Angie Smith joined Polarity in 2018 as Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, Angie oversees the accounting, business support, financial planning and analysis, internal audit and treasury functions. Angie contributes to areas including portfolio and subsidiariy company oversight as well as deal execution.

Angie has over 25 years’ experience in accounting, building and leading accounting teams with significant operating scale and complexity. She began her career specializing in cost accounting with Maple Leaf Bakery, Nestle and The Cheesecake Factory. She expanded her expertise in Internal Audit and Financial Planning & Analysis with Monsanto. Over the past 10 years she has served as CFO with Nicene Brands, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and several other companies through her own business, All-In Accounting Solutions.

Angie graduated from Washington State University (Go Cougs!) with a B.A. in Finance and received her M.B.A in Finance from Pepperdine University. She went on to obtain her CPA certification and become a Certified Internal Auditor.

Terry Patton joined Polarity in 2018 as Human Resource Manager. She is responsible for all Human Resources for Polarity and its entities. Ms. Patton brings a depth of experience as a human resource leader dedicated to diversity and inclusion, strategic planning, organizational development and change management.

Prior to joining Polarity, Terry served as a member of the executive team with Family Resource Center and navigated several mergers and acquisitions. While there she led the organization through the impact of the Ferguson unrest on business and service models. Previously, she worked at Grace Hill Settlement House, Provident, Inc. and Drake Beam Morin, Inc.

Terry earned an MBA in marketing from Lindenwood University and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. In addition, she is a Certified Coach Practitioner. Ms. Patton is passionate about giving back and serves on several boards in the areas of education and community services. A native of St. Louis, Terry has two children and a grandchild.

Rick Johnson joined Polarity in 2019 as a Vice President on the portfolio operations team. Rick’s focus is in publishing operations and in M&A implementations.

He brings more than 25 years of experience in business unit leadership and publishing operations with extensive work in portfolio management and turnarounds in the book, curriculum and periodical markets. Rick’s prior roles include president and publisher of Bayard and VP, marketing and sales at Concordia, as well as roles in product management and strategic partnerships.

Rick earned an M.B.A. from Saint Louis University and is a graduate of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri—Columbia.

Chip Schafer joined Polarity in 2018 as a Vice President on the portfolio operations team with a focus on business services. He is the President of Lion Forge Labs, a portfolio company/subsidiary.

Chip is a marketing and brand strategy executive with over 25 years’ experience designing successful business and consumer programs for Fortune 1000 companies and Midwestern agencies. Chip guides Labs’ strategic business direction, leads client services and creative operations, grows new business opportunity and partners with clients in building effective solutions for their business or message objectives.

Prior to joining Lion Forge Labs, Chip held several VP-level positions with Maritz Motivation Solutions, an industry-leading provider of employee engagement, performance improvement, consumer loyalty, and channel incentive programs for Fortune 500 companies. He was SVP and COO of Brighton Agency, a full-service B2B and B2C marketing, brand strategy and advertising firm. Earlier in his career Chip led marketing and product development divisions for engineering firm Ross & Baruzzini and for capital equipment manufacturers Marsh Company and Hussmann Corporation.

Chip is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and earned a master’s degree in marketing from Webster University.

R.J. Inawat joined Polarity in 2018 as Counsel. R.J. works in support of Shonagh Clements to build and execute on legal activities, contract negotiation, intellectual property and business contracts, across the Polarity portfolio.

R.J. has expertise spanning many facets of the entertainment industry. In his independent legal practice, R.J. focuses on entertainment law, soft intellectual property (copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets), contract law and business/entity formation. R.J. has held legal roles at multiple firms including The Bradford Group, Music Dealers, Entertainment Law Office, Parikh Law Group, as well as in multiple Clerkships.

R.J. is a DePaul University alumnus, having earned his Bachelor of Music in Performing Arts Management with minors in Management and Business Administration in 2005 as well as his Juris Doctor in 2013, and he continues to perform throughout the Chicagoland area as a freelance classical pianist.

Marie Witte joined Polarity in 2019 as Legal Operations Manager. Marie is responsible for optimizing legal processes and increasing efficiencies across Polarity’s portfolio of companies to ensure successful business outcomes. Her work is fundamental to the effectiveness of the legal team and the execution of strategic business initiatives. Collaborating with cross-functional teams, including finance, HR, and various business units, Marie manages a broad range of projects.

Prior to her work with Polarity, Marie was Contract Manager at The Lion Forge, LLC, one of Polarity’s portfolio companies. She has over 6 years of experience in legal operations including legal support roles at Enterprise Bank & Trust, the Simon Law Firm, PC, and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.

Marie has a B.S. from University of Centarl Missouri. Marie is attending the Washington University in St. Louis M.B.A. program with a focus on strategy and operations, class of 2020.

Mike Grib joined Polarity in April 2018. As the Business Unit Controller, he oversees accounting operations and financial analysis for Polarity and all of its subsidiary entities as well as plans, implements and oversees the company’s accounting strategies.

Mike brings a diverse background in cost, financial, and intercompany accounting. Prior to coming to Polarity, he was employed with Avadel Pharmaceuticals, Monsanto Company and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Mike graduated with a B.A. in Finance from the University of Missouri.

Deanna Godat joined Polarity in 2018 and serves as the Executive Assistant to David Steward II and Edward Hamati.

Before joining Polarity, Deanna worked as an assistant at KBS Capital Markets Group, where she supported a team of Regional Vice Presidents.

Deanna attended Indiana University and University of Missouri, receiving her B.S in Elementary Education. A native of St. Louis, Deanna enjoys spending time with her four children, St. Louis Cardinals baseball games, country concerts and being outdoors.