Creating Value with Values
Crewe has a carefully curated team of experienced investment bankers providing clients with full-service advisory, with a focus on selling middle-market businesses. Investment banking and merger and acquisition experts add value to firm clients in both their operating businesses and investment portfolios. Our professionals have advised on hundreds of transactions, aggregating approximately $70 billion in total value
Testimonials presented on our website are applicable to the individuals depicted and are voluntarily provided. The opinions expressed may not be representative of your experience and is not a guarantee of future performance or success. Individuals have not been compensated in exchange for their testimonials.
Services Provided
Services Provided
Capital Raise
Crewe’s professionals have extensive experience raising capital for middle-market companies in various stages of development and across a variety of industry sectors.
Strategic Advisory
Our objective is to fully understand the long-term objectives of a business and help evaluate strategic and optimal solutions in order to execute the strongest plan possible prior to any major capital transaction.
Restructuring
Crewe provides advisory services for businesses in disarray due to economic distress, untenable capital structures, declining industry trends, or challenging operating conditions.
Merchant Banking
Crewe’s merchant banking focus offers strategic value to our clients by combining the services of an investment bank with the ability to make principal investments in unique opportunities.
Secondaries
Crewe has experience across a wide range of secondary transactions, including private stock placement and the sale of limited partnership interests in the secondary market.
“After deeply vetting a few investment bankers, we were energized to select Crewe. They are trustworthy, loyal advisors that constantly pushed for our best interests. We were told by several groups that Crewe’s marketing materials for our business were the most impressive they’d seen. They are just good people that we truly enjoyed spending time with. We couldn’t have made a better choice than Crewe and would be thrilled to go through this process again with them on another transaction.”
Mandy and Adam Gleason | Founders of Replica Surfaces
“After deeply vetting a few investment bankers, we were energized to select Crewe. They are trustworthy, loyal advisors that constantly pushed for our best interests. We were told by several groups that Crewe’s marketing materials for our business were the most impressive they’d seen. They are just good people that we truly enjoyed spending time with. We couldn’t have made a better choice than Crewe and would be thrilled to go through this process again with them on another transaction.”
Founders of Replica Surfaces
Investment Banking Team
Michael Bennett
Mr. Bennett is the Managing Partner of Crewe Capital. Mr. Bennett held senior positions with three different investment banking firms prior. Mr. Bennett provides capital solutions to middle-market companies and alternative investment advisory to family office clients. Mr. Bennett has completed over 100 investment banking transactions. Expertise includes mergers, acquisitions, corporate finance, strategic advisory, fundraising, and direct investment in real estate, private equity, and private credit. Mr. Bennett sits on multiple boards and is actively involved in his community by participating in various organizations with a charitable focus. He is a member of the board of directors of CharityVision and founded Crewe Kids as a grant-making organization to increase philanthropy. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. Mr. Bennett is fluent in Portuguese.
Robert King
Robert King has spent the last thirty years providing strategic and transaction advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and entrepreneurs. For most of his career, he has pursued client work focused on the commercialization and monetization of intellectual property in the medical technology, device, and life sciences industries. In addition, he has provided expert testimony for a variety of transactional, regulatory, tax, accounting, and fiduciary purposes. He is a member of The Economic Club of New York, the American Economic Association, CFA Society New York, the CFA Institute, and is an associate valuation member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. King completed Ph.D. coursework in Economics at the University of California. He holds an MA in Economics from the University of San Francisco, where he was subsequently a lecturer in Economics, Finance and Statistics, a BA in Biology from the University of California, where he was a Regents of the University of California Research Fellowship recipient, and a BA in Spanish Literature from Creighton University, where he was a Jesuit Humanities Scholar. After high school, he spent several years as a member of the Society of Jesus (the “Jesuits”) in studies for the Roman Catholic priesthood.
