Team

David Jacquin

Founder and Managing Director

David Jacquin founded North Point in 2004 with the mission to create value for its clients by providing exceptional mergers and acquisitions services. Since its founding, North Point has become the leading M&A firm to the consumer industry. At North Point, David has represented many industry-leading brands including Landry’s, Jimmy John’s, Teavana, Starbucks, Peanuts by Schulz, Edible Arrangements, Fastsigns, Ideal Image, Jamba Juice, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and Realm Cellars.

David has spent over three decades of his career as an M&A banker. Prior to founding North Point, he led M&A divisions for each of Piper Jaffray & Co, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America/Montgomery Securities. Additionally, David practiced law with Cravath, Swaine and Moore in New York and London, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions. He also worked as a consultant for Arthur Andersen and Company. David obtained a B.S. with honors from St. Louis University and earned his J.D. with honors from Georgetown University. He lives in Sonoma County, California with his wife Heidi and they have two children, Hayley and Alec.

Matt Kelly

Managing Director

Matt Kelly is a Partner and Managing Director having been with North Point since shortly after its founding in 2004. Matt is focused on the Consumer sector, including Restaurants, Retail and Consumer Products and Services. He has over 25 years of M&A and investment banking experience having spent the majority of his career prior to North Point at Deutsche Bank and Franklin Resources. Matt is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder and has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Matt lives in San Francisco with his wife Jessica and two children.

Alex Lee

Managing Director

Alex is a Managing Director at North Point with 20 plus years of investment banking and M&A experience focused on the Consumer sector. He joined North Point shortly after its founding. He began his career in investment banking at Adams, Harkness & Hill. Alex graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Economics and B.S. in Mathematics. He currently lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.

Brian Oleniczak

Managing Director

Brian Oleniczak is a Managing Director at North Point focused on Consumer Products. He brings nearly 20 years of transaction and consulting experience across M&A, equity capital markets, debt advisory, and restructuring. Before joining the firm, Brian was the head of B2B Consumer Products at William Blair & Company, where he had been since 2012. At William Blair, his primary focus was beauty and personal care, consumer health and wellness, and lifestyle and household products. Before this, Brian was a Vice President at Mesirow Financial Consulting for 6 years, where he participated in operational and financial restructurings. Brian received his B.A. from Notre Dame, and his MBA and J.D. degrees from Loyola University Chicago. He currently lives in the Chicago area with his wife and five children.

Burt Yarkin

Managing Director

Burt Yarkin is a Managing Director at North Point with more than 25 years of experience in the franchising business and a history of growing strong businesses. Prior to joining North Point, Burt was Managing Director at The McLean Group where he led the Franchise and Consumer, Specialty Retail & Restaurant practices, advising global companies, franchisors and large multi-unit franchisees on mergers & acquisitions and capital formation. Prior to that, he held senior management positions with such well-known international brands as Cartridge World, Gymboree and 1-800-Flowers and spearheaded efforts to grow those brands globally. As CEO of Cartridge World, he oversaw the rapid growth of the brand and was instrumental in completing a large private equity transaction for the sale of the company. Burt graduated from Evergreen College with a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology. Burt and his wife Karen live in the San Francisco Bay area and have two daughters, Ilana and Sarah.

Cooper McKee

Managing Director

Cooper is a Managing Director at North Point with 15 plus years of investment banking and M&A experience focused on the Consumer sector. Prior to joining North Point in 2010, he began his career at JP Morgan. Cooper received his B.A. from Stanford University, where he was a member of the men’s soccer team. He currently lives in Sausalito with his wife and two children.

Eleanor de Guigné

Principal

Eleanor de Guigné is a Principal at North Point focused on the Consumer and Cannabis sectors. Prior to joining North Point, Eleanor was a Director in the Consumer Group at Cowen and Company, where she helped grow its Cannabis Investment Banking practice. Eleanor joined Cowen from JMP Securities, where she was a Vice President in the Financial Services Group. Eleanor received a B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University.

Geoff Flynn

Managing Director

Geoff Flynn is a Managing Director at North Point focused on the Consumer sector. Prior to joining North Point, Geoff led the Consumer group at Cowen and Company for over a decade and has been advising consumer companies for over 20 years at Cowen, Piper Jaffray, Thomas Weisel Partners and Montgomery Securities. Geoff earned his B.A. degree in Economics at Cornell University, and he lives in Kentfield with his wife Karyn and their three sons, Hunter, Harrison and Grayson.

Gerren Fung

Principal

Gerren is a Principal at North Point with more than 10 years of investment banking experience focused on Franchise and Multi-Unit Concepts, advising on more than 30 completed engagements. Prior to joining North Point in 2020, he spent 7 years at The McLean Group where he worked with franchisors and multi-unit concepts. Before joining The McLean Group, Gerren began his career at KPMG. Gerren received his B.S. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and currently resides in Fairfax, VA.

