Professional profile » James S. Cassel
Vice Chairman
Managing Director
Co-Head of Investment Banking jcassel@ladenburg.com
In addition to managing the Investment Banking Division, Mr. Cassel takes an active role with clients, and his extensive transactional and corporate finance experience serves as a valuable resource. Through membership on boards of directors and his active involvement in outside business operations, Mr. Cassel has developed a keen understanding of the challenges faced by middle market and emerging growth companies. Mr. Cassel has negotiated, structured and executed various types of transactions including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; corporate and transactional financing, including venture capital, mezzanine and conventional financing; and public offerings and private placements. With experience as an investment banker and as an attorney, Mr. Cassel has also developed a unique understanding of the issues faced and alternatives available for distressed companies. He has particular experience in developing financial restructuring plans, negotiating with creditors and guiding debtors through bankruptcy proceedings.
Nationally recognized for his investment banking expertise, Mr. Cassel frequently lectures on timely issues relating to middle market investment banking. Prior to founding Capitalink, Mr. Cassel was President of Catalyst Financial, where he advised clients on financings and mergers and acquisitions. He was also the Managing Partner of the Miami office and served on the executive committee of Broad and Cassel, one of Florida's largest law firms. He founded and led the firm's corporate/securities practice. Mr. Cassel has served on boards of directors of several companies, in addition to the National Investment Banking Association, an organization of middle market investment banking firms. His professional involvements have also included membership in the American Association of Arbitrators and the FINRA Board of Arbitrators. In addition, he was President of the South Florida Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. Mr. Cassel is a member of the Board of Directors of Equity One, a NYSE listed REIT.
Mr. Cassel earned a Bachelor of Science degree from American University and his J.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Law. He is a member of the New York and Florida Bars.
» Ronald S. Pillar
Vice Chairman
Head of Institutional Client Group
Co-Head of Investment Banking rpillar@ladenburg.com
Mr. Pillar joined Ladenburg Thalmann as Vice Chairman, Head of Institutional Client Group, and Co-Head of Investment Banking in March 2009. Based in New York, Mr. Pillar is responsible for strategic growth of Ladenburg's investment banking and capital markets businesses. With 20 years of experience in financial services, Mr. Pillar has gained extensive expertise in public and private equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions, high yield debt, investment grade debt, syndicated finance, equity-linked products and liability management.
Mr. Pillar was previously at J.P. Morgan, where he served as Head of Technology Investment Banking and led a team that covered business areas such as Communications; Computing and Applied Technology; Semiconductors; Software; Technology Services; and Alternative Energy. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, he worked at Merrill Lynch and Cowen & Company, and was a co-founder of InSight Venture Partners in 1994.
Mr. Pillar earned his B.S.E. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1986 and his M.B.A. from the Anderson School of UCLA in 1992. In 1988, Mr. Pillar received his CPA license in NY State while with Ernst & Young and from 1988-1990 worked at Salomon Brothers. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Independent College Fund of New Jersey.
» Peter H. Blum
Vice Chairman
Managing Director
Head of Capital Markets phblum@ladenburg.com
Mr. Blum is responsible for all capital markets transactions. In addition, he takes an active role with both clients and prospective clients. Mr. Blum devotes much of his time to the intricacies of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACS), and has significant experience in all facets of the energy sector. Prior to joining Ladenburg in 2004, Mr. Blum was President of Bear Ridge Capital LLC, a financial advisory firm specializing in providing strategic merger and acquisition advice as well as providing private capital to mid size businesses, and start-ups primarily in the Energy Sector. Mr. Blum formerly served as Senior Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking of GBI Capital, a predecessor to Ladenburg. Before joining GBI in 1997, Mr. Blum was Managing Director and Head of the Energy, Merger and Acquisition, and Restructuring Groups of Rodman and Renshaw Inc. and Mabon Securities Corp.
Mr. Blum has also taken active management roles with public and private companies in order to facilitate their sale or restructuring. Mr. Blum also was a Partner at Houghton and Company, an Advisory and Leveraged Buyout boutique. He started his career at Arthur Young and Company. Mr. Blum currently serves as Chairman of Mitcham Industries Inc. (NASDAQ - MIND).
