M&A Market Trends: A Tale of Three Cities (Louisville, Cincinnati, Nashville)

Brad serves as the Managing Partner of MCM, working with the Leadership Team to further develop and grow the firm across its regional footprint. Prior to this role, Brad led both the MCM Assurance Services Team as well as the Public Company Services Team. Brad focuses on middle market growth-oriented companies focused in a wide range of commercial-related entities and industries, including manufacturing, distribution, services, construction, and retail. Prior to joining the firm, Brad was a partner with Ernst & Young, where he led the Entrepreneurial Services Group in Kentucky, working with a variety of publicly traded and privately-held entities principally focused in the areas of accounting and auditing.

Barry Peterson co-founded Northcreek Mezzanine with Rodger Davis in 2008. Before Northcreek, he co-founded Private Capital Solutions with Davis. Peterson worked for Davis at Provident Bank for seven years, where he was responsible for credit administration and portfolio management of the $4.6 billion commercial banking portfolio, sales and product development, and special projects. Peterson served on Provident’s Risk Management, Portfolio Management, and Executive Loan Committees. He was also responsible for starting and building Provident Business Credit, a national asset-based lending business with $650 million in loans.

Prior to his association with Provident, he was responsible for sales and marketing of American Louver Company, a $20 million annual revenue manufacturer of component products used in commercial lighting fixtures based in Skokie, Illinois. Peterson also spent ten years with Continental Bank in Chicago and Los Angeles, and was responsible for building the Bank’s West Coast presence for its Business Credit Group and for helping start and build its Technology Finance Business. Peterson has B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, with studies at the London School of Business.

Lamar is vice president of jGen Cap America (GCA), a lower middle market private equity firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Since 1988, GCA has made over 40 platform investments across seven committed private equity funds. GCA targets private businesses or divisions of larger corporations in basic industries typically with revenue between $10 million and $200 million and EBIT of $2 million to $15 million, a history of strong cash flow, and strong management team.

Previously, Mr. Stanley was with Diversified Trust Company, a Nashville-based wealth management firm where Mr. Stanley worked in their private-equity strategy group. Prior to Diversified Trust Company, Mr. Stanley served as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Navy. He holds a B.A. degree from The University of the South, in Sewanee, TN and an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago.

Managing Director of Baird Business Owner Solutions since 2019, John has 20-plus years of experience in M&A and Corporate Finance, specializing in middle-market sized, closely held private companies. Prior to joining Baird, he worked at Hilliard Lyons in investment banking and with Southern Capital Corporation, a Richmond-based private equity firm. Previously, he worked in the mergers and acquisitions group of Morgan Stanley investment banking and with the FIG-insurance group at CS First Boston. John received an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College and a B.A. from Amherst College.