2026 Northeast Ohio Smart Business Dealmakers Rising Stars

Top M&A Talent

A look at today’s Rising Stars in M&A and how their firms cultivate their success

From mentors to classes, career ladders and scorecards, to real-world, hands on experience, there are myriad strategies for developing the next generation of M&A talent. For the firms we spoke with, it’s a critical aspect of their operation, as they will be on the front lines helping clients transact and leading the next stages of growth in a highly competitive market.

The Rising Stars in this issue represent some of the most promising up-and-coming professionals in M&A. In addition to showcasing this year’s honoree class, we talk with many of the business leaders whose talented staff are being recognized to learn how their firms execute strategies to attract, develop and retain the next generation of dealmakers. Here’s what they had to say.

Building the bench to build the business

For Howard Bobrow, Practice Group Chair at Taft, hiring and developing young talent has been essential to the strength and scalability of the firm’s M&A practice.

“Our clients increasingly need multidisciplinary teams that can move quickly across complex transactions, whether they involve strategic acquisitions, private equity investments, emerging-growth companies or public-company matters,” Bobrow says. “Developing associates early gives us a deeper bench of lawyers who understand not only the mechanics of a transaction, but also the client’s industry, commercial objectives and risk tolerance.”

When HD Growth Partners acquires a practice, it’s often because partners are approaching retirement and want continuity for their clients. Megan Roberts, the company’s COO, says they’ve built a young workforce ready to step into that responsibility on the same timeline.

“Our most recent acquisition in the Cleveland market brought a high volume of complex, high-net-worth individual tax work, so we built a talent pipeline to meet that need before the deal closed,” Roberts says. “When those clients came over, they were welcomed with excellent service because our team was ready and excited to do that work.”

As Oswald Companies’ Unison Risk Advisors platform has grown across the country in the last four to five years, Brian M. Stovsky, SVP, National M&A Practice Leader at the company, says hiring key people in new cities and regions has been a critical part of the growth strategy within their M&A practice.

“Alongside these hires, we have been able to develop young talent,” Stovsky says. “The combination of the two strategies has really shown significant results in the last 12 months.”

As a service-oriented organization, Al Melchiorre, President and CEO of MelCap Partners LLC, says people are No. 1. So, finding, developing and training hard-working professionals in the investment banking industry is foundational to the firm.

“We have had several record years in a row, and we would not have been able accomplish that if it wasn’t for our dedicated team of M&A professionals,” Melchiorre says. “That dedication starts with the example from our leadership team and, in particular, our deal leads. They set the tone for the team and it then permeates throughout the entire team. If the younger guys see the leaders putting in the hard work and extra effort, then they are going to follow their lead and do the same thing.”

Standing out in a sea of opportunity

Bobrow says Taft attracts young professionals by offering sophisticated work, meaningful responsibility, accessible senior lawyers and a friendly, collaborative culture where they can build a long-term practice — something he says ambitious early-career lawyers want.

Additionally, Taft’s summer associate program is a key entry point, giving law students exposure to a broad range of practices. Those interested in corporate and M&A work, for example, get an opportunity to see how transactions come together across disciplines, rather than viewing M&A as drafting in isolation.

Similarly, Melchiorre says MelCap’s summer internship program is an important tool for the firm to evaluate and train future investment bankers.

“This past summer, we had interns from Notre Dame and Ohio University,” Melchiorre says. “They did a great job, and we hired both of them to come back in the spring as full-time analysts. In fact, three of our principals were interns at one point. They are all great testimonials of how you can go from intern to owner.”

Kelly Greene, VP, Corporate Development at Park Place Technologies, says the company offers young professionals something they value tremendously: meaningful responsibility and exposure early in their careers.

“Our corporate development team isn’t sitting on the sidelines watching transactions happen,” Greene says. “They’re in the room, working with senior leadership, business owners, private equity sponsors and advisers. They see how an acquisition moves from an initial opportunity through diligence, negotiation, closing and integration. For ambitious, curious people, that’s an extraordinary learning environment.”

