Jeff Giles is the latest deal professional to run out of excuses and end up in the MMM studio. He is Executive Vice President for Corporate Development at Core & Main, a St. Louis-based publicly traded specialty distributor focused on water, wastewater, storm drainage and fire protection.  Andy and Charlie join Jeff in recounting his days as a private equity newbie. Since joining Core & Main in 2018, Jeff has completed more than 30 acquisitions, deploying approximately $1.6 billion of capital. A lively conversation charts the evolution of Jeff’s childhood in St. Louis and his love of hockey, his early career progression, the table stakes for being a successful strategic buyer, and the St. Louis Blues’ earthshaking 2019 Stanley Cup win.

This episode features: a University of Missouri starting quarterback who tackled Brian Bosworth, a hardworking youthful entrepreneur, a standout networker in the M&A industry, a pioneer podcaster and a leader in the field of insurance / due diligence.   Not five guests!  Just one – Jeff Henningsen, President and CEO of Lockton Companies – Texas Series.  A veritable Ben Franklin.  The episode contains the standard animated discussion that seasoned listeners come to expect from Andy and Charlie.  In a varsity move, Jeff refuses to get drawn in to the heated debate over who was responsible for the “lost” first taping attempt of this episode. To seasoned MMM listeners, the answer is obvious…

If this were a Friends episode, it would be “The One Where Gretchen Shows Up With a Glass of Wine.”  Gretchen blows the doors off with insights into Avance’s deal activity, the current temperamental condition of the M&A market, and her own turn as DealMAX conference chair a few years ago.  A discussion of her “walk on” music at that event leads to Charlie, Andy and Gretchen all singing at different points in the episode.  “Must See TV,” for sure.  

Steve was the one “first time, long time” guest in the DealMax extravaganza.  Even so, he is as cool as the other side of the pillow in recounting his activities as TM’s head of sponsor coverage and the firm’s recent acquisition by Janney Montgomery Scott.   Steve and Andy trade friendly competitive observations on the Braves and Phillies while Charlie – totally not influenced by current Red Sox fortunes – declares baseball passé. 

Brent returns to the big stage for his first DealMax conference since assuming the reins as ACG’s CEO.  He shares some impressive numbers on this year’s event – more than 3,000 attendees and an estimated 35,000-40,000 meetings.  Then interesting discussion on how ACG is keeping pace with the industry’s desire for more informed and qualified interactions.  In “Gifford or Greenberg,” Brent asserts his own superiority in cooking (uncontested) and musical tastes (heavily contested). 

Christina Pai is a partner at Fort Point Capital, a Boston-based private equity firm focused on service businesses with high growth potential.  This episode begins and ends with Christina and Charlie swapping captivating Boston sports insights.  In between, she charts her Massachusetts childhood, college at Dartmouth, and path to her current role at Fort Point.  Discussion ensues around the strengths and appetites of the family office, the fundless sponsor, and the LP-based fund.  Andy attempts to get in on the Boston mojo with an origin story that sounds suspiciously like the opening of Good Will Hunting.  Christina and Charlie (to no one’s surprise) see through the ruse. 

Mark Chesen is a founder and managing partner at SSG Capital Advisors, a special situations-focused investment bank that has completed more than 400 transactions since its founding in 2001.  Mark zips through growing up in Iowa, college at the University of Texas and an early stint in public accounting before turning to the wide world of investment banking.  He and the hosts chart SSG’s growth, its sale and repurchase by the founders, and the unusual continuity Mark and his partners have maintained over 23 years.  There’s also some interesting discussion about the DNA of the special situations banker and how Mark both uses and plays off of his own good nature. This ones goes smooth “like buttah.”  (If you get the dated SNL reference – you are in the core MMM demographic.)

The Middle Market Musings tour bus rolls into southwestern Ohio for a discussion with Ashley Hess, Partner-in-Charge of Baker Hostetler’s Cincinnati office.  Ashley draws vivid stories out of a succession of stops in his journey:  Western Virginia boyhood, school at UVA and Washington & Lee, marriage and life as a young connector in the Cincinnati community and, finally, a demanding and varied corporate law practice.  Ashley’s clients include multi-national firms like Toyota and buyers/sellers in the middle market deal space.  He talks with equal verve about trends in the automotive industry and his enthusiasm for blues music.  One of the MMM hosts springs to life at the chance to talk about the blues, while the other struggles awkwardly for on-point references.

This time around, Chrisanne Corbett classes up the proceedings.  Chrisanne is  Managing Director of KPMG Corporate Finance LLC, leading the Diversified Industrials Team, and co-leading the Private Equity Coverage Team. She starts off recalling a busy, promising childhood in Minnesota and Connecticut.  Andy and Charlie – rarely interested in the same thing at the same time – both come to full alert for tales of appearing in early commercials for the gum and candy company where her father worked. Chrisanne then moves on to college at Notre Dame and a career in investment banking, including the last 24 years spent at KPMG.  She recounts KPMG’s current areas of focus, from the perspective of a banker versatile enough to have industry vertical responsibilities while keeping a hand in sponsor coverage.

Jon Skinner is CEO of PSP Partners, a diversified private investment firm founded by former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.  Jon is the latest financial honcho to miss his exit and end up in the Middle Market Musings recording complex with Andy and Charlie.  Jon reviews his path to his current role – childhood in suburban Boston, football and undergrad at Brown, law school at Boston College, then a storied investment banking career culminating in his tenure as a vice chairman at William Blair.  Jon then reviews the investment practices and culture of PSP and concludes by sharing his interests outside of work, including serving as board chair of the Honor Foundation, which is devoted to job placement for U.S. Special Ops veterans.