Anthony Hsieh - CEO

He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Grander, Inc. dba Crows Nest Yachts.  Mr. Hsieh, a self-made American success story, brings with him over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur.  He also has held corporate positions, most recently as President of Lendingtree, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Interactive, Corp (Nasdaq-IACI).  Previously, Mr. Hsieh was the founder and CEO of LoansDirect.com, which became E*trade Mortgage (NY4SE ET).  He is also the owner and team captain of Bad Company, the world’s most successful competitive big-game fishing crew.  Mr. Hsieh, 42, resides in Newport Coast, California.

John Lee - CFO

Currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Grander, Inc.  Mr. Lee previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Home Loan Center/LendingTree Loans from September 2002 through May 2007.  Mr. Lee brings nearly 15 years of financial and deal-execution experience, having worked as the West Coast head of CIBC World Markets’ investment banking group, covering financial services.  And prior to joining CIBC, Mr. Lee was Vice President of Mergers and Acquisition at Countrywide Home Loans.  Mr. Lee was employed by Countrywide Home Loans from 1995 through 1998.

Rod Halperin - Director of Buisness Development

Rod Halperin has been boating fishing Southern California waters his entire life.  In 1994 he turned his passion into a business reality when he entered the fishing tackle Industry as a sales representative in Southern California.  2 years later Halperin joined the Western Outdoor News [WON] team.  In 1998 Halperin became a Tournament Director for many of the WON saltwater events and the companies fly fishing event in the Sierra.  Halperin ended his career at WON as a sales leader for Southern California working with such prominent customers as West Marine, Sport Chalet, Turners Outdoorsman, Avet Reels, Accurate Reels, P Line and many others. 

Jason Jepson - Director of Public Relations

Jason Jepson brings more than 12 years of public relations expertise to Crow's Nest Yachts.  A combination of corporate communications experience, coupled with 10 years of media relations, provide Jason with a rich perspective that serves him well in the corporate environment.  As director of public relations, and acting as a senior-level consultant, Jason continues to plan and find new ways to position Crow's Nest with the media and key audiences.

Jeff Hall - Marketing Manager

An avid passion for advertising characterizes Jeff Hall's presence at Crow's Nest Yachts as Marketing Manager. New to Crow's Nest Yachts following the 2007 acquisition, Jeff is eagerly working with Crow's Nest to push the limits of market leadership. With six years in both agency and corporate environments with companies such as LendingTree Loans, OTX, and HomeLoanCenter.com, he brings experience in various types and levels of marketing.  Most importantly, Jeff is looking forward to some groundbreaking accomplishments along with the rest of the team to bring the most to Crow's Nest and its customers.

Jeff Helsing - Tiara Product Manager

Jeff Helsing has been in the yacht retail business for 31 years. The last 19 years he has been selling Tiara Yachts in Southern California. He joined The Crow's Nest Yacht & Ship Brokerage in 1995 as the Tiara Sales Manager. Jeff has received many awards from Tiara Yachts for his sales achievements. For 7 years he has been the top salesman in the world for Tiara. His love for Tiara Yachts and his commitment to his customers gives him the edge that is needed in today's competitive market. In July of 2004 Jeff was promoted to New Sales Manager of the Newport Beach location along with the company's product sales manager for Tiara Yachts. These new positions give him the edge that is needed for this fast growing market.

Scott Lampe - Viking Product Manager

Viking Product Manager - Scott has been messing about in boats his entire life.  He has been fortunate to build a career around his passion for yachting and has been a licensed Broker with the State of California since 1981.  He has served in various sales and management positions with The Crow's Nest since 1984.  As a senior broker, he brings a lifetime of knowledge and expertise to his clients, assisting in the purchase, management, construction, marketing and sale of some of the finest power vessels ever built. His desire to meet unique client needs and personalized approach to service has garnered him many loyal repeat clients over the years.  Scott is known for making the boating experience a positive one far beyond the sale.  His contacts are worldwide allowing his client’s access into some of the top marinas, premiere boat slips, the finest Captains, crews and special privileges beyond compare.

