Broker Check

Placement Agent / 3PM

Placement Agent / 3PM

Marcel Melis

Vice President

marcel@yacapital.com

Marcel is a member of the Young America Fund Marketing Group - Europe. He has 30+ years experience at BP, Statkraft, Reliant, DELTA Energy, Energy Capital Mgmt/MMT Energy Fund. He received his BA and MBA from Rijksuniversiteit...

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Alex Devito

Investment Banking Analyst

adevito@yacapital.com

Alex began his career with six years of entrepreneurial experience building three businesses, two of which were in technology, before transitioning into investment banking. He worked in London on TMT mandates and later at Landmark...
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Bruce Forrest, MD

Senior Vice President, Co-Head of Healthcare/Life Sciences Group

914.661.6108

bforrest@yacapital.com

Dr. Forrest brings 30+ years experience in the pharmaceutical industry in senior executive, scientific and R&D roles at Wyeth (US & Japan) and Chiron. Dr. Forrest received a MB/BS and an MD from the University of Adelaide School of...

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Bruce Kaufman

Senior Director, Co-Head of Healthcare/Life Sciences Group

347.400.2082

bruce@yacapital.com

Bruce has 30+ years experience in investment banking, restructurings, capital raising, and public accounting. Prior firms include Rothschild Venture Capital, Lehman Brothers, Compass Advisers and Coopers & Lybrand. Bruce received a BS...

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Capt. Jackson Ritchie

Senior Director, Head of Caribbean & LATAM Team, Head of Maritime, Infrastructure & Logistics

242.565.6425

jritchie@yacapital.com

Over 44 years of experience in the Maritime industry and business development. Founding member of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. Former Assistant Port Director at Freeport Harbour Company. Founded more than 9 companies and also...

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David Bunzel

Senior Managing Director- Investment Banking, M&A, Public & Private Markets

914.725.9610

dbunzel@yacapital.com

Young America Capital (YAC) is a 70-person professional investment bank serving small and middle market companies focused on multiple verticals, including Cannabis, FinTech, Healthcare, Entertainment, Consumer Goods and Psychedelics....

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David Link

Co-Head Consumer & Retail, Senior Director- Rocky Mountain Region

dlink@yacapital.com

David has 30+ years of experience in Consumer & Retail primarily in the Whole Foods Channel, Cannabis & Industrial Hemp, Life Sciences, Information Technology and Media. He previously worked for JDB/Lightpath Capital, Greenmont Capital...
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Dawn Wilson Barnes

Investment Banker

dawn@yacapital.com

Dawn Wilson Barnes is the President and Founder of Aurora Bay Capital, an Atlanta-based financial services firm that provides institutional marketing and consulting services to firms seeking growth capital. She is currently a...
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Devansh Mangulkar

Investment Banking Analyst

devansh@yacapital.com

Devansh is an Investment Banking Analyst at Young America Capital, with over two years of experience as a Financial Analyst in India. At YAC, he has sourced deals totaling over $25 million, supporting capital raising initiatives across...
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Donald Jackson

Senior Director - Investment Banking

917.306.2486

don@yacapital.com

Cannabis Investment Banking; 30 + years of experience executing fixed income sales, capital raises, asset management and M&A. Previous company experience includes: Salomon Brothers, UBS, Nomura and Prudential. Cannabis experience...

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Gabriel Melamed

Senior Director

914.806.3811

gabriel@yacapital.com

Gabriel is an accomplished Senior Executive and Advisor with 30+ years of experience in Financial Services, Commodities and Real Estate industries. His broad areas of expertise include investment banking, financial products,...

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Gary Hearl

Executive Director

ghearl@yacapital.com

Mr. Hearl currently serves as Executive Director - Advanced/ Sustainable Technologies for Young America Capital focused on capital formation and M&A engagements surrounding and at the intersection of technology, natural sciences and...
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Jeffrey Gold

Senior Managing Director, Investment Banking

917.834.6727

jmg@goldmarkadvisers.com

Jeffrey has 30+ years investment banking experience in diverse industry sectors including publishing, media, food, beverage and health care. He founded and manages Goldmark Advisers, a team of veteran M&A and management consulting...

