Meet Our Team
Our team of bankers is widely regarded as among the deepest and most experienced in technology investment banking.
Partners/MDs
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Carter McClelland
Chairman and Co-Founder
Carter McClelland
Chairman and Co-Founder
Carter McClelland is the Chairman of, and a Partner at, Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, his most recently served as President of Bank of America New York Market and Chairman of Banc of America Securities. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Deutsche Bank North America. His Wall Street career spans more than 50 years, including 21 years at Morgan Stanley, where he was Chief Administrative Officer and a member of the firm’s operating committee.
Carter was formerly Chairman of the Board of the United Way of New York City and is currently a Board Co-Chair of Echoing Green. He holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University.
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Edward (Ted) R. Smith
President and Co-Founder
Edward (Ted) R. Smith
President and Co-Founder
Ted Smith is a Partner, co-founder and the President of Union Square Advisors. With over 30 years of experience executing transactions totaling many tens of billions of dollars in value, he has worked with several of the largest and most influential technology companies – including IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Google, VMware, EMC, Informatica, SAP, Citrix, Nuance and Guidewire – as well as a wide range of high-growth public and private technology companies. He also has worked with many of the most important venture capital, growth equity and private equity firms in the technology ecosystem. Ted began his career at Morgan Stanley & Co., where he was an early member of the firm’s technology investment banking group. Prior to co-founding Union Square Advisors he was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse, where he headed the global software investment banking practice. He also served as a corporate executive at Novell, including as Vice President of both Corporate Development and Business Development.
Ted received both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and is a member of Eta Kappa Nu. During 2015, he was selected as a member of the first-ever class of Presidential Leadership Scholars (www.presidentialleadershipscholars.org), a partnership between the presidential centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson. This unprecedented program brings together a select group of leaders who share a desire to create positive change across our nation and the world, and enables them to enhance their leadership skills to help face the toughest challenges of the 21st century. He also is a board director for Assurance Health System, serves as the Chairman of the Rife Scholarship Fund, and is the past Chairman of the Performing Arts Advisory Council for the University of Notre Dame.
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Mike Meyer
Chief Executive Officer
Head of Capital MarketsMike Meyer
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Meyer is Chief Executive Officer, Partner, and Head of Capital Markets at Union Square Advisors. He has 30+ years of experience in leveraged finance, global credit and fixed income dealmaking. He has been responsible for the execution and oversight of over $200 billion of capital markets transactions and has worked with the world’s largest financial sponsors such as Blackstone, KKR & Co., Apollo Global Management and Permira. Since joining the firm in 2019, Union Square Advisors’ Capital Markets group, led by him, has advised on 28 transactions for approximately $5 billion in deal volume.
Prior to joining Union Square Advisors, Michael was Head of Global Credit and U.S. Fixed Income at RBC Capital Markets. Prior to RBC, he ran the leveraged finance and global credit business at Bank of America and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, working both in New York and London. He has also held leadership positions in the leveraged finance and high yield businesses at Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.
Michael earned an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, and a B.S. in Chemistry and Economics from Duke University. He has served on multiple Boards, including; Duke NY, and SIFMA in the U.S. and the UK. He is also a guest lecturer for the Economics Department at Duke University.
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Wayne Kawarabayashi
Chief Operating Officer
Head of Mergers & AcquisitionsWayne Kawarabayashi
Chief Operating Officer
Wayne Kawarabayashi is a Partner, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, he was a Managing Director in both the Global Mergers and Acquisitions and Global Technology groups at Barclays and Lehman Brothers (which was acquired by Barclays in 2008) working in both New York and London since 1993. He has 29+ years of investment banking experience executing over $200 billion in technology mergers and acquisitions with an emphasis in software, enterprise IT, financial technology and IT services. Throughout his career, he has worked with public and private corporate clients and private equity inside and outside of the technology sector, executing sell-sides, buy-sides, corporate divestitures, IPO carve-outs, cross-border, leveraged buyouts, and Reverse Morris Trust transactions, as well as rendering fairness opinions, advising special committees and providing hostile and defensive advisory services. He has advised on transactions for clients including Automatic Data Processing, Alliance Data Systems, AT&T, Blackstone, Carlyle, Cognos, EMC, General Atlantic, Guidewire, Hellman & Friedman, HP, IBM, Interactive Intelligence, KKR, L-3 Communications, Lionbridge, NeoPhotonics, Permira, Siris, SunGard and Vista.
