United States

Paul Colone is one of three US-based Partners of Alantra. He has over twenty years of M&A experience and is responsible for the execution of divestiture and acquisition programs for global companies and leading private equity firms Mr. Colone has completed successful transactions with a broad range of industrial and consumer clients. Many of his recent transactions have included producers of specialty materials and engineered components for filtration, electronics, medical and other industrial applications. Additionally, Mr. Colone has worked with several clients in the value-added distribution market. Mr. Colone received his MSc degree in International Securities Investment, and Banking from the ISMA Centre for Education and Research at the University of Reading in England where he studied as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. He received a bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from Boston College where he also graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

Wade Aust is one of three US-based Partners of Alantra. He has twenty-two years of M&A experience and is responsible for the Business Services and Industrials sectors. He travels extensively between the US, Continental Europe and the UK. He competed on the 1984 and 1988 U.S. Olympic Sailing Teams and worked as a coach in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He received his bachelor’s degree in Finance and Mathematics from Salve Regina University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Joe Downing is one of three US-based Partners of Alantra. With twenty-five years of M&A experience, he has initiated, completed and integrated numerous global acquisitions and divestitures. Joe brings strong cross border capabilities to his client’s projects. He lived in Europe for eight years and speaks Danish fluently. He is the head of the US Food & Specialty Ingredients sector and has extensive experience working with companies along the entire food & nutrition chain from agriculture and ingredients to processing and retail products. Previously, Joe was the head of North American M&A for one of the largest and most successful European based food and nutritional ingredient manufacturers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management/Finance from Boston University where he was a member of the Boston University football team, and a master’s degree in International Business Administration from the University of Aalborg in Denmark.

Bob Cronin is a Managing Director with the Boston office. During his career spanning more than 25 years as an investment banker, Mr. Cronin has worked with a range of growth technology companies and developed extensive M&A and private capital raising capabilities. He specializes in advising application software companies that provide advanced analytics, BI, Big Data and ECM solutions, as well as infrastructure software companies that provide data integration, master data management, and database management solutions. Most recently, Mr. Cronin was a Managing Director at Bowen Advisors, a Boston-based boutique M&A advisory firm. Prior to Bowen, he was a co-founder of Stonebridge Associates, where he spent more than 15 years as Senior Managing Director in charge of the firm’s Technology practice.  He received a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College, where he was named a Tuck Scholar.

Chuck DelGrande has more than 25 years of investment banking, eBusiness and media industry experience, including venturing, investment, operations, marketing and business development. He has managed sell-side, buy-side and private placement engagements, completed special committee work for Boards of Directors, successfully executed complicated turnarounds as interim CEO and has led or co-led strategic investments for growing companies. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. DelGrande was a senior managing director at McGladrey Capital Markets, where he was the driving force behind the firm’s Technology, Media, Entertainment and Gaming industry group. From 2003 through 2010, he was a managing director at San Francisco-based Presidio Merchant Partners, focused on technology banking. Prior to that, he was a Senior Vice President for Dimension Data North America, a $500 million revenue division of Dimension Data plc, a global technology product and services company. Chuck joined Dimension Data when it acquired Proxicom, where he was Senior Vice President of Global Strategy. Mr. DelGrande also spent more than 15 years at the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Company, and related media company joint ventures.

Chris Donegan is a Managing Director with the Boston office. He has fifteen years of experience working with middle-market companies in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, valuation, and corporate finance. He co-leads the firm’s Material Handling & Automation practice group and is also member of the firm’s Industrials practice group. His other professional experience includes work at a sell-side focused middle-market investment bank and as an equity analyst for a boutique research firm. He is a cum laude graduate of Amherst College and received his M.B.A. from the New York University Stern School of Business where he received the Stern Scholar designation.

John Emery is Managing Director and head of the Technology Practice based in the Boston office. He has a longstanding career sourcing and negotiating Technology-related transactions with over 25 years of investment banking and corporate management experience. He has advised companies in a wide range of IT and communications sectors including IoT, mobility, Cloud and Infrastructure Services, Security and Enterprise SaaS. John holds a BA in Economics from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Leslie G. Fenton is a Managing Director and head of the Financial Services practice in the US. She is based in Chicago. She has been an investment banker since 1982 with a primary specialization in financial services.  Previously, Leslie led the financial services investment banking team at PwC Corporate Finance, KPMG Corporate Finance and Navigant Capital Advisors.  Leslie was a partner at Cochran, Caronia & Co., a boutique investment bank, and a founding member of the insurance investment banking team at Kidder, Peabody & Co. Incorporated.

Mr. Hadfield, a Managing Director has over twenty years of experience advising middle market clients in capital raising and mergers & acquisitions.  His primary area of expertise is advising corporate, family owned and private equity clients on the structuring and arranging of debt financing and customized equity capital solutions for acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, refinancings, growth capital and dividend recapitalizations.  He maintains strong relationships with a network of financial institutions, global asset managers, private equity firms, credit funds, BDCs, insurance companies and family offices seeking to invest in or lend to private companies.  Mr. Hadfield has raised capital for companies across a broad range of industries including consumer products and services, restaurants, industrial and rental services, and technology and manufacturing.