To attract young professionals, Stovsky says the people at Oswald Companies and Unison Risk Advisors share their experiences with recruits and leverage their employee ownership model to hire and retain top-tier talent.

“Our size and operating model fits well in today’s insurance landscape of mass consolidation and revenue aggregation of the largest firms in the world,” Stovsky says. “People are attracted to the fact that we’re different, but have a long track record of success.”

 

HD Growth Partners invests heavily in internal training that stretches people’s interpersonal and relationship skills, which are fundamental to getting deals done, Roberts says. That ultimately shows up in how their team engages with the community. She says they also stay closely connected to local universities and chamber organizations, which gives young professionals a sense of purpose beyond the transaction.

Keeping the team together

Attracting young talent is one thing. Keeping them is another. To that end, Bobrow says that at Taft, retention begins with intentional integration.

“Every associate is assigned both a partner mentor and an associate mentor when joining the firm, typically within the associate’s practice group,” Bobrow says. “Associates also have an opportunity to select a partner mentor to support their professional development. In an M&A practice, that combination is especially useful: the partner mentor can help the associate develop technical judgment and a long-term practice strategy, while the associate mentor can provide practical guidance on workflow, staffing, and navigating the early years of practice.”

Within an M&A team, he says retention also means creating an environment where associates can see their growth. That view is shared by HD Growth Partners

“We give total transparency into career progression,” Roberts says. “When people can see exactly what average, good and excellent performance look like, with scorecards refreshed daily, they take control of their own trajectory. That transparency also means we hold people accountable without bias and no one is ever left guessing where they stand.”

Park Place Technologies’ Greene says talented people stay where they are challenged, trusted and can see that they’re continuing to grow.

“When someone demonstrates they can handle more, we give them more,” Greene says. “We also make sure our team understands the ‘why’ behind the work — not simply how to execute a transaction, but why we’re pursuing it and what ultimately creates value.”

For Stovsky, retention is aided by compensation and rewards. Newer employees are also paired with tenured resources who can help them win.

“We are in a competitive and aggressive sales industry,” Stovsky says. “If our young people are on an island trying to succeed, we are completely doing them a disservice. That is not our philosophy.”

Melchiorre says because MelCap is a smaller firm, culture is important.

“One bad apple can disrupt that culture,” Melchiorre says. “We try and do fun things outside of work, like going to Ohio State football games, Cavs and Guardians games, as well as go-kart racing.”

Additionally, he says everyone who joins the firm has the opportunity to be a principal in MelCap.

Building a strong foundation

When it comes to fostering professional development, Greene says that stems from access, experience and being surrounded by people willing to teach.

“Because Park Place is an active acquirer, our team gets something that’s difficult to replicate through formal training,” Greene says. “They work across different transactions, business models and functional areas, learning what works and what doesn’t.”

That’s similar to the approach at Oswald Companies and Unison Risk Advisors. Stovsky says they allow their young talent to participate in the full scope of a deal, big or small. They also promote opportunities to get involved in their community, in leadership development opportunities, and industry associations.

“Becoming an ingrained member of the community and industry that our people sit in is a core value of our firm,” Stovsky says.

At Taft, Bobrow says they combine formal training with hands-on experience so associates receive both practical skills and clear career guidance. Support includes Pathway for continued development in leadership, presentation skills, delegation and teamwork; individualized development plans and coaching; and Path to Partnership provides senior associates with transparency, training and individualized guidance as they head toward that goal.

Training is also a foundational part of MelCap’s professional development program. Melchiorre says the firm is a partner in an international M&A organization called Globalscope, making them one of 55 firms in 47 countries. Once an investment banker reaches the associate level, they can go to Spain for a week to train along side the other associates from the other firms across the globe.

To boost new hires’ progress, Roberts says Growth Partners assigns a peer buddy for their first 90 days, plus a coach responsible for their monthly scorecard and helping them build toward it. Advancing means submitting an application with peer and coach recommendations for committee review. If it’s not approved, the person gets a written plan to close the gap by the next cycle.

