Speakers at The PIPEs Conference 2024
Louis Bevilacqua
Founding Member
Bevilacqua PLLC
Louis Bevilacqua
Founding Member, Bevilacqua PLLC
Mr. Bevilacqua is the founding member of Bevilacqua PLLC. Mr. Bevilacqua counsels companies of every size ranging from entrepreneurs with just an idea to established companies whose securities trade on the NYSE or NASDAQ. He has broad experience representing issuers in public offerings and private placements of securities (including private placements under Rule 506(c) of the Securities Act, crowdfunding offerings under Title III of the JOBS Act and Regulation CF and Regulation A+ offerings), Exchange Act compliance, angel and venture capital financings, other areas of equity and debt financing and mergers and acquisitions.
Mr. Bevilacqua also advises his clients on mergers, acquisitions, and other business combinations, including “roll up” transactions. Mr. Bevilacqua has several years of experience working with microcap public companies whose securities are quoted on the over-the-counter markets, and he understands the special needs of these companies. He also represents companies with international operations, including companies based in the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, Republic of China, Latin America, Europe, Israel and Australia.
Mr. Bevilacqua was previously a partner in the Corporate and Securities group at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman LLP and is also the Co-Founder of Digital Offering LLC, an SEC registered broker-dealer and FINRA member and previously served as its President and General Counsel.
Mr. Bevilacqua graduated Cum Laude from Fordham University and obtained a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law where he was a member of the Order of Coif. Mr. Bevilacqua is Chambers ranked in Capital Markets (International Firms) (Experts Based Abroad) and USA Capital Markets: Debt & Equity (Foreign Experts). Mr. Bevilacqua holds Series 7, Series 24 and Series 63 securities registrations with FINRA.
Alok Choksi
Counsel
Haynes & Boone, LLP
Alok Choksi
Counsel, Haynes & Boone, LLP
Alok Choksi is a counsel in the Corporate Practice Group in Haynes Boone’s New York office.
His practice focuses on capital markets and securities, representing investment banks, domestic issuers (including special purpose acquisition companies) and foreign private issuers in equity securities offerings, including registered offerings (such as initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, confidentially marketed public offerings, registered direct offerings and at-the-market program offerings) and private placements (such as 4(a)(2) offerings, PIPEs and 144A/Regulation S offerings). He works with companies in a wide range of industries, including aviation, biopharma, biotech, consumer/retail, education, energy, healthcare, media/telecommunications, oil and gas, shipping and technology, among others.
James Clare
Partner
Bennett Jones LLP
James Clare
Partner, Bennett Jones LLP
James Clare has a corporate commercial and securities law practice, with an emphasis on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, focused on assisting clients in the mining and oil and gas sectors. His transactional experience includes domestic and cross-border public and private corporate finance transactions representing issuers and underwriters as well as merger and acquisitions transactions. He also advises public issuers on general corporate and securities law matters including stock exchange listings, continuous disclosure obligations and other regulatory compliance issues.
Caroline Dotolo
Partner
WilmerHale
Caroline Dotolo
Partner, WilmerHale
Doug Ellenoff
Partner
Ellenoff Grossman & Schole, LLP
Doug Ellenoff
Partner, Ellenoff Grossman & Schole, LLP
Douglas S. Ellenoff, a member of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP since its founding in 1992, is a corporate and securities attorney with a specialty in alternative financings including SPACs, M&A, PIPEs, RDs and Crowdfunding. In the last 10 years, he has been involved at various stages in numerous registered public offerings including more than 100 financings and hundreds of private placements into public companies. Since 2002, Mr. Ellenoff has been involved with over 250 SPAC IPOs and 60 business combinations.
Seth Farbman
Chairman
VStock Transfer
Seth Farbman
Chairman, VStock Transfer
Seth Farbman is a seasoned entrepreneur with three successful exits: Co-Founder and President of Vintage Filings (sold to PR Newswire), Co-Chairman of Vcorp Services (sold to Wolters Kluwer), and Chairman of Vcheck Global (sold to Sunstone Partners). He is the Chairman of Vstock Transfer, Founder of eSignatureGuarantee.com, and Founder of ShareMedia, a LinkedIn marketing agency. With a background as a securities attorney, Seth is passionate about startups, marketing, capital markets and IPOs.
