Recognized Mergers and Acquisitions Leaders 2025

As EVP of M&A, Joe leads PRITCHETT's M&A integration practice which has consulted on acquisitions valued in total over $350 billion. He is the architect of PRITCHETT’s M&A integration methodology, an approach that has been used successfully by thousands of acquirers. Joe also conceived of and brought to market the Merger Integration Certification Workshop, the most successful M&A integration training program in the world. Plus, he created MergerIntegration.com which is now the most visited web site on M&A integration. MergerIntegration.com provides step-by step instruction on how to run integration projects and is populated with over 500 deliverables from PRITCHETT consulting engagements. Joe is the author of the books, Street Smart Moves for Selling your Business and What’s Next? He is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

David Jacobs is a business broker specializing in software, SaaS, and tech-enabled service companies. He works with founders of businesses generating $2M–$20M in revenue who are exploring a sale or acquisition. Since 2019, David has advised owners through the exit process, working with private equity firms, family offices, and strategic buyers to create competitive acquisition processes. He frequently comments on SaaS valuations, exit preparation, buyer behavior, and common mistakes founders make when preparing to sell their companies. Website: davidjacobsbusinessbroker.com

Thomas Allen is Co-founder and CEO of Practice Real Estate Group, a leading healthcare-focused commercial real estate brokerage based in Austin, Texas. Since founding PRG in 2014, Thomas has guided hundreds of healthcare professionals through critical real estate decisions that set the foundation for their practice success. Thomas specializes in helping healthcare entrepreneurs navigate complex real estate decisions, from first-time practice owners opening their initial location to established practitioners expanding multi-location operations. His clients consistently describe him as a smart, creative, and trustworthy advisor who goes beyond finding space to create strategic real estate partnerships focused on long-term practice success. In 2016, Thomas expanded his expertise by launching Practice Transitions Group (PTG), providing comprehensive practice sales and transition services to healthcare professionals. This dual expertise in both real estate and practice transitions gives Thomas unique insights into the complete lifecycle of healthcare businesses. With over a decade of experience in healthcare real estate, Thomas has established PRG as a trusted partner for healthcare professionals across multiple states. His data-driven approach to location selection and commitment to understanding each client's unique vision has helped practices achieve above-average success rates in competitive markets.

Shreya Mehta is the Founder of MergeX, a private market intelligence platform providing EBITDA multiples, industry KPIs and valuation benchmarking data across 100+ verticals. Her work sits at the intersection of M&A advisory, deal intelligence, and financial data infrastructure. She specializes in business valuation, private market M&A trends, exit strategy, and what drives valuation multiples across industries, giving founders and business owners access to data that was previously only available inside investment banks and PE firms.

Jui is the Managing Partner at Next Point, where she leads the firm’s operations and heads the Mergers & Acquisitions division. Specializing in strategic exits for the industrial, medical, and dental sectors, Jui guides business and medical practice owners through the complex process of planning and executing successful exits. She combines high-level strategy with practical execution to ensure a seamless transition for her clients. Her background includes a unique blend of corporate experience working with Fortune 100 companies in financial planning, joint venture management, and risk mitigation, as well as years of entrepreneurial experience. Jui leverages this expertise to advocate for her clients, ensuring they are informed and confident throughout every phase of the deal. Her experience as an entrepreneur gives her a deep understanding of the challenges her clients face, and she works diligently to represent their best interests, aligning strategies with their unique objectives. Jui’s passion lies in serving as a trusted partner to her clients, helping them make informed decisions and transition from their businesses with confidence. With nearly two decades of experience and hundreds of successful transactions, she is known for developing exit strategies that not only maximize value but also safeguard her clients’ long-term goals. She holds an MBA in Finance and is certified in Mergers & Acquisitions, as well as a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA).

MarTech infrastructure consultant focused on PE-backed mid-market companies. I advise private equity operating teams and portfolio company leadership on commercial data architecture, CRM strategy, and revenue operations. Former CMO-level operator with experience across B2B demand gen, email compliance, and marketing analytics.

