Meet Jeffrey Knakal:

Jeffrey Knakal is a top performing investment banker. He is an investment banking thought-leader, and a strategic engineering center-of-expertise. Jeff built highly successful practices for three world-class firms in New York before embracing entrepreneurship via founding Growth Partners in 1994 and developing a next-generation investment banking model (vertically integrated), proprietary offerings (decision-making analytics for business owners), and a special set of practices, all dedicated to maximizing the value provided to clients beyond the confines of traditional investment banking. Jeff is a distinguished resource for companies and their owners. 

Jeff is the Managing Partner of Growth Partners (GPI) which is a boutique investment banking firm (fully registered FINRA member) serving middle-market companies. The firm’s tag-line is “First we are Farmers.., and then we are Hunters™.” Based on a clinical assessment of investment banking, Jeff concluded important, if not critical, value could be provided to owners before the inflection point of a transaction, which ultimately would contribute to a superior transaction outcome, aside from improving traditional investment banking transaction processes. As such, he designed a synergistic bifurcated model entailing the following client offerings: 

• • GPI’s first set of activities pertain to pre-transaction analytical assessments of a company related to both, “what is” (buyer preference alignment), and “what could be” (value-creation potential). The outcomes afford owners with the basis to make optimal build/sell decisions. 
• • GPI’s second set of activities pertains to M&A and capital formation transaction execution with a liquidity event centricity. The capability is distinguished by sophisticated information disclosures (no PowerPoints), embedded value-creation plans and counterparty synergy analysis. 

Jeff began his career with JP Morgan handling relationships and transactions with US multinationals in the northeast. He was then recruited to Credit Suisse to generate new business and proactively realize synergy among three affiliated firms (First Boston, CSFB and Credit Suisse) before being offered a position in Zurich. Thereafter, Jeff was the first American hired to build a US investment banking presence for Daiwa Securities (when Japan was liberalizing its capital market). He achieved “first-time” transaction events for Colgate-Palmolive and Aetna Life. 

Jeff received a Bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School, at the University of Pennsylvania (finance major), and a Master of Business Administration from the Stern School, at New York University (finance major). 

Jeff has closed transactions totaling almost $1 billion in value for companies residing in most industries for GPI. He also founded and initially developed two manufacturing companies with each achieving revenues of $100 million (developed the supply-chain thesis, acquired the targets, recruited the management teams, prepared the build-plans and raised the capitalization structures). Jeff is a student of strategic development and advocates “Purple Ocean” strategies. He is an expert regarding valuation and crafting compelling narratives related to the sale of a company. Jeff has given speeches at MIT, Duke, Boeing, the Conference Board, etc., published a set of eight tutorial articles for C-Suite Quarterly, and is in the process of writing a book called “Optimal Exits.” Jeff’s greatest competency pertains to nurturing business owners, while earning their trust. 

To best serve the heroes of the American economy, which are entrepreneurial business owners, by ensuring their courage and resolve are justly rewarded through a well-deserved maximized liquidity event return.