Firm Leadership
Our transaction advisory teams are client-centric. Our accredited professionals have the real-world industry expertise to guide transactions through all phases of the engagement. Senior and junior level team members alike maintain a “doors always open” policy and are accessible to clients from first outreach to closing and beyond.
John Ames
Mr. Ames is a Manager with The McLean Groupās Valuation Services Group and is responsible for the completion of valuations for public and private companies for transaction, financial reporting, tax, and other purposes.
Mr. Ames has completed hundreds of valuation engagements, which include business valuations, intangible asset valuations, fairness opinions, purchase price allocations, goodwill impairment tests, long-lived intangible asset impairment tests, and complex security valuations.
Prior to joining The McLean Group, Mr. Ames worked in KPMGās securitization practice, completing new issuance asset-backed securitization transactions and valuations of illiquid fixed income securities. Mr. Ames is a graduate of The College of William and Mary with a Bachelor of Business Administration (major in Finance).
Professional Credentials
- Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) through the AICPA
Ryan Berry
Ryan Berry is a Managing Director at The McLean Group and heads up the firmās Valuation Advisory practice. Ryan has over 20 years of financial and accounting experience and has performed and overseen thousands of valuation engagements. During the course of his career, he has advised clients on valuations leading up to their IPO, provided fairness and solvency opinions for M&A transactions and recapitalizations, and worked with clients and their auditors on valuations for financial reporting purposes such as purchase price allocations, impairment testing, and complex security valuations. Ryan has also written and contributed to numerous articles on valuation topics and spoken at various conferences and webinars.
Ryan started his career as a financial analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton. While at Booz, Ryan maintained a TS/SCI clearance and worked in both the DoD and Intelligence Agency divisions where he provided financial and operational support to program managers overseeing several mission critical contracts.
Ryan earned a BA in Economics with a minor in Technology, Management, and Policy from the University of Virginia. He also received an MBA from Johns Hopkins Universityās Carey School of Business. Heās a CPA accredited in business valuation and a certified valuation analyst through NACVA.
Professional Credentials
- CPA (Virginia)
- Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) through the AICPA
- Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) through NACVA
Professional Memberships
- American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)
- National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA)
Mark Bertler
Mark Bertler, Managing Director of The McLean Groupās Water & Environmental Group, has represented numerous public and private firms in both advisory and principal roles in strategic management, corporate growth, financing, restructuring, and overall capitalization in the water and environmental segment. Prior to investment banking, he has held senior corporate executive positions with several Fortune 500 water and wastewater manufacturing and service companies with extensive experience across global P&L management, M&A, joint ventures, and strategic planning.
During his career, Mr. Bertler has served in the capacity of a senior executive, investment banker, and advisor on numerous sell and buy side M&A engagements over the past 30+ years. Mr. Bertler holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin ā Milwaukee.
Professional Credentials
- FINRA Registered Representative (Series 63, 79, and 82)
- Water Quality Association (WQA) ā Past Market Development Committee Chair
- Water Equipment Federation (WEF)
- American Water Works Association (AWWA)
- Business Marketing Association (BMA) International Board of Directors
- Wishing Well International Foundation ā a 501(c)(3) non-profit ā Board of Directors
Joshua Butler
Josh Butler serves as a Director in the Defense, Government & Intelligence (DGI) Practice at The McLean Group. With more than 10 years of experience, Mr. Butler has expertise advising industry-leading companies on mergers and acquisition (M&A), capital-raising and other key corporate strategies. He has deep experience working with companies in a broad range of technology and services sectors, serving clients of founder-owned businesses, private equity-owned companies and U.S. and international corporate divestitures.
Before joining the McLean Group, Mr. Butler held senior-level financial advisory positions with leading investment banks having served as a Director at Baird in Tysons Corner, VA and Vice President at Barclays Capital in New York. Mr. Butler started his career at KPMG where he was a corporate finance and audit manager in the New York and Washington, D.C. offices.