Hector Cuellar
Previously, Mr. Cuellar was President of McGladrey Capital Markets, a global investment bank specializing in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, capital raising, restructurings, and fairness opinions. Under Mr. Cuellar’s tenure, MCM completed more than 300 M&A transactions and generated over $8 billion in liquidity for its clients. Mr. Cuellar is consistently ranked within the top three M&A advisors for deals under $250 million. Mr. Cuellar has more than 30 years of experience in corporate and investment banking, including international M&A, corporate finance, and capital raising. Prior to joining McGladrey Capital Markets, he served as Managing Director at Banc of America Securities and manager of the firm’s Los Angeles office where he oversaw the firm’s global activities in Aerospace & Defense, Engineering, and Construction. Mr. Cuellar received a BA in Accounting from Loyola University in Chicago and an MBA from The J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Cuellar is fluent in Spanish.
Morgan Edwards
Mr. Edwards worked for 25 years as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, and Macquarie, closing hundreds of leveraged buyout transactions totaling more than $40 billion, including the $1.1 billion buyout of Dresser, Inc., Euromoney Magazine’s 2001 Deal of the Year. Mr. Edwards has significant deal structuring and restructuring proficiency and extensive experience negotiating and syndicating transactions across a range of industries with numerous capital markets counterparties. More recently, Mr. Edwards served as CFO of CommonBond, a leading FinTech in the student lending space and Head of Capital Markets for Orchard.com, a leader in single-family home acquisitions. He has raised more than $3.5 billion in committed debt and equity over six years. Mr. Edwards is a partner in the management group that recently acquired Burnley FC in the English Premier League. He is a former board member of the Loan Sales and Trading Association and sits on the National Advisory Council for the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University, where he earned an MBA with Highest Distinction.
Ryan Bailey
Mr. Bailey serves as an advisor and key member of the Private Fund Group at Crewe Capital. His career commenced with the founding of a trading company at the World Trade Center in 2000. Following the events of 9/11, he relocated to Dallas, Texas. Mr. Bailey actively participates in the investment committees for the Texas Employee Retirement System, American Heart Association, Dallas Police and Fire, and Parkland Hospital. Additionally, he serves as a director on the boards of Blue Dolphin Energy (BDCO), Bridgeway Capital Management, STREAM Foundation, Portfolios with Purpose, Dallas CFA Society, and is an Angel for the Texas Wall Street Women.
Throughout his career, Mr. Bailey has earned recognition for his exceptional contributions and industry expertise. He was featured in D Magazine in June 2011, named one of the “40 under 40” by Asset International–Chief Investment Officer Magazine (aiCIO) in April 2015, and a finalist for the aiCIO’s 2015 Next Generation Award. He received the Institutional Investor 2016 Investor Intelligence Award for Healthcare Institutions’ Portfolio Construction and was a finalist for CIO Magazine’s Industry Innovation Award for Healthcare in 2017. In addition, he was honored with Institutional Investor’s Healthcare System of the Year Award in 2018.
Mr. Bailey is a graduate of Yale University with a BA in Economics. He holds esteemed certifications, including Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), and Chartered Market Technician (CMT).
John Orr
Previously, Mr. Orr gained extensive transactional, strategic, capitalization, and communications experience serving in a variety of senior roles at complex and highly active organizations including Ascent Capital Group and Liberty Media Corporation. Mr. Orr has set strategy and led the execution of acquisition and divestiture plans across diverse industries including telecommunications, media, technology, connected home services, and consumer products, successfully completing deals ranging in value from $5 million to $3 billion. These transactions have been strategic in nature and have, among other things, served to broaden product offerings, expand distribution channels, and enhance operational scale. Mr. Orr received a BA in Economics from the University of Colorado and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ken Timbers
Previously, Mr. Timbers gained broad operational and strategic experience in a number of senior-level positions (including CFO, SVP, and President) and acquired a diverse background in M&A and corporate development. Mr. Timbers’ deal experience at Western Union, First Data Corporation, and IHS has been from multiple perspectives and with varied leadership responsibility and involvement (executive sponsor, strategic advisor, and deal manager) on deals ranging from $1 million to $1 billion, including buy and sell sides, tuck-ins, and strategic adjacencies. Mr. Timbers received BA and MA degrees in Economics from Stanford University and holds an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Cade Mellies
Mr. Mellies advises middle-market companies on mergers, acquisitions, corporate finance, and strategic alternatives. Previously, he was with Cross Creek Advisors, a late stage venture capital firm, and focused on direct and fund investments in the technology and life sciences industries. Additionally, he has held leadership roles in corporate finance, management consulting, and sales and trading. Mr. Mellies holds a BS in Finance from Brigham Young University and an MS in Finance from the University of Utah. Mr. Mellies is fluent in Romanian and interprets for local courts, hospitals, and conferences.