Glen Clarke

Managing Director

Glen Clarke is a Managing Director and head of the Food and Beverage practice at North Point. Glen has 29 years of significant transaction and advisory experience providing general corporate finance and M&A advice primarily to food and beverage companies across a variety of industry verticals and formats. Prior to joining North Point, Glen was a Managing Director within Baird’s Consumer & Retail Group and led the firm's Food and Beverage practice. Glen joined Baird from KeyBanc Capital Markets where he was a Managing Director leading the firm's Food and Beverage Investment Banking practice. Before joining KeyBanc, Glen spent time at Duff and Phelps and with Brown Gibbons and Lang (BGL), where he was a Managing Director and Principal responsible for leading the firm's Food and Beverage investment banking practice. Prior to BGL, Glen spent 16 years at Bank of Montreal Harris Bank, where his last role was Managing Director and Head of the Diversified Food Group within their Investment Banking Group.

Glen received his M.B.A. from DePaul University and his Bachelor of Arts from Villanova University. Glen and his wife Kathleen live in Winnetka, Illinois where they raised their five children, Elizabeth, Harry, William, James and Grace.

Jason Abt

Managing Director

Jason Abt, with over 25 years of M&A experience, focuses on the Winery and Restaurant sectors and leads the firm’s Winery practice. Prior to joining North Point in 2023, Jason was a Managing Director of Investment Banking at Houlihan Lokey where he led both the Winery and Restaurant practices for a decade. He also previously ran corporate development for The Vincraft Group, a TPG-funded investment group focused on the wine industry.

Jason has had the pleasure of working with many leading wineries, including Frank Family, Duckhorn, Far Niente, Heitz, Kosta Browne and Gary Farrell. Jason has also worked with many leading restaurant companies, including Chipotle, Perkins, Wingstop and NPCI (largest Pizza Hut and Wendy’s franchisee). Jason received an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. degree in Finance at Arizona State University. Jason resides in San Francisco with his two children, Annabelle and Ethan.

Jay Sonner

Managing Director

Jay is a Managing Director at North Point focused on the Wellness and Beauty Services sector. Prior to joining North Point as an associate in 2010, Jay was an attorney for a large international law firm in London, held two federal judicial clerkships and worked on a trading floor from London, Spain and China. Jay earned his B.A. from the College of Charleston and J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law. He and his wife Jacquelyn currently live in New York with their two daughters, Soleil and Imogen.

Laura Provenzale

Managing Director

Laura joined North Point in 2018 from William Blair, where she was a Partner and Managing Director in the Consumer and Retail Investment Banking group and Head of the Restaurant Investment Banking practice. Laura has nearly 30 years of experience advising and executing transactions for leading consumer and retail companies at such investment banks as JP Morgan, Banc of America Securities, William Blair, and Raymond James. Laura earned her B.A. degree in Accounting at Lehigh University and her M.B.A. at Fordham University.

Margaret Montague

Managing Director

Margaret (Meg) Montague is a Managing Director at North Point and has over 25 years of investment banking experience and has completed over 60 assignments across a broad range of industries with a particular focus on Franchise and Multi-Unit Concepts, Consumer, and Healthcare. Prior to joining North Point, Meg was a Managing Director at The McLean Group and helped lead a practice that worked exclusively with franchisors and multi-unit franchisees and was the most active practice supporting Planet Fitness with 12 deals closed since 2013. Prior to that, she was a Director at Fidus Partners and Edgeview Partners providing merger & acquisition advisory services. Meg started her career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley in New York City. She received a B.S. with a concentration in Finance from the McIntire School at the University of Virginia and a M.B.A. from Darden at the University of Virginia. Meg was named to the 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. She lives in Charlotte with her husband John and children, Mary Charles and Thayer.

Murray Huneke

Managing Director

Murray Huneke joined North Point in 2018 as a Managing Director. He is focused on several key sectors including Restaurants, Cannabis, Retail and Consumer Products. Murray has over 25 years of investment banking experience and completed over 100 transactions, having spent the majority of his career at North Point, Piper Sandler, and Montgomery Securities. Murray received his B.A. from Stanford University and his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Susan, and they have two daughters.

Nathan Kafer

Managing Director

Nathan is a Managing Director at North Point with over 10 years of investment banking and M&A experience focused on the Consumer sector, including Restaurants, Retail, Food and Beverage, and Consumer Products and Services. Prior to joining North Point in 2012, Nathan received his B.S. from Regis University, where he was a member of the men’s soccer team. He currently lives in Marin County with his wife Ashley and their two children, Mathis and McKenna.

Peter Hunt

Managing Director

Peter Hunt is a Managing Director at North Point and is responsible for the firm’s Healthcare practice. He has over 25 years of M&A and investment banking experience having worked previously for firms including J.P. Morgan & Co., Bank of America/Montgomery Securities and JMP Securities. During his career, Peter has completed over $15 billion in M&A transactions.

