None of us is as smart as all of us together. - Anonymous

Jay M. Aidikoff | Managing Director, is the founder of Valufinder Group Inc., and the driving force behind the successful origination and facilitation of transactions exceeding $3.5 billion in value over a broad spectrum of industries. Jay's breadth of experience and industry knowledge have enabled him to build one of the leading buy side intermediary organizations in North America focusing on the middle market. The depth of Jay's expertise, spanning over 40 years and through all investment climates, has given him the ability to develop insightful and creative transaction solutions which take into consideration the personal and economic needs of both the owner and buyer/investor. Through Jay's unwavering leadership, Valufinder is sensitive and flexible to the needs of the ever changing market and continues to create new products and services accordingly. Jay founded Valufinder in 1979 following his investment-banking career in corporate development at Merrill Lynch, where he dealt with some of the largest private corporations in North America. Jay has written articles on corporate prospecting while at Merrill Lynch and for Deal Magazine. Jay has also participated on various panels concerning “best practices for creating proprietary deal flow” at ACG Intergrowth, ACG NY, and the Capital Roundtable. Jay is a graduate of American University. Jay can be reached at: jaidikoff@valufindergroup.com.

Brian S. Levine | Senior Vice President, joined Valufinder as a Vice President in 1999 and was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2006. Brian has facilitated transactions in a myriad of industries, including retail, publishing, automotive, apparel, and health care, with particularly strong experience in the Canadian market. Prior to Valufinder, Brian was President of Actors Reps, a talent agency in television and film, and Director of the London office of LCS Industries, Inc., management consultants specializing in telecommunications and database marketing. Brian graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Economics from Middlebury College, received honors from the London School of Economics, and has an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Brian can be reached at: blevine@valufindergroup.com.

David E. Schenkel | Senior Vice President of Business Development, has been a consultant in management optimization and organizational development and has worked with the management teams of organizations including Pfizer, L'Oreal, Coach, Planned Building Services, Deere Real Estate and Children's Television Workshop (Sesame Street). As a Senior Manager of Organizational Development for the $5.9 billion REIT Mack-Cali Realty, David was responsible for the operational integration of all acquired companies and the rationalizing of operating assets. In addition, David has worked as a senior corporate executive in commercial real estate managing assets for institutions including CalPERS, Sterling Equities, Deutsche Bank, Shearson Lehman Hutton, Mitsui Fudison, TIAA-CREF and Bristol Meyers Squibb. David is a professor of Management at Baruch College in New York City and is a graduate of Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California. David can be reached at: dschenkel@valufindergroup.com.

David ‘Dash’ Valuch | Vice President of Business Development, joined Valufinder Group as a Vice President of Business Development. Prior to joining Valufinder, David was with Fitch Ratings as well as Medley Advisors. He has extensive experience in market research, financial research & consulting, for a wide array of industries and asset classes including some of the largest and most successful private equity groups, hedge funds, asset managers, and commercial banks in the world. David has worked across both the buy and sell side of financial markets, putting him in a unique position to develop insightful strategies that helped traders, policy advisors, analysts, and business owners to better position themselves within their markets or asset class. David studied International Business at Indiana University and can be reached at dvaluch@valufindergroup.com.

Sherri E. Yingst | Vice President of Research, has provided research and related services to Valufinder Group since 1993. Sherri currently manages the team of researchers dedicated to Valufinder's highly regarded DealStar Acquisition Search program. Prior to joining Valufinder, Sherri was employed for fifteen years providing financial research and analysis to a broad spectrum of companies and institutions, including the Interpublic Group of Companies (parent company of global advertising giant McCann Erickson), TIAA-CREF (one of the largest financial services companies in the United States, with $420 billion under management) and Columbia University. Sherri has a B.A. from the State University of New York and an M.B.A. from the Fordham University Gabelli Graduate School of Business. Sherri can be reached at: syingst@valufindergroup.com

Philip L. Berliner | Vice President, has served as a senior vice president of corporate finance at Zanett Securities, a private investment company, where he specialized in the origination, structure, and private placement of equity in public companies. Prior to that, he was responsible for investment decisions affecting the performance of a small private equity fund. Philip began his career in finance at Drexel Burnham Lambert before joining Paine Webber as a derivatives strategist and then as an equity analyst. Philip holds a B.A. in Economics from Boston University, was a visiting student at Harvard University, and received an M.B.A. in Corporate Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he graduated with honors. He is a CFA (Level 2) candidate. Philip can be reached at: pberliner@valufindergroup.com.

