EATON SQUARE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal Los Angeles, USA
Aaron Meyerson is a Principal at Eaton Square. An experienced media executive turned investment banker. Meyerson has always been at the intersection of media, technology and finance.
His career spans senior executive roles at Disney, Fox, NBCU and ViacomCBS, including President of Programming at CBS TV. As a banker, these positions give Meyerson a unique perspective as he has first-hand knowledge of the rapidly evolving ecosystem of the media industry, and the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the players. His deep industry contacts with strategic investors, as well as media financial investors, is an advantage for any Eaton Square client looking to sell their business or raise growth capital.
Meyerson has a BA in economics from Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford. He resides in Beverly Hills, California with his wife Elizabeth Dinkel, an industry leading interior designer, and their two children.
Job Titles:
- Principal at Eaton Square Japan
- Principal Tokyo, Japan
Akira Kondo is a Principal at Eaton Square Japan. He established ADCO in February 2009 and became its President and Representative Director.
He has extensive experience in acquiring and executing M&A and various equity finance deals for major domestic and international companies.
While working at Mitsubishi Bank's San Francisco and San Jose branches, he was in charge of companies in Silicon Valley.
After that, he worked at the Singapore branch, London branch, and the head office.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Business Executive
- Managing Principal Toronto, Canada
Andrew Light is a Principal at Eaton Square. He brings over 25 years of expertise having both professional firm and client-side industry experience. Andrew was formerly Vice President of consulting & deals for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), as well as having held senior client-side roles with enterprises such as IBM, British Telecom, Shell, and Sapient.
Andrew works with senior client leaders across all industry sectors, and brings significant subject matter expertise in telecoms, digital technologies & media, mobile communications, government services, and retail.
As a seasoned business executive Andrew assists clients with their Mergers and Acquisitions, and accessing capital for corporate growth. Andrew's record of outstanding success includes helping clients over a variety of sectors in implement winning strategies of internal and external change.
Andrew's clients over the years have included Aviva, Cineplex, Research in Motion, First Niagara (financial services), Canada Post, Shell, Sunrise (Switzerland), Astrazeneca, Cable & Wireless, M-Web (South Africa), National Film Board (of Canada), Pfizer, Nortel, Columbia Basin Trust (BC, Canada), Ontario Government, and Alberta Tax & Revenue Authority.
Andrew holds a Masters degree in Management from the University of Lancaster (United Kingdom), a first degree in business & finance (with distinction) as well as having a professional designation from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (1990).
Job Titles:
- Principal at Eaton Square London
- Principal London, UK
David Blois is a Principal at Eaton Square London. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
After a number of financial and business management positions in the UK and overseas, David became part of the Plc. Corporate Finance team at Reed Elsevier helping shape it through acquisition into a global information business. David then joined Saatchi & Saatchi as Commercial Director, Eastern Europe where the business gained market leadership through merger.
Prior to establishing M&A Advisory nearly ten years ago, David completed UK and international transactions as Regional Director of Results International, a London based advisory firm.
Job Titles:
- Principal at Eaton Square Cardiff
- Principal Cardiff, UK
Gary Partridge is a Principal at Eaton Square Cardiff. Gary is approaching a 30-year track-record of leading transactions and delivering outstanding results for his clients. Gary founded Lexington in 2015 because he saw the opportunity to build a Corporate Finance practice in the UK Mid-Market. He is passionate at building long-term, trusted client relationships and to provide results focused advice.
Gary previously led PwC's Corporate Finance team in the West of the UK and also held a global Acquisitions role in BT's M&A team. He is a previous winner of Insider Wales Dealmaker of the Year and a triple award winner for Corporate Finance Team of the Year.
When he has time to switch off, Gary can be found travelling Europe on City breaks, satisfying his passion for cars and EDM music (in no particular order!).