I didn't arrive in Arizona with a luxury real estate network. I arrived from Ukraine in 2011 with my family, a love for homes and design, and no roadmap for what came next. Everything I've built here, I built from scratch, in a new country, in a new industry, in a new language. That background shapes how I work. I understand what it means to start over somewhere unfamiliar and need someone you can genuinely trust. It's why my clients, whether they're local to Paradise Valley or relocating from overseas, tend to stay with me long after a transaction closes. Today I work as a luxury real estate advisor with the Grigg's Group powered by The Altman Brothers, a platform with over $9 billion in career sales across California and Arizona. I'm a member of the Top Agent Network, an invitation-only group limited to the highest-producing agents in the area. That membership allows me to run pre-market campaigns that create buyer demand before a home ever touches the MLS. Most sellers never see that kind of reach. My clients do. I hold the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation through the National Association of REALTORS® and I'm currently completing the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS) credential. I'm fluent in English, Russian, and Ukrainian, which puts me in a genuinely rare position when working with buyers and investors from outside the US. My listings have been featured in the Phoenix Business Journal and Phoenix Agent Magazine's list of the ten most expensive new listings in Arizona. I've listed estates in Paradise Valley at $12.5M and $13.975M, and I've appeared on camera alongside Josh Altman during property tours. I've also been covered by ABC15, Viva Phoenix, and international media for co-founding United4Ukraine, a charity I started with my husband after the Russian invasion of our home country. We've raised over $2.5 million for war relief. The work I'm most proud of doesn't always make headlines. It's the client who called years later to say I helped change their life. The deal that came together after everyone else gave up. The buyer who had lost multiple bidding wars before I found them the right home off-market and got it closed. That's the work that matters to me.

ExecCap Advisors provides expert advisory services combining strategic capital advocacy and real-world operating experience. We guide executives through every step of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA)—defining acquisition strategy, sourcing opportunities, securing capital partners, structuring deals, conducting due diligence, closing transactions, and scaling the business post-acquisition.

I'm the founder of Conversion Realtor, an AI decision intelligence platform built exclusively for real estate professionals. After spending over a decade at the intersection of real estate, digital media, and SaaS sales, I built the tool I wish had existed when I was helping agents struggle with the same problem: they had leads, but no system for converting them. My career has been defined by one throughline — helping professionals turn data and technology into revenue. I've worked as a SaaS consultant at Real Geeks, where I advised real estate agents on CRM strategy and lead generation systems. Before that, I spent years at Gate House Media and Belo Media Group (Dallas Morning News) as a Regional Digital Sales Manager and Multimedia Consultant, where I worked directly with real estate agents, teams, brokerages, home builders on digital marketing, print, marketing strategies and audience engagement. I also consulted at Solera and Web.com, giving me a broad foundation in B2B SaaS, paid search, and digital strategy across various industries with innovative software solutions. . That background gave me a front-row seat to why real estate conversion fails — not because agents lack leads, but because most AI tools weren't designed around how agents actually work. They lack buyer psychology, market context, and real-world deal workflows. Conversion Realtor fixes that. It analyzes leads, conversations, timing, and behavioral signals to identify the highest-probability next move in every deal — delivering the exact message, channel, and timing needed to move conversations forward. The result: agents move from typical 2–5% conversion rates toward elite performance in the 5–12% range, doubling closings without buying more leads. I speak and write on topics including AI in real estate, lead conversion strategy, buyer and seller psychology, decision intelligence, Proptech, and the future of real estate agent productivity. Whether the story is about how AI is reshaping real estate sales, why most leads go cold, or what separates top-performing agents from the rest — I bring both the practitioner experience and the platform data to back it up.

