Prior to joining Thrift Books, Seth Beal was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice consists of complex commercial litigation frequently dealing with commercial contract disputes, employment matters, unfair competition claims including antitrust, unfair business practices, business torts, and intellectual property litigation. Prior to joining Kirkland & Ellis, Seth graduated summa cum laude from J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.

A voracious reader, Seth will read just about anything he can put his hands on. In particular, he enjoys biographies by Edmund Morris and David McCullough; non-fiction by Jared Diamond, Peter Hopkirk, and Robert Massie; contemporary fiction by Margaret Atwood, John Irving and Richard Russo; as well as science fiction by Frank Herbert, Neil Stephenson, and Vernor Vinge.

Prior to joining Thrift Books, Hector Rivas worked in the sales industry. He managed marketing and sales efforts for several Fortune 500 companies including Centex, Terminix, and Orkin. Every year under Hector’s leadership, his sales offices consistently finished #1 in the United States. He has experience with several start-up companies, including Bulwark Exterminating and Official Pest Prevention. Hector’s work with Thrift Books has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Puget Sound Business Journal, and most recently in the book, “We are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business.” He was selected as "Entrepreneur of the Day" by the National Business Journal. Hector graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Marketing.

Hector’s literary interests vary widely but he particularly enjoys reading history, biographies, and any story about human triumph. Some of Hector’s favorite books include 1776, To Kill a Mockingbird, Barbarians at the Gate, Angela’s Ashes, The Education of Little Tree, and A Painted House.

Prior to joining Thrift Books, Mike Ward led the Development team at Wasatch Advisors, a financial advisor with assets under management of $10 billion. He has also worked as Webmaster for several Silicon Valley and Fortune 500 companies. Mike has also been instrumental in getting several high tech start-up companies off the ground and has brought both IT leadership and vision to help these small companies achieve quick and sustained growth.

Mike is also a non-stop reader. The books on his nightstand this week include: Liar’s Poker, The Hobbit, Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star, The Life of Pi, Kiln People, and Artemis Fowl. He is also reading out loud to his daughters from The Little House in the Big Woods.

Prior to joining Thrift Books, Robert Cerbana was the Controller of eSurg, a division of Henry Schein, Inc.. As its Controller, he was responsible for all financial and accounting aspects of eSurg including financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, tax compliance and financial analysis. Robert has also held a variety of finance positions at Esurg Corporation, Rival Networks, Inc., Visio Corporation, now a division of Microsoft Corporation, and Washington Mutual Bank. He received his degree and graduated with honors from the Albers School of Business at Seattle University.

Robert reads many genres of books but especially enjoys mysteries, thrillers and any book about overcoming great odds. Some of Robert’s favorite books include The Power of One, Kite Runner,Executive Orders, The Lion’s Game and Touching the Void. and His favorite authors include Tom Clancy,Nelson DeMille, Lee Child,David Baldacci,  Harlan Coben and Dan Brown.

Prior to joining Thrift Books, Debbie worked in Human Resources in both the retail and restaurant industries. Her background involves all areas of the HR field with strong emphasis in employee relations, team and individual development and legal compliance. Debbie holds her PHR status as well as earned her certification in Human Resources Management from the University of Washington. Debbie enjoys reading books that speak of inspiration and overcoming challenges and especially enjoyed Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch & Jeffrey Zaslow.