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Dear Readers:
During the last three years, the world changed immeasurably. Individuals and businesses alike were forced to pivot, get creative and reinvent their business plans and financial protocols in a myriad of ways.

CEO Confidence Picked Up in Q1
Confidence Has Improved From 2022’S Lows, But Still Signals Caution

Global M&A Outlook 2023: Smaller Deals and Slower Pace
WTW Expects Dealmaking To Remain Active Despite Ongoing Uncertainty And Major Headwinds; Recession Fears Triggering A ‘Small Item Effect’ As Larger Deals Fall Out Of Favor

CFOs Say Sales Function is Most Likely to See Budget Increases
Top Finance Execs Are Targeting Resources At Functions That Can Drive Top-Line Growth

Private Equity Investors Find New Opportunities
Financial Services, Tech And All-Equity Deals Are Anticipated To Grow In 2023

ESG and Stakeholder Capitalism Are Changing Corporate Boards
A New Survey Sheds Light on How ESG and Stakeholder Interest Shape Baseline Business Decisions

Worldwide IT Spending to Grow 5.1% in 2023
Enterprise IT Continues to Demonstrate Value and Resilience Despite Economic Conditions

Only 47% of Banks Surveyed Are Satisfied with Their Core Provider, Yet Few Expect to Switch
Survey Also Reveals “Effectiveness Gap” Between Core Provider Solutions and Bank Expectations.

The Beneficial Financial Effects of Public Transportation
New Funding is Part of a Historic Period of State Investment in Transit and Passenger Rail

Survey Forecasts Effects of Interest Rates and Rollercoaster Economy on CRE
Less-Than-Optimistic Projections, Rising Interest Rates, and Occupancy Issues Abound; Retail Remains Bullish

Trend: Financial Leaders Focusing on Deposits and Investing in Fintech and ITMs
Continued Staffing Challenges, Regulation for Digital Assets are Among Expectations for 2023.

Don’t Let the Downturn Fool You – A Career in the Tech Industry Has Upsides
Global conflicts persist, inflation is climbing, and interest rate increases appear imminent. By many measures, we are enduring a prolonged bear market.

Business Leaders Prepare for Recession with an Eye Toward Growth
Executives Are Navigating Significant Economic Uncertainty With Confidence In Their Ability To Survive – And Thrive

The Importance of Ethical Values in an Increasingly Ethics-Challenged World
A midst the passionate, oftentimes heated debate going on today around Artificial Intelligence-driven chatbots, one might be reminded of Robert Oppenheimer’s ominous quote referencing Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita.

Lawmakers Seek More Oversight of Crypto
Despite Recent Government Actions, Many Still Fall Victim to Digital Currency Fraud

Tracy Albert
As vice chairman of JD Merit & Company, Tracy Albert is recognized as one of the preeminent investment bankers on the West Coast, having advised hundreds of middle-market companies and entrepreneurs over a span of several decades.

Banking and Finance Visionaries
The right commercial banker or trusted financial advisor does more than provide services and advice. These individuals – and the institutions they represent – can genuinely prepare your organization (with the right resources, capital and guidance) for the next level of growth and beyond.

Raul A. Anaya
As president of business banking for Bank of America, Los Angeles-based Raul A. Anaya leads a nationwide team that serves nearly 40,000 U.S. mid-sized companies with annual revenues from $5 million to $50 million.

Andy William Anderson
Andy Anderson is a highly respected industry executive known for his focus on innovation and emerging markets. Throughout his career, he has worked as a studio producer on films for major studios such as Marvel, Warner Bros., and Sony.

David Barnes
Prior to joining JD Merit, Barnes was head of corporate development at Lumio, Inc. where he created, built, and financed the fourth-largest photovoltaic solar sales and installation company in the country.

Darnel J. Bentz
At KAR, Darnel Bentz focuses on the integration of alternative investment strategies and the customization of client financial plans. His strength is in developing new client relationships, which he believes ultimately leads to a higher quality and stronger bond.

Keith Patrick Banner
Keith Patrick Banner is a partner in Greenberg Glusker’s Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Group. Prior to joining the firm, he served as the judicial law clerk to the Honorable Peter H. Carroll, U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Central District of California.