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Jon Lunsford

Senior Director

804.357.2615

jonlunsford@yacapital.com

Jon has 30+ years of experience executing capital raises and M&A deals in sizes ranging from a few million dollars to over $2 billion. He had founded the media and technology group for what is now SunTrust Bank. He served as senior...

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Josh Gould

Senior Director

978.505.9456

josh@yacapital.com

Josh has 20+ years investment advisory and relationship management experience with HNW and Institutional Investors. Focus on business development initiatives across Young America Capital’s investment banking and alternative...

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Mariya Pylypiv, PhD

Vice President

mariya@yacapital.com

Advising companies on capital markets, M&A, and strategic growth initiatives with a track record of leading high-growth companies through IPOs, complex transactions, and organizational transformation. Currently serve as Chief Financial...
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Mark A. Chlapowski

Senior Director

347.503.3033

mark@yacapital.com

Mark is an emerging markets veteran with 25+ years of experience as a corporate financier and advisor. A generalist, he has served sovereigns, institutions and companies across many industries within the context of challenging markets....

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Maryori Vivas

Senior Advisor- Caribbean & LATAM Sector

maryori@yacapital.com

Maryori has more than 25 years of professional experience. She has vast experience abroad and at home in business development. She holds a BSc of Industrial Engineering and CMSc of Systems Engineering. Maryori is fluent in Spanish,...
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Michael Kuntz

Senior Director

561.715.9946

michael@yacapital.com

Michael has 28 years of experience working with emerging companies, raising over $1.0 billion in equity capital for both public and private companies. In addition to investment banking Michael held positions as CFO/COO for three early...

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Mike Kaketsis

Managing Director

917-635-2529

makis@yacapital.com

Makis (Mike) Kaketsis brings unparalleled expertise and a client-centric approach to investment banking, drawing on over 22 years of experience in asset management, hedge funds, and corporate leadership. As a seasoned professional who...
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Nicholas "Claude" Colabella

Director

claude@yacapital.com

Claude has 30+ years of experience in financial services including alternative assets, hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, investment research, and P & C insurance. He is also co-founder owner of Little’s Specialty Foods. He joined the...
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Omar Brown

Managing Director

917.204.3773

omar@yacapital.com

Omar has 25+ years of experience in the capital markets advising institutional investors in both the public and the private market. He has been an active advisor and investor (endowment and hedge fund) in the alternative investment...

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Peter Formanek, CPA

Founder & Managing Partner

914.777.0100

peter@yacapital.com

Peter has 30+ years experience advising fund managers, family offices and companies. He has been involved in over 300 transactions over the course of his career and is also involved in the private equity field providing deal...

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Raju Panjwani

Managing Director, Investment Banking

917.608.9555

raju@yacapital.com

Raju has 30+ years’ varied experience in financial services and technology. He has been involved in risk management, operations / technology, business strategy, advising large and mid-sized clients at C-levels, and executing M&A...

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Ran Zfoni

Vice President, Tech Investment Banking, Israel & Europe

ran@yacapital.com

Ran has over 20 years of experience in technology, entrepreneurship, and investment banking. He advises Israeli and European tech companies on strategic advisory and M&A transactions. His career has included leading international R&D...
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Robert Degowin

Senior Director

Ryan Bailey

Senior Director

ryan@yacapital.com

Ryan has over 10 years of alternative asset management experience, focusing on capital raising and investor relations for hedge funds, private credit funds, and real estate sponsors. In addition to partnering with best-in-class asset...
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Samuel Diaz

Vice President

sam@yacapital.com

Samuel Diaz is a seasoned financial professional with nearly three decades of experience in fixed income trading, securities finance, and emerging markets. He brings to Young America Capital a rare combination of deep institutional...
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Sean Bailey (Jr.)