Mr. Blum earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Managing Directors
» Edwin H. Gordon
Head of Punk Ziegel Healthcare Group egordon@ladenburg.com
Mr. Gordon has advised healthcare clients seeking insightful solutions to their financing needs, in more than $12 billion of capital raising and merger activities during his 26 year career on Wall Street.
Mr. Gordon joined Ladenburg from Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. (“Merriman”), where he served as Managing Director and co-head of the Life Sciences Investment Banking department. While at Merriman, Mr. Gordon was responsible for managing public offerings and Private Investment in Public Equity (“PIPE”) transactions, and developing a strategy to effectively market Merriman Research to the venture capital community. Prior to joining Merriman, Mr. Gordon served as Managing Director and head of Punk, Zeigel & Company’s healthcare practice. Earlier in his career, Mr. Gordon was a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Department at SG Cowen Securities Corporation and Furman Selz, all health care focused investment banks. Prior to becoming an investment banker, Mr. Gordon was a Vice President and the Senior Healthcare Services Analyst at Morgan Stanley & Co.
Mr. Gordon earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics and a M.B.A. in finance and economics from the University of Pittsburgh.
» Jonathan Intrater jintrater@ladenburg.com
Mr. Intrater has significant industry experience in the communications, restaurant, gaming, food processing and general industrial sectors. Prior to joining Ladenburg Thalmann, Mr. Intrater was a Managing Director at Brenner Securities Corporation. In these capacities he has been involved in over $2 billion of transactions over the past twelve years. These include public equity and high-yield note offerings; and private placements of senior and subordinated debt and equity securities in numerous private companies. Mr. Intrater has also completed many buy and sell-side merger advisory transactions, and various debt restructuring assignments. Prior to his employment in investment banking, Mr. Intrater was a Senior Vice President at BIA/Frazier, Gross & Kadlec, a nationally known communications industry valuation firm.
Mr. Intrater earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University.
» Steve Kaplan skaplan@ladenburg.com
Mr. Kaplan devotes much of his time to the Blank Check market and the healthcare industry. Mr. Kaplan has worked in the financial community for over fifteen years and has substantial experience advising companies in a variety of industries. Prior to joining Ladenburg, Mr. Kaplan was Co-Founder of River Capital Partners, a healthcare investment banking boutique. Prior to the formation of River Capital Partners, Mr. Kaplan spent three years with Prudential Securities where he was a Vice President in HealthCare Investment Banking and three years as a Vice President in the Corporate Advisory Group of Jefferies & Company.
During his tenure with these firms, Mr. Kaplan primarily focused on the healthcare industry, though he completed transactions in the technology, retailing and financial services industries. Mr. Kaplan's background also includes three years as a Manager in the Corporate Finance Group of Deloitte & Touche, where he primarily focused on performing due diligence reviews related to acquisition transactions and four years as an auditor with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Kaplan has completed over 30 transactions including private placements, initial and follow-on offerings, M&A and restructurings.
Mr. Kaplan earned a Bachelors of Business Administration cum laude from Babson College and a Masters of Business Administration from The University of North Carolina.
» Sol Alan Saad ssaad@ladenburg.com
Mr. Saad was appointed Managing Director and Head of Ladenburg Thalmann's Telecom, Technology, Internet & Software Group in February 2008. Mr. Saad's primary focus involves raising debt and equity, and structuring and executing financial transactions and corporate restructurings including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, principally in the technology sector. Mr. Saad has extensive expertise representing fixed and wireless telecommunications carriers, Internet and value-added converged technology businesses, and new media and software companies.
Prior to joining Ladenburg, Mr. Saad was Managing Director and Founder of The Phillimore Group, a London-based investment banking boutique and venture firm focused on the technology sector. Prior to the founding of The Phillimore Group, Mr. Saad was a Director at Salomon Brothers Inc. and Salomon Brothers International Limited - London. In addition, Mr. Saad was a Managing Director and Regional Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank Group in various locations, including San Francisco, London, and the Cayman Islands.
Mr. Saad earned a Bachelor of the Arts from Colgate University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Saad is also an active board member of various technology companies in the United Kingdom, and is a Trustee for POWER International, a charity focused on assisting landmine victims and disabled people in Southeast Asia and Africa.