George Michas | Vice President, worked most recently as President of CCF Charterhouse, Inc., the New York branch of the English merchant bank, where he led a ten-person team specializing in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Prior to that, he was a partner at Gerschel & Co., a small investment boutique in New York City, where he was involved with mergers and acquisitions and private equity investments. George started his career with Smith Barney & Co. where he spent over twenty years in corporate finance, including a 2-year posting to Paris and a 5-year tour in London. He holds a B.A. degree, cum laude, from Yale University, where he won a Fulbright Scholarship and a Carnegie Fellowship, and an M.B.A. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. George can be reached at: gmichas@valufindergroup.com.

Jon Allegretti , Project Director, has over 30 years of experience as a C-Level financial, administrative, and legal executive and board member in middle market companies. Jon has initiated, negotiated, and closed in excess of 75 M&A and corporate finance transactions aggregating in excess of $1,000,000,000. Jon along with his wife has also been named a leading couple that makes a difference in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. Jon is an honors graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Finance from Gannon College. Jon can be reached at: jallegretti@valufindergroup.com.

Don Ciancio | Project Director spent 35 years in the Chemical Industry in various leadership roles. Don rose to Executive Vice President with Vantage Specialty Chemicals (VSC) where he was responsible for sales, margin generation, and most recently strategic acquisitions. At Vantage or its predecessor, Don lead or assisted on a number of acquisitions that had a total value approaching $1 billion; helping Vantage transform itself from an regional oleochemical company to a global specialty chemical company in an eight year period. Don graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and, in addition, he has a Masters in Management in finance and management policy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Don also attended an accelerated General Management and Strategy program at IMD in Switzerland. Don can be reached at dciancio@valufindergroup.com.

Brian E. Dearing | Project Director, is a longtime member of The Executive Committee (TEC), and is a member of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARI Network Services, Inc. until his retirement in 2014; he was CEO from 1995 until 2008 and served as Chief Corporate Development and Strategy Officer from 2008 to 2011, as well as CFO for several extended interim periods. Prior to joining ARI in 1995, Brian held a series of electronic commerce executive positions at Sterling Software, Inc. in the U.S. and in Europe. Prior to joining Sterling in 1990, Brian held a number of marketing management positions in the EDI business of General Electric Information Services. Brian holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial Administration from Krannert School of Management at Purdue University and a B.A. in Political Science from Union College. Brian can be reached at: bdearing@valufindergroup.com.

William Dunnigan | Project Director, In 1979 Will joined an electronics retailer to assist in computerizing the organization. Subsequently he became the CFO of the company, responsible for managing the finances of the group. In 1987 he cofounded a precious metals manufacturing company that grew to have sales over $20M. Will sold the company in 1994. In 1995 Will became President of a commercial printer where he grew sales to over $35M. Will is a graduate of Hobart College. Will can be reached at: wdunnigan@valufindergroup.com.

Martin Frederick | Project Director, has extensive experience in the tool and equipment manufacturing industry. Martin has served as President of FRN Tool and Design, Supreme Equipment and Systems Corporation, MBF Holdings Corporation and M&E Advisory Services. Marty graduated from Lafayette College with a BS in Industrial Engineering. Marty can be reached at: mfrederick@valufindergroup.com.

Robert Moyer | Project Director is a member of the San Diego Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. Previously, Robert was the Mergers & Acquisitions Manager at Bainbridge Capital, a boutique capital advisory group based in San Diego. While at Bainbridge, Robert managed deal origination initiatives for top-tier Private Equity Groups, Family Offices, and Corporate Strategic Acquirers. Prior to Bainbridge, Robert was an Asset Manager at De Lage Landen Financial Services, a subsidiary of Rabobank NL. Robert earned a Master of Business Administration from Temple University and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University. Robert can be reached at: rmoyer@valufindergroup.com.