Job Titles:
- Principal at Eaton Square London
- Principal London, UK
He graduated from Bristol University, in June 2006, with a BSc Honours in Biochemistry. After graduation, James joined Smith & Williamson where he qualified as a chartered accountant in 2009. He then moved into Transaction Services, gaining experience in financial modelling and valuation, followed by two years in the Corporate Finance department.
James is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society United Kingdom. James joined Strand Hanson in December 2012.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal Auckland, New Zealand
Jeff Lim is a Principal at Eaton Square in New Zealand Operations. His industry experience spans IT and Technology, Financial Services, Resources, Health Sciences, Professional Services and Agri-Business. He has first-hand experience at the full lifecycle of entrepreneurial endeavour. From inception, strategy development, to capital raising, strategy refinement and the execution of strategic plans to a successful exit. This detailed knowledge is invaluable in assisting matching investors with investees and maximising the value of the combined effort.
As an enterprise founder, active investor and portfolio manager himself, Jeff can assist entities execute Merger and Acquisition mandates that identify and realise long-term value by identifying investment opportunities that have the right strategic fit, products, and market penetration to ensure long-term return on investment.
Jeff is actively working with niche companies in the New Zealand market that have global potential in the Information technology, Fintech, engineering and Agri-Business fields.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Principal Phoenix, USA
Phoenix-based M&A advisor Jim Afinowich is a Certified Business Intermediary, M&A Master Intermediary and Business Brokerage Specialist who has managed and supervised more than 500 transactions. He is a Principal at Eaton Square.
Jim Afinowich is a Partner and Designated Broker at IBG Fox & Fin in the Phoenix office, a mergers and acquisition firm founded in 1993 that handles business sales between $5 million and $150 million. The firm has been selected Arizona's number one business broker and investment banking firm for 18 consecutive years by Ranking Arizona.
Jim's primary responsibility is overseeing his office's deal makers and expediting transactions. He has more than a quarter century of successful experience in the M&A industry and has managed and supervised more than 500 transactions. He is well-known a creative problem solver.
A nationally honored industry leader, Jim has developed and presented classes for regional and national trade associations for nearly 20 years. He has also provided expert witness services in cases relating to brokerage practices and standards of care.
Areas of Expertise:
Manufacturing
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal Denver, USA
John Zayac is a Principal at Eaton Square. He founded International Business Group in 1986 to provide the mid-market business seller with the high-quality resources and sophisticated M&A service traditionally reserved for firms valued over $100 million.
From IBG's inception, John's vision was to build it into the merger and acquisition industry's most comprehensive provider of acquisition advisory services for mid-market business sellers. His oversight of handling each client from start to finish built a record of success as a business intermediary, including hundreds of completed transactions in manufacturing, distribution, and service industries.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Managing Principal Melbourne, Australia
Jonathan Buckley is a Principal of Eaton Square and is focused on M&A and private and public market capital services for Healthcare, Engineering and Mining Services, Technology, Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Resources & Energy.
Jonathan has 25 years of commercial expertise in different industries, overlaying operational and capital strategies and implementation. He has extensive capital market and industry networks in Australia, Asia and Europe and has direct experience as an owner and employer of a mid-sized financial services firm.
He has worked in Australia and Europe, with KPMG and Rothschild Asset Management and built PhillipCapital Australia's corporate and fund management business between 1997 and 2013. This involved advisory, transactional and capital market services for over 100 companies, in private equity, M&A, initial public offers, reverse listings and secondary issues on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Jonathan provides extensive advice on pre-listing development, industry trends, Board director appointments, regulatory compliance and governance, valuation, stakeholder engagement, corporate structures, prospectus preparation, due diligence, capital raising and post listing shareholder value creation.
