ACG South Florida 17th Annual Healthcare M&A Panel Discussion

Ari is a seasoned management consultant with 20 years of experience in resource management, specializing in banking, M&A, and private equity. His work with both emerging and established companies has earned him a reputation as a trusted advisor for entrepreneurs and organizations seeking to grow their businesses and develop internal resources. Ari’s notable roles include serving as a National Director of Business Development for CBIZ/MHM, a top ten CPA firm, and as Vice President of Ajilon Legal, an Adecco company, where he led solution-driven projects in law, finance, accounting, compliance, and risk management. He currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) South Florida.

Ibrahim "Brahim" Barakat is a corporate attorney in Holland & Knight's Miami office. Mr. Barakat represents public and private corporations, private equity funds, strategic investors and founders in connection with a wide range of transactional and corporate matters.

Mr. Barakat has extensive experience advising on domestic and international transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, exits and financings, as well as general corporate and commercial advisory matters. He has handled transactions across a myriad of industries, with particular strengths in the healthcare space and private equity, and across geographies, including in Latin America and Canada.

Mr. Barakat has deep knowledge of healthcare transactions, having led numerous deals across a variety of specialties and industries, including in ophthalmology, dermatology, cardiology, behavioral health, orthodontics, dental care, orthopedics, radiology and physician staffing, as well as home healthcare, urgent care, pharmacy, ambulatory surgery centers, revenue cycle management and clinical research organizations.

In addition, Mr. Barakat has a significant background in leading founders through the sale of their businesses, demonstrating a keen ability to manage intricate transactions across diverse industries, including healthcare, manufacturing and specialty chemicals. He provides comprehensive support throughout every stage of the transaction process, from initial valuation to closing, aiming to maximize value and ensure a smooth transition that aligns with the client's long-term goals.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Barakat was a partner at a global law firm in its Miami office.

As a Director within the Transaction Advisory Services practice at Elliott Davis, Tyler leads the Healthcare team. He has over ten years of experience as a trusted advisor for private equity and corporate clients, CFOs, CEOs, investment bankers, and founders in various capacities, with the vast majority of focus on healthcare and business services.

Tyler has an extensive background performing financial due diligence (Quality of Earnings) across a wide range of healthcare organizations with enterprise values ranging from $5 Million to over $5 Billion. Areas of expertise include executing Quality of Revenue analyses, quantifying Accounts Receivable, adjusting physician and owner compensation models, analyzing / negotiating Net Working Capital, Indebtedness, and reviewing purchase agreements.

Areas of specific experience include HME / DME, Behavioral Health, Orthopedics & Physical Therapy, Cardiology, Optometry & Ophthalmology, Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Allergy & ENT, Dermatology, Primary Care, Urgent Care, Home Health, Dental and Orthodontics, Fertility and Women’s Health, Specialty Pharmacies, Infusion Services, amongst other healthcare specialties.

In April 2002, Mr. Schillinger co-founded EDCare, which was an Emergency Medicine physician practice management company, and served as its Chief Executive Officer. As a result of a recap with BPOC in 2008, EDCare merged with Sterling Healthcare, to create Hospital Physician Partners (“HPP”).  Mr. Schillinger led the growth of HPP, into one of the largest privately held physician practice management companies in the country which was subsequently sold to Schumacher Group, an Onex Corporation portfolio company.  One year later he co-founded DermCare Management, Inc. in September 2016. Today DermCare manages over 70 clinics and is one of the fastest growing Dermatology platform companies in the country.

Prior to his work with HPP, and starting in 1994, Mr. Schillinger served as President and CFO of ECS Holdings (“ECS”), another leading physician practice management group. Mr. Schillinger served on the Board of Directors for almost 10 years of Dental One Partners, a 150+ practice Dental Service Corporation backed by MSD Capital. Mr. Schillinger graduated from the State University of New York with a degree in Economics and Business and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Cross Keys Capital is a middle market investment bank that has a nationally recognized healthcare practice focused on providing M&A advisory services to independent physician groups. The firm has extensive experience having represented sellers in almost every specialty, including: Oncology, Cardiology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Plastic Surgery, ENT/Allergy, Primary Care, Women's Health, Fertility, Rheumatology, Urology, Anesthesia, Pain Management, Dermatology, and Dental.

Anand Patel is the founder and CEO of Infuse One, a rapidly growing network of ambulatory infusion centers in Florida, launched in 2023. Under his leadership, Infuse One has expanded to seven clinics, specializing in medication delivery for patients with critical diseases.

With extensive experience across multiple industries—including automotive, retail, healthcare, and education—Anand has a proven track record of building successful companies from the ground up. He studied business in North London and brings a strategic, entrepreneurial approach to advancing healthcare solutions.

Mark is a Vice President with Lorient Capital in our Miami office. Prior to joining Lorient, Mark was a Vice President with Pine Tree Equity where he focused on healthcare services investments. Previously, he was an investment professional with Insight Equity. He also worked as an Investment Banker with the Royal Bank of Canada. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Finance from the University of Florida.