Meet our 2026 M&A Excellence Award Winners!

Meet Our Third Annual ACG Pittsburgh M&A Excellence Award Winners

ACG Pittsburgh will host its third M&A Excellence Awards Dinner on March 12th at the Fairmont Hotel from 5:00-8:30 p.m. The awards dinner will recognize and celebrate excellence in dealmaking and the middle-market community across our region. Join us for a night of recognition, celebration, and inspiration, bringing together our vibrant network of executives, business leaders, M&A professionals, advisors, strategic planners, and capital sources.

Join us as we recognize the following honorees:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Robert McGuire

Aqility Equity Partners

Bob McGuire is a graduate of PennWest University, formerly Clarion State, where he earned his degree in Accounting. Bob began his career in commercial banking, working with institutions such as Bank of America, GE Capital, and JPMorgan, where he built a national network and became known for his ability to solve complex financing challenges across industries, including steel and automotive, and to support private equity sponsors as both a lender and a partner.

In 2006, Bob became one of the founders of Three Rivers Capital, helping grow it into a respected private equity firm in the region. He later co-founded NorthPark Capital, and today is a partner at Agility Equity Partners, formerly Tail End Capital — a firm that has grown to multiple investments, a strong team, and significant committed capital under his leadership.

Bob has also been an important contributor to the professional community here in Pittsburgh. He was a founding member and past president of the Commercial Finance Association’s Pittsburgh chapter and has long been engaged with the ACG. And beyond business, Bob is deeply committed to giving back — particularly through the Boys & Girls Club of Carnegie, where he has been a passionate supporter for many years.

If you know Bob, as I do, you know he loves Pittsburgh — from its sports teams to his annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade festivities. Every year, he hosts a tailgate along the parade route where friends, family, and business associates inevitably cross paths to share a toast, a laugh, and a tradition that has become unmistakably “Bob.” Bob and his wife, Katie, have made their home in Rosslyn Farms for decades, where they raised their three children — Madeline, Greg, and Alaina — and where the Pittsburgh roots run deep.

Deal of the Year Award Over $50M: National Oak Distributors acquires Automotive Systems Warehouse

Deal of the Year Award Under $50M: SupplyCo was formed through the aquistion of four Pittsburgh-regionally based businesses.

Women in Transaction: Julie Kline

Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky

Julie I. Kline is a shareholder and Vice President of Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky. She also serves as chair of the Business Services Group in the firm’s Pittsburgh office. Julie came to the firm in 2015 with experience advising start-ups to mature companies and their owners on corporate and real estate transactions, as well as business succession and estate planning matters.

With a solid background in finance and the law, she has advised companies and their owners on all facets of their business interests, including mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, real estate transactions (including sales, acquisitions, leasing, and financing), employment, business succession planning, estate planning and wealth transfer matters, and non-profits and foundations.

Clients appreciate her strong focus on and knowledge of their financial status and goals, and her ability to act as an outside general counsel to advise them on a wide range of legal and business issues. Julie is Vice President of the Board of Directors of The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center and has served as a volunteer on advisory panels of women-owned businesses through PowerLink, an organization dedicated to the growth of women entrepreneurs in the Pittsburgh region. When not practicing law, she enjoys spending time with her husband, her dog, and her golf clubs.

M&A Service Provider of the Year Award: Aaron Kolko

CohnReznick

With more than a decade of experience in audit and transaction advisory, Aaron Kolko provides buy-side and sell-side due diligence to strategic and private equity clients within various industries including manufacturing and distribution, chemicals, retail and consumer, software and technology, financial services, healthcare, and construction. His financial due diligence experience includes quality of earnings, working capital and debt and debt-like analyses on complex transactions, including carve-outs and cross border engagements.

Aaron has worked on over 175 transactions, with enterprise values ranging from $1 million to $2 billion. Aaron’s due diligence experience also includes purchase agreement commentary and performing industry-specific gross margin and backlog assessments.

Before joining CohnReznick, Aaron was a transaction advisory services director for a major assurance, tax, and financial advisory services firm.

Rising Star Award: Sarah Lee

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

Sarah’s practice focuses on both buy and sell-side asset and equity transactions. She also represents and advises clients with general corporate matters including entity formation, business restructuring, corporate reorganizations, private financings, and other corporate governance. As a member of the Firm’s Security Alarm Group, Sarah has deep expertise in state-level security alarm licensing and regularly counsels clients on complex regulatory issues unique to the security alarm industry.

Sarah represents domestic and international clients in a variety of industries, including technology, home services, transportation, manufacturing, security alarm, renewable energy, financial services, healthcare, and more.

Before returning to Pittsburgh to pursue a law degree, Sarah lived in Seoul, South Korea, where she taught English as a Second Language and in Paris, France. While in Paris, she earned a Master of the Arts in Global Communications at the American University of Paris and worked in marketing for a major U.S. fast food chain at a global advertising agency and a French SAAS startup incubator.

Non-Profit Impact Award: REAG

As M&A Brokers and Lower Middle Market Investment Bankers, REAG is a results driven firm focusing on achieving clients’ strategic and financial objectives through M&A. We partner with business owners and executive management teams to achieve their vision whether the next step is an ownership transition, retirement or growth through strategic acquisitions.

OUR PLEDGE TO GIVE BACK

Our Commitment to Community is a pledge to honor those brave individuals–especially their families–who have served to protect our way of life. At REAG, we understand the importance of social responsibility and are actively committed to contributing positively to communities in our own backyard and around the country. We do this not because we are following the pack, but because we want to give back to communities that have given so much to make our way of life possible.