Mr. Butler graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from Howard University and received his M.B.A. from the Johnson School at Cornell University. Outside of work, Mr. Butler is a travel and fitness enthusiast and enjoys quality time with his wife and son.
Professional Credentials
Certified Public Accountant
FINRA Registered Representative (Series 63, 79, SIE)
Norman Dufour
Mr. Dufour has more than 40 years of asset valuation and marine transportation experience. He joined Stickney Marine Surveying, Inc. in 1977, and was promoted to Vice-President of Operations in 1978. In 1988, he assumed the duties of President.
Mr. Dufour has surveyed all types of commercial marine vessels, including ships, tugs, towboats, crewboats, supply vessels, barges, derricks, dredges, and lift vessels, including their machinery. He is qualified in various State and Federal Courts in marine surveying, safety, engineering, and appraisal.
Education:
- United States Coast Guard Academy Graduate
- Naval Damage Control School
- USCG Merchant Marine Safety School
- EMD Engine School
- Marine Gear Design & Application
Memberships / Professional Certification:
- NAMS
- Certified Marine Surveyor
- National President 1996-1997
- National Vice-President 1994-1995
- Regional Vice-President East Gulf Region 1988-1991
- ASA
- Accredited Senior Appraiser
- Local Chapter President/Vice-President 1991-1994 and 2009-2010
Eric Gins
Eric Gins, The McLean Groupās Vice President of Operations, has more than 15 yearsā experience in advertising, strategic planning and market positioning, technology integration and graphic and web design with a focus on corporate positioning. Before joining The McLean Group, Mr. Gins was project director for The CAMMAY Group, a Washington, DC-based marketing, advertising and public relations firm. There, he managed media and public relations campaigns for the Maryland State Lottery, Washington Gas, Prince Georges County Health Department, Carrollton Enterprises and The Cordish Company, conducting interviews, drafting articles and press releases, and managing each accountās overall workflow. A graduate of Mary Washington College, Mr. Gins holds masters certifications in multi-media design.
Professional Credentials
- A+ Certification (CompTIA)
Tyler Halstead
Mr. Halstead is a Vice President in The McLean Group’s business valuation practice and is responsible for the oversight and completion of valuations for public and private companies for transaction, equity incentive, financial reporting, estate planning, tax, and other purposes.
In his time with the firm, Mr. Halstead has completed hundreds of valuation engagements, which include business valuations, intangible asset valuations, fairness opinions, purchase price allocations, goodwill impairment tests, long-lived intangible asset impairment tests, and complex security valuations involving the use of option-pricing models and Monte Carlo simulations.
Mr. Halstead is a Certified Valuation Analyst and holds a BS in Applied Economic Management with a concentration in Financial Planning from Virginia Tech.
Professional Credentials
- Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) through NACVA
Paul Klick
Paul Klick, a Managing Director at The McLean Group, has nearly 25 years of investment banking experience and has completed over 80 sell- and buy-side M&A, capital formation and advisory assignments. Mr. Klick joined The McLean Group in 2018 to help lead the firmās efforts serving clients in the technology, media and telecom (TMT) sectors.
Prior to joining The McLean Group, Mr. Klick was a Managing Director at Evergreen Advisors Capital and Outcome Capital, both middle market investment banks providing merger & acquisition advisory services for companies within the TMT sectors. Mr. Klick started his career at Friedman Billings Ramsey where he spent nearly fifteen years working on mergers & acquisitions and equity and debt offerings for financial services, real estate, technology and communication companies.
Mr. Klick received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.
Professional Credentials
- FINRA Registered Representative (Series 7, 63, 79)
Michael Loftus
Mr. Loftus is a Vice President in the firmās business valuation practice and is responsible for the completion of valuations for public and private companies for transaction, financial reporting, tax, and other purposes.
Mr. Loftus has completed hundreds of valuation engagements, which include business valuations, intangible asset valuations, fairness opinions, purchase price allocations, goodwill impairment tests, long-lived intangible asset impairment tests, and complex security valuations.
