Edward Baumstein, CPA

Founder & Board Chair 

SolomonEdwards​

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Edward Baumstein, CPA, is the Founder and Board Chair of SolomonEdwards, a Philadelphia-based professional services firm he founded in 1999. Over more than 35 years in the finance and accounting professional services industry, Ed has built and led businesses through significant growth and transformation.

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Prior to founding SolomonEdwards, Ed served as President and COO of Acsys Inc., a $160 million, 40-office national accounting, finance and IT staffing company created through the roll-up of multiple firms and taken public. He previously served as President and CEO of Acsys Resources and began his career with PriceWaterhouse. Ed is also actively involved in the Greater Philadelphia business and philanthropic community.

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Most recently, Ed has turned his entrepreneurial attention to Philadelphia’s restaurant scene with Recipe, his newest venture. Ed and the Recipe team invite M&A East attendees to stop in for a meal while they’re in Philadelphia.

Nick Berry 

Partner

Clearview Capital​

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Nick joined Clearview in 2012. Prior to joining, he was an Associate focused on business development for Lee Antimicrobial, a private equity-backed portfolio company focused on combating hospital-acquired infections. He began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Barclays Capital. Nick holds an MBA in Finance and Economics from Columbia University and a BA in American Studies from Georgetown University.

Matthew Brinker

Partner

Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld LLC

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Matt Brinker is a Partner at Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld LLC (RCCB) and chairs the firm’s Corporate & Business Group. Matt focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, and complex business transactions. He advises strategic and financial investors, portfolio companies, middle-market private equity firms and their portfolio companies, founders, entrepreneurs, and family and closely held businesses on buy-side and sell-side transactions, equity and debt financings, joint ventures and related corporate matters across a wide range of industries.

 

Matt also represents early-stage and emerging companies in capital-raising transactions, from seed and angel rounds to later growth capital and control investments.  In addition, he frequently serves as outside general counsel to closely-held businesses on commercial and corporate matters.

Tom Caruso

Managing Partner, Portfolio Operations

Guardian Capital​

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Tom Caruso is an experienced private equity executive, Operating Partner, and board member with a track record of creating lasting enterprise value across middle-market and lower-middle-market private equity-backed companies. Over his 20+ year career, Tom has developed broad industry expertise spanning food, healthcare, specialty distribution, water treatment, and general manufacturing.

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Tom combines deep operational and management expertise with experience across the full private equity lifecycle, from diligence and investment thesis development through portfolio company onboarding, strategic planning, value creation, and exit preparation. He has extensive experience identifying and executing value creation opportunities, building and strengthening management teams, and positioning portfolio companies for successful exits.

Don Charlton

Partner

Argosy Private Equity​

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Don Charlton is a Partner at Argosy Private Equity, where he has served as both a deal and operating partner since joining the firm in 2010. He works across the investment lifecycle, bringing extensive experience in middle-market private equity, M&A, operations, and value creation, and currently serves as Chairman of several Argosy portfolio companies.

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Prior to Argosy, Don held senior leadership roles across a range of operating and investment organizations, including Gratis Internet, InPhonic, Osage Venture Partners, Baxter Healthcare, and Coopers & Lybrand. His experience spans corporate development and M&A, finance, operations, strategic planning, and business development, providing him with a broad perspective on building and scaling middle-market businesses.

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Don holds an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a BS from the University of Scranton and is a CPA.

Samir Dutta

Co-Founder & CEO

Farsight AI​

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Samir Dutta is Co-Founder and CEO of Farsight, a technology company building AI applications for financial services that help firms turn institutional knowledge and judgment into scalable, repeatable workflows.

Samir’s background spans investment banking, technology investing, and software engineering. Prior to founding Farsight in 2023, he was a growth equity investor on General Atlantic’s Technology Investments Team and previously spent three years at Evercore as an investment banking analyst in the M&A Group. Earlier in his career, Samir worked in software engineering at Yelp and co-founded WeHear, a technology startup. At Farsight, he is focused on helping financial professionals move beyond using AI simply to access information and instead incorporate their own methodologies, analytical rigor, and institutional knowledge into AI-powered workflows.

Seth Goldblum

National Leader of Advisory Services

and Private Equity

CBIZ​

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Seth Goldblum is the National Leader of Advisory Services and Private Equity at CBIZ, bringing more than 30 years of experience across finance, accounting, operations, and strategic advisory. He works closely with private equity firms and businesses to address complex challenges, identify opportunities for growth, and improve performance.

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Throughout his career, Seth has held leadership roles at Deloitte, DigiHut, and Vertical Screen, giving him a broad perspective on both advising and operating businesses. At CBIZ, he leads advisory services spanning private equity, risk management and compliance, forensic consulting and litigation, financial accounting and advisory, and valuation services. Seth is focused on delivering practical, results-oriented solutions that help clients manage risk, enhance cash flow, reduce costs, and accelerate growth.

Richard M. Horowitz​

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

RAF Equity​

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Rick serves as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at RAF Equity where he oversees all aspects of the business, providing expertise in operations, strategy, acquisitions and corporate finance. In addition to serving as a director at many for-profit companies, Rick is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wistar Institute, a member of the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences, the treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors of the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Constitution Center.

 

Rick earned a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School and a B.A., summa cum laude, in Economics and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Alix James

Exit Planning and Business Strategy Consultant

Chadd House Partners​

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Alix James is an independent business advisor with over three decades of experience in leading and scaling a private-equity backed enterprise as well as advising founder-led businesses on strategic growth strategies. Alix was the CEO of Nielsen-Kellerman from 2008 through 2023 – leading the business through transition from founder ownership to PE backing, making four acquisitions, and driving organic growth. During that time, the company’s top line grew 7x and headcount 5x while adding branded product lines, entering new markets and mastering multiple distribution channels. As principal consultant for Chadd House Partners, Alix has worked with manufacturing, distribution, and service businesses to create the planning and people systems to support predictable, sustainable, and profitable growth.