David Fine
Senior Legal Counsel
Yorkville Advisors, LLC
David Fine
Senior Legal Counsel, Yorkville Advisors, LLC
Prior to joining Yorkville, David served as Senior Legal Counsel in the Enforcement Division of the Securities & Exchange Commission in New York. While at the SEC, David participated in numerous investigations involving a range of securities law issues, including the practices of PIPE investors, issuers and placement agents.
David earned a BBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Michigan and a JD degree from Fordham Law School.
William C. Hicks
Member / Co-Chair, Life Sciences Practice
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
William C. Hicks
Member / Co-Chair, Life Sciences Practice, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Bill is the Co-chair of the Life Sciences Practice Group. He has extensive experience representing issuers, investors, and investment banks in structuring and executing IPOs, cross-over investments, alternative public offerings, including APOs, reverse mergers and Form 10 transactions, follow-on public offerings, CMPOs, registered directs, PIPEs, and private placements. Bill represents hedge funds, venture capital firms, and private equity firms in customized investments in public companies, including structured PIPEs and registered directs. Bill also represents public companies in public and private financings, SEC compliance, corporate governance, and general counseling.
Bill has extensive experience representing buyers and sellers in M&A transactions, including public company deals, private company deals, and spin-offs. Bill regularly represents domestic and foreign companies, and he is well-versed in issues specific to cross-border deals.
Additionally, Bill represents private companies and investors in venture capital transactions.
Brian Hirshberg
Partner
Mayer Brown LLP
Brian Hirshberg
Partner, Mayer Brown LLP
Brian Hirshberg represents US and foreign private issuers, sponsors, and investment banks in registered and unregistered securities offerings, including:
- Initial public offerings
- Follow-on offerings
- Private placements (including Rule 144A and PIPE transactions)
- At-the-market offerings
- Registered direct offerings
- Liability management transactions
- Preferred stock and debt offerings
- Secondary offerings on behalf of issuers in a variety of industries
Brian serves clients on specialty finance, real estate and real estate investment trusts (REITs), business development companies (BDCs), and life sciences company deals. He also assists public company clients with ongoing securities law compliance requirements, listing standards of the major US stock exchanges, SEC public reporting obligations, shareholder-related disputes, and governance matters.
Jack Hogoboom
Partner
Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Jack Hogoboom
Partner, Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Jack has been listed in both the securities law and corporate law categories in The Best Lawyers in America since 2007. Often quoted in legal publications, he frequently publishes articles and speaks on corporate finance issues.
Marc Indeglia
Partner and Co-Chair of the Corporate Department
Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro LLP
Marc Indeglia
Partner and Co-Chair of the Corporate Department, Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro LLP
Marc Indeglia is a partner in the Corporate Department of Glaser Weil. His practice focuses on securities, financings, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate representation, representing public and private companies and financial institutions such as broker-dealers, investment banks, venture capitalists, private investment funds, and family offices. Marc also serves as the president of the Small Public Company Coalition, a federal advocacy coalition that represents the small public company community through government relations, lobbying, and public education initiatives.
Ele Klein
Partner
Schulte Roth & Zabel
Ele Klein
Partner, Schulte Roth & Zabel
Co-chair of the M&A and Securities Group, co-chair of the Global Shareholder Activism Group and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Advises on shareholder activism, mergers and acquisitions, securities law and regulatory compliance. Ele represents activists, investment banks and companies in matters ranging from corporate governance and control to proxy contests and defensive strategies. He works on numerous activist campaigns and related transactions every year for some of the largest private investment groups and investment banks in the United States and abroad. In addition, Ele advises on private investments in public equity (PIPEs), initial public offerings and secondary offerings, venture capital financing, and indenture defaults and interpretation, and he counsels clients in the regulatory areas of insider trading, short selling, Sections 13 and 16, Rule 144, insider trading and Regulation M/Rule 105. Ele is recognized as a 2022 American Lawyer “Dealmaker of the Year” for his work at Exxon Mobil for Engine No. 1, the largest proxy fight in history, which resulted in the addition of three directors to the ExxonMobil board of directors. He is also ranked as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA, The Legal 500 US, New York Super Lawyers – New York Metro Top 100 and Super Lawyers Business Edition. Ele has served as a moderator and speaker at numerous conferences and events addressing shareholder activism, regulatory and reporting issues, PIPEs, M&A deals, the capital markets and other topics of interest to the alternative investment industry. He is a regular contributor to the Shareholder Activism Insight report and The Activist Investing Annual Review, produced annually by Activist Insight in association with Schulte.
