11:00 am - 11:45 am Private Equity Panel

Tuesday, June 10, 2025
11:00 am - 11:45 am 
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The 2025 M&A Market: Discussion of Trends & Outlook
Join our panel of experienced leaders as they discuss current trends in the M&A and Private Equity industries. They will provide insights and anecdotes on the regulatory environment, tariff impacts, deal volume, valuation, deal structuring and more.

Moderator: Frank Bennett, Fredrikson

Panelists:

• Ben Ault, Oxford Financial Group
• Yohai Baisburd, Cassidy Levy Kent
• Jeremy Johnson, Bourne Partners
• Lindsey Tannenbaum, Astara Capital Partner

Frank Bennett (Moderator)
Shareholder
Fredrikson

Frank Bennett is Co-Chair of the firm’s Private Equity Group. Frank has closed hundreds of transactions and has acted as outside general counsel to countless businesses for more than 35 years.

He advises private equity sponsors, as well public and private clients on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, corporate finance, venture finance and general corporate law. Frank represents a variety of U.S. and international private equity groups as well as strategic buyers, sellers, investors, financial advisors, management, and minority shareholders in leveraged and management buyouts, corporate restructurings and related transactions. Among the industries covered in these transactions are software and technology, nutraceutical and supplements, food processing and production, plastics and packaging, manufacturing, printing, investment banking, transportation, retail, insurance, distribution and sales and financial services.

Frank regularly works with corporate officers, directors and senior management, providing general corporate advice on contracts, finance, licensing, employment, tax, corporate governance and other matters.

In addition to his legal practice, Frank serves on numerous nonprofit boards and two bank boards: Center National Bank in Litchfield, Minnesota and Coulee Bank in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He is also a frequent speaker at CLE programs and has served as the co-editor of the Minnesota CLE Corporate Law Deskbook.

Ben Ault
Managing Director, Private Equity & Oxford Investment Fellow
Oxford Financial Group

Ben Ault is a Managing Director and Oxford Investment Fellow with Oxford Financial Group, Ltd. In this role, Ben is responsible for the sourcing, evaluation, execution and management of direct private equity investments and is a key member of the Oxford Mayfair Investment Committee. The Mayfair initiative focuses on making direct private equity investments in privately held companies.

Prior to joining Oxford, Ben spent more than 15 years as a Managing Director with Grey Mountain Partners, a middle-market private equity firm that grew to acquire 40+ companies and manage approximately $750 million in aggregate commitments across three private equity funds. During his time there, he managed external relationships for the firm, sourced investment opportunities, conducted due diligence, negotiated M&A transactions and served as a board member for six portfolio companies. Prior to Grey Mountain Partners, Ben was an Investment Banking Analyst with the M&A group of Goldman Sachs.

Ben received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Indiana University, graduating magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa and with honors. He received his master’s degree from the London School of Economics where he graduated with merit.

Yohai Baisburd
Partner
Cassidy Levy Kent

Yohai Baisburd counsels companies, trade associations and governments in a variety of international trade matters in the United States and globally. Mr. Baisburd’s practice focuses on trade remedy (antidumping, subsidies, safeguards) litigation and import/export compliance and enforcement proceedings. He is recognized by Chambers and Partners for his Customs Law expertise and in The Best Lawyers in America for International Trade and Finance Law. Mr. Baisburd is on the roster of potential US panelists for NAFTA Chapter 19 panels.

Mr. Baisburd has significant experience in trade litigation before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), Mexico’s Secretaría de Economía, China’s Ministry of Commerce, Australia’s Productivity Commission, South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) binational panels, Mexican courts and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Mr. Baisburd also counsels clients in customs matters (internal compliance programs, fraud investigations, C-TPAT compliance, classification, valuation, country of origin marking and Free Trade Agreement and duty preference program compliance) in the United States, Latin America and Europe; export controls, sanctions and anti-boycott matters; national security controls on investment in U.S. entities, including CFIUS; and trade policy issues such as free trade agreement negotiations.
 

Jeremy Johnson
Senior Managing Director, Head of Investment Banking
Bourne Partners

Jeremy has 25 years of healthcare-focused M&A and private equity experience. He has been with Bourne Partners since 2006 and is part of the of the core leadership team at the firm. Jeremy currently serves as a Senior Managing Director, overseeing the broker dealer and all Investment Banking activities.

Prior to Bourne Partners, Jeremy was a founding member and Managing Director at Madison Keats, a life sciences strategy and consulting firm. Jeremy began his career at VentureWorx, an Internet incubator. He is a graduate of Georgetown University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Outside of work, Jeremy is active in the community.  He is a member of Leadership Charlotte and an avid supporter of a few personally important charitable foundations. In addition, he remains active with Georgetown University. Jeremy is a native of North Carolina and currently lives in the same neighborhood in south Charlotte where he grew up. He is married to his wife, Jessica, and they have three young children, with whom he is happy to spend most of his free time.
 

Lindsey Tannenbaum
Investor
Astara Capital Partners
Lindsey is an experienced investor with over a decade of private equity experience during which she has worked with companies across a range of industries including niche manufacturing, business & industrial services, food processing, and packaging.

Prior to Astara, Lindsey was employed by Brightstar Capital Partners, Arlon Group and KPS Capital Partners, where she worked on value and special situations investments. Lindsey started her career as an investment banking analyst at Lehman Brothers.

Lindsey earned a BA in Economics from Tufts University. Outside of work, she enjoys skiing, traveling, and exploring new restaurants. She is also an active member of OutInvestors and Milken Young Leaders Circle.
 

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