» Scott E. Salpeter ssalpeter@ladenburg.com
In addition to playing an active role in Ladenburg's merger and acquisition; fairness opinion; and financial advisory practices, Mr. Salpeter directs the firm's financial analysis and methodology group. Prior to joining Ladenburg, Mr. Salpeter was a founder and Managing Director of Capitalink. Prior to founding Capitalink, Mr. Salpeter was a Vice President of Catalyst Financial, where he was responsible for a variety of merger and acquisition, and other corporate finance assignments.
His career includes extensive experience in corporate finance in the United States, as well as internationally. Before becoming an investment banker, he served as Chief Financial Officer of three different publicly held corporations, including a European-based company. Mr. Salpeter, who is an Accredited Valuation Analyst, has also served on the boards of directors of several public and private companies. His opinion on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance has been sought by various business publications. Mr. Salpeter studied at Washington and Lee University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce with specialization in Business Administration and Accounting.
» Barry E. Steiner bsteiner@ladenburg.com
Mr. Steiner utilizes his broad range of experience to provide Ladenburg's clients with guidance in a variety of investment banking disciplines. He has negotiated and structured transactions involving mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and private placements. Prior to joining Ladenburg, Mr. Steiner was a founder and Managing Director of Capitalink. Through his business relationships, Mr. Steiner has developed an extensive network of private equity and later stage venture capital sources. Mr. Steiner speaks frequently on relevant investment banking topics.
Mr. Steiner practiced corporate and securities law at two Florida-headquartered law firms, Akerman Senterfitt & Eidson, and Broad and Cassel. Mr. Steiner is a member of the New York, New Jersey and Florida Bars.
Mr. Steiner earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. degree, cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law where he was a member of the Law Review.
Vice Presidents
» Amy Cooper CFA
Vice President acooper@ladenburg.com
Miss Cooper has extensive experience in capital raising transactions primarily in the healthcare, biotechnology, and medical devices sectors.
Miss Cooper joined Ladenburg from Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. where she was a Vice President in the Life Sciences Investment Banking department. She was most recently a Vice President at Punk, Ziegel & Company, a specialty investment bank focused on the life science, biotechnology, and technology industries. Prior to joining Punk, Ziegel & Company, Miss Cooper worked in the investment banking department of Sands Brothers & Co., Ltd., a New York Stock Exchange member firm. Miss Cooper began her career as an equity research associate and is a CFA charter holder.
Miss Cooper earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
» Marcus B. Wai
Vice President mwai@ladenburg.com
Mr. Wai is integrally involved in the firm's financial analysis that underlies all of the investment banking services that Ladenburg provides. Prior to joining Ladenburg, Mr. Wai was a Vice President at Capitalink. Mr. Wai, a native of New Zealand, was an investment banker with Cameron & Company Limited, one of New Zealand's top boutique investment banking firms. At Cameron, Mr. Wai advised on various corporate finance and merger and acquisition assignments in a variety of industries, including agriculture, electricity, banking, manufacturing, and Internet services.
After coming to the United States, Mr. Wai was a merger and acquisition Analyst at Tutor Time Corporation, a large privately held company, where he established the franchise acquisition program. He studied at Massey University in New Zealand, where he earned both a Master's and a Bachelor's degree in Business with specialization in economics and finance.
» Kathy E. Welker CFA
Vice President kwelker@ladenburg.com
With her strong financial experience, Ms. Welker is actively involved in the various aspects of Ladenburg's investment banking services. In particular, she works closely with other members of the Ladenburg team in developing the financial analytics to support the firm's fairness opinion, merger and acquisition and capital raising practices. Prior to joining Ladenburg, Ms. Welker was a Vice President at Capitalink. Ms. Welker, a native of Hungary, was also an Associate with Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. At Houlihan, her responsibilities included engagement management for financial advisory assignments, such as fairness and solvency opinions, and common stock and debt security valuations for both healthy and distressed companies. She advised on assignments in a variety of industries including technology, telecommunications, food, plastics and packaging, consumer goods, railway, biotechnology, and waste management.
Previously, she spent four years with ABN AMRO Bank working in structured finance where she executed projects in credit structuring, project finance and syndications. In addition, Ms. Welker was a summer intern at Merrill Lynch where she worked in the financial sponsors group. Ms. Welker holds a B.A. in Business Studies from Oxford Brookes University, first class, and received a M.B.A. from University of Michigan Business School, graduating with high distinction.