“It’s a system that never lets underperformers hide, which protects the high achievers, too,” Roberts says. ●

 

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2026 Smart Business Dealmakers Rising Stars

 

• Recently represented private equity sponsors in platform acquisitions, add-on acquisitions, recapitalizations and exit transactions across the manufacturing, health care, technology, industrial, and business services sectors.
• Advises founder- and family-owned businesses in buy-side and sell-side transactions involving private equity firms and strategic buyers.
• Represents two of the nation’s largest data center developers in acquisition, joint venture and development transactions across multiple markets.

 

 

 

• She has supported key corporate development, investor relations and business development activities, including the company’s $2.6 million seed financing, more than $8 million raised through SAFE investments, and a recently executed $18 million strategic purchase.
• During the acquisition process, Boutros helped coordinate diligence, prepare materials, manage executive communication, organize the data room, and support alignment across leadership, advisers and incoming team members.

 

 

 

 

• Starting as an intern, Bowman has since risen from Senior Associate to Director/Principal. As a shareholder, he is also on the board of MelCap and a member of the Strategic Planning Committee.
• He has successfully lead numerous M&A transactions with an emphasis on sell-side deals.
• As a Deal Lead, he manages his team across a variety of deals in the industrial, consumer, business services, and food/beverage sectors.

 

 

 

 

• Brenner-Pacey has played a significant role in many complex public and private mergers and acquisitions.
• She was instrumental to the negotiation and closing of Worthington Enterprises’ $205 million acquisition of LSI Group, Myers Industries’ $350 million acquisition of Signature Systems, the sale of Bob Evans Restaurants to 4×4 Capital, and Farmers National Banc Corp.’s $299 million merger with Middlefield Banc Corp.

 

 

 

 

 

• Chaffee executes complex M&A, buyout and advisory engagements on both sides of the table while simultaneously safeguarding the firm’s regulatory standing as its Chief Compliance Officer and driving new business development.
• He holds one of the most demanding professional designations in finance, a summa cum laude academic record spanning two disciplines, and a license portfolio that reflects senior-level regulatory responsibility, all while still early in his career.

 

 

 

 

• Corey has become an instrumental part of the M&A advisory team at Oswald.
• She has assisted with the completion of numerous employee benefits and human capital due diligence projects on target transactions, strategic planning with sponsor clients, and has become an integral member of the Women in Transactions network and community within Northeast Ohio.

 

 

 

 

 

• Costello was been a driving force behind the largest transaction in Park Place Technologies’ history: its sale to Warburg Pincus.
• He built the pricing models, synergy models, and one-time cash models, constructed detailed sales cohorts and assembled the revenue and attrition data, and built and maintained the data room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

• D’Elia built Heartland’s Northeast Ohio presence from scratch. She owns the firm’s relationships with the region’s investment banks and family- and founder-owned industrial companies, has personally sourced acquisition opportunities into the firm’s private equity pipeline (Heartland Growth Partners), and drives business development for its portfolio companies.
• She has raised capital for buyout SPVs and opened LP relationships in support of the firm’s third venture fund and first buyout fund.

 

 

 

 

• Dane has been a valued partner in the Fifth Third Industrials Investment Banking practice, rising from an Associate to Director, overseeing all aspects of sell-side and buy-side transactions.
• Spectacular professional who has the respect of both his colleagues and clients, and is a huge supporter and proponent of Northeast Ohio and its dealmaking community.

 

 

 

 

 

• As Founder and President, Fares has built Summit Capital Advisors into one of the region’s leading manufacturing-focused advisory firms, advising on more than $100 million in completed transactions while maintaining a 94 percent transaction closing rate.
• Fares is the 2026 M&A Source Advisor of the Year, a three-time IBBA Platinum Chairman’s Circle Award recipient, and author of “American-Made Millions: How to Unlock the True Value of Your Manufacturing Business Before Selling.”