Darren Siegrist
Mr. Siegrist has over 25 years of financial services experience including real estate finance, private wealth management and investment banking. He now provides capital solutions to middle-market companies and leads the firm’s capital introduction business for alternative investment sponsors. Mr. Siegrist expertise helps provide alternative investment solutions to institutions and family offices. He started his career in Public Accounting and received his CPA along with the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) designation. He earned his BA in Accounting from Michigan State University and an MBA from USC Marshall School of Business.
Brian Basil
Mr. Basil is the Managing Director leading Crewe’s investment banking practice in Detroit, executing mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and financing transactions. He has more than 25 years of investment banking experience, providing transaction advice to middle market companies in many industries including: healthcare, business services, automotive, aerospace & defense, food & beverage, plastics, information technology, distribution, metal forming/processing, ecommerce, and building products among others. Prior to joining Crewe, Mr. Basil held leadership positions with three other Investment banks. He is the 2019 ACG Investment Banker of the Year for Southeastern Michigan. Mr. Basil is a graduate of the Eli Broad School of Management at Michigan State University. He earned his law degree and an MBA from Wayne State University. Mr. Basil is also an active member of the State Bar of Michigan.
Jason Pulley
Mr. Pulley has over 18 years of investment banking experience as a mergers and acquisitions advisor and has worked on both domestic and cross-border transactions. During that time he provided sale and divestiture services to corporate and private equity clients, completed acquisitions of public and private companies, represented special committees of public company boards, rendered fairness opinions, and engaged in strategic alternatives reviews on behalf of public and private clientele. Mr. Pulley previously worked for Phi Capital, an alternative asset investment vehicle focused on international investment opportunities in the global general industrial sector. Prior to Phi Capital, Mr. Pulley was a Vice President in Deutsche Bank’s General Industrial Group, where he headed the flexible packaging coverage in North America and Europe. Before Deutsche Bank, his previous investment banking experience included McGladrey Capital Markets and Banc of America Securities. Mr. Pulley holds a BS in Finance from the University of Utah and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Thomas Wolf
Mr. Wolf has spent his entire career in finance as agent or principal in public and private equity and real estate. His career began with JP Morgan in New York City in 1986 and he has worked in a variety of corporate and entrepreneurial capacities since. Notably from 1994-99, he worked in London for CSFB and then Morgan Stanley. Upon returning to the U.S., he has focused on active and passive investments in private equity and worked in corporate venture capital. In 2003, he returned to the securities industry and the pursuit of capital for private securities and alternative funds. To date, he has completed or is active in private fund mandates that cover a variety of private equity including buyout, distressed, venture, real estate, and infrastructure as well as hedge strategies including RV, global macro, equity market neutral, European equity long/short, and merger arbitrage. Mr. Wolf and his wife are active philanthropic investors focused on education and health. Mr. Wolf currently chairs Impact 360, which supplements secondary public education with sport and life skill curriculum to assure a pathway to college for lower-income students. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a BS in Chemistry/Physics/Biology as well as the University of Denver with an MBA in Finance. Additionally, he is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.