Wayne received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. in International Relations from Georgetown University.
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Devon Ritch
Partner
Mergers & AcquisitionsDevon Ritch
Partner
Devon Ritch is a Partner at Union Square Advisors. He has over 22 years of M&A advisory experience primarily focused on the technology sector. During his career, he has managed and completed a broad range of public and private M&A transactions including sell-side, buy-side, cross-border, LBO, stock-for-stock, asset purchases, corporate divestitures, fairness opinions and hostile defense advisory. Prior to joining Union Square Advisors, he was a Director in the M&A group of RBC Capital Markets having spent nearly ten years at the firm in both its San Francisco and New York offices. Earlier in his career, he practiced M&A law as an Associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Devon received a BA in History with High Honors from the University of California at Berkeley where he also served as two-time captain of the nationally ranked crew team. He also received a JD / MBA from Duke University / Fuqua School of Business where he was a member of the Duke Law Journal.
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Phillip Kim
Managing Director
Mergers & AcquisitionsPhillip Kim
Managing Director
Phillip Kim is a Managing Director at Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, he worked as an Associate in the M&A Group at Greenhill & Co., as an Analyst and then an Associate in the Asia Technology and Korea Coverage Groups at Lehman Brothers, and as an Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group of Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. He has over 18 years of investment banking experience, primarily focused on executing public and private company M&A and private placement transactions, including sell-sides, buy-sides, cross-border, leveraged buyouts, asset sales, and fairness opinions within the broader technology sector.Phillip received his B.S. in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. -
Emily Anderson
Managing Director
SoftwareEmily Anderson
Managing Director
Emily Anderson is a Managing Director covering software at Union Square Advisors. She has over 17 years of investment banking and transaction advisory experience primarily focused on the internet / digital media, software, and consumer retail sectors. Prior to joining the firm, she was a Vice President at Code Advisors, focused on early stage M&A and equity capital raises across the consumer internet and digital media sectors. Prior to Code, she worked in Goldman Sachs’ Consumer Retail Investment Banking Group, advising clients on M&A, IPOs, and capital raises. She began her career at Ernst & Young in the Assurance and Transaction Advisory Services Groups.Emily received a BA in Business Economics & Accounting from UC Santa Barbara, where she was also a member of the varsity women’s soccer team. She also received an MBA from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, and she holds a CPA in the state of California. -
Will Andereck
Managing Director
SoftwareWill Andereck
Managing Director
Will Andereck is a Managing Director at Union Square Advisors. He has 13+ years of M&A and capital advisory experience in the technology sector, with a focus on the MarTech, SalesTech, Contact Center, HCM and Workflow / Automation markets. During his career, he has completed a range of public and private M&A and private placement transactions including sell-side, buy-side, cross-border, corporate divestitures, restructuring and fairness opinions. Prior to joining the firm, he held positions at Morgan Stanley and Franklin Templeton Investments.Will graduated with a B.A. in Economics and History from Vanderbilt University. Since 2013 he has served on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Zoological Society. -
Todd Holman
Managing Director
Internet & Digital MediaTodd Holman
Managing Director
Todd Holman is a Managing Director at Union Square Advisors. He has 12+ years of investment banking and finance experience primarily focused on M&A advisory across the technology sector. Prior to joining Union Square Advisors, he was a Vice President in the M&A group of RBC Capital Markets, focused on transactions in the Internet, software security, semiconductor, and financial technology sectors.
Todd is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii and received a BA in Economics from UC San Diego and a JD / MBA from UCLA where he captained the graduate rugby team.
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Zeke Navar
Managing Director
Head of HealthTechZeke Navar
Managing Director
Ezequiel (Zeke) Navar is a Managing Director and Head of HealthTech at Union Square Advisors. He has over 25 years of investment banking experience, with a comprehensive healthcare domain knowledge base across Providers, Patients, Payors and Pharma. Prior to joining the firm, he was the Head of HealthTech at Crosstree Capital, JMP Securities, H2C and GCA Savvian (d.b.a., Houlihan Lokey).
Zeke earned an MBA from Wharton and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland. He is an avid horseman and has competed in the Mexican Rodeo circuit.
