Mr. Stern is Head of U.S. Private Equity and a senior member of Houlihan Lokey’s Financial Sponsors Group. He has broad experience in a wide range of sellside and buyside M&A transactions, having advised North American and European public and private companies pursuing mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, private capital transactions, and exclusive sale mandates. In addition, Mr. Stern has advised on numerous fairness opinions and corporate valuations across many industries. His prior role at Houlihan Lokey was in the firm’s Consumer Group, where he was one of the leaders of the food and beverage practice. Mr. Stern is also a current member of the firm’s management, M&A pricing, and charitable giving committees. He is based in the firm’s Chicago office.
Before joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Stern worked as a Corporate Finance Associate with the investment banking division of William Blair & Company, LLC, participating in multiple sellside and buyside M&A transactions. He also worked as an Associate in the investment banking division of Salomon Smith Barney. Before attending business school, Mr. Stern worked as a consultant with Accenture Ltd., focused on both strategy and systems consulting in the financial services industry.
Mr. Stern graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Economics from Bucknell University and graduated with distinction from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, receiving an MBA with concentrations in Finance and Accounting.
Mr. Stern is also active in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.