Founder, Icon, Designer and Painter, Troy Lee will retain a major stake and a design role as new CEO Dave Bertram steps in.

Spanos Barber Jesse & Co., a private investment firm, has made an (undisclosed investment) in Troy Lee Designs. (We estimate the investment range to be 10million to 20Million).

Dave Bertram was named new CEO.

Dave Bertram was the founding chairman and CEO of Cycle Gear, a motorcle and ATV accessories retail chain. They were known for opening up 2000 square foot stores near large OEM motorcycle stores and selling their own line of lower priced motorcycle gear. Cycle Gear has since merged with Revzilla. Cycle Gear grew from a local retailer with three locations to a national chain with 112 stores in 34 states. Bertram also had a 10-year career as a professional motorcycle racer, during which he won two National Titles, five International Gold Medals and 10 state championships.

Troy Lee Designs manufacturers and designs helmets, protective equipment and apparel for the motocross industry and mountain biking. The company also sponsors professional supercross and motocross teams as well as mountain bike riders.

"It is a privilege to partner with Troy and to be entrusted with helping him realize his vision for growing the company… Troy is a design legend and has built a truly exceptional brand, having earned the trust and respect of the best racers in the world as well as racing enthusiasts for over 30 years. We look forward to working with Troy to protect and build on that legacy." Says, Tom Barber, the managing director at SBJ.

Lee says, "Over the years I've thought a lot about how to build my business and am absolutely stoked about the partnership with SBJ and Dave.

“SBJ provides us with the financial support and strategic expertise that we need to take TLD to the next level,” said Lee. “And Dave brings a wealth of operating experience to help us tighten up our execution, which will help us serve our suppliers and customers even better and enable us to develop more of the awesome products we are known for.”

Spanos Barber Jesse & Co. manages a private investment fund with over $200 million of committed capital. The firm invests in lower middle-market consumer, business services and healthcare services companies. Notable previous investments include Peet's Coffee & Tea, Wired magazine and the Design Within Reach retail chain.

With Dave Bertram’s leadership, the industry will hold its breath to see if they continue to respect the moto channel or if they’ll take a more direct to consumer approach; bypassing traditional dealers and sales reps. We expect Troy Lee will invest heavily into retail and their own website to capture gross profit margins.