Rick Barragan
Rick Barragan is a managing director and market manager in the Los Angeles office of J.P. Morgan Private Bank. He manages a team of bankers and specialists who deliver differentiated strategies that care for the unique requirements of significant wealth.

Daniel R. Banis
Daniel Banis, executive vice president, brings more than 35 years of financial services industry experience to his role as head of CitizensTrust, overseeing the bank’s investment services and wealth management.

Priyesh R. Bhakta
Priyesh Bhakta is president and managing principal of Hankey Capital, a direct bridge lender with a balance sheet of $1.2 billion of senior liens on commercial real estate with a focus on Southern California.

Jonathan Bluth
Jonathan Bluth recently joined BGL as a managing director in the Healthcare & Life Sciences Investment Banking practice, one of the country's largest healthcare M&A teams, to lead its West Coast office.

Kara Boccella
Kara Boccella has successfully advised and managed her client’s portfolios and affairs for over a 30-year career. She currently manages approximately $600 million and continues growing organically through a robust referral base.

Christopher Brothers
Christopher Brothers is a managing partner of Solace Capital Partners, a private investment firm focused on providing flexible capital solutions to middle-market companies in the United States and Canada.

Anthony R. Callobre
Anthony “Tony” R. Callobre, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Blank Rome, is among the leading banking and finance lawyers in California, with an impressive track record and reputation for excellent client service on the borrower and lender side of commercial loan transactions.

Jan Brzeski
Jan Brzeski founded Arixa Capital in 2006. Since its inception, Arixa has become a leading private real estate lender and investment manager, providing consistent and attractive risk-adjusted returns for accredited and institutional investors.

Janet M. Bonnefin
Janet Bonnefin has been the practice group manager of the Bankers' Compliance Group, Aldrich & Bonnefin’s cooperative legal and compliance financial services and publications for 38 years.

Sherry Cefali
Sherry Cefali is a managing director in the Duff & Phelps Opinions Practice of Kroll, LLC. In addition, she is a member of the firm’s Fairness and Solvency Opinion Senior Review Committee and the firm’s Fairness and Solvency Opinion Acceptance Committee.

Anthony Consoli
Anthony Consoli is managing partner of Massumi + Consoli LLP headquartered in Los Angeles, where he represents private funds and other financial institutions, along with their portfolio companies, in structuring and negotiating complex private equity and M&A transactions in the middle market.

Alexander L. Cappello
Alexander Cappello began his career as an investment banker over 49 years ago while attending and pursuing a degree at USC in business administration. His Cappello Group, Inc.

Cornelia Cheng
Cornelia Cheng runs the Western Region for MGG Investment Group (MGG) and is a member of MGG’s ESG Committee. She is responsible for leading originations, underwriting, and managing investments across the MGG platform, focused on companies based on the West Coast.

Derrith Chan
Derrith Chan is a senior vice president and senior fiduciary officer for the Los Angeles Region of Northern Trust’s Wealth Management segment.

Cécile Chalifour
Cécile Chalifour is head of the West Region for Chase Community Development Banking. As part of a global financial services firm with $3.8 trillion in assets as of June 30, 2022, Community Development Banking is a leader in providing financing solutions that benefit communities across the country.

James F. Davidson
Jim Davidson has more than 35 years of experience in business and corporate management, public accounting, management consulting, and corporate financial advisory.

DuVon G. Davis
DuVon Davis' personal passion and commitment to lead both financial relationships and DEIA within his employer, Wells Fargo, as well as through his other affiliations is extensive and vast.

Elizabeth Cousins
For more than a decade, Elizabeth Cousins has served as a key advisor on an array of important infrastructure projects delivered through public-private partnerships, progressive and fixed price design-build, design-build-operate/maintain, and other alternative delivery methods.

Jonathan Fhima
Jonathan Fhima is CEO and managing principal of F2, a private equity firm focused on debt investment strategies.

Mark Steven Demos
Mark Demos began his career in public accounting almost 20 years ago with Crowe LLP in Michigan after graduating from Michigan State University.