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Christopher Appaneal
Managing Director
SoftwareChristopher Appaneal
Managing Director
Chris Appaneal is a Managing Director at Union Square Advisors. He has 14+ years of M&A and capital advisory experience focused primarily on the enterprise software and data & analytics sectors. Prior to joining Union Square Advisors, he was a Director in the Technology group at TD Securities, focused on covering Governance, Risk & Compliance software companies. Prior to TD Securities, He was a Director in the Technology & Services group at Raymond James, focused on M&A and debt and equity capital raises for middle-market technology companies. He began his career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in their Global Commercial Banking Analyst Program.
Chris is originally from southern Maine and earned a B.S. in Business Administration, with a double concentration in Finance and Accounting, and a Minor in Economics, from Boston University.
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Todd Meadow
Managing Director
Capital Markets & Head of Sponsor CoverageTodd Meadow
Managing Director
Todd Meadow is a Managing Director and Head of Sponsor Coverage and GP Solutions at Union Square Advisors. He brings 20+ years of experience in investment banking, principal investing, and corporate law.
Before joining the firm, he was a Managing Director at Devon Park Advisors, focusing on GP-led secondaries. Prior to that, he was a Director in Lazard’s Financial Sponsors and Capital Markets Advisory Groups, focusing on M&A, debt and equity financings, GP stakes, GP-led secondaries, and shareholder advisory.
Earlier, Todd was a Vice President at Nomura as a senior credit analyst and principal investor. He also worked as an Associate at Goldman Sachs Asset Management as an investment analyst. Todd began his career as an attorney at King & Spalding.
Todd holds a B.S. in Finance from Lehigh University and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut, where he was an Associate Editor of the Connecticut Law Review.
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Jon Shalowitz
Managing Director
SoftwareJon Shalowitz
Managing Director
Jon Shalowitz is a Managing Director at Union Square Advisors. He brings a rare combination of over 30 years of Silicon Valley entrepreneurial and executive experience coupled with M&A advisory experience. During his career, he has worked across the Enterprise Software space, leading companies and spearheading exits in the Infrastructure SaaS, Data Center, Security, and Enterprise AI spaces. Prior to joining Union Square Advisors, he was a Managing Director at Woodside Capital Partners as well as the CEO of 5 startups in the Enterprise Software space, each of which he brought to successful exits.
Early in his career, he was a product executive at 3Com, NetScreen/Juniper, and CallidusCloud/SAP and also worked in Japan as a management consultant. Jon received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a BA from Duke University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
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Terry Jackson
Managing Director
SoftwareTerry Jackson
Managing Director
Terry Jackson is a Managing Director at Union Square Advisors. Terry has 18+ years of experience advising public and private companies and financial sponsors on a wide range of M&A, equity and debt financing transactions, exceeding $100 billion in value. He leads the firm’s coverage of the broad vertical market software space, with an additional focus on software companies operating in the payments, office of the CFO and supply chain management areas. Prior to joining USA, Terry was a senior member of the global software investment banking teams at J.P. Morgan and BofA Securities, and of the M&A group at BMO Capital Markets.
Terry received his MBA with honors from the Wharton School and a dual bachelor’s/master’s degree in Accounting from BYU, where he graduated magna cum laude and with distinction, respectively. Terry also is a CFA charterholder and a Certified Public Accountant.
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Andrew Samett
Senior Advisor
Andrew Samett
Senior Advisor
Andrew Samett is a Senior Advisor at Union Square Advisors. He has over 30 years of experience advising companies in transition as well as their stakeholders and acquirors. His focus is on Special Situations Advisory activities, including Liability Management, Restructuring, distressed M&A and bespoke financing solutions. His most recently led the Capital Structure Advisory Group at Truist Securities, has led similar groups at Lazard Middle Market and Bear Stearns, and was a senior member of the Restructuring Group at Rothschild Inc.
Andrew earned an M.B.A. from Cornell University and a B.S. in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Officers
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Alexander Despo
Director
Alexander Despo
Director
Alexander Despo is a Director at Union Square Advisors and is primarily focused on Life Sciences & HCIT, heading the firm’s coverage efforts focused on Pharma & Life Sciences Software, as well as Healthcare-focused middle and back-office technologies (payments, GRC and supply chain). Prior to joining the firm, he led Life Sciences & HCIT execution at Crosstree Capital and held roles at both Jefferies global technology group and Houlihan Lokey’s leading restructuring group.
Alex has 10 years of broad experience, including private and public company M&A, capital markets, and restructuring transactions with over 30 closed deals. He began his career at Johnson Rice in New Orleans and is originally from New Jersey.
