Joseph Achenbaum
Senior Capital Raising Advisor

Joe Achenbaum has a 26-year career in investment banking and is responsible for over 165 financing transactions in excess of $8 billion. In addition, he has completed over 50 merger and acquisition transactions totaling more than $3 billion. Joe previously worked as head of GE Pension Trust, Smith Barney and Bank of America’s private financing group. He holds a BA in Economics from Union College and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago.

Jameel Barkat
Senior M&A Advisor - Aerospace/Defense Expert

Jameel heads up Woodbridge's North Carolina office. Prior to joining Woodbridge, Jameel worked for Curtiss-Wright Controls, where he completed numerous acquisitions and led the company’s M&A and strategic development programs. Earlier in his career, Jameel served as Senior Project/Design Engineer for a private manufacturer of mechanical components for the aerospace, defense and industrial markets and worked as a Design Engineer for McDonnell Aircraft (now Boeing). Jameel holds an MBA from Duke University, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University, and a BA in Mathematics from Drew University.

Ernest Z. Bower
Senior M&A Advisor – Southeast

Prior to his affiliation with the Woodbridge Group, Ernest was the founder and a principal of The Bower Group, a business consulting and M&A firm. He has provided long- term planning and business development services to a range of public and private companies in diverse industries. Ernest has broad experience in both domestic and international deal making, advising clients on both buy-side and sell-side transactions. During his 10 years in Europe, he acquired expertise in managing complex due diligence activities in multinational transactions. Ernest also served as director of planning and development at Akzo Nobel Salt’s U.S. division. He holds a BA from Colgate University and completed coursework in strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions at the Harvard School of Business. Ernie has expertise in the chemical, specialty food and publishing industries.

Brace Carpenter
Senior M&A Advisor – New England

Brace been active in the middle market M&A industry for over 20 years and, along with Tom Hawke, heads up Woodbridge Group's Boston office. He has successfully completed transactions in the manufacturing, distribution, funeral, technology and business services industries. Brace has completed over 300 M&A transactions and performed more than 200 business valuations. Before joining Woodbridge Group, he founded a Boston-based lower middle-market investment banking firm, and, earlier in his career, was affiliated with Christie Group, a leading M&A firm in the UK and Europe. Brace has industry expertise in manufacturing and service companies.

Keith Dee
Senior M&A Advisor – Northeast

Keith specializes in advising companies on mergers, acquisition, and divestitures, corporate finance, strategic and business advisory services. He brings over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive to Woodbridge Group. Keith’s unique combination of financial and operating experience enables him to understand and meet the financing needs of middle-market clients. Keith began his career as a CPA before founding his own accounting firm. Later, he served as president of Earmark, Inc., a New England based manufacturing company and chief financial officer of The Great American Backrub Company, a public specialty retailer and wellness company based in New York. Keith holds a BS in accounting from Bryant University. Keith has expertise in the wellness industry, as well as in engineered products.

Kirk Fichtner
Senior M&A Advisor – Southwest

Mr. Fichtner has 15 years of experience in capital structuring, strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, management and operations for both publicly traded and middle market private companies. Kirk began his financial career on Wall Street with Dillon, Read and Co. where he was involved in the underwriting of over 80 initial public offerings. He then worked with NationsBank and DuPont, and later for 1st Global Inc., where he grew assets under management from $225 million to over $1 billion. Mr. Fichtner holds Series 7 and Series 24 licenses and earned a BA in Business Administration from Texas Tech University and an MBA from George Washington University.

Ney Grant
Senior M&A Advisor – West Coast

Ney has been involved in buying and selling companies for 20 years. He bought his first company in 1987 and founded a technology company in 1989, which he grew to $4 million in sales before selling it in 1997. Ney then served as founder and vice president of acquisitions for a startup that raised $20 million in venture capital to fund a series of company acquisitions. He then ran his own consulting company that provided M&A services. In addition to serving as Senior M&A Advisor to clients, Ney oversees Woodbridge Group's growth on the West Coast. Ney holds an engineering degree from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA from UC Davis. Read Ney's blog on selling your business here. Ney has industry expertise in Internet and software companies.

Tom Hawke
Senior M&A Advisor – New England

Tom brings over 20 years of M&A experience to Woodbridge Group's Boston office. He has acted as an advisor to sellers and completed over 200 successful transactions in the United States and United Kingdom. Tom previously operated his own group of companies in the hospitality, retail and manufacturing industries and entered the M&A world with Christie Group. A U.K. native, Tom now resides in the Boston area and assists middle market business owners with mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and business valuations. Tom has industry expertise in the hospitality industry.

Thomas K. McGee
Senior M&A Advisor – Midwest

Tom is an experienced dealmaker and financial analyst who has focused on the strategic growth, financing and transaction needs of companies with $5-$350 million in annual revenue. He has structured and negotiated acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures and worked with investors to raise venture capital and produced valuations. Tom also worked in executive capacities at Trimas Corporation and CNH Global. He holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago, an M.Sc. in Economic History from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from UMass Amherst.

