Private Equity Fast Pitch

Marc S. Cooper is Chief Executive Officer of PJ SOLOMON, a position he has held since 2016. He was previously Vice Chairman from 2013 to 2016 and joined the firm in 1999 as a Partner and Managing Director. Marc S. Cooper is Chief Executive Officer of PJ SOLOMON, a leading financial advisory firm with a legacy as one of the first independent investment banks. In 2016, Mr. Cooper led the transaction in which Natixis, the international corporate and investment banking, asset management, insurance and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE, made a strategic investment in PJ SOLOMON.  The partnership with Natixis provides PJ SOLOMON clients with global advisory services and proprietary access to financing capabilities throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas. Under Mr. Cooper’s leadership, PJ SOLOMON has significantly expanded and diversified sector coverage and today serves clients across a broad range of industries including Consumer Retail; Financial Sponsors; FinTech; Grocery, Pharmacy & Restaurants; Healthcare; Infrastructure, Power & Renewables; and Technology, Media & Telecommunications. As the former head of PJ SOLOMON’s Consumer Retail Group, Mr. Cooper has advised a long roster of high-profile retailers and brands. Over the past three decades, Mr. Cooper has advised on hundreds of transactions globally, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations and restructurings, financings and shareholder activism. Mr. Cooper serves on the boards of the Partnership for New York City and Fedcap, a non-profit dedicated to creating opportunities for people with barriers to economic well-being.  He is also a Trustee of The Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board. Prior to joining PJ SOLOMON, Mr. Cooper co-founded and served as Vice Chairman of Barington Capital Group where he oversaw its investment banking operations. He began his career in investment banking at Kidder Peabody. Mr. Cooper holds an MBA, magna cum laude, and a BS from New York University.

Mr. Lovette is the founder of Third Coast Capital Advisors and manages the daily activities of the firm with responsibility for originating, advising on, and executing merger and acquisition transactions for clients across a variety of industries. Prior to forming Third Coast Capital Advisors, Mr. Lovette was a Managing Director in the Middle Market M&A group at Banc of America Securities LLC where he led a national effort focused on M&A transactions with values under $150 million. Prior to his tenure at Bank of America, Mr. Lovette was a Managing Director in the M&A/Corporate Finance group at LaSalle Bank and ABN AMRO. In total, Mr. Lovette has over 25 years of experience working with private and public companies on merger and acquisition transactions. His diverse M&A experience includes acquisitions, private company sales, corporate divestitures, portfolio company sales of private equity groups and sales of public companies across numerous industries. Mr. Lovette holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration degree from DePaul University.

This episode features the valuable advice Private Equity & Investment Banking Professionals have given for young professionals and recent college graduates.

Episode 77 features Laird Koldyke, a founding partner of Winona Capital Management which is a Chicago based private investment firm focused on growth investments in branded consumer companies.  Winona Capital manages investments on behalf of high net worth families, institutions and individuals.     Mr. Koldyke has served on the boards of numerous consumer companies including Chipotle Mexican Grill (Chairman) , Einstein’s Bagels (Founding Investor), Wild Oats Markets,  Fat Brain Toys, Petsense, Kjus Apparel, Fusion Academy, and the Laird Norton Company, Mr. Koldyke is currently a director of CYMI, Inc., Monica Vinader, PLC; Rodd and Gunn, LLC , Indie Lee, LLC,  Ancora Beauty and the Desire Company.   Mr. Koldyke holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Northwestern University (1983) and a Masters in Management (MM) from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management (1989).   He previously served on the Board of Trustees of the San Miguel Schools; a Chicago based schools initiative serving crime ridden city neighborhoods; is a former trustee of Northwestern University and is a founding member of the Springboard Foundation, a venture philanthropy group based in Chicago.   He is a board member of Naturally Chicago, the Chicago Lakeshore Improvement Committee and also serves as the ranking Commissioner of the Chicago Park District.   Mr. Koldyke resides in Chicago with his wife Deirdre, they have four grown children.   After rooting each and every summer for as long as he can remember, Laird was ecstatic when the Chicago Cubs broke the curse in 2016.  He roots on.

Glenn Jacobson is a Partner of Trilantic North America. Glenn is also a member of the Investment Committee of Fund VI North America and TEP II North America. His primary focus is on investments in the energy and energy transition sectors. Glenn is a member of Trilantic North America’s ESG committee which helps to develop and implement the firm’s ESG policies. Glenn joined Trilantic North America in 2009 at its inception, prior to which he was a Principal at Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking (LBMB). Glenn is currently a director of Intersect Power, Powin Energy, SemaConnect, DJR Energy and TRP Energy. He was previously a director of Indigo Natural Resources, M5 Midstream and MacLean Power Systems, among several others. Prior to joining LBMB in 2005, Glenn worked in Lehman Brothers’ Global Natural Resources investment banking practice in New York where he focused on M&A and capital markets transactions in the energy sector. Glenn holds a B.A., cum laude, in Economics from Dartmouth College.

