Valeon Partners, a merchant bank serving founders, family offices, and private equity stakeholders in partnership with Leon Capital Group, announced that Lawson Smith has joined the firm as a Managing Director. Smith will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s market strategies.
Smith brings 25 years of experience in capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, and post-close office-of-the-CFO advisory work. He previously served as a Managing Director at Houlihan Lokey, where he founded the firm’s Accounting and Financial Reporting practice group and later served in an Advisory Markets Leadership role. Before that, Smith spent 15 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, including as a Managing Director in the firm’s Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory practice, advising financial sponsors and corporations on IPOs, M&A, divestitures, and restructurings.
Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Indiana University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds FINRA Series 63 and 79 certifications.
KEY QUOTES:
Lawson brings an exceptional combination of technical expertise, strategic insight, and a collaborative approach that resonates with both clients and colleagues. Having worked closely with Lawson at Houlihan Lokey, his track record as a strategic partner paired with his proven ability to navigate complex situations and deliver differentiated results will be tremendous assets to our team as we continue to grow our platform, strengthen our advisory capabilities and serve our clients at the highest level.
C. Travis Pittman, CEO of Valeon Partners
I am excited to help grow Valeon Partners at a dynamic moment when new multi-channel capital sources continue to emerge. Valeon is building a differentiated, tech-enabled and data-driven platform to serve a segment of the market that will see explosive value growth over the next decade, and is taking a unique approach focused on patient capital and the ability to invest alongside clients. I’m looking forward to working with the talented team we have assembled to meet the needs of founders, family offices and private equity stakeholders around the globe.
Lawson Smith, Managing Director at Valeon Partners
