Gary B. Appel is vice chairman of Castle Harlan. Prior to joining Castle Harlan, Mr. Appel was vice chairman at Glencoe Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm. Before joining Glencoe, he was a senior managing director at Bear Stearns, & Co, Inc. Prior to that, for 17 years, Mr. Appel was with Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, Inc., serving as a managing director and a founding partner of DLJ Merchant Banking. He was a member of DLJ Merchant Banking's Board of Directors and its Investment Committee. Mr. Appel also served on the boards of several DLJ Merchant Banking investments, including CNW Holdings, Essex International, Musicland Stores Corporation, and Nimbus Manufacturing. He serves as a board member of Associated Packaging Technologies, Inc. and Baker & Taylor Acquisitions Corp. He earned a B.A. with honors from Vassar College and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.