David Zawitkowski is a partner with the firm's Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) Practice. He has worked with strategic buyers (both public and private) and private equity firms on asset purchases, stock purchases, carve-outs, and growth-equity investments. He also provides post-closing assistance.

Zach advises private equity firms and their portfolio companies, public companies and private businesses on acquisitions, dispositions, complex investments, joint ventures and other strategic transactions. His work includes matters involving clients operating in health care and life sciences, consumer products and services, chemicals and manufacturing, technology, national defense, transportation, education, staffing and business services, and renewable energy. His experience spans the full investment life cycle, and he is often called on to represent private equity clients and portfolio companies in multiple transactions from acquisition through exit.

John S. Ehlinger is a seasoned investor, executive and M&A growth strategist with extensive experience in the healthcare and service sectors. As a partner with Astria Elevate, John leverages his broad operational expertise (which includes complex revenue cycle management, financial strategy and product development) to drive value creation in lower- and middle-market companies. Prior to Astria Elevate, John held multiple leadership roles at Great Elm Capital Group, Inc., a publicly-traded investment holding company, where he was an operating partner and led value-creating strategic planning for its portfolio companies. As operating partner and executive leader of one of those subsidiaries, Great Elm Healthcare, LLC, he executed initiatives that grew revenue by over 37% during the global pandemic, turned the company cash flow positive, and completed six acquisitions and integrations. This work culminated in the company's sale to a strategic buyer. In Great Elm's investment subsidiary, John led Chapter 11 and out-of-court corporate restructurings and achieved positive return outcomes in high-stakes financial scenarios. John's career also includes roles as an Investment Officer at Ajax Partners and as the COO and CFO at Wellsense Technologies, where he commercialized an innovative medical technology in the U.S. and Europe. Prior to these roles, John was a partner at a special situations and distressed-debt focused hedge fund, where he managed special situations investments that drove above-market returns and enabled the firm to grow AUM over six-fold to approximately $2B.

Joe Camberato is the CEO and Founder of National Business Capital, a private lender that provides companies with fast, efficient access to bridge and growth capital. Since founding the firm in 2007, Joe and his experienced team have financed more than $3 billion for businesses nationwide, becoming market leaders in transactions ranging from $250,000 to $15 million. Driven by his vision to simplify access to capital, Joe grew National Business Capital from his spare bedroom into a leading fintech-powered platform, pioneering access to private credit for small and mid-sized companies without raising venture or private equity funding. A recognized authority on business financing and growth, Joe is frequently featured in Forbes, CNBC, Fast Money, and Business Insider. He shares actionable insights for entrepreneurs on YouTube, LinkedIn, and X at @GrowByJoe.

Jennifer has 20 years of experience as a lead lawyer and strategic partner who uses sound legal judgment, smart business acumen, and deep operational expertise in counseling public corporations, privately held companies, large private equity platforms, and venture capital firms through complex, high stakes, multidimensional business transactions. Jennifer’s expertise includes advising and leading cross-functional in-house, client, and third-party teams in structuring, negotiating, and executing high-profile international mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, financings, restructurings, bankruptcy proceedings, venture capital initiatives and equity co-investments for U.S. and international clients. Her experience spans numerous industries including financial technology, healthcare, real estate, manufacturing, and transportation, as well as early-stage, high-growth companies where she advises on the full business life cycle from formation, capitalization, and acquisition through operation and ultimate exit. Jennifer advises clients and C-suite executives on a range of corporate matters, including governance, legal strategy, risk management and mitigation, and ongoing operations for subsidiaries and portfolio companies. She also has prior experience serving in the in-house legal function role for a large international manufacturer and distributor as well as a high growth electric mobility manufacturer.

