Sell-Side Trends and Strategies

With over 20 years of professional experience, Tom developed a deep, hands-on understanding of M&A and technical advisory services while working for the world's most prestigious professional services and private equity firms. He has served as a PE portfolio company CEO and a strategic advisor to the PE community and has built, run, and sold multiple companies. In addition, Tom has led or participated in numerous transactions, including small to enterprise-level M&A deals. He has considerable experience with strategic planning, business development, interim management, and technical advisory services, catering to private equity firms, portfolio companies, and public and private enterprises.

Tom creates and unlocks value, helping owners evaluate and prepare for various financial events, such as recapitalization, management buyouts, family transitions, or other forms of monetization. His unique blend of experiences as a former business owner, PE operating partner, and C-level executive equips him with the insight to maximize enterprise value and the stakeholder's benefit. 

Further, Tom is well-known for his ability to solve intricate business challenges for middle-market clients across industries. He leverages his technical knowledge in application development, cyber security, and systems integration, along with his business acumen, to create unique, out-of-the-box solutions.

Before joining Schneider Downs, Tom co-founded Springer Lawson and Associates, LLC, which assisted clients in various industries with value creation and sell-side advisory services.

Tom is married with three children and enjoys outdoor activities, youth sports, and spending time with his family. He is a U.S. Air Force Veteran and holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems from North Carolina Wesleyan and an M.S. in Telecommunications from Johns Hopkins University.

Bryan LeBaron serves as the Chief Operating Officer at VES LLC, where he is tasked with guiding the daily operations, overseeing the company's financial planning and budgeting, and formulating strategies to enhance operational efficiency and profitability.

Before establishing VES, Bryan held the position of Staff Systems Engineer at VMware Inc. There, he was instrumental in fostering and maintaining client relationships, as well as promoting the integration of VMware's solutions. Prior to his tenure at VMware, he started his career with the US Army Communications Electronics Command as a civilian, leading the engineering efforts for the Battle Command Common Services (BCCS).

Bryan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Computer Information Systems from James Madison University and a master's degree in systems engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.

JB Osborne is Senior Vice President and General Counsel of JMT-- a nationally recognized 100% employee-owned engineering, architecture, information technology, and related consulting services firm. As SVP and General Counsel, JB is responsible for the management and oversight of JMT’s legal affairs and plays a key role in the firm’s governance and corporate transactions. Since 2015, JB has managed dozens of successful M&A transactions for JMT, both as a buyer and seller, in all phases -- LOI through closing, as well as post-closing integration and ongoing business operations support.

Marshall Paul focuses his practice on counseling businesses, health care concerns and professionals with respect to limited liability company matters, general corporate matters, joint ventures, acquisitions and sales, fiduciary duty issues and financings. His clients include large-scale health care providers, technology companies, distributors, service providers and manufacturers of various sizes, as well as individual health care professionals and other professionals.

A co-author of the Maryland Limited Liability Company Act, he served on the American Bar Association committee that drafted the ABA's original Prototype Limited Liability Company Act. Marshall has lectured both locally and nationally regarding limited liability companies and other legal matters. He has co-authored numerous articles on limited liability companies and other legal matters, as well as a widely-used book on limited liability companies.