Lance Lehnhof
With over 20 years of experience as a practicing M&A and securities attorney, Mr. Lehnhof has unique expertise and perspective advising companies on M&A, financing, and other financial and strategic matters. Mr. Lehnhof began his career with the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP assisting issuers and underwriters with public capital markets transactions, following which he worked at various firms in Salt Lake City focusing on mid-market and emerging-growth companies in fundraising and M&A activities as well as a wide range of other complex transactions on behalf of companies and institutional investors. Mr. Lehnhof is a shareholder at the law firm of Buchalter, PC and is licensed to practice law in New York, Utah, and the District of Columbia, and holds a BA and a JD from Brigham Young University. Mr. Lehnhof is fluent in French.
Jared Rasmussen
Mr. Rasmussen provides capital solutions to middle-market companies and alternative investment solutions to institutions and family offices, including equity and debt transactions, mergers, acquisitions, and alternative investment advisory services. Previously, Mr. Rasmussen was an investment analyst at Velzy Capital and has experience investing in small cap companies and trading futures using statistical modeling. He received a BA in Psychology from Brigham Young University-Hawaii and an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.
Paul Leck
Mr. Leck previously worked as an investment banker for Credit Suisse and Macquarie advising companies on a broad range of transactions including IPOs, mergers & acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and capital raises. He serves as a board advisor to several technology companies and is regularly sought after for advice on transactional and strategic advisory. Mr. Leck works with the United Angels Foundation, a non-profit focusing on helping families with children who have special needs. He holds a BS in Management and played rugby collegiately for Brigham Young University.
Dan Reeb
Previously, Mr. Reeb served in various senior leadership roles gaining extensive experience in sales and marketing, management consulting, strategy, and corporate finance. Mr. Reeb has worked with and advised public and private companies of all stages including start-ups, rapid growth disruptors, and mature billion-dollar enterprises across many industries including healthcare, technology, food and beverage, building materials, and various other service companies and trades. Mr. Reeb received his MS degree in Accounting with a secondary focus in Finance from the University of Colorado and is a licensed CPA in the state of Colorado.
Omar Melo
Mr. Melo has over 20 years of investment banking, finance, and operational experience, primarily in the TMT, renewable energy, real estate, and financial services industries. His banking experience includes executing M&A, equity and debt capital raises, structured finance, tax equity, mortgage loan origination, workouts, and restructuring. Mr. Melo started his career on the buy-side as an equity research analyst with George Soros in Hong Kong and then on the sell-side for Merrill Lynch in New York and Banc of America Securities in San Francisco. From there he transitioned to a series of start-ups and middle-market firms holding various positions including Co-Founder of EquityLock Financial and CFO & Treasurer of Hybridyne Power Systems. Mr. Melo received his Juris Doctorate and a BS in Accounting from Brigham Young University. Mr. Melo is a native Spanish speaker.
Nicholas Smith
Mr. Smith provides financial analysis, due diligence, and capital solutions to middle-market companies in a broad range of industries for mergers, acquisitions, leveraged finance, and equity capital markets. Prior to Crewe, Mr. Smith worked in wealth management providing financial solutions for high-net-worth individuals, corporations, not-for-profits, and other organizations. Mr. Smith received a BS in Accounting and Business Administration from the University of Mississippi and an MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.
Jesse Mitchell
Mr. Mitchell primarily focuses on due diligence, financial analysis, and developing management materials. Prior to joining Crewe Capital, Mr. Mitchell worked in various roles for multiple startups and entrepreneurs where he gained significant experience in business operations, finance, and sales and marketing. Mr. Mitchell studied Business and Communications at Brigham Young University.
Josh Kunzler
Mr. Kunzler primarily focuses on financial modeling, due diligence, and the development of management materials. His professional background encompasses various roles in private equity, sales, and startup management, affording him extensive experience in financial analysis and private markets. Mr. Kunzler studied Finance at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Business.