Leo Kofman
SVP - Equity Capital Markets
Jefferies
Leo Kofman
SVP - Equity Capital Markets, Jefferies
Leo Kofman is a Senior Vice President in Jefferies’ Equity Capital Markets Group focusing on PIPEs, private placements and SPAC transactions. Leo has over 15 years of experience in advising public and private companies across equity and equity-linked financing alternatives, with a particular focus on structured PIPE transactions. His previous experience includes RBC, Credit Suisse, and Morgan Joseph. Mr. Kofman received his BSc in Economics from The Wharton School and is a CFA Charterholder.
Ilya Kravets
Director of Placements/Investment Banking
H.C. Wainwright & Co.
Ilya Kravets
Director of Placements/Investment Banking, H.C. Wainwright & Co.
Ilya Kravets, Director of Equity Capital Markets and Investment Banking, has over 24 years of experience in global capital markets, including equity research and investments in public and private companies.
Within his current role Mr. Kravets leads financing activities across various equity structures including underwritten offerings, registered direct and PIPE transactions. Previously, Mr. Kravets served as Director of Research at Daniloff Capital, where he was responsible for Research and Investments in both public and private companies across various sectors, including the healthcare, technology, and agriculture sectors. Mr. Kravets also oversaw the activities and investments in Eastern Europe. Prior, Mr. Kravets was a Senior Analyst covering the Specialty Pharmaceutical Sector at Rodman & Renshaw. Prior to that, Mr. Kravets was Senior Analyst covering large and mid-cap biotechnology companies at Mehta Partners, which managed global healthcare funds, conducted healthcare investment research and provided strategic advisory services to industry managements worldwide. Mr. Kravets holds an Executive MBA degree from New York University Stern School of Business.
Michael Maline
Partner
Covington & Burling LLP
Michael Maline
Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
Christina Milnor
Partner
Mincey Bell Milnor / Cranfill Sumner
Christina Milnor
Partner, Mincey Bell Milnor / Cranfill Sumner
Christina Zaroulis Milnor is a securities enforcement and investigations attorney. She worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for over a decade, including time as the Assistant Secretary with oversight of enforcement and litigation issues facing the Secretary’s office. Prior to that, she worked in both the Division of Enforcement and Office of General Counsel at the SEC. Christina returned to private practice in the spring of 2024, joining and helping establish Mincey Bell Milnor, an affiliate of Cranfill Sumner LLP, with offices on K Street in Washington, D.C. She leverages her governmental experience to assist financial industry clients with navigating conflicts with or issues needing the attention of the SEC, FINRA, and other regulatory or quasi-regulatory bodies.
Nick Morgan
Founder & President
Investors Choice Advocates Network
Nick Morgan
Founder & President, Investors Choice Advocates Network
Nick Morgan is the President and Founder of Investor Choice Advocates Network, a nonprofit public interest litigation organization dedicated to serving as a legal advocate and voice for small investors and entrepreneurs whose efforts are too often impeded by government regulation. With over two decades of legal expertise, he previously served as a litigation partner at Paul Hastings LLP, focusing on securities enforcement defense. Earlier in his career, Morgan was a Senior Trial Counsel at the SEC, where he prosecuted complex securities fraud cases. His extensive experience makes him a prominent advocate for investor choice protection and securities law reform.