 

 

 

 

• Fredericks has guided business owners across various industries by focusing on enterprise valuation, sound exit planning and transaction readiness.
• He is a regular voice at M&A industry and growth events.
• His blend of technical CPA expertise and hands-on M&A advisory experience make him a standout rising leader in Cleveland’s business community.

 

 

 

 

 

• Gallagher has directed more than $48 million in secured funding while building partnerships that link founders with capital, customers and commercialization opportunities.
• She launched Trailblazer Accelerators, which helped pre-seed and seed-stage Ohio tech founders raise more than $50 million over two years. Under her leadership, tech companies served by JumpStart and its partners generated $1.8 billion in economic activity and supported 9,236 jobs across Ohio in 2025.

 

 

 

 

 

• Kenney has led the creation of services that measure key factors driving productivity, scalability and performance in successful transactions. As a result, ERC is uniquely equipped to support M&A activity, integration, growth acceleration and value creation before, during and after a transaction.
• She helps investors, executives and operating leaders assess critical aspects of an organization’s human capital function, identifying risks, uncovering opportunities and providing practical, data-driven recommendations.

 

 

 

 

• By working directly with private equity firms and portfolio company leadership, Menard positioned technology as a driver of deal execution, integration speed, operational stability, and long-term enterprise value.
• He has helped shape Lazorpoint’s private equity strategy, deepen relationships across the investment community, and support investors throughout the transaction lifecycle.

 

 

 

 

• Mendez set out to build a real estate investment firm at 17 years old.
• He incorporated the company in 2022, closing his first rental property acquisition at age 22.
• Now, at 27, has officially closed on a large apartment community — the acquisition that sets the tone and stage for what he’s been working toward since he was young.

 

 

 

 

 

• Petrey is a three-time Forbes Best-In-State CPA, a 2024 40 Under 40 honoree by CPA Practice Advisor, and one of the inaugural Top 200 CPAs in the USA by Forbes.
• He led HD Growth Partners and White Glove Payroll through their combination with Ascend, guiding deal preparation and post-close integration.
• Petrey also founded Voltage Valley Capital Partners, a venture group that acquires and finances established businesses in Northeast Ohio.

 

 

 

 

• In 2024, Rising launched Encore Industrial Co., a Cleveland investment and operating firm.
• Since then he has assembled six holdings — some acquired, some backed, some founded outright.
• His latest is LogiSync, a longstanding Northeast Ohio embedded systems company where he now serves as chairman, and where he is layering in new technology and talent rather than stripping cost.

 

 

 

 

 

• Robertson’s representative engagements include advising a seller on the $120 million equity sale of an industrial equipment manufacturer to a strategic buyer, counseling a buyer in the $81 million acquisition of a steel products manufacturer, and guiding the sale of a behavioral health agency in a $40 million equity transaction.
• He has also represented a strategic buyer in the $30 million acquisition of a steel mill machinery fabricator and advised the seller of a mental health counseling practice in a $30 million equity sale.

 

 

 

 

• Salata leads financial due diligence and deal advisory engagements for private equity sponsors, and corporate buyers and sellers, navigating complex mergers and acquisitions.
• He advises clients through all stages of a transaction, overseeing comprehensive buy-side and sell-side diligence.
• He collaborates closely with senior leadership teams, investors and cross-functional advisers to provide analysis that strengthens deal confidence and execution.

 

 

 

 

• In 2025, Siegfried led a complicated ESOP transaction, expertly guiding the parties to closing.
• He is routinely assisting family owned and privately owned business clients through complex transaction negotiations and succession planning.
• He has the ability to take in a lot of information, synthesize it down to the most important parts and advise clients on how best to structure and complete transactions.

 

 

 

 

• Zinno advises lower middle-market business owners through some of the most significant transactions of their careers, combining strategic insight, technical expertise, and a client-first approach that has earned the trust of entrepreneurs, investors, and professional advisors alike.
• She has built a reputation for professionalism, integrity, and collaboration. Her ability to cultivate meaningful relationships while consistently executing at a high level distinguishes her from her peers.