Burke Dempsey
As head of Wedbush Securities’ Investment Banking division, Burke Dempsey’s specialty is investment banking for financial institutions and fintech companies. He is a member of Wedbush’s President’s Executive, Underwriting, and Fairness Opinion Committees.

Eugene N. Dunford
Gene Dunford is senior managing director of Umpqua Bank’s Los Angeles Corporate Banking Division. He joined in 2016 to establish its new corporate banking division in Los Angeles. A 25-year veteran of L.A.

Linda Duncombe
In 2022, she launched two new creative sponsorships of iconic venues Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) in Inglewood and the Beacon Theater in New York.

Jacky Dilfer
Jacky Dilfer is a commercial and SBA lending expert. She’s a dedicated leader and trusted advisor, helping each of her clients grow their businesses, create job opportunities, and better serve their communities.

Steve Fried
Steve Fried is a principal at Mesa West Capital. He is the co-head of the firm’s West Coast Originations team alongside principal Ronnie Gul, managing a portfolio totaling $11 billion.

Robert Fox
Robert Fox is a trailblazer in the corporate and M&A legal field. He is a new breed of private equity professionals who leveraged his private equity business development experience and extensive finance background to create a niche role driving growth as the front face of large international corporate law firms.

Matthew Frankel
Matthew Frankel is managing partner of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP), one of Los Angeles’ leading private equity firms with $8.6 billion of assets currently under management.

Francisco Flores
Francisco Flores is a partner and Structured Finance Practice co-chair at Winston & Strawn LLP. In these capacities, he advises clients on corporate finance and structured finance transactions, as well as various cross-border transactions in Latin America.

Dustin Gale
Dustin Gale focuses on holistic planning for his clients and sees it as an opportunity to cut through the noise of everyday life and offer his clients constructive guidance.

Jonathan Louis Gerber
Jonathan Gerber embodies the words "beyond bean counting" in his approach to serving each client and in his interactions with every team member. His creative mind and thoughtful nature allows him to come up with planning opportunities well beyond the traditional financial planning opportunities.

Ronnie Gul
Ronnie Gul is a principal at Mesa West Capital. He is the co-head of the firm’s West Coast Originations team alongside principal Steve Fried, managing a portfolio totaling $11 billion. He also oversees the firm’s regional offices in Chicago and San Francisco.

Marissa Román Griffith
Griffith has continued to show her significant influence in the industry, leading deal teams in sophisticated representations for a wide variety of clients.

Eric Andrew Gray
Eric Gray has been advising high-net-worth families for 30 years and specializes in value-based financial planning, comprehensive estate planning services, asset allocation, discretionary investment management, concentrated stock management, and executive compensation.

Moses Harris
Moses Harris is the Black/African American (B/AA) Segment Leader within the Commercial Banking Diverse Segments group. Harris works to be a key source of information and lead generation for B/AA-led enterprises as well as offering thought leadership in outreach, cultural events and marketing campaigns.

Lloyd Greif
Lloyd Greif is a highly accomplished investment banker for four decades. The fact that he routinely lectures on negotiations at all three of his alma maters — UCLA, USC, and Loyola — speaks volumes about his knowledge and expertise.

Channing Hamlet
Channing Hamlet is managing director and co-owner of Objective, Investment Banking & Valuation, a leading investment banking and valuation firm serving the middle market.

Jeremy Holland
Jeremy Holland is managing partner at The Riverside Company, leading the Origination team across various funds/strategies in North America. He has been a private equity investor in Los Angeles for 24 years.

Patty Hsu
For the first decade of Patty Hsu’s career at Accenture, she focused on the delivery of complex transformation programs to some of the world’s largest financial institutions.

Brent E. Horstman
Brent Horstman is a partner and former leader of Sheppard Mullin’s Finance and Bankruptcy Practice Group in Los Angeles. He practices commercial law with a specialty in real and personal property, secured financings, and workouts.

Shadi Jahangir
Shadi Jahangir is a firm partner whose practice focuses on commercial lending and corporate finance. She represents large and well-known financial institutions, leading private equity sponsors, and corporate borrowers in significant middle-market debt financings and investment-grade credits.