Ismael is Executive Chairman of FE International, a leading M&A advisory firm in the technology sector with over $46Bn in completed acquisitions. Wrixen’s previous background was in large-cap M&A investment banking, where he executed several high-profile public deals, namely in the technology sector.

I’m the founder of DIY Homebuyer Academy and a real estate broker focused on rethinking how buyers are represented in residential real estate. After years inside the traditional commission-based model, I began publicly questioning whether the system truly aligns with consumer interests. That work has evolved into a national platform helping buyers understand contracts, negotiations, and leverage — and, when appropriate, confidently represent themselves. My expertise centers on buyer strategy, compensation reform, incentive alignment, and the evolving role of agents in an AI-driven world. I work with analytical, independent buyers across multiple states and consult on complex transactions where traditional representation doesn’t always serve the client well. Through writing, long-form video, and public commentary, I explore the industry’s trust paradox — why consumers rely heavily on agents while simultaneously distrusting the system — and what meaningful reform could look like. If you’re covering the future of real estate, consumer empowerment, or the post-commission lawsuit landscape, I bring both inside experience and a reform-oriented perspective.

As Founder and CEO of Direction Inc., I architect organic search engine strategies driven by expert teams where technical excellence meets revenue acceleration. Our proven approach delivers an average 312% increase in quality leads, and 70% drop in patient acquisition costs for healthcare practices.Our mission at Direction? To create an organization where our team and customers thrive, delivering at least a 3x ROI within 12 months for our healthcare partners.Our values of Innovation, Value Creation and Elite Performance drive our operating system as we strive toward our vision of becoming the undisputed leader in healthcare SEO, helping practices attract 50-200+ new patient inquiries monthly.We engineer strategies to match intent at scale, creating sustainable inbound patient growth systems for dental practices, orthodontists, mental health providers, and plastic surgeons ready to be the leader their market.The Direction Difference:-Healthcare-Focused: Unlike broad-market SEO firms, we've targeted our expertise solely to healthcare SEO-Search Intelligence Architecture: We convert complex organic search and generative engine algorithms into revenue opportunities-Optimized Lead Acquisition Engineering: We building fast, sustainable growth frameworks with 61% lower cost per patient vs. paid ads-Market Dominance Blueprint: We transform websites into reliable lead and patient-acquisition powerhouses-Systematic Organization: We run on EOSMy obsession with business and digital marketing began early—from running an eBay business at nine, to coding my first website at 14, to buying and selling domain names, then going all-in on SEO since 2014. This foundation, combined with leading elite military intelligence teams through multiple overseas deployments, created a unique methodology:-Military precision and resilience into digital strategy and algorithm update intelligence, anticipating and capitalizing on search engine changes-Intelligence-driven market and competitor analysis, transforming search data into actionable strategies while identifying untapped market opportunities through systematic pattern recognition and prediction modeling-Team-centric leadership execution models forged in military intelligence operations, creating rapid-deployment SEO teams that adapt to algorithm shifts with military precision while maintaining focus on targetsReady to transform your digital presence from visible to unstoppable? Let's architect your path to practice growth with proven results that speak for themselves.

