Mr. Sonsteby joined as an advisor DLA in 2023. He is a highly accomplished financial and retail operations executive with a distinguished career spanning senior leadership roles at major public companies. He brings a deep and diverse skillset to the table, including corporate finance, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and international franchise expansion.

As the former Vice Chairman of The Michaels Companies, Inc., he served from June 2016 until his retirement in October 2017. Prior to this, he was Michaels’ Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer from 2010 to 2016. Before his tenure at Michaels, he served as the CFO of Brinker International Inc. from 2001 to 2010, after having held various positions through the company’s high-growth period since 1990.

In addition to his executive roles, Mr. Sonsteby has significant advisory and board experience. He has served as a director for Valvoline since 2016, a director for Darden Restaurants since 2014 (and as its Chairman and Lead Director from 2016 to 2020), and an operating advisor for Orangewood Partners.  Mr. Sonsteby holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Kentucky.