Mr. Hadfield was previously a Managing Director at G.C. Andersen Partners, a New York based investment banking firm and held senior investment banking positions at Ryan, Beck (now Stifel), Prudential, and Janney Montgomery Scott.  Earlier in his career he was a senior member of the Capital Markets Group at Textron Financial.  He graduated from Connecticut College with bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Government, studied at the London School of Economics and also holds an M.A. in Professional Accounting.

Inquiries:

Scott W. Hadfield

Scott.hadfield@alantra.com

M +1 917 821 2256

Irfan Iqbal is Managing Director and head of the Technology Practice based in the San Francisco office. Irfan joined Alantra in 2018 as part of the Inertia merger to help expand the bank’s technology practice. Irfan has more than 16 years of experience providing clients with advisory services regarding M&A, raising private capital, strategic financings and public equity offerings. His expertise in the technology sector includes clients within the Software/SaaS, Financial Technology, Internet & Digital Media industries. Irfan received a B.B.A in Business Honors and Finance, with a minor in MIS from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a Chartered Financial Analyst since 2005.

Kelemen Papp is a Managing Director based in the San Francisco office. Kelemen joined Alantra in 2018 as part of the acquisition of Inertia Advisors to help expand the firm’s TMT practice. Kelemen has more than 13 years Investment Banking experience in Tech, where he has executed a number of capital raises, sell-side and buy-side M&A transactions, divestitures, debt restructurings and strategic advisory mandates. Kelemen received a B.B.A. in Information Technology from the College of William & Mary and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

Jeff Robards leads the Consumer Foods sector focus for Alantra in North America. He has been involved in corporate finance advisory for over 25 years, and has advised on private company sales, corporate divestitures, acquisitions and buyouts, as well as capital structure matters and troubled company situations. His clients range from private equity, family or entrepreneur-owned companies to large multinational corporations. His food & beverage sector experience includes branded and private label packaged foods, fresh and frozen prepared foods, baked goods, snack foods, and ingredients for the retail grocery, foodservice and co-packing channels. Prior to joining the firm, he was a Director in the US M&A practice of Ernst & Young. Earlier in his career he worked at Bankers Trust Company and Barclays Bank. From 2000 to 2003 he lived and worked in the Netherlands, where he advised European and North American clients on cross-border transactions. He received his MBA from the Wharton School and a BA in Economics from Emory University.

Ritendra Roy is a Managing Director with the Financial Services sector team. He is based in New York City. He has more than 20 years of experience as a financial services investment banker with J.P. Morgan and PwC Corporate Finance, as well as being a senior insurance sector professional with AMF and Marsh & McLennan.

Greg Fanikos is a Director with the Boston office. He has over 15 years of experience executing middle-market M&A transactions. Since joining the firm in 2004, Greg has worked on corporate acquisition and divestiture programs, private company sales and capital raising activities for clients headquartered in both North America and Europe. He has executed transactions across a broad range of industry sectors, including automotive components, retail fixtures and displays, industrial laser and nutritional ingredients. Previously, he was employed in the business planning department of Partners Healthcare. He  also worked in the investment banking practice of Tucker Anthony Sutro and in the valuation practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Greg is a cum laude graduate of Harvard College, where he was a John Harvard Scholar and a member of the varsity football team. He received his M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business Education at the University of Virginia.

Josh Garver is a Director with the Boston office. He has close to a decade of experience executing M&A transactions. Prior to joining the firm, he spent four years at Venturi & Company, a middle market investment bank based in the San Francisco Bay Area, working on M&A, capital raising, and restructuring transactions. Prior to Venturi & Company, he spent eight years working in the leveraged finance teams at UniCredit Bank and Sumitomo Trust. He holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from the Wharton School, where he received the Palmer Scholar designation.

Allen Kogan is a Director with Alantra’s West Coast Technology Team. Allen joined Alantra in 2018 as part of the Inertia merger to help expand the bank’s technology practice. Allen has more than 14 years of experience focused on capital raises, sell-side and buy-side M&A, divestitures, and strategic advisory. His expertise in the technology sector includes clients within the Internet & Digital Media, Video, and Mobile industries. Allen received a B.S in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

David Waldstein is a Director with the Boston office. He has close to ten years of M&A experience. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, he was an associate at SES Advisors, an advisory firm focused on structuring management buyouts using leveraged ESOP plans. David gained additional M&A experience working with the Global Technologies Division of Assa Abloy, a $1bn division focused on a range of high-tech security solutions. In addition, he was part of the integration team at State Street Corp. during its acquisition of Deustche Bank’s fund accounting business which was the largest acquisition the firm had completed at that time. David received his MBA from the Samuel Curtis Johnson School at Cornell University and received his BA from Union College.