Mitch Nussbaum
Co-Chair
Loeb & Loeb
Mitch Nussbaum
Co-Chair, Loeb & Loeb
Mitch Nussbaum is the vice chair of Loeb & Loeb and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Capital Markets and Corporate Department. His practice focuses on representing emerging growth companies and investment banks in initial public offerings, follow-on public offerings, shelf takedowns, registered direct placements, PIPEs and other private placements (144A, Reg D, Reg A, Reg S, etc.). Mr. Nussbaum also regularly represents public companies regarding their SEC and NYSE or Nasdaq listing compliance and has acted as outside general counsel, including corporate, securities, M&A litigation and business counseling, to hundreds of private and public companies as well as their officers and directors. He also negotiates and documents acquisitions, mergers, going-private transactions, reverse mergers, proxy contests, tender offers, control contests, fund formations and secured lending financings and has represented issuers and underwriters in more than 100 SPAC public offerings and business combinations. Mr. Nussbaum was responsible for developing the groundbreaking IPAC, which features many of the benefits of the SPAC, but offers increased flexibility on pricing and deal structure, along with a more rapid transaction cycle.
Julie M. Plyler
Special Counsel
Covington & Burling LLP
Julie M. Plyler
Special Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP
Julie Plyler counsels clients primarily on capital markets and securities matters, including initial public offerings, private placements (including in connection with reverse mergers), and primary and secondary registered offerings. She also represents companies in connection with M&A and financing transactions. Julie advises public company clients across industries in the preparation of SEC periodic reports and proxy statements, Section 16 reporting, securities compliance matters and corporate governance matters.
Sarah Reed
General Counsel
RA Capital
Sarah Reed
General Counsel, RA Capital
Sarah Reed conceived of and managed the National Venture Capital Association-endorsed initiative to create model venture financing legal documents (see https://nvca.org/resources/model-legal-documents/). For her work in this area, the NVCA awarded Sarah its Outstanding Contribution to the Venture Industry Award. It was that project which formed the impetus for the Model PIPE Documents.
Sarah has worked in the investment funds industry for over two decades -- first as the General Counsel at Charles River Ventures, an early-stage tech VC firm (https://www.crv.com/); then as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of MPM Capital, an early-stage life sciences VC firm (http://www.mpmcapital.com/), and now as General Counsel of RA Capital Management, a multi-stage life sciences investment (hedge and venture) firm investing anywhere from inception to post-IPO (https://www.racap.com/). Sarah is the founder of two peer networking groups, one for general counsels at VC firms nationwide and the other for in-house counsel at life science investment firms.
Earlier in her career Sarah was a partner at Lowenstein Sandler, General Counsel at Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc. (a Nasdaq-listed laser medical device manufacturer subsequently acquired by another public company), an associate at Foley, Hoag & Eliot LLP and a clerk for the then only female Justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Sarah earned her JD from Harvard Law School, class of ’91, where she never met Barack Obama, but did meet and marry classmate Tom Reed, with whom she has three children. Sarah served as the first supervisor of the Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project (https://clinics.law.harvard.edu/hlep/) and teaches a class at Harvard Law School on Venture Capital Fund Formation.
Keith Rosenbloom
Founder & Managing Partner
Cruiser Capital
Keith Rosenbloom
Founder & Managing Partner, Cruiser Capital
Keith M. Rosenbloom serves as the Managing Partner of Cruiser Capital Advisors. He has over 30 years of investing experience with an emphasis on applying traditional value oriented private equity techniques to public and private special situations. Prior to founding Cruiser, Keith co-founded and managed the CARE Capital Group, an investment company focused on investing in hedge funds and creating alternative investment opportunities. Prior to CARE Capital, Keith co-managed Comvest Venture Partners, a private equity and bridge loan fund, and served as Director of Merchant Banking for Commonwealth Associates. Keith graduated cum laude from Yale University.
Rodrigo Sanchez
Counsel
Lucosky Brookman
Rodrigo Sanchez
Counsel, Lucosky Brookman
Rodrigo Sanchez is a Counsel at Lucosky Brookman LLP with over seventeen years’ experience practicing law. Mr. Sanchez focuses his practice in the areas of secured and unsecured lending. He represents both borrowers and issuers in a broad range of finance transactions across various asset classes. He has particular experience in insurance related lending and has advised borrowers and lenders in the premium finance and life settlements space for over ten years.
