2023 ACG CIN YACG MARCH LUNCH

Brooke has over 20 years of lending experience with the bulk of her time spent lending to lower middle market companies.  She is currently the head of Leveraged Finance at First Financial Bank with responsibility for Sponsor Finance, Asset Based Lending, and Food & Agribusiness. Since 2018, she has also been responsible for investing in SBIC funds, overseeing 22 fund investments and on 7 advisory boards.  Before joining First Financial, Brooke worked at Fifth Third Bank where she gained experience in fixed income investing, large corporate lending, and structured finance lending.  Brooke received her MBA from Duke University and a BA from University of Michigan where she played tennis at the #1 single and doubles spots for three out of her four years and was a 2-time captain.  As a mom to four active kids and a husband who works out of town Monday through Friday, she believes her super power to be logistics.       

David is a Vice President on our Business Development team and based out of our Lexington Office. David joins us from Harbour Group, where he most recently was Director of Business Development. David graduated from Furman University with a BA in English and later received his JA, MBA and LLM from Washington University in St. Louis.

As a Kentucky based firm, David knew MiddleGround was the right culture fit for him once he learned bourbon runs deep in our veins. We ceremonially celebrate each deal closing with a traditional bourbon celebration. Along the lines of tradition, a fun fact about David is every Father’s Day, David makes it a point to watch The Godfather. David and his wife had their 4th child in November of 2022. When he is not busy running around after his other three children, in his very rare spare time, David loves to cook and read.

Wes Goebel is a Managing Director on the Roebling Capital Partners (“RCP”) team. He contributes an array of experiences as a value-oriented investor and business owner in addition to extensive M&A and management experience.  With more than 20 years of investing across different asset classes, Wes has developed expertise in capital allocation and operational excellence. 

Prior to joining RCP, Wes led the diligence and execution of an investment in Skyline Chili on behalf of Tom Williams and affiliates, in addition to leading a restructuring and redesign of a family office investment operation. Previously, Wes held a variety of roles in family office and investment management firms, notably Artisan Partners, where he originated investments and conducted analyses across a variety of industries and business cycles. His entrepreneurial experiences include building businesses in the student housing and hotel laundry services industries. He began his career in investment banking at Baird, where he focused on middle-market M&A. 

Mr. Goebel earned an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BBA in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tim Trostle, a member of FORVIS Capital Advisors, is based in Indianapolis. He has advised clients ranging from family-owned companies to multinational corporations on domestic and cross-border merger, acquisition, and recapitalization transactions. At FORVIS, Tim is responsible for leading and executing corporate finance engagements. 

Prior to joining FORVIS, he served as a director with a regional investment banking firm, opening their Indianapolis office upon the acquisition of another regional firm. Prior to that, Tim served as an underwriter and portfolio manager for a subsidiary of a large national insurance company based in Chicago, providing a variety of cash flow-based, leveraged capital products to private equity sponsors. While there, Tim’s responsibilities included conducting diligence on prospective sponsor-led leveraged buyouts and management of the firm portfolio alongside the firm’s chief credit officer. He also worked as an investment banker for another firm in Chicago, where he advised middle-market growth companies on matters related to mergers, acquisitions, and capital raising.

Tim holds the FINRA Series 63 and 79 securities licenses, is a member of the Indiana Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), and chairs the Indiana ACG Cup Committee. Tim also serves on, and supports, several for-profit and charitable boards in financial capacities and has spoken on merger and acquisition-related topics.

He is a graduate of University of Notre Dame, Indiana, with a B.B.A. degree in finance and business economics.