Mr. Loftus is a member of the CFA Institute and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.Ā He is also a Certified Valuation Analyst.Ā Mr. Loftus holds a BS in Finance and a minor in Accounting from Old Dominion University.
Professional Credentials
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) through CFAĀ Institute
- Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) through NACVA
Morgan Malgieri
Ms. Malgieri is a Manager in the firmās business valuation practice and is responsible for the completion of valuations for public and private companies for transaction, financial reporting, tax, and other purposes.Ā Ms. Malgieri has completed hundreds of valuation engagements, which include business valuations, intangible asset valuations, fairness opinions, purchase price allocations, goodwill impairment tests, long-lived intangible asset impairment tests, and complex security valuations. Ā Ms. Malgieri is Accredited in Business Valuation and holds a BBA in Finance from James Madison University.
Mitch Martin
Mitchell Martin serves as the co-head of the Defense, Government & Intelligence (DGI) practice at The McLean Group. Selected recent transactions include the sale of Blue Force Technologies to Anduril, Broadleaf to ASRC Federal, SITE Intelligence and CollabraSpace to Arlington Capital, ARRAY Information Technology to CGI, and Babel Street to Veritas Capital, among others.
With a wealth of experience, Mr. Martin has played a key role in leading or co-leading over 100 M&A transactions within the DGI sector. His insights and knowledge have positioned him as a frequently quoted industry expert in publications like the Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, Defense News, Washington Technology, and various other industry platforms.
Before joining The McLean Group, Mr. Martin held financial advisory positions with leading investment banks specializing in M&A for defense and government service companies. His background also includes serving as an Army Captain, where he commanded an Infantry Company in the Middle East. Notably, Mr. Martin is Airborne and Ranger qualified, currently holding a Top Secret Security Clearance.
An Honors Graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Mr. Martin furthered his education with an M.B.A. from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Outside of his professional endeavors, Mitch enjoys quality time with his family ā his wife Tiffany, daughter Avery, and twin eleven-year-old boys, Carter and Wes.
Professional Credentials
FINRA Registered Representative, General Securities Principal and FINOP (Series 7, 24, 28, 63, and 79)
Shari Overstreet
Ms. Overstreet has 30 years of financial, accounting, business valuation and mergers and acquisitions experience. She holds a CPA and FINRA investment banking licenses, as well as a variety of business valuation, and merger and acquisitions-related designations. During her career, Ms. Overstreet worked for a large national accounting firm as an auditor and tax professional. She also was a Controller, Director of Finance, and Chief Financial Officer for privately-held and publicly-traded companies ranging from small start-ups to companies with annual revenues of $1 billion.
Ms. Overstreet is a principal in and leadās the firmās Austin, Texas business valuation practice. She also serves as an investment banker, focused on the healthcare and technology sectors. In this capacity, she works with a vast array of clients and business owners on complex transactions.
Ms. Overstreet is an author and speaker on various mergers and acquisitions, capital formation and business valuation topics. She was a 2010 nominee for the Profiles in Power & Women of Influence of Central Texas Award. She holds a BBA with a finance concentration from the University of Texas at Austin. She previously served on the Advisory Board for the Center for Global Business at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
Professional Credentials
- FINRA Registered Representative (Series 63 & 79)
- CPA (Texas)
- Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) through AICPA
- Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) through NACVA
- Certified M&A Advisor (CM&AA) through the Alliance of M&A Advisors
Professional Memberships
- The Texas Society of CPAs
- American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) including Business Valuation and Forensic Litigation Services division (BVFLS)
- Financial Executives International (Austin Chapter)
- Association of Corporate Growth (Central Texas Chapter)
- National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA)
Andy Smith
Andy Smith is co-head of the Defense, Government and Intelligence (DGI) practice. Mr. Smith has been recognized as a Super CPA by the Virginia Society of CPAs and Virginia Business and as one of Washington, DC’s Top 50 CPAs by SmartCEO magazine.
