ACG NJ Member Forum June 4, 2024

Wolfgang Tsoutsouris joins MAST Advisors with more than 12 years of financial and operational experience in corporate finance, corporate restructurings and alternative investments.

Prior to joining MAST Advisors, Wolfgang worked at a major accounting firm and boutique corporate finance advisory group on projects including corporate sales, debt financings, corporate restructurings, and strategy assignments focused on growth, performance and profit optimization.

His clients were middle-market companies with up to $300 million in annual revenue. Wolfgang started his career in finance as an Analyst with Blackstone’s Alternative Asset Management division, where he focused on strategies and hedge funds trading in commodities.

In addition to his work in finance, Wolfgang was also Director of Operations for a digital marketing start-up, managing all operational aspects including budgeting, hiring, process improvement, client and vendor management, and acquisitions.

Wolfgang started his career spending 14 years as a professional violinist, performing on many Broadway productions and with numerous orchestras and chamber ensembles in New York City and throughout the Northeast.

Wolfgang is also CEO/Founder at DirtyJerzBBQ (https://dirtyjerzbbq.com/), an award-winning BBQ sauce that is available online and at select regional locations.

For over thirty years Mark S. Taffet has assisted clients and acted as a principal in a variety of corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, corporate sales, joint ventures and private debt and equity placements.

As founder and Chief Executive Officer of MAST Advisors, Inc., Mark and his colleagues offer expert and focused M&A and strategic advisory services to middle-market companies seeking to maximize value and growth. MAST’s unique approach to client service is based on the understanding that there’s a lot of hard work and intelligence to gather before any company can “do a deal.”

Prior to founding MAST Advisors, Inc., Mark worked in investment banking for leading financial institutions including Shearson, Oppenheimer, KPMG and Fieldstone. During that time, he worked with global companies focused on cross border M&A and capital raising, with a strong emphasis on transactions between the US, Europe and Latin America.

Mark was a founder and president of Baymark Capital, an investment bank funded by and built as a strategic partner with KPMG.

Mark’s hands-on experience as an operating executive having served as COO of an institutional food service provider with more than 300 employees.

His work advising chief executives and business leaders led him to become a Vistage Chair in 2012. He currently chairs a group of high performing business leaders from a wide range of industries. Mark is on the Board of d2i, a healthcare software as service informatics and analytics company focused on emergency departments, hospitalists, and urgent care centers. He is also on the Board of Advisors of Alene Candles, a leading contract manufacturer of high-quality candles, and is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of Times Review Media Group.

Mark is a frequent speaker to CEO groups on a variety of topics including Maximizing Business Value, Strategic Acquisitions and Strategic Operating Plans. He is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Fordham University Law School and is a member of the NY State Bar. When Mark is not in the office, you can find him hiking in the mountains, doing yoga or cooking up some amazing meals.

Stefan was a founding partner and President of SPP Hambro, SPP Capital’s predecessor. He manages the global origination of SPP Capital and sits on the Investment Committee of SPP Credit Partners, SPP Capital’s direct lending affiliate. His over 30 years of experience in the private market includes hundreds of transactions in North America, Asia and Europe. Prior to his tenure at SPP, Stefan was a Vice President in the Private Placement Group at Bankers Trust Company where he was responsible for origination, structuring and pricing of private placements for the Capital Markets Group, both nationally and internationally. Prior to his move to investment banking, Stefan had been an attorney with the law firm of White & Case where he drafted and negotiated private placements, public securities, leveraged lease transactions and provided general corporate counsel. Stefan is a cum laude graduate of Cornell Law School where he earned a J.D. degree and served on the Board of Editors on the Cornell International Law Journal; he is a magna cum laude undergraduate from Colgate University where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Shaffer sits on the boards of the Construction Partners, Inc (NASDAQ: ROAD), LIM University, and Cape Air.