Ellen Donnelly
Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer
email: edonnelly@smoothengine.com

Ellen Donnelly, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Smooth Engine, is a senior executive with a 30-year record of career achievements. Her experience includes financial, operational and management roles in diverse industries including financial services, healthcare, media/entertainment, industrial manufacturing, consumer products and retail organizations.

Prior to joining Smooth Engine in 2003, Ms. Donnelly served an independent management consultant providing services to growing businesses, specializing in the areas of financial and organizational restructuring.

Preceding her work as a consultant, Ms. Donnelly served in a number of senior management roles at American Equities Group, Inc. (AEG), a firm that provided asset-based and other financing and support services to growing middle market companies. She joined AEG in 1997 as Controller and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 1998. As CFO, Ms. Donnelly helped to establish and build the company's organizational structure, which included launching the finance, strategic planning, accounting, human resources, and investor services functional areas. She oversaw the staffing and managing of all personnel and operations in these departments, helping to institute and oversee strategy and implementation for each. She briefly left AEG in mid-2000 to found Capital Solutions Group, Inc. where she served as Chief Executive Officer; however, later in 2000, she was recruited by AEG to return to the firm as Chief Executive Officer where she served in this leadership role until 2002.

From 1989 to 1997, Ms. Donnelly was the Chief Financial Officer for healthcare services provider NewBridge Services, Inc., where she was a key leader of the management team assigned to implement the managed care model of service delivery and to establish a program of Total Quality Management for the organization. She previously worked at CBS, Inc. from 1981 to 1989 in financial management and planning positions in several divisions of the Broadcast Group, ultimately serving as a Director in the Broadcast Group. Earlier in her career, she managed marketing services departments for Macy's and for Keyes Fibre Company, a manufacturer of paper and plastic products for the commercial and consumer markets.

Ms. Donnelly has served in leadership positions in numerous community and non-for-profit organizations. She is also a founding member of The Women's Golf Association of New Jersey where she serves as a member of the Executive Council.

Ms. Donnelly earned her B.A. degree from The University of Toledo and her M.B.A. degree from Rutgers University Graduate School of Management.