Louise O'Sullivan

Founder, President & CEO

Louise O’Sullivan founded Prime Advantage in 1997, following a 22-year management career in industrial manufacturing. Prime Advantage is a manufacturer's buying consortium. Prior to Prime Advantage, she was president of Groen / A Dover Industries Company, a manufacturer of commercial food service and industrial processing equipment, a position she held for more than 12 years. A former elementary school teacher, she joined Groen in 1975 as a part-time writer in their advertising department. During the next 10 years she rose rapidly through the ranks, serving as Vice-President of Sales, Marketing and Engineering immediately before being appointed President in 1985.

O’Sullivan has a distinguished history as an industry leader. She is past President of NAFEM (the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers) - a national trade association with over 700 corporate Members, and past member of the Illinois Racing Board. Louise is the 2005 winner of NAFEM’s highest honor, the William W. Carpenter Award, Louise currently serves on the boards of Taylor Capital Holdings, the parent company of Cole Taylor Bank, and The Entrepreneurial Advisory Board for the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. She was Vice President of the University of Chicago’s Executive Program Alumni Club, and a recipient of the “Pacesetter of the Year” award for Women in Marketing.

O’Sullivan and her career are referenced in General Managers in Action, 1992, by Harvard Professor Frank Aquilar. She is also noted in Managing Corporate Ethics, published in 1994 by Oxford University Press, and in Lessons in Leadership by Charles Bernstein, 1993. In 1987, Harvard Business School published a case study on O’Sullivan and her management challenges at Groen. The study is currently in use at U.S. universities.

She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago; an MA from Northeastern Illinois University; and a BA from the College of St. Teresa in Winona, MN.

Terry Rice

Vice President, Finance and CFO

Terry Rice was promoted to V.P. Finance in August 2002. He joined Prime Advantage in January 2000 as Treasurer/Controller and has been instrumental in setting up systems and procedures for the company's financial operations.

Terry brings over 20 years of financial management experience in industrial manufacturing, construction and engineering, retailing and service industries to Prime Advantage. His manufacturing background includes 13 years of experience in foodservice equipment manufacturing.

He graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BS in Finance/Accountancy.

Dan Grant

Vice President, Sales

Daniel Grant joined Prime Advantage in March 2000 as Regional Account Manager, and was promoted to Vice President, Sales in 2006. Since coming on-board, Dan has played a large part in the ongoing recruitment of high quality Members and Suppliers to Prime Advantage. In his current VP Sales role, Dan is responsible for managing the sales efforts of the Regional Account Managers (RAMs) as well as crafting and implementing sales strategies that benefit the Members and Endorsed Suppliers in the group. Prior to joining Prime Advantage, Dan worked as Sales Manager for a boutique consulting firm servicing trade associations and computer user-groups. His manufacturing background includes two years as Assistant Marketing Manager for Groen / A Dover Industries Company.

Dan graduated with a BS in Consumer & Family Science from Purdue University and holds an MBA from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Dan is married with 3 children and lives in Vernon Hills, IL.

Sheila O'Sullivan

Chief Strategy Officer

Sheila O'Sullivan joined Prime Advantage in 2001 as Director of Business Development, and was promoted to Vice President in 2006 and Chief Strategy Officer in 2012. As CSO, Sheila's responsibilities include developing Prime Advantage's strategic direction with our team and articulating it to clients, with an emphasis on connecting each team member's work, value-added activities and results to our long-term and short term mission and vision. Sheila also manages Supplier Development, Supplier Marketing and Member & Supplier Services. Prior to joining Prime Advantage, Sheila was an Associate in High Yield Syndications and Trading at Lehman Brothers and at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Sheila received her undergraduate degree in Government and Economics from Georgetown University and her MBA in Finance from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. She is an active member of the Georgetown Alumni Admissions Program, the Young Adult Forum, 85 Broads and the Old Town School of Folk Music. If you stop by the Hidden Shamrock on Halsted Wednesdays or Common Ground on Avenue A on Sundays, you might catch her performing her favorite covers and a few originals.

Mike McDonald

Vice President, New Business Development

Mike joined Prime Advantage in 2000 as a Regional Account Manager and has held several roles within the company, including Regional Sales Manager and Director of Member Recruiting. In his current role as Vice President of New Business Development, Mike has overseen tremendous growth in the Membership, diversified the company into new markets, and formed strategic partnerships that have expanded market share as well as services Prime Advantage offers its Members. Mike's responsibilities include overseeing the entire new business development process, new service partnerships, and the strategic marketing direction of Prime Advantage. Prior to joining Prime Advantage, Mike was a Regional Sales Manager for Welded Tube Company of America. He also spent 4 years in sales and management positions with the financial services division of Bank One.

Mike was recognized by Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine in 2013 as a Pro to Know within the industry, which is a designation for top performers who have made significant impacts within their companies and the supply chain industry.

Mike received his BBA in Marketing and Business from Grand Valley State University and his MBA from the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.

Derrick Peavy

Director, Supplier Development

Derrick Peavy started with Prime Advantage in the Supplier Development department in 2000. His responsibilities as Supplier Development Director include recruiting suppliers, maintaining and strengthening supplier relationships, and negotiating contracts. Prior to Prime Advantage, Derrick served as the Manager of Chapter Relations with the Turnaround Management Association and as the Director of State and Affiliate Relations with the National Roofing Contractors Association.

Derrick also has an extensive background in politics and state government. He worked for five years for Illinois Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan as a member of the Issues Development Staff and also for the Democratic Party of Illinois. He also has run numerous political campaigns which included overseeing state representative and local campaigns directing and providing support to campaign managers in designated regions of the state.

Derrick has a BA in Communications Studies from the University of Iowa.

John Kirkwood

Vice President, Technology

John Kirkwood joined Prime Advantage in October 1999 as a member of the technical staff. He was promoted to Manager of Technology in 2004 and VP of Technology in 2010. John is responsible for overseeing all technology initiatives, requirements gathering for new projects and design and development of internal and external web applications. Prior to joining Prime Advantage John was a research scientist at Northrop Grumman Corporation where he specialized in image analysis, communications systems and neural network technologies. John received his BS in Engineering in 1981 and his MS in Electrical Engineering in 1983 from UCLA.