February 2020 Corporate Executive Breakfast (See Attendance Requirements): M&A Update–How Much Time is Left in the Seller Market?

Ben joined Grey Mountain Partners in 2004 and is a Managing Director based in Minnesota. He has been involved in all functions across the firm and currently leads the deal origination efforts. Current board positions include Dimex (OH-based category leading producer of branded plastic products) and Mann Lake (MN-based supplier of beekeeping products). Recent past board positions include Sunbelt Transformer, Binswanger Glass and Herr Voss Stamco. Prior to joining Grey Mountain, Ben started his career with Goldman Sachs in 1999 in the M&A group in New York and later moved to the Consumer group and coverage teams in Chicago. Ben graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Indiana University with a B.A. in Economics and a LAMP Honors Certificate and holds a Master’s degree with Merit from The London School of Economics & Political Science. Ben lives in Edina, MN with his wife and two children.

Gino is a corporate finance attorney who specializes in middle market M&A/Private Equity transactions. Gino has acted as lead partner or primary transaction attorney on middle market or lower middle market transactions with aggregate transaction value in excess of $10 billion. He makes it a point to understand his client's top priorities in these transactions and, as a strategic partner, provides legal guidance grounded in business realities. Gino has advised clients and completed transactions in a variety of industries, with significant experience with consumer products, software and technology, healthcare, cable and telecommunications, financial services and manufacturing operation.

Chris Picardi began his career at KeyBank in 2011 and currently serves as a Senior Vice President in the Colorado Commercial banking group where he focuses on M&A transactions. Prior to KeyBank, Chris was an Institutional Sales Associate for D.A. Davidson’s Equity Capital Markets Division. Chris graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance and Real Estate and earned a Masters of Business Administration degree with a focus on Finance from the University of Colorado. Chris is a Board Member and serves on the Executive Committee of the Young Americans Center for Financial Education, a non-profit whose mission is to teach young people about finances, economics and business, enabling them to become financially literate and ensure long-term stability for themselves and their families. Chris also enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children.

Tony leads BKD Capital Advisors, LLC (formerly BKD Corporate Finance, LLC), a wholly owned subsidiary of BKD, LLP, that provides services to help companies and stockholders create value and meet their corporate finance objectives.  He joined BKD in 2007 and is responsible for managing corporate finance engagements, including mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, company divestitures and strategic option analysis.  Tony has more than 30 years of experience providing mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, transaction and financial advisory services.  He has managed investment and commercial banking transactions totaling more than $5 billion in transaction value across a wide variety of industries, including technology, telecommunications, media, consulting, manufacturing and distribution, retail, restaurant, health care and insurance.