Who We Are
Group Leadership

Peter Limberger
Co-Founder
Peter Limberger

Inga Carus
Co-Founder
Inga Carus

Hinesh Patel
Hinesh Patel

Matt Scholes
Chief Marketing Officer
Matt Scholes

Cindy Akins
Vice President of Human Resources
Cindy Akins
Cindy is a Human Resources Executive with over 25 years of global and domestic human resources experience. She is a true generalist with deep experience in workforce engagement, compensation and benefits, talent acquisition and development, change management, and employee communications. She loves building talent strategies which help drive business growth.
Cindy most recently worked as an independent HR consultant focused on the small to mid-size business market. Her previous corporate experience includes organizations of all sizes, both public and private, in a variety of industries. She has a Master’s Degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Loyola University in Chicago and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Illinois. In her free time, Cindy enjoys boating, yoga, reading, and spending time with her husband and kids.

Shay Brokemond
VP Corporate Development
Shay Brokemond
Shay has 15+ years of advising C-level executives and boards of directors on M&A and capital raising transactions. Shay is a student of complex financial frameworks. Prior to joining CL Enterprises, she served as Executive in Residence and Executive Board Member for 11.2 Ventures. In her 16 years as Managing Director with global investment bank and financial services company William Blair & Company, LLC, she served in both a transaction advisory role and as a member of William Blair’s Global Inclusion Council, the steering committee responsible for defining the firm’s Inclusion and Diversity strategy, and served as a member of the company’s M&A Leadership Team.
In recognition of her dealmaking prowess, Shay was named to Mergers & Acquisitions’ 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. Shay earned an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Spelman College. She serves on the Board of Directors of The Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park where she chairs the Strategic Planning Committee. Shay’s interest in art runs deeps, particularly artists of the African diaspora.

Barry Whited
Controller
Barry Whited
Barry has a BS in Accounting from Bradley University and an MBA from Lewis University. Barry started his accounting career as a staff accountant at Beck Oil Company. Over the last twenty-eight years, Barry has worked in an accounting role with increasing responsibilities, including the last fifteen years as a controller.
He has worked in various accounting roles in the following industries; bank accounting and commercial lending, corporate accounting, manufacturing controller, retail, service, restaurant, and construction accounting. Barry started with Carus Group in April of 2015 then transferred to CL Enterprises in January of 2017.
Barry has worked for thirty years as an Adjunct Professor at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby, Illinois. He teaches in the fields of Accounting, Business and Economics.

Billy Quesse
Solutions Architect
Billy Quesse
As our resident technologist, Billy, a veteran Software Engineer, brings to the table creative solutions in all areas of our portfolio. Having grown up in the heart of Starved Rock Country, he has a passion for the small-town revival that is part of CL’s general vision. After living out West, he was drawn back home, where he joined the CL team.
He has a B.S. in Computer Science from the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and resides in Spring Valley with his wife Gracelyn and their two dogs – Phoebe and Adaline(Della). In his free time he enjoys stargazing, is an avid maker, and tends to a garden of hot peppers. Each year, he drops off the radar for most of November and emerges with his annual Christmas light show.

Andrew Kowalewicz
Director of Finance
Andrew Kowalewicz
Andrew studied finance and economics, and holds an MBA from DePaul University, Chicago. He worked in Europe, Asia and the US on multiple projects for various companies. For the last 17 years, Andrew has managed finances for a wide array of projects, including banking, EB5 investments, real estate development/construction, private equity, risk management and M&A.
Today, with CL Enterprises, Andrew is directing startups and has successfully launched projects in IT/Robotics, Construction, Retail, Craft Beer & Restaurant, and manufacturing industries.
Andrew structured and completed financing for several multi-million dollar projects, setup and successfully executed business plans, selected and implemented ERP systems, POS systems, and other accounting systems. He has negotiated key relationships with suppliers, contractors, attorneys, bankers, etc. He set up and successfully managed startup budgets, and construction budgets, implemented key financial SOPs, and developed business KPIs. Andrew explored and implemented a key outsourcing mechanism to hire employees thru a third party to minimize company exposure and lower operational costs.
Andrew’s professional interests are: Business Strategy, Finance and Economics, M&A, Risk Mitigation and driving the bottom line through efficiency, without sacrificing quality, and increasing end-consumer value.

Matthew Klein
Marketing Associate
Matthew Klein
Matthew Klein graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bradley University Foster College of Business with a B.S. in Business Management and Leadership and a minor in Marketing. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Administration. While at Bradley, Matthew received first place in multiple innovation competitions, and an official proclamation for his entrepreneurial abilities from Bradley President Stephen Standifird and City of Peoria, IL Mayor Rita Ali.
Matthew joined CL Enterprises (CLE) in 2021. He assists the Chief Marketing Officer with on-going marketing operations and future growth objectives across the CLE corporate brand. He also works with internal teams to create and execute brand building strategies and marketing activities for CLE’s diverse portfolio of companies.
Growing up in the Illinois Valley, a collection of small communities with distinctive characteristics, the art of storytelling and perspectives has always been a fundamental principle to Matthew. His passion and desire to create led him to found his creative video production company at the age of 17.
In 2021, his video work was included and credited in an HBO original documentary produced by Unrealistic Productions, a Mark Wahlberg company. Matthew has created over 500 films for a wide range of public and private entities.
In his spare time, Matthew enjoys photographing nature, flying drones, hiking at National Parks, and spending time with his friends and family. There’s also a good chance of running into him at the local coffee shop.
Business Leaders

Robert Davidson
President, Alexander Chemical
Robert Davidson

Guy Lieser
CEO of Revv Aviation
Guy Lieser

Keith Pearse
CEO, TRBC Brewing & Chicago Beer Company
Keith Pearse

Blake Rohrabaugh
CEO, Tangled Roots Brewing Co.
Blake Rohrabaugh
Blake Rohrabaugh was born and raised on the mean streets of Northbrook, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois in Champaign- Urbana and received a Bachelor’s Degree in History. But more importantly, while in school he was given his first bartending job at a local campus bar, where he quickly picked up and mastered the art of tending bar.
In 2003, Blake joined Bar Louie in Chicago. During his tenure with Bar Louie, he helped grow the company from 11 locations to 150 as General Manager, Director of NSOs, VP of Beverage Innovation, and VP of Operations.
Restaurant and bar operations are his life’s passions, with emphasis on guest satisfaction, amazing food and beverage offerings, and a true dedication to Hospitality.
Blake currently lives in Northbrook, Il with his wife Nicole and three children. When not working, he is a cocktail enthusiast, loves fishing and kayaking, listening to The Grateful Dead and Phish, and is hopeless supporter of both Manchester United and the Chicago Cubs. And he is still a great bartender!

Nathan Watson
President & CEO, CL Real Estate