Prior to joining Lucosky Brookman, Mr. Sanchez was counsel with Arent Fox LLP after having been general counsel at several finance companies. Mr. Sanchez began his career as a structured finance attorney at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP and later joined Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, LLP. Mr. Sanchez received his Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Trinity University. Mr. Sanchez is admitted to the New York bar.
Marianne C. Sarrazin
Partner
Goodwin
Marianne C. Sarrazin
Partner, Goodwin
Marianne Sarrazin is a partner in the firm’s Life Sciences group. With a focus on the biotech and medtech industries, she regularly advises such companies on going public — via traditional IPO or alternative path to public (reverse merger or deSPAC). Marianne also frequently serves as outside general counsel to her public company clients, closely advising management teams and boards of directors on a wide variety of matters, including ongoing SEC reporting and US securities law requirements, as well as Nasdaq compliance and other corporate governance matters, including diversity initiatives. She also routinely represents clients — both US and foreign private issuers — in public and private capital markets transactions including follow-on offerings, at-the-market offerings and PIPEs.
Peter Serra
Executive Managing Director
Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC
Peter Serra
Executive Managing Director, Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC
Peter Serra serves as Executive Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking at Joseph Gunnar & Co. He oversees the origination and execution of capital raising and corporate finance transactions while remaining focused on building the firm’s growing department. A career corporate finance professional with an extensive network, having 23 years of experience as an issuer and investment banker, and a resume spanning hundreds of transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $30 billion.
Gregory Sichenzia
Partner
Sichenzia Ross Ference Carmel LLP
Gregory Sichenzia
Partner, Sichenzia Ross Ference Carmel LLP
Gregory Sichenzia, a founding member of Sichenzia Ross Ference Carmel LLP in May 1998, counsels public and private companies in all securities laws matters, from complex financing transactions and listings on various stock exchanges through everyday regulatory requirements. He has also been responsible for structuring innovative merger and acquisition transactions. Throughout his career he has represented many companies and investment banks in initial public offerings of securities, and has represented numerous public companies in private equity financing transactions (PIPEs) and the resulting resale registration statements associated with these financings.
Gregory Sichenzia, a member of the firm since its inception in 1998, is a corporate and securities attorney who specializes in corporate finance and transactional matters. Mr. Sichenzia’s practice focuses on representing publicly traded companies and FINRA member investment banks as underwriters and placement agents in various financing transactions including initial public offerings, follow-on public offerings, shelf takedowns and registered direct offerings. Mr. Sichenzia was an early pioneer in the development of PIPES transactions, (private investment in public equity), and was recognized as the industry leader for such transactions for over a decade. Mr. Sichenzia also represents public and private companies in other private financings utilizing various exemptions such as Regulation D, Regulation S, Regulation A and 144A. Mr. Sichenzia also represents target companies and investment banks in SPAC and De-SPAC transactions as well as traditional M & A transactions. In addition to transactional work Mr. Sichenzia also advises companies on general securities (34 act compliance) and corporate matters as well as NASDAQ and NYSE compliance and investigations before regulatory bodies.
Mr. Sichenzia has represented hundreds of public companies and completed over 1,000 private and public transactions totaling several billion dollars. The firm regularly represents over 100 public companies, multiple investment banks, private equity funds and financial institutions.
Mr. Sichenzia’s clients include public companies focused in various disciplines from bio-tech to hi-tech and consumer goods and was one of the first attorneys to bring a cannabis rented company public in the United States. His clients are worldwide from countries such as China, India, Korea, France, Israel, Canada, and others.
Mr. Sichenzia began his career in 1987. With the Firm Finley Kumble Wagner Hiene Underberg Manley Meyerson and Casey and worked in the corporate department of other large and mid-sized law firms. Prior to founding SRF he was a partner at Singer Frumento Sichenzia.