Jonathan has launched a number of investment funds, in private equity and listed companies, with direct involvement in construction, marketing, investment decisions and operations. He was a founding Director of Bioscience Managers Pty Ltd, an Australian based healthcare fund manager, with presence in Europe, North America and Asia.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Principal
- Principal Madrid, Spain
Jose Luis Diaz-Rio is a Principal at Eaton Square. Has +35 year of experience investment professional, has been General Manager of Interdin, a +60 employees firm specialized in Equity, FX, Derivatives and Fixed Income capital markets, DMA and electronic brokerage.
Prior to that he worked as Head of Derivatives at NovaCaixa Bank where he was in charge of derivatives book that included IR, FX and Equity Derivatives. Prior to joining NovaCaixa Bank, he was a Board member of Consultora de Riesgos Financieros (CRF), CEO of Banco Inversión, S.A, Chairman of AGEPASA SGC and Managing Director of Argentaria Financial Products.
AGEPASA was Barron's magazine nomination as Best International Portfolio Managers two consecutive years (1988 and 1989). He started his career with Swiss Bank Corporation in NY as Credit and Financial Analyst in the Asset Management group.
He is MSc. in Mining Engineering from Escuela de Minas de Madrid and complementary studies and seminars in Harvard University and University of Toronto.
Jose Luis is board member of several companies in the financial, energy and construction sectors.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Managing Principal Perth, Australia
Mark Goodwin is a Principal of Eaton Square based in Perth and is focused on M&A and debt and equity raisings.
Mark brings extensive M&A experience having led a large number of successful transactions in Australia, Asia, UK and the US.
Over the last 15 years, Mark has led transactions both as an advisor with KPMG and Ernst & Young, and as head of the in-house M&A team at Clough Limited (ASX 100 sized international oil and gas group).
Mark has managed a number of equity raisings and has sourced funders and arranged over $400m of debt and bond facilities. He has also led corporate strategy, developing and implementing strategic plans. He has qualified as a Chartered Company Secretary and has strong experience in Board decision making and governance.
Mark started his career as a Chartered Engineer managing the design and construction of major infrastructure projects.
Mark brings a wide range of skills required for successful transactions including strategic rationale and deal origination, structuring and valuation, practical deal management and co-ordination of stakeholders, governance and post deal integration.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal Melbourne, Australia
Maurice Spicer is a Principal of Eaton Square. He was a Tax and Commercial lawyer and partner of Kliger Partners (now KCL Law) for over 10 years.
He then moved into commerce and as an Advisor, Director and/or shareholder has had or currently has interests in businesses across many sectors including electronic banking, consumer finance, food & beverage, recycling, manufacture, distribution and consumer discretionary.
He has advised, facilitated and been a Principal in transactions across the spectrum including M&A, Capital raisings and Debt funding.
Maurice is a mentor to Melbourne University Law students and volunteers at FareShare.
Job Titles:
- Principal Philadelphia, USA
Michael Mufson has almost 30 years experience as an investment banker to middle market companies. Prior to the founding of Mufson Howe Hunter in 2004, he served as the founder and head of equity capital markets for Commerce Bancorp (now TD Bank). His prior role as managing director and head of investment banking for Janney Montgomery Scott LLC oversaw the growth and development of investment banking from a few professionals to a significant regional investment banking group. Mr. Mufson was a founding partner of the Philadelphia investment bank Foley Mufson Howe & Company, acquired by Janney Montgomery Scott in 1994. He started his investment banking career with Butcher & Singer (now Wells Fargo/Wachovia) in 1981 and became head of investment banking and under his leadership built its corporate investment banking group to be among the most active and prominent regional investment banks. Mr. Mufson started his career with Arthur Young & Company (now Ernst & Young) in their national management consulting group.
Mr. Mufson has extensive transactional experience having completed hundreds of merger & acquisition transactions, private placements, recapitalizations, IPO's, follow-on financings, and advisory assignments. During his career, Mr. Mufson has served as a director of numerous public and private companies and has acted as general partner in venture capital and private equity funds.