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Anderson Wasden
Director
Anderson Wasden
Director
Anderson Wasden is a Director on the Capital Markets team at Union Square Advisors. Anderson specializes in capital structure advisory and capital raising for a wide range of transactions and situations. Prior to joining the firm, Anderson co-led the Private Capital Markets group at Leerink Partners where he was focused on raising debt and equity capital for Healthcare companies. Anderson began his career at Credit Suisse with roles in the Financial Sponsors Group and the Capital Markets Group.
Anderson is originally from Savannah, Georgia and earned a B.S. in Physics and Engineering from Washington and Lee University and an MBA from The University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
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Maxwell Ash
Vice President
Maxwell Ash
Vice President
Max Ash is a Vice President with Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, he interned with Ancestry.com in their FP&A department.
Max graduated with BA in Economics and a minor in Business Management from Brigham Young University in Provo Utah, where he played defense on the University men’s lacrosse team. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing and fly fishing. He hails from Kansas City, Kansas.
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Jamie Cummings
Vice President
Jamie Cummings
Vice President
Jamie Cummings is a Vice President with Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, she was an Associate at FMI Capital Advisors, focused on M&A advisory. Prior to FMI, she was an Associate at Gates Corporation, a Blackstone portfolio company, focused on Corporate Development and Investor Relations. She began her career as an Engineer at Siemens Energy.
Jamie received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Penn State and an MBA from IE Business School.
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Su Mei Chen
Chief Administrative Officer
Head of Human ResourcesSu Mei Chen
Chief Administrative Officer
Su Mei Chen is Chief Administrative Officer and Head of Human Resources at Union Square Advisors. With nearly 20 years of experience, she is responsible for the planning and execution of the firm’s strategic and business initiatives, as well as day to day business operations, including business management, finance and accounting, human resources and recruiting. Previously, she spent 17 years at Barclays Capital / Lehman Brothers in NY, most recently as Chief Operating Officer of both the Technology, Media and Telecommunications, and Healthcare Investment Banking Groups, as well as Co-Head of Business Management for the division. She began her career as an Analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Lehman. In the interim period, she held various roles across Lehman, Neuberger Berman (acquired by Lehman) and Barclays incorporating strategy, management, operations, and human resources.
Su Mei holds a BA in Economics from Wesleyan University.
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Harriet Britt
Chief Compliance Officer
Harriet Britt
Chief Compliance Officer
Harriet Britt is the Chief Compliance Officer at Union Square Advisors. She brings more than 20 years of experience in compliance operations, and finance experience to Union Square Advisors. She oversees the day to day strategic operational functions of the firm: finance and accounting, operations, human resources, and facilities. Prior to joining Union Square Advisors, she served as a consultant for the past five years working with investment banks and investment advisors, including robo-advisors and other FinTech firms. Previously, she served as Chief Compliance Officer with ThinkEquity LLC and Standard Pacific Capital LLC. Her early career includes tenures at Robertson Stephens, JP Morgan, Montgomery Securities and Bear Stearns.
Harriet graduated from California State Polytechnic University, earning a BS in Agriculture Business Management.
Associates
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Wesley Or
Associate
Wesley Or
Associate
Wesley Or is an Associate with Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, he worked in Corporate Development at project44 Holdings Corp., ARM and TIBCO Software Inc. He began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Canaccord Genuity.
Wesley received his Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
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Jonathan Margolis
Associate
Jonathan Margolis
Associate
Jonathan Margolis is an Associate at Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, he was an Investment Banking Associate at Barclays in the Global Technology Group based in New York City, focused on M&A Advisory. Prior to Barclays, he was a Senior Consultant at Deloitte in the Valuation and Modeling Group in New York City.
Jonathan received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University. He is an avid golfer and skier.
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Jake Tinkler
Associate
Jake Tinkler
Associate
Jake Tinkler is an Associate at Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, he was an Associate in the TMT M&A team at Lincoln International, based in London. He began his career at KPMG, gaining experience across its offices in London and Melbourne, Australia.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from the University of Oxford. Additionally, Jake is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia & New Zealand.
Analysts
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Tanzim Ahmed
Analyst
Tanzim Ahmed
Analyst
Tanzim Ahmed is an Analyst with Union Square Advisors, having previously interned with the firm.
Tanzim graduated from Middlebury College where he attained his B.A. in Economics with minors in Psychology and Religion. He enjoys film photography and is a native of Brooklyn, New York.
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T.J. Collins
Analyst
T.J. Collins
Analyst
T.J. Collins is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors, having previously interned with the firm.
