Who we are

Seth Schwartz is a master business planner and financial planner with approximately 24 years of business planning and financial planning experience. Seth has business planning experience with approximately 400 industries and financial planning experience with approximately 300 industries.

Seth has been a Managing Director of Capital West Advisors since 2006. Prior to Capital West Advisors, Seth was an Account Manager at Perry Johnson, Inc., where he sold ISO 9000 & other quality assurance certification consulting. Prior to Perry Johnson, Seth was a General Partner of JumpStart Business Solutions, a business planning and consulting firm specializing in start-up, early stage, and growth stage companies, which included developing the start-up business plan for Think Products. Prior to JumpStart Business Solutions, Seth was Director of Business Development at Abraham Publishing Group, a leading provider of strategic business and marketing consulting that served a broad range of companies from start-up companies to Fortune 500 companies. Prior to Abraham Publishing Group, he was an Associate at the Kriegsman Group, a firm that assisted start-up and growth-stage companies to procure investment capital.

Seth earned a Bachelors of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1997.

Reginald Nugent is a master financial planner and has approximately 27 years of financial planning experience.

Reginald has been a Managing Director of Capital West Advisors from 2018 to 2022 and 2006 to 2011. Reginald has developed hundreds of business plans and financial models for Capital West Advisors' clients. From 2012 to 2016, Reginald was Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Industry, Investment, & Commerce of Jamaica and led teams on strategic initiatives on commercial and business policies related to the Ministry's Portfolio. Prior to 2006, Reginald served in several executive management positions including Co-Founder & Chief Financial Officer, for Isadra, Inc., a Silicon Valley software company that was successfully acquired in 1999 for US $50 Million. Also, Reginald was a Co-Founder & CFO for Transcel, Limited, a successful Jamaican-based mobile technology company. For 7 years, Reginald was a Financial/Transportation Planner at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the San Francisco Bay. Prior to this, he was for 3 years, collectively, a Financial Management & Budget Analyst for the California cities of Oakland and Berkeley.

Reginald was a PhD candidate at Stanford University in applied economics field and holds a Master Degree in Economics from the London School of Economics (U.K.) and from the University of the West Indies. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics (Upper Second Class Honors) from the University of West Indies.

Joe McColgan is a seasoned executive with a strong focus on change management and corporate improvement. His major area of activity has been in restructuring companies to release their potential and thereby optimize stakeholder value. He has over 35 years of experience across diverse business sectors, including manufacturing & supply chain, information technology, medical device, financial services, software, Internet, engineering services, and real estate.

Joe has acted as a consultant and interim CEO for organizations from a wide array of industries, which has included generational transitions, bankruptcy proceedings, general crisis situations, and shareholder suits. Joe has held management positions at several large companies including Garden State Paper, Technical Tape, Sun Chemical, Fabricated Systems, and UPACO Adhesives.

Joe holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Master's Degree in Engineering from Yale University.

Arnold Hartman is an expert business planner and has worked for Capital West Advisors since late 2017. Arnold has developed over 100 business plans and is experienced with approximately 75 industries including medical device, biotech, food, beverage, e-commerce, real estate, alternative energy, coffee shop, primary care, home care, med spa, clinical lab testing, psychiatric hospital, spine surgery, restaurant, nightclub, bar, music production, film production, television production, motion picture equipment rental, hotel, alternative energy, freight trucking, elevator installation & service, and intermodal freight transportation. Prior to Capital West Advisors, Arnold was a General Agent for American Income Life where he sold life insurance. Prior to American Income Life, Arnold held various positions in the hospitality industry.

Arnold earned his Bachelor's of Business Administration Degree from DeSales University and is in the process of obtaining his Master's of Business Administration from DeSales University.

Kevin Tien is an expert business planner and has been an Associate at Capital West Advisors since August 2021. Kevin has developed business planning experience for numerous industries including health care, retail, restaurant, day care, mental health & substance abuse, consumer products, food & beverage, internet, construction, transportation, bar & nightclub, and film. Prior to working at Capital West Advisors, Kevin was a Customer Support Specialist at Tactical TeleSolutions, where he learned how to properly identify customer needs, aggregate project information, research dilemmas, and provide solutions to ensure client satisfaction. Prior to working at Tactical TeleSolutions, Kevin held various positions in the food service industry.

Kevin earned his Bachelor's of Business Administration Degree with a concentration in marketing from North Carolina State University at Raleigh.

Bertha is an expert business planner and has been an Associate at Capital West Advisors since late 2018. Bertha's business planning industry experience includes hotel, primary care, sports bar, pet care services, film, nursey & garden store, auto dealership, auto mechanic, real estate, restaurant, social media, vitamin & supplements, apparel, IT consulting, e-commerce, e-learning, freight trucking, and software publishing. Prior to Capital West Advisors, Bertha was a Mass Tort Paralegal at Wilshire Law Firm, where she acquired medical records, analyzed medical records, and created documentation of claims. Prior to that, Bertha was a Legal Intake Specialist at Kurtzman-Carson Consultants, where she handled client inquiries, prepared documentation for mass tort law firms, and gathered research. Prior to that, she was a Member Services Specialist at Thrive Market, a start-up subscription food service, where she handled purchase orders, performed sales by up-selling merchandise, and provided custom service.

Bertha earned her Bachelor's of Business Administration Degree from Cal State University, Los Angeles.