Peter earned his Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University and his B.S. from Washington & Lee University, where he served on the Williams School of Commerce Board of Advisors for 10 years. Peter and his wife Meg have three children, Greg, Emily and Olivia. Peter is an avid fly fisherman and golfer. He is the author of “Structuring Mergers & Acquisitions: A Guide to Creating Shareholder Value.”

Rana DiOrio

Managing Director

Rana DiOrio joined North Point at its inception in 2004, left in 2008 to found and build two purpose-driven children’s media companies, and rejoined the firm in 2020. She is an intrepid force for empowerment and positive change. As a corporate and securities attorney at Pillsbury Madison & Sutro and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and a tech-sector investment banker at Alex. Brown & Sons, Merrill Lynch, and Banc of America Securities, Rana has guided the strategy and catalyzed the financial, operational, and cultural growth of organizations for 29 years. Rana earned an A.B. with honors from Duke University and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. She lives in San Francisco, California with her three children, Ryan, Alex and Beckett.

Raya Raphael

Principal

Raya is a Principal at North Point with a strong passion for all things Wellness and Beauty Services. She started her investment banking career in 2014 at Bardi Co., and then D.A. Davidson & Companies, where she focused on the Consumer sector. Today, she helps drive North Point’s Wellness and Beauty Services practice where she has been fortunate enough to work with some of the leading brands in the category. She has a strong understanding of the trends and value / drivers across the sector, close relationships with leading investors, and significant experience executing transactions.

Raya graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a B.S. in Economics. She enjoys all things outdoors, so when she’s not charming clients, you can find her running, surfing, biking, or swimming.

Shaun Westfall

Managing Director

Shaun Westfall is a Managing Director at North Point where he leads one of Wall Street’s top Consumer Products practices in Beauty and Wellness. Shaun brings over 20 years of consumer sector experience, which includes over 50 sector-defining transactions and partnering with many of the beauty industry’s most high-profile and disruptive brands including: Nutrafol, OUAI Haircare, Chantecaille, Charlotte Tilbury, Morphe, Elemis, IT Cosmetics, Too Faced and NYX Cosmetics. Notably, a key expertise for Shaun is advising founder led and influenced businesses backed by private equity partners.

Prior to joining North Point in 2023, Shaun was a Managing Director in the Consumer & Retail group at Jefferies where he grew the beauty practice to be a globally recognized franchise over six years. Prior to Jefferies, he launched his sector focus while at Piper Sandler where he worked for over a decade and ultimately became a top investment banker in the industry. Shaun received his M.B.A. from the University of Washington and his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Idaho. Shaun resides in Winter Park, FL where he enjoys coaching baseball for his three boys: Brennan, Scott and Brooks.

Tanja Tennies

Principal

Tanja is a Principal at North Point focused on the Beauty & Wellness sector. Prior to joining North Point in 2023, Tanja spent nearly 12 years in Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley. Having started her career in Media & Telecom in London in 2011, she joined Morgan Stanley’s top ranked Technology team in Menlo Park in 2013 and moved to focus on Consumer & Retail out of Los Angeles in 2016. Tanja is passionate about working with digitally native and high-growth brands; over the course of her career, she was involved in 30 plus transactions that include $50 billion in M&A deals and $10 billion in total capital raised.

Tanja holds a M.S. in Finance from ESADE Business School, Spain, and a B.S. in General Management from EBS University for Business and Law, Germany. She resides in San Diego, CA, with her husband and three kids.

Taso Skalkos

Managing Director

Taso Skalkos is a Managing Director at North Point focused on the Food and Beverage sector. He has nearly 20 years of investment banking and M&A experience in the Consumer space. Taso has led transactions for food and beverage companies across a wide range of verticals within the industry. Prior to joining North Point, Taso was a Managing Director at Raymond James, where he worked within the Food & Beverage practice of the Consumer & Retail Investment Banking Group. Before joining Raymond James, Taso worked in the Consumer Investment Banking Group at Alantra and prior to that, Stifel.

Taso received his B.A. from Harvard University. He lives in a suburb north of Boston with his wife Eve and their two young children, Georgios and Tasia.

Tim Lynch

Principal

Tim is a Principal at North Point with almost 15 years of investment banking and M&A experience focused on the Consumer, Food and Beverage sectors. Prior to joining North Point in 2023, Tim was a Director of Investment Banking at William Blair in Chicago and began his career at JP Morgan Investment Bank in New York. Tim graduated from Miami University with a B.S. in Finance and Accounting. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife and three children.

Will Fredericks

Principal

Will is a Principal at North Point with nearly 10 years of investment banking and M&A experience focused on the Consumer sector. Will received his B.S. from Loyola University Maryland, where he was a member of the men’s lacrosse team. He currently lives in San Francisco with his wife and dog.

Senior Team

David Jacquin

Frounder and Senior Director