He received his B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from George Washington University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Mike is an experienced and highly motivated executive and entrepreneur with over 25 years leading and building strong teams. He spent 10 years as the CEO for a publicly traded software and telecommunications company, President of an AdTech company, founder and CEO of 2 companies in the IT services and hospitality technology sectors.
Mike completed two company exits and has facilitated and managed the acquisition of a Canadian media and entertainment company and a Colorado-based IT services company. He has also worked in a strategic consulting and M&A advisory role for multiple companies including a PBC SAAS company servicing the non-profit sector, an AdTech company and a construction tech company.
Mike was nominated for the 2005 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Managing Principal Sydney, Australia
Neil Bourne is a Principal with Eaton Square in Sydney.
With over 20 years experience in the IT industries in roles ranging from technical, operational through to financial and strategic, Neil brings a distinctive range of insights to bear on the journey from start-up through to final exit for businesses in the technology sector.
Neil has been working as a corporate advisor in the technology sector assisting with growth strategies, capital raisings, mergers and trade sales for over 10 years.
In addition, Neil draws on his experience with large organisations based on his time as a management consultant with Andersen Consulting (Accenture), assisting commercial and government clients with eCommerce strategies and IT implementations.
Neil holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a BSc (Hons) in Electronic Engineering from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.
Job Titles:
- Principal Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Principal With
Nicholas Ashby is a Principal with Eaton Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He joined in May 2020; before he was running Celadon Capital, a corporate finance boutique that he founded in 1996, specialising in cross-border M&A, Private Equity and Venture Capital.
Nicholas' career in corporate finance and capital markets spans more than 35 years; in addition to handling investment transactions on both buy-side and sell-side, it includes wide variety of advisory and consulting work related to financing strategy and capital raising.
Previously, he was with Crosby Financial Group (acquired by SocGen), where he oversaw its expansion into Malaysia, India, Korea, Philippines, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Prior to that he was with the M&A team in Nomura London, and earlier he worked in equities research with SG Warburg in Tokyo (now UBS).
Nicholas holds an MA in Chemical Engineering & Natural Sciences from Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. He is a well-known figure among the SE Asian investment and entrepreneur communities and a regular speaker at conferences. He also serves as an adviser and mentor to a number of promising young companies.
Job Titles:
- Global Managing Principal and CEO
Reece is the Global Managing Principal of Eaton Square and is focused on M&A and capital services. His industry expertise incorporates IT Services, Engineering (including Mining and Oil & Gas Services), Management Consultancies, Software and Technology and HR Services.
With over 20 years of corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions experience working in both global corporations and small and medium sized services businesses, Reece's depth of knowledge is invaluable in assisting clients to navigate the complexities of M&A transactions.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia
- Principal Brisbane, Australia
Roger Collins Woolcock is a Principal at Eaton Square and focusses on mergers and acquisitions particularly in the professional services of engineering, survey, planning, landscape architecture and quantity surveying.
Roger worked for the majority of his 30 year career with ASX listed firm Cardno where he was the General Manager of the 2000 person Australia and New Zealand region.
During his 24 years with Cardno, it grew from a 150 person Queensland based urban engineering firm to a 8500 person global leader in engineering, environment and social infrastructure on the back of over 50 mergers across the world.
Over the past 4 years since leaving Cardno, Roger has been involved in the following recent M&A deals
Roger is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and Life Member of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (NSW)
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Managing Partner and Principal New York, USA
Stefan Shaffer is a Principal at Eaton Square and has over 30 years of experience in the private market includes hundreds of transactions in North America, Asia and Europe.
Prior to becoming a principal at SPP Capital, 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 has 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 CPI, Inc (NASDAQ: ROAD), LIM College in New York City, and Cape Air.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal Washington DC, USA
Taylor Devine is a Principal at Eaton Square. He brings a national and international perspective, as well as an owner's perspective to the field of M&A and Investment Banking. He has owner or co-owned three different companies at various times in his career as well as having lived in and worked out of London, England for several years. While living in London, Taylor established, staffed, and managed international operations for Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, parent of Blockbuster Video, in Europe, PacRim and South America. Subsequent to Blockbuster, in 1996, as CEO and President, he also completed the closing of several Private Placement Memorandums, followed by a successful IPO.