John Joliet
John Joliet has spent nearly 30 years as an investment banker, private equity investor, board member, and corporate finance consultant.

Bryan A. Kenny
With nearly 25 years of commercial real estate experience and over $1.5 billion in transactions, Bryan Kenny, president and principal of Bandon Capital Advisors, has established himself as a preeminent expert in mortgage banking and capital advisory..

Monique Johnson
Monique Johnson, an executive banker in the industry for nearly 40 years, is Beneficial State Bank’s senior vice president, director of client & community partnerships, and CRA officer. She was initially hired as the head of retail banking in California in 2016.

Amit Josef
Amit Josef joined his current partners in 2018. He and his partners at Avitas Wealth Management, an independent registered investment advisor firm, operate as a true fiduciary, putting their clients’ best interests first.

David J. Iannini
Iannini has expertise in completing transactions in a variety of industries including consumer products, aerospace/defense, consumer services, manufacturing, distribution, B2B, B2C, technology, business services, retail, hospitality, healthcare, and financial services.

Yukiko Kojima
Yukiko Kojima offers clients unique experiences with highly innovative, alternative delivery strategies for large-scale infrastructure projects in the U.S. thanks to her deep knowledge of national best practices as well as Canada’s mature public-private projects market.

Jennifer Kim
Jennifer Kim is a senior managing partner at Signature Estate & Investment Advisors (SEIA). Eager to learn, she earned multiple certifications early on, including Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Chartered Life Underwriter.

Andrew William Kline
Andrew Kline focuses on professional sports M&A and capital raising, real estate finance, and venture finance and investing for Park Lane.

Bonnie Lee
In May 2019, Bonnie Lee became the first female CEO in Hanmi Bank’s 40-year history and one of only 10 female CEOs in the public banking industry.

Jason Lawit
Jason Lawit is president of Northern Trust's Southern California Region. In this role, he leads an integrated team of specialists who deliver investment management, trust and estate planning, private and business banking, and financial consulting for clients across the region.

Jeffrey A. Krieger
Jeff Krieger is a partner at Greenberg Glusker and a specialist in bankruptcy-related matters. He joined the firm in October 1991 after a stint as a summer associate during law school. He returned after graduation and became a partner in 1998.

Martin Liska
Martin Liska has spent his career leading banking operations areas related to consumer protection and customer verification.

Carson Lappetito
Carson Lappetito serves as president and director of Sunwest Bank, an entrepreneurial business bank headquartered in Sandy, UT with operations across the U.S.

Steve J. Kutz
Steve Kutz is regional president at BNY Mellon Wealth Management. In his role, he oversees all aspects of the Wealth Management business in Greater Los Angeles, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona, including advisory, investments, fiduciary, private banking, and marketing.

Neil Malik
Neil Malik is the founder and CEO of K1 Investment Management. He is responsible for managing the firm’s strategy, governance and investment activities.

Rudy Medina
U.S. Bank Southern California Market President Rudy Medina is the senior vice president who leads the commercial banking team within Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Inland Empire, Orange, and San Diego counties. He co-leads the U.S.

Alissa Miller
Consistently regarded as being among the entertainment industry’s top lawyers and dealmakers, Akin Gump entertainment and media partner Alissa Miller is widely recognized as a leader in her field for handling some of the industry’s...

Abel Montañez
Abel Montañez is a seasoned financial services leader with more than 20 years of experience in the wealth management industry. He currently serves as executive vice president and head of City National Bank’s Private Banking division.

Steve Moon
Steve Moon has been with Kroll Securities (formerly known as Duff & Phelps Securities) for 23 years. He is a managing director and deputy head of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for the Americas.

Jonathan Morales
Jonathan Morales currently serves as the California head of Community & Business Development. In this capacity, he leads JPMorgan Chase’s financial health strategy throughout California, where his team works to build trust in underserved local...

Sandra Lee Montgomery
Sandra Lee Montgomery is a recognized leader in banking and finance, having closed billions in transactions for first- and second-lien senior lenders, mezzanine investors, and equity sponsors across the country in 2022 alone.