Today we speak to the authors of The Caesars Palace Coup: How a Billionaire Brawl Over the Famous Casino Exposed the Power and Greed of Wall Street https://tinyurl.com/caesarsbook This is where Oceans 11 meets Chapter 11 It was the most brutal corporate restructuring in Wall Street history. The 2015 bankruptcy brawl for the storied casino giant, Caesars Entertainment, pitted brilliant and ruthless private equity legends against the world's most relentless hedge fund wizards.   In the tradition of Barbarians at the Gate and The Big Short comes the riveting, multi-dimensional poker game between private equity firms and distressed debt hedge funds that played out from the Vegas Strip to Manhattan boardrooms to Chicago courthouses and even, for a moment, the halls of the United States Congress. On one side: Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital. On the other: the likes of Elliott Management, Oaktree Capital, and Appaloosa Management.   The Caesars bankruptcy put a twist on the old-fashioned casino heist. Through a $27 billion leveraged buyout and a dizzying string of financial engineering transactions, Apollo and TPG—in the midst of the post-Great Recession slump—had seemingly snatched every prime asset of the company from creditors, with the notable exception of Caesars Palace. But Caesars’ hedge fund lenders and bondholders had scooped up the company’s paper for nickels and dimes. And with their own armies of lawyers and bankers, they were ready to do everything necessary to take back what they believed was theirs—if they could just stop their own infighting.   These modern financiers now dominate the scene in Corporate America as their fight-to-the-death mentality continues to shock workers, politicians, and broader society—and even each other.   In The Caesars Palace Coup, financial journalists Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap illuminate the brutal tactics of distressed debt mavens—vultures, as they are condemned—in the sale and purchase of even the biggest companies in the world with billions of dollars hanging in the balance.   Sujeet Indap is the U.S. editor of the Lex Column at the Financial Times, where he contributes stories across the paper. He has written extensively on the intersection of corporate finance and corporate law. Indap was previously an investment banker before he joined the Financial Times in 2013. He is a graduate of Pomona College and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Indap lives in Manhattan, NY, with his wife.   Max Frumes leads a news team at Fitch Solutions covering corporate debt and restructuring. He previously was the founding editor of a leading publication covering corporate bankruptcy, and before that reported for S&P’s Leveraged Commentary & Data and The Deal. Frumes received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MSJ from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.  

Craige Stout, CEO of Stout, leads a global investment bank and advisory firm renowned for its corporate finance expertise. In this discussion, he shares his journey from valuation to founding Stout, revealing the entrepreneurial spirit that fueled its growth. Craige emphasizes the importance of core values in business culture, effective mentorship, and work-life balance. He also provides insights into competition and client relationships, illustrating how passion drives success in investment banking and private equity.

Episode 73 features Brandon Bethea, a Co-Founder and Partner of Aterian Investment Partners who serves on the Investment Committee. Mr. Bethea has been a private equity investor since 2000.  Prior to Aterian, he was a Principal with Insight Equity, an investment professional with Freeman Spogli & Co and began his career with Salomon Smith Barney’s investment banking division. Since 2015, Mr. Bethea has also served on the Endowment Committee of Christ Church in Pelham, New York. Mr. Bethea received his AB from Harvard University where he was a member of the Varsity Men’s Tennis Team. Mr. Bethea also earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  Brandon originally hails from Oklahoma and in another life would aspire to be the Sooners’ Offensive Coordinator.

Mike McGill is a Managing Director, Strategic Capital at Cowen and was a co-Founder of MHT Partners.  Prior to founding MHT, he spent five years at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and CS First Boston where he managed the execution of M&A advisory and corporate finance transactions for middle-market companies. Prior to joining DLJ, he was at Lehman Brothers where he focused on M&A advisory. He is an active member of the Maverick Gold chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and in 2019 was named Investment Banker of the Year by D CEO Magazine.  Mike earned an MBA, with distinction, from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BBA in Finance and Real Estate. 000000BD 000000BC 00004A55 00004A8F 0001DF2F 0001DF2F 00007F36 00007E4E 0000BAF0 0000BAF0

Marshall Adkins, Managing Director and Head of Energy Investment Banking at Raymond James, discusses the energy markets for the next few years. The impact of COVID-19 on oil demand and price, energy investment banking and growth potential, consolidation in the industry, and reflections on the oil industry and potential sectors for upturn are key topics.