Edward Turney Savage | ESQ. | Project Director, has over 35 years of corporate M&A securities experience with a number of major New York City law firms. Ed retired as a Partner with Reed Smith LLP, one of the top 25 largest law firms in the world in 2011. Ed received a B.A. in Physics from Amherst College in 1968, and went on to receive his JD from Harvard Law School and MBA from Harvard Business School by 1974. Ed was also an officer in the U.S. Navy. Ed can be reached at esavage@valufindergroup.com.

J. Frederick Steckel | Project Director, has over 20 years of experience in M&A and corporate finance and as a Principal at Wolfpit Advisors LLC, a financial consulting firm. Fred was previously a Director at MUFG Union Bank, a Director at BNP Paribas and an Executive Director at UBS. He holds a B.A degree, with Distinction, from Yale University and an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Fred can be reached at: fsteckel@valufindergroup.com.

Clifton E. Valentine III | Project Director, has extensive executive management experience serving in Fortune 500 and mid-market firms ranging from overnight delivery, commercial printing, financial services and management consulting. He has led organizations in the roles of Senior Vice President Corporate Development, CEO of an Inc. 500 business and President of a venture-backed tech firm. He has also provided management consulting and turnaround advisory services often as interim CEO for mid-market firms struggling with a host of business and financial challenges including second and third generation transition issues. He is a member of ACG and TACR, has held NASD Series 7 and 66 licenses and currently resides in the Cincinnati area. Clif is a graduate of New York University and has also completed studies at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Northwestern's Kellogg School. Clif can be reached at: cvalentine@valufindergroup.com.

Timothy M. Biddle | Project Advisor, Tim is a seasoned business professional with more than 30 years of experience in buy- and sell-side M&A, financial institution consulting, company valuations, IPOs and other corporate financial transactions, project management, management consulting, ESG and business development. Tim spent 15 years advising community banks in M&A transactions, IPOs, corporate valuations, financial modeling and strategic planning. He has over 12 years of experience in various management consulting firms developing services and leading projects at Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, American Red Cross, and other large and middle-market companies. Tim's experience also includes business development, sourcing bank acquisitions, ESG consulting, and various business advisory roles. Tim earned his MBA, with honors, from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and a BBA in finance from William and Mary in Virginia. Timothy can be reached at: tbiddle@valufindergroup.com.

Rudy Barthelemy | Project Advisor, has over 20 years of experience in Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Finance and Management Consulting. He has worked with numerous growth, middle-market and large-cap clients, across a broad array of sectors and geographies. Rudy has advised clients on over $3.6 billion in mergers and acquisitions and capital raise transactions. Previously, Rudy was a Managing Director at Oberon Securities, a middle-market investment bank, and founder of RB Finance Consulting, a boutique strategic advisory and consulting firm. Rudy began his investment banking career at several leading global investment banks including Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets, and Bear Stearns, where he focused on leveraged finance, and mergers and acquisitions with private equity firms. Rudy graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. While at the University of Pennsylvania Rudy was a member of the Varsity Track and Field and Cross-Country teams and the Sprint Football team. Rudy can be reached at: rbarthelemy@valufindergroup.com.

Wayne Seewald, Project Advisor has over 30 years of senior management and leadership experience in the domestic and international energy industry focused on business development, strategic planning, mergers & acquisitions, and asset divestitures, retiring from Anadarko Petroleum in 2016 as a Senior Project Advisor in the Corporate Development group. During his career he has worked in more than 40 countries across Africa, Europe, South America, and Asia negotiating multiple transactions from $60mm to over $2billion with host governments and industry partners. In 2017, the Association of International Energy Negotiators presented him with the Distinguished Negotiator award. He holds a BA from Baylor University, an MBA (honors) from the Thunderbird School of International Management and studied energy management at the BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo. Wayne can be reached at: wseewald@valufindergroup.com.

John Packard, Project Advisor, With a successful career spanning over 20 years in the financial industry, John Packard brings to his clients a wealth of experience, professionalism, knowledge, and customer-centered care. He advises both corporate and individual clients on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity capital raises, strategic investments, and divestitures. John’s clientele ranges from Fortune 500 firms to a broad array of privately held businesses. John attended BYU and focused on Finance for his Bachelor's degree. He and his wife call Utah home, where he is active in his community by volunteering in organizations that serve the unsheltered. John can be reached at: jpackard@valufindergroup.com.

• Continue to Referrals »