Kevin Miller
Kevin Miller is the chief executive officer and founding member of Thorofare Capital and has been responsible for establishing the foundation of the firm’s core investment philosophy.

Joel Thomas Montminy
Joel Montminy is known by his colleagues for his entrepreneurship in founding and leading his eponymous L.A.-based investment bank, as well as for the many transactions he has led that have helped reshape Los Angeles businesses for the better.

John Murillo
John Murillo continues to build on an already remarkably distinguished career in financial services, currently serving as SVP, market president for Enterprise Bank & Trust in Los Angeles.

Bruce Munster
Bruce Munster is a principal of the Munster Freeman Group, an M&A-focused wealth advisory practice within Merrill Private Wealth Management. Located in Century City and Denver, the Munster Freeman Group manages more than $3.5 billion as of October 31, 2022.

Farzad Mukhi
Farzad Mukhi is a managing director in the Consumer M&A practice at Kroll. His expertise is in executing complex transactions for middle-market businesses in the consumer products, food, restaurant, and retail segments.

Jeff Motske
Jeff Motske has been a financial advisor for his entire career. Through great mentorship and support, he quickly rose into a leadership position before stepping out of his comfort zone and taking the risk to start Trilogy Financial Services in 1999.

Timothy Morris
Timothy Morris is a director and the Americas chief operating officer for BlackRock's Global Credit Business Management Team focused on the U.S. Private Credit Business.

Edward Moyzes
Ed Moyzes was born in Kiev before the fall of the Soviet Union, eventually immigrating to Denver with his family when he was five. He later attended Denver University where he earned his Master’s Degree in Accountancy.

Jennifer L. Nassiri
Nassiri has counseled Chapter 11 debtors, lenders, special servicers, property owners, asset purchasers, insiders, and Chapter 11 trustees, including liquidating trustees in a broad spectrum of complex issues in bankruptcy.

Kevin M. O'Malley
Kevin O’Malley joined Blank Rome directly from law school in 2006, relocating to the firm’s Los Angeles office in 2009 to service the firm’s West Coast clients and help establish the office’s Finance practice. He was elevated to a partner of the firm in January 2021.

Anant Patel
An innovator in the deal-making space, Anant Patel is a trusted advisor to the banking and finance industries because of his work in facilitating transactions.

Pardis Nasseri
After starting his earliest businesses while still in school, Pardis Nasseri began a career in M&A, first in the transaction services practice of PwC, then as an investment banker with Jefferies.

Abigail "Abby" O'Brient
A first generation college graduate and professional, Mintz member Abigail (Abby) O’Brient has displayed her legal acumen to clients from very early in her career.

Marlon Nichols
Marlon Nichols is the co-founder and managing general partner at MaC Venture Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionary founders building the future that the world wants to see.

Paul Rahimian
As CEO and founder of Parkview Financial, Paul Rahimian manages a national debt fund that provides construction financing to ground-up real estate development projects.

Ash Patel
Ash Patel has over 30 years of experience in the banking industry, and serves as chairman of the board, president, and CEO of Commercial Bank of California (CBC).

Spuds Powell
Before finding a home at Kayne Anderson Rudnick (KAR) in 2004, Spuds Powell began his career serving a variety of roles at Franklin Templeton Funds, eventually becoming a retirement plan consultant for Retirement Plan Strategies three years later.

Vanessa Roman
Vanessa Roman is a recognized leader who has established herself as an impactful player on Akin Gump’s renowned entertainment team and throughout the corporate entertainment world.

Arjun Rao
With more than a decade of complex commercial litigation experience focused in the financial services sector, Arjun Rao has distinguished himself as a go-to litigator for some of the industry’s highest profile banking and financial services companies.

Rebecca Rang
Rebecca Rang has been in wealth management for over a decade, first as an entrepreneur founding her own independent consulting firm supporting RIAs.

Stephen Rossi
Stephen Rossi is the co-founder of Palm Tree’s Investment Banking service line, Palm Tree Securities. Palm Tree Securities was founded in October 2019 and received its broker-dealer license in November 2020.

Shlomi Ronen
Shlomi Ronen is a managing principal and founder of Dekel Capital, where he heads the company’s JV Equity, Capital Advisory, and Correspondent Lending platforms.

