Our Company
The Tangram Philosophy
A popular Chinese puzzle consisting of a square cut into seven shapes: five triangles, a square and a rhomboid, that can be used to create an infinite number of figures. The Chinese called this centuries old game the “Seven-Board of Cunning” because only an exceptionally determined player would attempt its amazing and challenging puzzles. Tangram is a traditional wisdom that can train your mind to be both creative and logical at the same time.
Tangram is a philosophy of creativity, flexibility, wisdom, and most importantly, working with the resources that are available. Tangram Partners applies this philosophy to their business practices resulting in solutions that create incremental value for their clients.
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Creativity: solving complex business challenges.
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Flexibility: adapting strategies & solutions to fit each client’s specific needs and circumstances.
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Wisdom: providing clients with valuable insights & recommendations.
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Resources: finding the most effective solutions using the resources that the client has at their disposal.
Jerry Cifor is an executive with over 30 years of strategic, operating and financial management experience. Mr. Cifor has worked as a regional controller, general manager, region vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at several private and public waste companies (including Waste Management and Casella Waste Systems, where he was the senior vice president and CFO) before founding and starting Tangram Partners in January 2002. Tangram Partners has completed numerous projects throughout New York, New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Southeast, the Midwest and California over the last 20+ years.
The work and the projects have consisted primarily of working closely with privately-held businesses as their primary advisor and work partner, and on restructuring troubled companies, representing lenders in work-out situations with borrowers, performing due diligence on acquisitions for clients, and on raising and arranging equity, mezzanine and senior debt capital for clients. Jerry has been directly involved with over 500 acquisitions and sales of companies over his career, with transactions as high as $600 million. Jerry started his career in public accounting with KPMG after graduating from Hillsdale College. Jerry’s combination of financial, accounting, management, regulatory, and operations experience are a terrific combination for any entrepreneurial, growth-oriented or struggling company.
Michael A. Cifor
Michael Cifor joined Tangram Partners in September, 2020 as an Associate. Michael has over five years of operational and financial management experience. From 2015 to 2020, Michael managed two divisions, the bottled water and office coffee service (OCS) divisions, of Prestige Services, a $100 million per year company headquartered in Clifton Park, New York. In his role at Prestige, Michael had managerial duties that included logistics, supplier relations, sales, accounts receivable, driver supervision, and P&L responsibilities.
In his time at Prestige, Michael oversaw the acquisition and integration of two separate companies, leading to a 150% increase in the size of his divisions. Michael has a Bachelors of Arts (B.A) in Political Science from the University of Chicago as well as holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) with a concentration in Finance from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany. Michael is an accredited member (AM), with a designation in business valuation, of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA). Michael also holds an active Class A CDL license in New York State.