 5 years in order to facilitate transitions in accounting and operational processes.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Lancaster served as CEO and Director at OI Analytical, a manufacturer of scientific instruments. At the time of his arrival, OI was a NASDAQ-listed company in crisis undergoing a disruptive stock option investigation, while experiencing high levels of employee turnover, quality problems, and customer loss. Bruce and the new management team executed a rapid turnaround resulting in substantially increased profitability, a 75% reduction in employee turnover, and improved quality. This quality improvement reduced warranty cost by 70%.  Bruce subsequently led a Board-directed initiative to present OI to high-potential purchasers, which led to the ultimate sale of the company for a 55% premium to shareholders.

Bruce also led similar turnarounds and restructuring efforts by serving as: EVP of Boss Holdings, a $50M+ diversified public company with operations primarily in various consumer products; EVP of Acme Boot Company, a $100M private manufacturer of footwear; and CFO of Kinark Corporation, at the time an AMEX-listed $50M company involved in galvanizing, chemical storage, and packaging. Bruce began his career at Fortune 100 companies, including Gulf Oil and US Steel where he gained valuable insight through internal audit exposure to control environments in the broad-ranging operations of major conglomerates.

With a constant focus on value, Mr. Lancaster is driven to help business owners enhance business operations whether in pursuing a successful exit strategy or achieving enhanced lasting profits.

Bruce is a proud Aggie having earned both his BBA and MBA from Texas A&M University. He is also a CPA licensed to practice in Texas. Outside his role at GaP, he has a long history of community activity serving on the Board of various charitable organizations as well as in leadership roles in his church.

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