Stacey L. Rosenberg
For the last 26 years, Stacey L. Rosenberg has been advising lenders, borrowers, and equity sponsors across a variety of debt finance transactions.

Mark A. Sampson
Mark Sampson is the co-founder and managing partner of Torrance-based private equity firm Pacific Growth Investors, LLC (PGI) and was the founder in 2003 of its predecessor fund, Vintage Capital Partners.

Victor David Russell
David Russell is a managing director and the head of Family Office Services at MGO Private Wealth. His focus is building out the firm’s multifamily office practice and investment platform, as well as growing the firm’s scope on entertainment, sports, and media professionals.

Carlos P. Salas
Carlos P. Salas is president of The Change Company, a financial services company focused on serving underbanked borrowers and communities across the U.S.

Joshua Schneiderman
Joshua Schneiderman is a corporate and securities partner in the Los Angeles office of Snell & Wilmer, a full-service business law firm.

Martin Sarafa
Martin Sarafa is one of the founders of Century Park Capital Partners and has been with the firm since its formation in 2000.

William Schoenholz
William Schoenholz has extensive experience in complex domestic and international financing transactions, representing banks, commercial finance companies, funds, and other institutional investors.

Dan Shea
Dan Shea is a managing director of Objective, a leading investment banking and valuation firm serving the middle market.

Jonathan Shenson
Jonathan Shenson was the managing principal of his own law firm for nearly a decade. Before that, he was a partner at a nationally recognized bankruptcy boutique and also practiced in the bankruptcy and finance departments at a prominent Am Law 100 firm.

Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon
Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon’s journey in the financial world began when she was selected by a college professor who sent a handful of students to Wall Street yearly.

Kristine Sheu
Kristine Sheu, who currently serves as senior vice president and deputy information officer at Cathay Bank, has been leading technology operations for the institution for over a decade.

Lisa M. Simonetti
Attorney Lisa Simonetti’s legal practice focuses on the defense of complex litigation, with broad experience in some of the nation’s most consequential litigation and regulatory matters.

Brandon Sedloff
Brandon Sedloff is the senior vice president of business development at Juniper Square, a provider of digital partnership enablement solutions for the private funds industry.

Andrew Smith
A partner at iBorrow, a private real estate debt fund for commercial real estate, Andrew Smith is the ultimate financing visionary.

John Sinnema
As a regional executive for U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, John Sinnema is responsible for growing and managing all aspects of private wealth management in California.

Alex Soltani
Alex Soltani founded Skyview Capital in 2005 and is chairman of the firm’s executive and investment committees. He is a serial entrepreneur and started his first business while still a student at UCLA.

Aaron Solganick
Aaron Solganick founded investment banking firm Solganick & Co. after working with firms like KPMG Corporate Finance, Bear Stearns, and B. Riley. He has focused on software and IT services companies since his career started and today remains focused on these sectors at his firm.

Michael S. Sitrick
Michael Sitrick has been the go-to strategic communications executive for the banking and finance industries worldwide for more than three decades.

Ursula St. Geme
Ursula St. Geme has found ways to make a positive impact in the Los Angeles community through her career in banking – and many will tell you that L.A. is better for her hard work.

Steven Alan Sugarman
In 2017, Steven A. Sugarman founded The Change Company, which is a Community Development Financial Institution certified by the United States Department of Treasury and the State of California to expand access to lending and banking to Black, Latino and low-income borrowers and communities.

Julia B. Strickland
For more than three decades, Julia Strickland has been at the forefront of counseling, advocating, and dispute resolution within the financial services sector, having litigated a myriad of individual, class action, and bet-the-company cases.

David Sutton
David Sutton is a partner at GHJ and leads the firm’s M&A projects as a member of the Advisory and Transaction Advisory Services Practice. He is a trusted advisor to the banking and finance industries, with a wide depth of experience in mergers and acquisitions.

Hamed Tavajohi
U.S. Bank Consumer and Business Banking Market Leader Hamed Tavajohi is the senior executive who leads the branch and small business banking team serving more than 100 bank branches, and specializing in business banking within Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties.