Kurt Koloseike

CEO

Paris Corporation

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Kurt C. Koloseike is a seasoned CEO and private equity operating executive with more than 25 years of experience driving growth, operational transformation, and enterprise value creation across a range of industries. He currently serves as CEO of Paris Corporation and most recently served as Interim CEO of private equity-backed Hanson Lab Solutions.

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Previously, Kurt spent more than a decade as President & CEO of S. Walter Packaging Corporation, where he led a comprehensive transformation that resulted in more than 100% revenue growth and over 400% EBITDA growth, culminating in the company’s successful sale in August 2025. Throughout his career, Kurt has partnered closely with private equity investors, boards, and management teams to scale businesses, improve operational performance, and create sustainable enterprise value

Joe Mirabile

President & CEO 

United Safety and Survivability Corp

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Joseph Mirabile is President & CEO of United Safety & Survivability Corporation, a global safety and fire suppression technology company that designs and manufactures innovative solutions to protect people and equipment across transportation, fire and emergency, defense, marine, mining, and other mission-critical industries.

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Since joining United Safety full-time in 2010, Joe has played a central role in transforming and scaling the business, becoming President & CEO in 2016. Under his leadership, United Safety has grown significantly through a combination of organic growth, product innovation, strategic acquisitions, and international expansion. He has led over 20 acquisitions globally that have broadened the company’s capabilities, geographic footprint, and portfolio across fire suppression, operator seating, and vehicle safety technologies. Acquisitions included Australia, UK, Swede, Canada, and the US. 

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Prior to joining United Safety, Joe began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and holds a J.D. and an MBA from Temple University, as well as an LL.M. in Taxation.

Bharat Ramprasad

Managing Director

Stifel

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Bharat Ramprasad is a Managing Director in the Diversified Industries group at Stifel and leads the firm’s efforts in Industrial Technology. In
this role Mr. Ramprasad provides both M&A advisory and capital raising services to public and privately held businesses in the Electronics,
Flow Control and Engineered Components verticals. Mr. Ramprasad has completed more than 50 M&A transactions in his career and was a lead
member of the team that advised Bunker Hill Capital in connection with the sale of Specialty Coating Systems, a transaction recognized by The
Deal as one of the “Private Equity Deals of the Year” and Buyouts as “Small Market Deal of the Year”. 

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Mr. Ramprasad began his career at Legg Mason and joined Stifel Nicolaus in 2005 as part of the transaction between Legg Mason Capital
Markets and Stifel Financial. He also has professional experience within the Equity Research Department of PNC Financial Services Group. Mr. 
Ramprasad has been quoted in Mergers & Acquisitions, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Business Journal and ABF Journal regarding
M&A market conditions. He is a member of the Philadelphia Regional Board of Directors for Economics Pennsylvania, an organization designed
to promote financial literacy amongst K-12 students, and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Corporate Growth’s
Philadelphia Chapter. In 2019, Mr. Ramprasad was named one of M&A Advisor’s Emerging Leaders.

Brad Segal​

Vice President, Corporate Development

Eurofins NSC US, Inc.​

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Brad Segal is Vice President, Corporate Development at Eurofins (Euronext Paris: ERF), a global life sciences company. He leads corporate development for the Americas, while supporting regional and corporate/group leadership in generating and executing inorganic growth opportunities across the Americas. Brad is a senior financial leader with 20+ years of investment banking, principal investing and corporate development experience at top global banks and corporations. He has deep experience across a variety of transaction sizes and structures in dynamic, technology-driven industries, and has a proven ability to lead cross-functional teams through the deal process, with over 100 transactions closed.

Prior to Eurofins, Brad served on Comcast NBCUniversal’s global corporate development team for over a decade. In that role, he supported the corporate and business units on executing M&A, joint ventures, strategic investments, and other equity-related activities. Brad started his career at Merrill Lynch, initially as an investment banking analyst and then as an associate in the Principal Investments group.​

Bill Tobia

Financial and Operational Consultant 

Dilworthtown Financial Consulting​

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Bill Tobia is a seasoned financial and operational consultant assisting companies at the CEO, COO and CFO level during all aspects of the business life cycle. Bill’s specific 40+ years of experience relates primarily to the finance and administrative, legal and risk management functions with an overall strong operational focus. Bill has been the CFO of several private equity backed companies and has also worked within private equity firms, alongside many portfolio companies, to create value during the holding period and at exit.

 

Bill currently is an independent consultant working with C- level members of private equity portfolio companies focusing on value creation.

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Bill is a CPA (currently inactive) and has a Master Of Business Administration degree, Finance (Drexel University) and an Bachelor of Science, Accounting degree (Villanova University)

Michelle Veloce

Head of Market Development​

S&P Global Market Intelligence

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Michelle Veloce is Head of Market Development & Segments, Platforms at S&P Global Market Intelligence, where she leads strategic initiatives supporting revenue growth and client retention across the Sell-Side, Buyside, and Corporate client segments.

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Throughout her career at S&P Global Market Intelligence, Michelle has held leadership roles across business development and product management, including responsibility for the Capital IQ platforms, Investment Banking and Private Equity segments, and the Markets & Deals product line of SNL. She brings deep experience in product strategy, go-to-market execution, and developing solutions that meet the evolving needs of financial professionals.

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Kyle Walters

Private Equity Analyst 

PitchBook​

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Kyle Walters is a private equity analyst at PitchBook, where he contributes to the firm’s asset class research. Prior to joining PitchBook, Walters was an M&A analyst at a boutique buyout firm. Walters holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and business analytics from Le Moyne College.