I am a business transactions lawyer in California. My team and I advise private businesses and nonprofits across the US on deal structuring, negotiation and closings. I am way more qualified to handle your M&A than you might think. I graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a magna cum laude in Economics and International Relations. I was the Baccalaureate speaker for my class and received an award for distinguished service to my college by reviving and leading its historic all-women's debate team. I then graduated from New York University School of Law, a T14 school. I was top 10% of my 1L class and served for two years on the NYU Law Review. I self-funded my degree with private loans and paid them all off in 5 years. I worked as an associate for America's leading corporate law firms, DLA Piper LLP and Fenwick & West, for more than six years. I learned start-up and tech M&A from the world's best. By the time I left Big Law, I had closed more than 35 M&A deals nearing a total deal value of $3bn. In 2024, I wrote a book for founders, Sell Your Start-up: A Founder's Guide to Navigate & Win at M&A, that's available on Amazon and Audible. Then, I started my own law firm from my home. Now, we have a physical office in Dublin, CA, two additional attorneys and two nonlegal staff on our team to support our growing practice. All of the team at ELS is based in the US. Executives love working with me because I make complicated, stressful and challenging business deals easier for them to negotiate and close. I educate them, fight for them, and respect their preferences. I support my clients from formation to market exit and plan to stick with them all the way. Testimonials from business owners I have worked with are on our website: mergerlawyer.com. Interested in hiring me to support your next deal? Book an intro or send me an email. DISCLAIMER: The content shared on this page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing or interacting with the posts does not create an attorney-client relationship. There are no guarantees that the information is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. This content should not be relied upon for making legal, business, or investment decisions—always consult a qualified professional for personalized advice. All opinions expressed here are Syeda Nazifa Nawroj’s own and do not reflect the views of her law practice, previous employers or colleagues, or any past, present, or future clients, friends, family, business partners or acquaintances.

I'm the founder and CEO of FE International: a tech-focused M&A advisory firm. Our team have closed over 1,500 deals with a combined value over $50bn throughout their careers working with investors and founders all over the globe.I'm also an investor and advisor to multiple businesses in the tech sector, spending my time helping them grow.Regularly featured speaking at conferences, industry publications, radio, TV, podcasts and other forms of interviews - always open to new opportunities to talk about the world of M&A.If you're interested in a no-obligation valuation for your business, feel free to reach out.

I bring over 15+ years of experience in mergers & acquisitions (M&A) of small & medium size businesses (SMBs), focused explicitly on online-based businesses (SaaS, eCommerce, Media, Digital, Amazon, etc). Our M&A firm, WebAcquisition, has performed buy-side due diligence on over $1B in business valuations spanning across 500+ transactions since 2008. In addition, since 2008, my team and I have acquired, grown, and exited 220+ online businesses. We run a holding company, Inventige, that focuses on stable online businesses.

Jeffrey M. Gabriel, founder and CEO of Saw.com, is a domain industry veteran with over 15 years of experience and over $550 million in completed transactions. Known for high-profile deals like the Guinness World Record-breaking sale of Sex.com for $13 million, the top .ORG sale of Poker.org for $1 million, and the recent sales of Diamond.com, AI.com, Media.com, Data.ai and countless others. Jeffrey and his team has a reputation for delivering exceptional value to clients. Previously, he held key roles at Uniregistry, Igloo.com, and Sedo. An active industry expert, Jeffrey has contributed to Forbes and is a member of the Internet Commerce Association, frequently sharing insights on domain acquisition, sales, and strategy.

Aaron Agius is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Louder.Online and Owner of Paloren.ai. He comments on the business decisions behind digital growth and practical AI adoption: where to invest, what to measure and how to turn strategy into working operations. His expertise includes SEO, content marketing, marketing measurement, customer acquisition, conversion optimization, digital agency operations and entrepreneurship. Through Paloren.ai, he focuses on practical business AI adoption, connected company knowledge, workflow automation and systems integration. Aaron has written for Entrepreneur, HubSpot, Salesforce and Search Engine Journal, and contributed to Forbes Agency Council as a former Councils member. His published work covers marketing budgets, content ROI, customer insight, SEO and business growth. His HubSpot and Search Engine Journal author biographies document experience with Salesforce, Coca-Cola and Target; these historical references do not imply current contracts or endorsement. Based in Barcelona, Spain, he is available for commentary on AI implementation priorities, human oversight, changing search behavior, content quality, attribution, acquisition costs and building a digital agency. He offers practical commercial and operational perspectives, not academic AI research, medical, legal or investment advice. Verification and selected writing are available through his Qwoted profile. Websites: https://louder.online/ and https://paloren.ai/.