Senior Director

seanjr@yacapital.com

Sean Bailey Jr. has 12 years of experience in financial markets. Prior to joining YA Capital, Sean spent 9 years in the capital markets, primarily engaged in fixed income sales within investment banks. Sean’s clients included some of...
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Sean Santa

Senior Vice President, Co-head Technology, Media, Telecommunications

ssanta@yacapital.com

Sean Santa has over 20 years experience investing in and building companies. He has been an investment banker with Young America Capital for over 5 years and has closed deals in highly regulated industries such as food and beverage,...
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Stanley Tobin

Senior Director

917.691.2813

stan@yacapital.com

Stan has over 30 years of experience within Financial Services, including Institutional Sales & Marketing, Business Development and for the last 11 years, Investment Banking. His former positions included positions at Merrill Lynch,...
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Stephen Unterhalter

Senior Director

stephen@yacapital.com

Stephen has 35+ years of experience in financial services, including investment banking, project finance, and securities analysis (buy-side and sell-side), focusing on companies in bankruptcy or financial distress. His project finance...
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Stephen Christopher

Investment Banking Analyst

scristopher@yacapital.com

Stephen Christopher is an Investment Banking Analyst at Young America Capital, where he supports senior bankers on lower-middle-market transactions across the maritime, transportation, energy, and infrastructure sectors. As a member of...
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Steven Zelac

Head - Industrials, Chemicals & Manufacturing, Senior Director

914.522.7082

steven.zelac@yacapital.com

Steven is an exceptional and top-performing financial professional with over 30 years experience leading growth,development and restructuring programs. He is accomplished in strategy, mergers & acquisitions, portfoliomanagement,...

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Sunny Grewal

Investment Banking Analyst

sunny@yacapital.com

Sunny Grewal is a skilled financial analyst and commercial real estate professional with a strong background in capital markets, investment diligence, and asset management. A graduate of Cornell University, Sunny began his career as a...
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Tad Bull

Managing Director, Compliance and Administration

917.923.9649

tad@yacapital.com

Tad has 30+ years of experience in broker-dealer compliance, financial operations, and senior management. He is the compliance and Fin-Op advisor/professional for several broker-dealers in the US. Prior experience includes equity and...

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Timothy Busler

Senior Director

tim@yacapital.com

Attorney and investment banker with 25+ years of private capital experience as merchant banker, trusted advisor, and special situations investment principal with two private equity firms. Private capital fund formation, investment...
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Todd D. Slater

Senior Director, Co-Head of Consumer and Retail Banking

917.797.1620

todd@yacapital.com

Todd has 23 years experience in Consumer Investment Banking and Sell-Side Capital Markets having served in senior roles at Threadstone Advisors, Lazard Capital Markets, and UBS Securities. Todd was also a senior executive and women's...

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Tom Bronner

Head of Real Estate, Vice President

203.858.4012

tom@yacapital.com

Tom has 25+ years experience in financial services including senior roles at Lloyds Bank, National Bank of Canada, Federal Reserve Bank of NY and TD Bank. Tom received his BA in Economics from Columbia University. FINRA Licenses 63 and 82.

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Valerie Bowman

Vice President, Co- Head Cannabis Team

610.420.6594

valerie@yacapital.com

25+ years of experience in real estate at JLL, CBRE and C&W. Prior to YAC Val completed the $135M sale of a PA super license and handled several leases for Canadian LP’s. Valerie graduated from Skidmore College and holds a...

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Vince Palmieri

Senior Director – Mobility, Sustainable Energy, and Infrastructure

646-642-1061

vince@yacapital.com

As a managing director for Young America Capital, Vince’s goal is to help companies focused on energy transition, mobility, water and waste infrastructure systems achieve success in their initiatives and improve sustainability....

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