Michael C. Muzzy
Senior M&A Advisor – Northeast

Michael C. Muzzy specializes in providing strategic business planning services. Prior to co-founding his consulting firm Equity Transfers in 1996, Mike was chief financial officer and a board member of Bennett X-Ray Technologies. Previously, he served as a manager of accounting and auditing at Laventhol & Horwath, where he developed multi-disciplined experience with middle market companies in numerous industries. Mike is a founding member of the Long Island Angel Network, Inc. and is a Certified Public Accountant and Licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of New York. He holds a BA in Business Administration from Adelphi University. Mike has industry expertise in packaging, real estate and healthcare.

Richard D. Okada
M&A Advisor – West Coast

Richard was President of RO Associates, Inc., an electronics manufacturer in Sunnyvale, CA and former client of Woodbridge Group, which was sold in 2005. Richard served in various executive management positions at RO and negotiated four technical license agreements bringing over $12 million to his company’s bottom line. Richard worked directly with the Woodbridge team to market and close the deal with Emrise Corp., the new owner of RO Associates. Richard was so impressed by the Woodbridge process that he decided to join the firm as a dealmaker. He holds a BS in Physics from UC Berkeley and an MBA from UCLA. Richard has industry expertise in high-tech products.

Graeme Plant
Senior M&A Advisor – West Coast

In addition to assisting business owners in the sale of their business, Graeme is the managing director of the El Dorado Hills Technology Incubator and is an active "angel" investor in northern California growth companies. Graeme is on the board of several young growth companies. Graeme started his career in with Sprint and Hewlett Packard before joining startups ShareWave and Little Mountain Group. Graeme led the acquisition efforts to sell Little Mountain Group, which was eventually sold to QLogic in 2001 for just under $30 million. Graeme has an engineering degree from UC Davis and an MBA from UC Berkeley. Graeme has industry expertise in technology.

Alden C. Purrington, III (Chip)
Senior Vice President

An entrepreneur and investment banker, Chip has 18 years of expertise in private placements, middle market M&A and strategic and financial advisory, as well as hands on operating experience. Chip raises capital while simultaneously guiding the company’s team to build and sustain value in their operations resulting in a lower cost of capital for his clients. Chip's prior experience includes 11 years of operating experience success. As an entrepreneur, he was part of the senior management team that built and sold a media and ecommerce company to CMGi for $25MM. Chip is a General Securities Principal (FINRA Series 23, 62, 63, and 24).

Tex Sekhon
Senior M&A Advisor – Southwest

Mr. Sekhon has direct investment and M&A experience in numerous transactions representing over $500 million in market value. His industry experience includes enterprise software, manufacturing, business services, medical devices, wireless communications, RF integrated circuits, semiconductors, environmental remediation and commercial real estate. Since 1995, Mr. Sekhon has served as a director or observer on the Board of Directors of twelve portfolio companies and one Small Business Investment Company (SBIC). Tex has been instrumental in the structuring and funding of numerous entrepreneurial endeavors. Mr. Sekhon has led several equity investments in various retail, office, multifamily, industrial, and land acquisitions and developments representing over $100 million in total project value. Tex holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of North Texas. Tex has industry expertise in aviation and technology.

Tony Settle
Senior M&A Advisor – Canada

Tony has held management and executive roles in heavy industry, industrial parts distribution, international automotive parts manufacturing and the construction sectors. As a private consultant he has directed projects involving the start up of a number of industrial enterprises and the turn-around of many small, mid sized and large companies. As founder of A.J. Corporate Services Inc., Tony brings a 30-year track record of helping Canadian and international companies prepare themselves for profitable business transitions and then bringing them to market. He is an alumnus of McMaster University and has studied Industrial Psychology at Brock University as well as Japanese Management Systems at the University of Kentucky.

John Sipala
Senior M&A Advisor – Northeast

Prior to joining Woodbridge in 2007, Mr. Sipala served as Managing Director of Elite Investment Group, an investment banking firm focused on the middle market that he co-founded in 1996.  Earlier, as Managing Partner of Saddle River Capital, a private investment firm, he was responsible for all aspects of the investments and acquisitions of middle-market companies. Mr. Sipala holds an MBA in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of MSRC Co., a leading mass storage solutions business. He is also a strategic advisor to Traffic Control Systems, a perimeter detection and security company. John has industry expertise in machining and retail.

David Walsh
Senior M&A Advisor - Waste Industry Expert

David has been involved in acquisition, integration and divestiture from an operating perspective for 25 years. His work has spanned technology, software, business and environmental services. Prior to serving Woodbridge clients, he served as VP, Sales United Site Services, the largest portable sanitation provider in the U.S. Earlier in his career, he worked as Senior Financial Analyst responsible for distribution and customer contracts for software sales, budgeting, analysis and channel development programs. Dave has held other senior management roles at Thermo Electron, Emerson Electric, GE, and Iron Mountain. David holds a BS in Accounting from Bentley College. Dave has expertise in the waste industry.