Vice President - ESOP

We are seeking a Vice President to join our ESOP / M&A team with a strong private equity-oriented skill set. This individual will play a key role in evaluating, structuring, and executing ownership transition and M&A transactions, with a focus on founder-led, family-owned, and closely held businesses. The role requires strong transaction judgment, financial modeling expertise, diligence management, and the ability to assess businesses through an investor lens. The Vice President will work closely with senior leadership, clients, lenders, investors, management teams, and external advisors throughout the transaction lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead execution of ESOP, recapitalization, and M&A transactions from evaluation through closing.
• Analyze companies from an investor perspective, including business quality, cash flow profile, growth opportunities, industry dynamics, and value creation potential.
• Build and review detailed financial models, including operating models, valuation analyses, leveraged transaction models, and returns analysis.
• Assess transaction structures, capital structures, and financing alternatives in partnership with lenders and other financing sources.
• Manage due diligence processes across financial, commercial, legal, tax, and operational workstreams.
• Prepare and present investment-style materials, transaction analyses, and client recommendations for internal and external stakeholders.
• Advise business owners on strategic alternatives, including ESOP transactions, majority or minority recapitalizations, and full sale processes.
• Coordinate with management teams, legal counsel, valuation firms, lenders, accountants, and other third-party diligence providers.
• Oversee and mentor junior team members, including reviewing models, materials, and transaction deliverables.
• Support business development efforts by identifying opportunities, cultivating intermediary relationships, and contributing to new client discussions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with leveraged transactions, recapitalizations, or structured liquidity solutions.
• Familiarity with debt financing markets, lender processes, and capital provider engagement.
• Background evaluating middle-market businesses across recurring revenue, industrial, business services, or niche sector-driven models.
• Experience mentoring junior professionals and managing day-to-day execution teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field.
• 5–8+ years of experience in investment banking, private equity, transaction advisory, or a related transactional environment.
• Strong M&A execution experience, including financial analysis, valuation, diligence, and deal process management.
• Private equity-style analytical toolkit, including deep experience with financial modeling, leverage analysis, and evaluating businesses as investment opportunities.
• Experience working on founder-owned, family-owned, or closely held company transactions is strongly preferred.
• ESOP experience is helpful, but candidates with broader M&A or private equity backgrounds and an interest in ownership transition strategies are also relevant.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to engage directly with senior executives, owners, and investors.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple workstreams and drive transactions forward in a fast-paced environment.