Ray Hsieh - Parker Product Manager

Barry Brightenburg – General Manager, Mission Bay / Contender and Sunstream Product Manager

General Manager, Mission Bay - With  33 years of experience in the fishing and boating industry, Barry Brightenburg is widely recognized for his wealth of knowledge of inshore and offshore fishing from the Channel Islands to the Baja Peninsula .  His passion for the ocean began at the age of 10, when he spent one full year of his early life sailing from San Diego to Venezuela .  On this trip, he gained fishing and navigational experience that developed into a raw instinct for him.  After high school, Barry landed his first job as a fishing guide in the Sea of Cortez.  After graduating from SDSU, Barry worked in Cabo San Lucas running a charter boat and refurbishing yachts.  In 1993, Barry acquired Fish Trap Lures, a tackle manufacturing company.  Since the acquisition, he has been a highly sought after seminar speaker for his expertise of inshore and offshore fishing.   He has been featured in numerous fishing and boating publications as well as popular fishing television shows. Barry has also been very instrumental in field testing and product development for major tackle companies and boat manufacturers.  In 2007, Barry became the team captain of the Contender West team, fishing marlin tournaments up and down the coast, placing 4th in their first team event.   In 2008 he continues his ventures with the Contender West team, as well as joining Sundance Marine as the general manager.

Dennis Riehl - Paragon Product Manager/ Brokerage Manager Newport Beach

Brokerage Manager Newport Beach - Dennis began his career in yacht sales in 1968 right after graduating from San Diego State College.  He worked for many years for two of the world's largest international brokerage firms in their California offices.  Dennis' extensive background in yachting includes over 60,000 miles at sea in both sail and power.  Dennis lived aboard his 42' S&S designed sailboat in Maui Hawaii from 1977 to 1979 and his main interest is in helping people buy boats in the 50'to 125' category.  He has been a member of the Lahaina Yacht Club since 1977.  His philosophy for over 40 years is to take care of the client first and foremost.

Michael Gardella - Brokerage Manager San Diego

Brokerage Manager San Diego - Michael, a native of San Diego, started in the boating industry as a fisherman on the commercial tuna seiners. Having joined The Crow's Nest-San Diego since its opening in 1977, Michael recently celebrated his 30th anniversary with the company. Owning both small and large powerboats himself, Michael has years of hands-on experience and expertise. He has been the coordinator on many custom built yachts, from 100’ to 150’ projects including the 147’ Christiansen, “PRIMADONNA”. He is a 30 year member of The San Diego Marlin Club & a Founding Member of The Billfish Foundation. Michael insists upon his San Diego Sales Team Members “There is only one way to conduct a business transaction & that is the right way”. Michael resides in La Jolla, California

Dan Wood - Brokerage Manager Seattle

Steve Lassley - Chief Captain and General Manager of Team Bad Company

He currently is the Chief Captain and General Manager of the Bad Company team.  Over 20 years of competitive fishing have yielded Steve the all-time record holder of $8 million dollars in tournament wins.  Steve's highly respected and legendary reputation create much value and endorsement for Crow’s Nest.  Product innovation and development will also be Steve's capacity.

Pete Groesbeck — Bad Company Captain and Bad Company Edition Quality Control.

Born and raised in San Diego, Captain Peter Groesbeck discovered his craving for anything “ocean” at age 12 while working on local sport boats and at the San Diego Marlin Club. Afterward, there was no turning back. As a licensed captain for the past 30 years, “Pete” has built a distinguished resume in the West Coast sport fishing industry. Though the fishing grounds of Southern California are home, his pursuit of exceptional sport fishing has led him to such spectacular destinations as Alaska, Hawaii, Tahiti, Australia, Costa Rica and Panama. In 1984, he was instrumental with the design and construction of an innovative project in Tacoma. Upon completion, the West Coast was introduced to “Ocean Pacific,” a 93’ mother ship carrying a 33’ sport fisher on her back throughout the Pacific for the next several years.
Now a member of TEAM BAD COMPANY, Captain Groesbeck is gearing up for the most exciting adventures yet. The team’s proven track record as billfish tournament contenders is unsurpassed and has changed the course of big game fishing forever.

Armando Roldan – Grander Financial VP

Armando currently serves as Vice President of Grander Financial, Inc for Marine and Recreational Finance. Mr. Roldan previously served as Director of Purchase Lending at LendingTree Loans from November of 2005 to December of 2007 where he assumed the responsibility of building a first class sales team and driving consistent sales training to increase overall sales production. Prior to LendingTree Loans Mr. Roldan served as Senior Sales Manager for Tricor Mortgage, LoansDirect.com, E*Trade Mortgage & HomeLoanCenter.com Mr. Roldan has over 12 year of experience in the sales and financial services sectors. Mr. Roldan is a leader in creating, building and simplifying sales teams and processes that are customer service driven with a winning attitude.