I am an expert in small business efficiency and growth and founder/CEO of Piccolo Solutions, a development firm that provides businesses with numerous ways to scale, from marketing services to workflow solutions. This past March marked our 12th year in business! I am active in the Nashville community through numerous charities, Boards, and volunteer efforts, including serving as the past President of the Nashville Emerging Leader Board. As a long time Mentor with SCORE Nashville, I was honored to have been selected as the host of the SCORE Connect television show on News Channel 5+, connecting business leaders and resources. I have been named to Nashville Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, Most Admired CEOs, and Best in Business Lists and was selected for the 2022 Forbes Top 1000 List! Most recently I was named Nashville Business Journal's 2024 Woman of Influence, Nashville Business Journal’s 2025 Nashpreneur of the Year, and one of Nashville’s Titan100 Top CEOs. Me and my team have helped hundreds of business owners grow their personal and professional brands!

Gregg Jaclin is the Managing Director at Exchange Listing LLC and founder of JRB Consulting LLC, a Princeton, NJ-based consultancy focused on capital markets advisory and public equity strategy for entrepreneurs and growth-stage businesses. With more than two decades in capital markets, Mr. Jaclin has become one of the more knowledgeable practitioners in the micro-cap and emerging growth IPO space — a world he describes as operating entirely differently from the large-cap transactions that dominate financial headlines. At Exchange Listing LLC, Mr. Jaclin serves his clients as their primary guide through one of the most consequential transitions a business can make: going public. Where investment banks focus on raising capital and legal counsel handles the registration process, Mr. Jaclin fills the gap in between — helping companies build the management teams, financial models, investor narratives, governance structures, and board compositions they need to not just complete a listing on NASDAQ or NYSE but to succeed afterward. His completed transactions span healthcare, fintech, real estate, and technology, and include La Rosa Realty, Neuraxis, Inspire Veterinary Partners, Surge Pays, Heartbeam, and Green Box, among others. Mr. Jaclin is also part of the sponsor group of Emmis Acquisition Corp, a SPAC that completed its IPO in August 2025. With a particular focus on high-growth companies in the ASEAN region, MS Acquisition Corp reflects Mr. Jaclin's years of firsthand market development in Southeast Asia — including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam — where he has built deep relationships with companies seeking U.S. exchange access and the liquidity advantages that come with it. Jaclin's broader advisory philosophy is straightforward: bet on the jockey. For him, the management team's quality, character, and commitment to growth matter just as much as the industry sector or current revenue. He is equally candid about when a company isn't ready — and equally committed to helping them find an alternative path, whether through crowdfunding or a private capital raise, before pursuing a public listing. Founded in 2017, JRB Consulting LLC reflects Jaclin's evolution from capital markets legal practitioner to trusted advisor for founders navigating the private-to-public transition. Outside of work, he is an avid basketball player, cyclist, and pickleball enthusiast, and previously coached his children's sports teams in the Princeton, NJ area.

Senior-level strategy/corporate development/ventures executive in the increasingly concentric media/advertising/tech industrial complex – with 30+ years of pioneering operational experience, investment returns and thought leadership in championing innovation across traditional, digital, and (especially) “emerging” media and marketing firms. Industry vertical areas of expertise: - "Emerging" media and technology: advanced/interactive advertising, media tech platforms, media distribution - especially in TV & video - Digital media operations (online, mobile, digital video, digital audio, digital OOH, social, etc.) - Traditional media operations (TV, radio, out-of-home, print, etc.)- Advertising (media buying, media ad sales, ad/media/digital agency structure/operations) - Consumer media behaviors (consumption, behaviors, trends, preferences, etc.) - Ad/marketing/tech innovation (startups, venture investment, etc.) - Corporate development in media/advertising industries (M&A, corporate ventures, etc.) - Nationally recognized thought leadership in all things "future of TV/media" & "advanced advertising" Functional areas of expertise in above industries/verticals: - Corporate strategy & development, including M&A and ventures - Marketing & PR/corporate communications - Business development - Advertising sales - Media industry analysis & thought leadership