Early in Taylor's career, he was part of the management team that helped build Saga Corporation (Menlo Park, CA) into what became a national company with more than $1 Billion in Revenue. Saga was sold to Marriott Corporation in 1986. After leaving Saga in 1981, he joined Arthur D. Little, Inc. in Acorn Park, MA as a Senior Consultant, where he specialized in Strategic Planning, Strategic Management, and the Strategic Management of Technology. After Arthur D. Little, Taylor was recruited by Debbi and Randy Fields (Fields Financial, dba: Mrs. Fields Cookies) to expand that company on a national basis with all company owned stores. In December 1986, having successfully established, along with Debbi and Randy, a national footprint and highly recognized brand, Taylor went on to establish one of the first national, voice mail and data interface with IBM 36's and 38's rental companies in the United States. Soon after that, he was recruited by the new ownership of Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation to expand Blockbuster Video nationally and internationally. It was during this time that Taylor moved to London and, as International Corporate Officer and Vice President for International Operations, established Blockbuster internationally through company owned, joint-ventures, and franchise operations in Europe, PacRim and South America. Returning to the United States in 1992, he invested in and served as President, CEO, and/or Chairman of several early stage companies. In 2002, Taylor formed Corporate Development International, LLC dba: The CDI Group, headquartered in McLean, VA. The CDI Group works with private company owners and corporate executives in the areas of: Corporate Development, Investment Banking, M&A, Valuation and Value Enhancement and Exit and Succession Planning.
Taylor is a Registered Representative of, and securities are conducted through, StillPoint Capital, Member FINRA/SiPC, Tampa, FL. Taylor H. Devine Series 7,79,82,89,63.
Taylor earned a BA from Hillsdale College, an MBA from University of Chicago, and has done additional post-graduate work at Colombia University. He is the active in The M&A Source, Association of Corporate Growth, Alliance of Mergers & Acquisitions Advisors, Health Technology Network and The American College of Health Care Executives.
Job Titles:
- Principal Oakbrook Terrace, USA
Timothy Witt joined Prairie Capital Advisors in 2007 and is a shareholder in the firm. He leads the mergers and acquisition ("M&A") team at Prairie and specializes in originating and executing M&A and capital raise engagements. Tim is also a member of Prairie's Operating Committee. As a trusted advisor, Tim works to navigate Prairie's clients through the ownership transition process. Once he understands their unique situations and personal and business goals, he designs strategies that deliver the best possible outcomes for Prairie's clients. From managing the preparation process to structuring, negotiating and completing a transaction, Tim directs the M&A and capital raising process from start to finish. He also works closely with companies nationwide to assist them with valuation and consultation across the entire spectrum of ownership transition alternatives. Tim's focus on his clients' needs and his dedication to best practices serve as an example of Prairie's high standards for excellence.
Prior to joining Prairie, Tim founded The Oak Tree Group LLC, a consulting firm focused on business acquisition of lower middle-market companies. He managed the entire deal process, including buyer preparation, business search and screening, due diligence, negotiation, financing and appraisal. Tim also performed analysis on acquisition candidates for a variety of purposes including valuation, financing and general planning purposes. Before that, he was a Vice President with Bank One Capital Markets where he worked with corporate and institutional clients to evaluate and implement transactions related to foreign exchange and fixed income hedging and trading strategies. He also implemented various trading strategies for the investment of bank capital in fixed income and foreign exchange spot forward and options instruments.
Tim holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Iowa. Tim currently holds FINRA Series 24, 63 and 79 securities licenses.
Professional Affiliations
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder
Member of the Business Valuation Association (BVA)
The ESOP Association