Mr. Sichenzia received his Juris doctor from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in 1987 where he was an editor of the Arts and Entertainment Law Journal. He received his undergraduate degree in economic and political science from the American University in Washington D.C. in 1984. He is admitted to practice law in the state of New York and Southern District of NY Federal Court and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 2014.
Mr. Sichenzia is a regular contributor to such media outlets as Law 360, Wall Street Journal and other financial and legal publications and has been a frequent guest on CNBC and for Fox Business News.
Joseph Smith
Partner
Ellenoff Grossman & Schole, LLP
Joseph Smith
Partner, Ellenoff Grossman & Schole, LLP
Joseph A. Smith, a member of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, is widely recognized as a leader in the field of Private Investments in Public Equity (PIPEs) and Registered Direct offerings, where he developed and perfected many of the most commonly used transaction structures including the intra-day and overnight shelf takedown, confidentially marketed public offerings (CMPOs), the self-liquidating convertible debenture and the equity line of credit. Mr. Smith’s clients are mainly investment banks and institutional investment funds, where he and his team facilitate over 100 financing transactions each year, in real time. He also assists broker-dealers with their regulatory issues. Under Mr. Smith’s leadership, Ellenoff Grossman & Schole has been ranked as the No. 1 legal adviser to placement agents every year since 2003.
Mr. Smith spent two years as a Managing Director and registered principal with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., Inc., structuring and placing PIPE transactions with the then leading team in that business. Mr. Smith has undergraduate and MBA degrees from University of California, Berkeley and a law degree from UCLA. Mr. Smith is a regular speaker on legal issues relating to the PIPE and RD markets at the PIPEs Conference and other venues.
Jonathan Stidd
CMO
DealMaker
Jonathan Stidd
CMO, DealMaker
With an unmatched entrepreneurial spirit, Jon Stidd has spent the past decade helping founders achieve their dreams. Beginning his career in management consulting, Jon soon discovered his passion for entrepreneurship, leading him to launch his own connected device company and mentor other founders through programs like General Assembly. Throughout his journey, Jon was drawn to digital marketing, where he found the perfect nexus of his interests in growth strategy, startups, and innovation.
In 2017, he co-founded Ridge Growth Agency, which quickly became the leading digital marketing agency for raising capital online—helping clients collectively raise over $500 million. This success led to the agency's acquisition by DealMaker in 2022. Now, as CMO of DealMaker, Jon brings the same passion and drive that fueled Ridge Growth, positioning DealMaker as the capital-raising brand of the future for both public and private companies.
Kevin C. Timken
Partner/Co-Leader, Securities & Capital Markets
Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP
Kevin C. Timken
Partner/Co-Leader, Securities & Capital Markets, Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP
Clients from a variety of industries turn to Kevin for guidance and counsel on a broad range of matters pertaining to securities, focusing on compliance with rules issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and state securities regulators. He has extensive experience in public and private securities offerings, broker-dealer compliance (particularly regarding resales of restricted securities under Rule 144 and otherwise), and regulatory enforcement defense with the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, and state securities regulators.
His practice includes preparing offering documents for public and private financings, preparing ongoing disclosures to stockholders and the investment community, advising broker-dealers and investment advisors, and other related securities matters.
Kevin also advises companies on corporate and transactional matters including environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, structuring complex mergers and acquisitions, and coordinating international business ventures with local legal counsel, accountants, and governmental authorities.
Additionally, Kevin provides guidance to clients on other matters important to their businesses, including business planning, structuring, entity selection and formation, and contract preparation and review. He is seasoned in integrating securities, corporate law, and financial reporting requirements.
Joe Tonnos
Managing Director
Roth Capital Partners
Joe Tonnos
Managing Director, Roth Capital Partners
Joe Tonnos is a Managing Director at Roth Capital Partners with over 14 years of experience investing in, structuring, and advising public and private companies. Joe’s experience spans across the buyside and sell-side where he has also been a six-time SPAC sponsor and has led and/or invested in several PIPE transactions. His previous experience includes Mistral Equity Partners, Lazard, and Bank of America. Mr. Tonnos received his B.S. and M.B.A. from Niagara University.
