2023 ACG Los Angeles | State of Middle Market M&A

Larry Braun is the former Leader of Sheppard Mullin’s Corporate Practice Group. In addition to his law degree, Larry holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and has attained the New Jersey C.P.A. Certificate Requirements. He was previously a managing director of the largest private investment banking firm on the west coast.

Larry is resident in the firm’s Los Angeles office, where he represents public and private companies in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities and general business. Larry is an advisor to clients ranging from family-owned businesses to multi-national corporations in many diverse industries such as high-tech and computers, healthcare, consumer goods, aerospace and defense and grocery and food service. His principal areas of practice consist of general corporate law, corporate finance and securities law, mergers and acquisition transactions, contractual matters (including licensing and distribution arrangements), healthcare transactions and general business counseling.

Larry has been recognized as one of the country’s top Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions lawyers by Chambers & Partners.  The Legal 500 US 2023 recognized him among the best in the country for Corporate/M&A. He has consistently been named a "Southern California Super Lawyer" by the publishers of Law & Politics magazine.  He has been listed as one of the top corporate lawyers in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal, a "Top Dealmaker" by Lawdragon, and is also listed in the "Best Lawyers in America."

Iain Douglas is a Managing Director and Co-Founder of True West Capital Partners (“True West”), a private credit fund focused on the lower middle market in the US. Founded in 2009, and investing out of our 3^rd fund, we have completed 48 platform investments to date across a broad range of industries. True West invests $5 million to $25 million in support of acquisitions, buyout, growth capital, and recapitalizations for privately owned, family owned, and private equity backed companies.  Our reputation is our greatest asset and our investment philosophy is relationship based above all else. The company we keep is the best measure of the company we are.

Prior to True West, Iain was EVP, Chief Sales Officer, and Western Region Manager for CIT’s Commercial & Industrial Group, overseeing business development and risk management efforts in the Western and Southwestern United States for leveraged, distressed, and special situations senior debt.  Iain also managed CIT’s industry-vertical focus on Food, Beverage, and Agribusiness on a national basis.  Prior to CIT, Iain was with GE Capital in various leadership capacities including Capital Markets and Risk Management positions. Previously, Iain also held business development and risk positions with First Interstate Ltd., Security Pacific National Bank, and Philadelphia National Bank.

Iain earned a MBA in Finance from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, and a BA in Economics from Cornell University.

Rachel Foltz is a Managing Director with Endeavour and joined the firm in 2013. Since that time, she has worked with companies in the food and consumer, specialty retail, transportation and logistics, and business services industries. She currently serves on the boards of Manitobah, Visual Data Media Services, and Red, White & Blue Thrift. Prior board and observer roles include Johnny Was, Whiplash, Wineshipping, Nordic Cold Chain Solutions, Good Food Holdings (Bristol Farms / Lazy Acres / Metropolitan Market), and New Seasons Market / New Leaf Community Market.

Prior to Endeavour, Rachel was at Weston Presidio, a San Francisco-based middle-market private equity firm, and UBS Investment Bank in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Rachel received a B.S. from the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar.  

Tim Meyer is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Angeles Equity Partners, an operationally oriented, industrial focused private equity firm he established in 2014.  He is responsible for setting firm strategy, and providing leadership and insight to all investment and portfolio related decisions. 

He has served as the Chairman and/or Chief Executive Officer of numerous portfolio companies, as well as co-chairing both the Management and Investment Committees.  Tim has been a private equity investor and operator since 2005 and has significant experience in M&A and strategy, corporate carveouts, turnarounds, take privates and IPOs.     

Prior to his career in private equity, Tim led numerous strategy, M&A and operational improvement engagements for corporate and private equity clients during his tenure at Bain & Company.  He earned an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and received a B.A. in Finance and was a member of the Fellows program at The Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.