T.J. graduated cum laude with a B.S.M. in Finance and a specialization in entrepreneurship from Tulane University. He is an avid cook and sports fan. He is a Bay Area local, hailing from Lafayette, California.
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Naquiya Barwaniwala
Analyst
Naquiya Barwaniwala
Analyst
Naquiya Barwaniwala is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors, having previously interned with the firm.
Naquiya graduated from Drexel University with a B.S.B.A in Finance and Business Analytics. She enjoys swimming and is a native of Indore, India.
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Mike Goody
Analyst
Mike Goody
Analyst
Mike Goody is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors, having previously interned with the firm.
Mike graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Business Administration (emphasis in Finance) and a minor in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California. He enjoys playing the guitar and is a native of Piedmont, California.
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Megan Gorman
Analyst
Megan Gorman
Analyst
Megan Gorman is an Analyst with Union Square Advisors, having previously interned with the firm.
Megan graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in both Economics and Government. She enjoys cooking and playing pickleball. She is a native of Westbury, New York.
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Kevin Wenzel
Analyst
Kevin Wenzel
Analyst
Kevin Wenzel is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors, having previously interned with the firm.
Kevin graduated with distinction with a BBA in Finance and a B.S. in Economics from The University of Wisconsin – Madison. He enjoys poker, sports and food in his free time, and grew up in Northbrook, IL.
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Ory Ratoviz
Analyst
Ory Ratoviz
Analyst
Ory Ratoviz is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, he interned with Cowen in their Mergers & Acquisitions department. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Business Administration (concentrations in Finance and Accounting) and minors in Statistics and Actuarial Sciences from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Ory is fluent in Hebrew and enjoys surfing, fishing, and photography. He is a native of Los Angeles, CA.
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Smeet Patel
Analyst
Smeet Patel
Analyst
Smeet Patel is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, Smeet worked at Lazard in the technology group.
Smeet graduated with honors from Boston University with a BA in Mathematics and Economics and a concentration in Computer Science. He enjoys trying new food, playing poker and engaging in sports in his free time and grew up in the suburbs of Boston.
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Filip Kolasinski
Analyst
Filip Kolasinski
Analyst
Filip Kolasinski is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors, having previously interned with the firm.
Filip graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Symbolic Systems and MS in Sustainability (emphasis in Sustainable Finance) where he served as a captain of the Varsity Tennis Team. He enjoys playing poker, sports and chess in his free time and is a native of Warsaw, Poland.
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Peyton Smith
Analyst
Peyton Smith
Analyst
Peyton Smith is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors, having previously interned with the firm.
She graduated with honors from Boston College with a B.S. in Management, concentrating in Finance, Management & Leadership, and Managing for Social Impact. At Boston College, Peyton also competed on the Division-1 Rowing Team. In her free time, she enjoys playing sports and exploring the outdoors. Peyton is originally from Orinda, CA.
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Rustin Jaberi
Analyst
Rustin Jaberi
Analyst
Rustin Jaberi is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors, having previously interned with the firm.
Rustin graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Business Administration (concentration in Finance) from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Rustin enjoys playing basketball and is from Westlake Village, CA.
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Tommy Barrell
Analyst
Tommy Barrell
Analyst
Tommy Barrell is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors.
Tommy graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. He competed for the Cal Men’s Division-1 Rowing team, winning a national championship in 2023. Tommy grew up in Auckland, New Zealand and enjoys the outdoors, rugby, and exploring new cuisines.
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Justin Best
Junior Analyst
Justin Best
Junior Analyst
Justin Best is an Analyst at Union Square Advisors. Before joining Union Square, he worked at Splunk as part of the ITS-Enterprise Automation Team. He is a two-time Olympian, having competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and won gold in the Men’s 4- Rowing event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Justin graduated from Drexel University with a BS in Business and Engineering and a minor in Finance, where he served as two-time captain of the Varsity Crew Team.
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Nathan Phelps
Junior Analyst
Nathan Phelps
Junior Analyst
Nathan Phelps is a Junior Analyst at Union Square Advisors. Prior to joining the firm, he worked at Finsie, an early-stage Fintech startup, as a part of their Operations and Marketing teams.
Nathan graduated Cum Laude in Economics from Princeton University where he was a First Team All-American rower. He also received a graduate Certificate in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, where he competed for their Division-1 Rowing team.