ACG Detroit | Annual M&A Update (Presented by the Detroit Corporate Development Alliance)

Maria Duey has over 20 years of experience as a financial executive in publicly traded global manufacturing companies, including Masco Corporation and Horizon Global. She has held senior roles in Corporate Development driving M&A growth, structuring over 20 deals with values ranging from $2 million to $1 billion, and in Investor Relations. Maria has extensive experience in developing and implementing strategic plans, including post-IPO.

Maria is a member of the board of directors of Hooker Furnishings, a publicly traded (NASDAQ: HOFT) designer, manufacturer and importer of furniture for the residential, hospitality and contract markets. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Leonine Advisory, a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions for middle-market companies. Ms. Duey holds an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA from Michigan State University.

Bryan Dobbs earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from the Wake Forest University School of Business, and his Master of Business Administration from Wayne State University. He’s spent his entire professional career (17 years and counting) with Comerica Bank, and has managed the bank’s Birmingham-based Middle Market loan group since 2017. His group works with successful privately- owned companies in a wide variety of industries, and prides themselves on their creativity, flexibility, and responsiveness.

Bryan lives in Beverly Hills with his wife and two boys (10 and 12), and spends his free time traveling, playing golf, attending countless soccer games, and playing and listening to music.

Jake is a member of Varnum’s Corporate Services and M&A Team. Jake’s focus is in business and transactional work with a strong emphasis on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity, family office, venture capital and other commercial transactions. Jake also has experience with day-to-day business issues from a legal perspective and has experience in corporate structuring, succession planning, securities regulation and a wide variety of other commercial transactions. He has experience working with businesses ranging from early stage startups to mature, privately-held businesses of all sizes.

In addition to general corporate services, Jake is also co-chair of the Food Law Team. His food law experience includes compliance with FDA labeling requirements and the Food Safety Modernization Act. Jake also has representative experience with agricultural cooperatives and the Capper Volstead Act.

Jake was named by Best Lawyers® as one of the 2021 and 2022 “Ones to Watch,” a ,” a designation given to attorneys with less than 10 years of practice in recognition of their outstanding professional excellence in private practice.

Arjun Murthy brings nearly a decade of investment banking, corporate finance and operational experience to the firm. His background primarily includes leading M&A and capital raising transactions across a range of industries in sectors such as packaging, aerospace, industrials, consumer products and retail. He has extensive experience in all aspects of deal execution and deal management, including sell-side, buy-side, and capital raising engagements for private and public middle-market companies.

Prior to joining Cascade, Arjun was the Senior Manager of Corporate Development for TriMas Corporation (NASDAQ:TRS), a nearly $1 billion diversified global manufacturer and provider of products for customers primarily in the consumer products, aerospace and industrial end markets. He was responsible for managing corporate development, M&A, divestitures, capital investment and commercial planning projects, and TriMas’ acquisition pipeline and strategy. Previously, Arjun was a Director, and earlier, a Senior Associate, at leading regional investment banking and lending institutions.

In his spare time, Arjun loves to spend time with his wife, Olivia and son, Jackson; wrestling with his golden doodle, Theo; and playing golf whenever possible (but continues to be awfully bad). Additionally, he enjoys traveling, Michigan State sports and live music.