Mr. Smith launched his career at KPMG where he was a corporate finance and audit manager and worked in Washington, DC; Moscow, Russia, and Almaty, Kazakhstan. He later joined Washington Equity Partners as an associate director, supporting various international wireless telecommunications transactions. He also worked with a strategic advisory group to Lucent Technologies and was the Director of Finance of a wireless telecom services company.
Mr. Smith has been an Adjunct Professor with George Mason Universityās MBA Program and is also a frequent speaker and author on business valuation topics. He has been a national instructor with National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts and a guest lecturer at Catholic University, University of Maryland, Georgetown University Law School, and Johns Hopkins Universityās MBA program. In addition, he has been a designated expert witness in numerous court cases.
Mr. Smith is a Certified Public Accountant and is Accredited in Business Valuation with the American Institute of Public Accountants. Mr. Smith is a graduate of the University of Richmondās E. Claiborne School of Business.
Professional Credentials
- FINRA Registered Representative and Financial and Operations Principal (Series 7, 28, 63, 79, 99)
- CPA (Virginia)
- Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) through the AICPA
Professional Memberships
- The Virginia Society of CPAs
- American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)
- National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA)
Scott Sievers
Mr. Sievers is a Managing Director with The McLean Groupās Valuation Services Group.Ā As a Managing Director within the firmās business valuation practice, he ensures the completion of business valuations for public and private companies for transaction, financial reporting, equity incentive plan, tax, and other purposes.
Since joining the firm, Mr. Sievers has completed over 1000 valuation engagements, which include business valuations, fairness opinions, solvency opinions, portfolio valuations, purchase price allocations, goodwill impairment tests, long-lived intangible asset tests, and equity incentive plan analyses.
Mr. Sievers is one of the leaders of the firmās ESOP Practice.Ā In addition to attending several ESOP training seminars and conferences, he has completed the full spectrum of ESOP-related valuation engagements ranging from transaction advisory, fairness opinions, feasibility analyses, annual valuations, and solvency opinions.Ā Moreover, Mr. Sievers has the relevant experience dealing with complex ESOP-specific topics, such as transaction structuring, Fair Market Value of debt, repurchase obligations, follow-on transactions, and minority interest discounts.
He is also one of the leaders of the firmās valuation analytics team, which specializes in valuing complex derivatives typically through applying option-pricing models, binomial lattice models, or Monte Carlo simulations to comply with IRC 409A, ASC 718, ASC 805, and ASC 815 reporting purposes.
Professional Credentials
- CPA (Virginia)
- Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) through the AICPA
- Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) through NACVA
Harry Ward
Harry Ward has more than 20 years of senior executive and M&A advisory experience in a number of industrial and technology sectors. He has both buy side and sell side advisory experience including the sale of 3 Phoenix to Ultra Electronics and the divestiture of GlobalTrak to Orbcomm. Buy side clients have included NASA and defense contractors, as well as aviation, SATCOM and maritime technology companies. He has in-depth experience with the creation of ESOPs, including the sale of Linxx Global Solutions to a private equity-funded leveraged ESOP in 2015, and currently directs The McLean Groupās sponsor coverage program. Mr. Ward also has a strong background in the management and growth of small- to mid-sized companies and a strong technical background in semiconductors and automation technology. Over a three year period, he led a West Coast distribution company through the development and execution of a growth plan in preparation for successful sale to a strategic buyer. Mr. Ward is based in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area and travels frequently on the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico region, Southern California and the space and missile haven of Huntsville, Alabama. He regularly publishes industry M&A reports and serves as a guest speaker and panelist for numerous business and civic organizations. A US Naval Academy graduate, Mr. Ward served during multiple deployments from both US coasts as a Navy helicopter pilot and survival instructor (SERE School). He earned an MBA in finance from San Diego State University.
Professional Credentials
- Certified Exit Planning Advisor
- FINRA Series 63, 79