Asher Friend is a senior partner in the Jones Walker LLP Corporate Practice Group, a member of the firm's M&A and private equity teams, and co-chair of its Independent Sponsor practice. Asher has developed significant experience in the hospitality, healthcare, energy, manufacturing and technology industries, including representing clients in myriad acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and related corporate transactions involving hotels, casinos, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, food service businesses, industrial and consumer products, healthcare systems, practices and ancillary assets, energy and oil-field service assets, and other related core intellectual property assets. Throughout the course of his professional career, Asher has represented clients at each stage of the growth cycle: from emerging, start-up, privately owned companies to mature, publicly traded companies, with a concentration in M&A, public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, and advising and assisting clients through the entire spectrum of related corporate and transactional matters.

Rick Lazio is a nationally recognized leader in public policy, financial services, and corporate governance, with experience spanning government, banking, housing finance, and business strategy. An attorney, he practices in the Corporate Practice Group at Jones Walker, one of the largest commercial law firms in the Southeastern United States. Lazio served in the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, where he held a leadership role as Assistant Majority Leader, chaired the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, and helped shape major housing policy reforms, including authoring the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) and leading efforts on the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act. He was also a prolific legislator on the Securities Subcommittee and the Financial Services Committee of the House of Representatives. In the private sector, Lazio served as Executive Vice President of JPMorgan Chase and was a member of the firm's Executive Committee. He previously served as President and CEO of the Financial Services Forum, a policy and research organization comprising the CEOs of the twenty largest U.S.-headquartered global financial services firms. Lazio currently serves as Senior Vice President of alliant group, where he advises businesses on policy, growth and strategic issues. Lazio has served on and held leadership roles across numerous public and private company boards. He currently serves on the boards of Bellwether Enterprise and NAPCO Security Technologies and chairs the Board of Trustees of Enterprise Community Partners.

Ryan Ochs is the Founder and Managing Partner of RDP Advisory, an independent, full-service investment and merchant bank, that he started with Dean Hoxholli in 2024. Before founding RDP, Ryan Ochs led the underwriting and origination activities for Lafayette Square's investment products and sat on the investment committee for its investment advisor. Ryan has decades of experience in credit markets and principal investing across the capital structure, leading or working on deal teams that have directly invested in and/or raised capital for approximately 100 companies totaling over $5B. Prior to joining Lafayette, Ryan held investment professional roles at Brightwood Capital Advisors, Star Mountain Capital, and American Capital. He started his career at RBC Capital Markets in its investment banking division.

Morris F. DeFeo, Jr. is a partner and a co-chair of Herrick's Corporate Department, where he focuses on domestic and international capital markets, corporate finance and M&A transactions, and corporate governance and compliance counseling for boards, committees and directors of public and private companies and not-for-profit entities. Morris also leads the Firm's fund practice. For over 40 years, Morris has advised public and private corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), private equity firms and funds, venture and hedge funds, private investment funds and other clients in U.S. and cross-border joint ventures and strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, consolidations, asset and stock acquisitions and dispositions, all aspects of private equity and venture capital fund transactions and public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, including initial public offerings and shelf-registered offerings, Rule 144A high-yield debt offerings and exchange listings. Morris provides counsel to fund sponsors and investors on a range of investment activities including fund formation, structuring arrangements, senior and mezzanine debt, distressed investments, syndications, leveraged buyouts, majority and minority stake investments, sales and divestitures as well as exit strategies.

Richard is the Managing Partner of Consumer Growth Partners (CGP), an Independent Sponsor with an exclusive focus on middle-market specialty retail and non-perishable branded consumer products companies. Prior to co-founding CGP in 2005, Richard spent 16 years as a top ranked sell-side equity research analyst at Sanford Bernstein, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, covering the specialty retail and discretionary consumer products sectors. Previously, he spent 6 years in the merchandising organization at Bloomingdale's and began his career as a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. Richard currently serves as Chairman of the Retail Marketing Society, a not-for-profit organization that focuses on bringing leading edge topics of interest to the broad retail community via a series of monthly webinars and in-person events. He also serves as a Board Director for Chair King/Fortunoff Backyard Stores, Factory Connection, Inc., and Rolla Coster, Inc. He served as a board director of Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) for nine years before stepping down in 2020. In 2023 he was selected by iGlobal Forum as their inaugural recipient of the Independent Sponsor Lifetime Achievement Award.