Marc Van Tricht
Managing Director/Investment Banking
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
Marc Van Tricht
Managing Director/Investment Banking, EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
Joined EarlyBirdCapital in 2016 and is the Head of Capital Markets focusing on SPAC origination and business combinations. Prior to joining EarlyBirdCapital, Mr. Van Tricht was the Head of Event-Driven Strategy at CRT Capital. Earlier in his career, Mr. Van Tricht spent over 15 years on the buy-side at firms including Gracie Capital, Trafelet, and Eos Partners. Mr. Van Tricht graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Economics degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Gaurav Verma
Co-Head of Investment Banking
D. Boral Capital
Gaurav Verma
Co-Head of Investment Banking, D. Boral Capital
Gaurav Verma is currently the Co-Head of Investment banking at D. Boral Capital. He was previously the Head of SPACs since July of 2023 and joined D. Boral Capital as the Head of Technology, Media and Telecom in January 2021.
Gaurav has been covering the Technology, Media, and Telecom sector for over 15 years and has executed over $125 billion in transactions encompassing sell-side and buy-side M&A, IPOs, equity offerings, SPACs, converts, high yield and investment grade financings. Gaurav has advised C-Suite executive teams on mergers and acquisition assignments, business development opportunities, growth strategies and capital allocation policies. Prior to joining D. Boral Capital, Gaurav was a Director at Nomura where he spearheaded the TMT coverage efforts and executed several financial and strategic transactions. Prior to his tenure at Nomura, Gaurav was a Senior Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch within their TMT investment banking group.
Gaurav received his MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from NYU Stern School of Business and BS in Computer Science and Economics from Rutgers University.
Perrie Weiner
Partner
Baker & McKenzie, LLP
Perrie Weiner
Partner, Baker & McKenzie, LLP
Perrie's exceptional reputation is further supported by testimonials from clients and other influential sources such as the Legal 500 US and Chambers USA, where he is praised for his problem-solving prowess, exceptional leadership, and outstanding legal acumen. He has earned the trust and approval of major companies like American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and XL Group PLC, making him one of the select few lawyers in California to represent directors and officers in complex (class action) securities litigation matters.
As a key player in the growth and leadership of Baker McKenzie's North America Securities Litigation Group, Perrie has helped position the team among the top tier in the highly regarded US Legal 500 rankings for consecutive years. Recognized by US Legal 500 as a Leading Individual in Litigation: Securities in California, Perrie's influence extends beyond legal circles. He has been honored as a Leader of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers by the LA Business Journal and has been named one of the Top 100 Lawyers and Top 500 most influential people in LA. His dedication to pro bono legal work has been acknowledged with prestigious awards, including the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and the Wiley W. Manuel Award. He also received the prestigious Burton Award, revered as the Pulitzer Prize of the legal profession, for excellence in legal writing, where a work he co-authored was inducted into the Library of Congress.
Mark Wood
Co-Chair, Capital Markets Practice Group
Katten
Mark Wood
Co-Chair, Capital Markets Practice Group, Katten
Katten Partner and National Capital Markets Co-Head Mark Wood is a highly-skilled, pragmatic, and client-focused practitioner with extensive experience representing public companies, investment banks, and other market participants in various ongoing and transactional matters. As a leading advisor in respect of highly structured PIPE transactions, he represents public companies, placement agents, and institutional investors, including a prominent firm targeting the healthcare space. Many of Mark's clients are in the health care, technology, oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, and financial services industries.
Joe Tonnos
Managing Director
Roth Capital Partners
Joe Tonnos
Managing Director, Roth Capital PartnersJoe Tonnos is a Managing Director at Roth Capital Partners with over 14 years of experience investing in, structuring, and advising public and private companies. Joe’s experience spans across the buyside and sell-side where he has also been a six-time SPAC sponsor and has led and/or invested in several PIPE transactions. His previous experience includes Mistral Equity Partners, Lazard, and Bank of America. Mr. Tonnos received his B.S. and M.B.A. from Niagara University.