Eric Taslitz
Eric Taslitz began his career as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch in 1996 and joined his current partners in 1998.

Jalal Taby
Jalal Taby has over 18 years of experience in the commercial banking industry providing financing solutions to middle-market companies.

Mark Udis
Mark Udis is a partner of Camden Capital who focuses on individuals and families of significant financial resources, and is actively involved in the family office practice.

Jay Turo
Growthink’s co-founder and CEO, Jay Turo, has led the organization’s emergence as one of the nation’s largest strategic advisory and investment banking firms focused on the entrepreneurial marketplace.

James Kenneth Verzino
When a childhood friend introduced him to Northwestern Mutual, James discovered a place where he could truly lead and inspire people. Nearly a decade later, he has developed and influenced dozens of new financial advisors while maintaining a successful practice.

Daniel K. Walker
As a great-grandson of a pioneer, who rode a horse across the country to seek his fortune, the grandson of a man who started his career cleaning windows and washing sidewalks, and the son of a man who started out operating an elevator, Daniel K. Walker learned the value of hard work early.

Thomas Webster
Thomas Webster is co-founder and managing partner of Pacific Growth Investors. Previously, he was a managing director of Vintage Capital Partners, having joined the firm in 2007.

Michael A. Waxberg
Michael A. Waxberg is a private wealth advisor and founder and CEO of Fortify Capital Wealth Management & Insurance Services. He is a certified financial planner and has spent over two and half decades building a nationally recognized investment and financial planning practice.

Richard Wu
Richard Wu is the real estate practice leader for GHJ, a national accounting and advisory firm. As a trusted advisor to the real estate industry, he regularly works with investment firms, family offices, developers,...

Haze Walker
Haze Walker began her financial career at Interfirst Bank as a teller and quickly rose to become the youngest branch manager in the system. Subsequently, she pioneered installment consumer financing as an executive at Travelers Corp. When Travelers merged she entered the factoring industry.

Jeff White
White has held critical positions at many distinguished firms such as Merrill Lynch and Platinum Equity Holdings. Prior to Skyview Capital, he was an integral part of Platinum Equity’s multi-billion-dollar global business development and M&A team.

Brent Williams
Brent Williams is an experienced corporate and commercial banking executive with a demonstrated history of successfully growing revenue and developing high performing teams.

Maz Yafeh
Maz Yafeh is a managing director in the Investment Banking Group and leads BofA Securities’ Los Angeles Investment Banking office and BofA’s West Coast Emerging Growth & Regional Coverage (EGRC) group.

Guy Zaczepinski
Guy Zaczepinski has been with Century Park Capital Partners since 2005. He is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and structuring buyout transactions, as well as monitoring portfolio company investments.

Brett G. Wyard
Brett Wyard is a managing partner of Solace Capital Partners, a private investment firm focused on providing flexible capital solutions to middle-market companies in the U.S. and Canada.

MBA INSIDER
AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT MBA SCHOOLS AND THEIR PROGRAMS

Claremont Graduate University
A people-focused and purposedriven degree that transforms students and prepares them to impact the world. We proudly continue the legacy of Peter F. Drucker, embracing four core principles to support student success.

California State University Northridge
The MBA program at CSUN’s David Nazarian College of Business and Economics takes pride in our students and alumni. Nazarian College MBA students are accomplished professionals representing incredibly diverse backgrounds in a variety of industries in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County and Ventura County regions.

Pepperdine University
By making a positive impact on students, Pepperdine Graziadio equips them to go out into the world and do the same – turning small ripples into significant waves.

University of West Los Angeles
The University of West Los Angeles began as a private educational institution with just six students in 1966, when a visionary group of local educators resolved to address the need for educational programs geared toward the working adult.

Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University’s graduate business programs develop agile, innovative and impactful leaders for a changing world. Small, intimate classes are led by faculty who are invested in their students’ success.

University of Southern California
Our students and alumni play leading roles in industries that have built and continue to drive L.A. forward – from real estate and accounting to marketing and finance to entertainment and tech.

University of the West
UWest helps business leaders awaken their professional purpose by asking questions that matter most.