Skip to Content
Grand Ballroom 3 + 4 Session B

Shaken, Not Stirred: The M&A Cocktail in the Mix of Shifting Economic Forces

Presented By: CIBC / Louis Plung & Company

Dive into the dynamics of deal-making amidst economic turbulence to learn actionable insights on how business owners and executives can navigate challenges, adapt strategies, and successfully close deals in today’s economy.

Moderator:

Beth Bershok
Chief Marketing Officer
Louis Plung & Company

Beth serves as the Chief Marketing Officer at Louis Plung & Company (LPC), a CPA firm that’s been serving clients in Pittsburgh for over 100 years. She joined the firm in October 2021 to develop marketing strategy, firm branding, strategic growth planning, staff development and pipeline management.

.

Panelists:

Tom Bakaitus
Partner
Louis Plung & Company

Tax Partner with Louis Plung & Company. Have 35 years experience primarily in tax. Focus area is transaction analysis. Undergraduate California University of PA. Masters in Tax from Duquesne University. Prior to Louis Plung I was regional managing partner and firmwide Director of Tax with a regional firm.

Brian McGowan
Chief Financial Officer
Armada

Brian oversees and has responsibility for all financial functions at Armada, which include accounting, treasury management, working capital management, budgeting & forecasting, risk management, legal matters, fuel hedging, master data maintenance administration, real estate, and all client related transparency reporting.  

Brian has been with Armada for sixteen years and has held various financial roles. He has more than 30 years of finance and accounting experience working for both privately and publicly held companies.

Prior to joining Armada, Brian held roles in public accounting, cost accounting, production planning and acted as a controller for large manufacturing corporations, such as Sony Electronics, Corning Asahi, Rubbermaid and Kennametal. He began his financial career at KPMG in Cleveland, Ohio.

Brian holds a B.S.B.A. in Accounting from John Carroll University.

 

Kenn Moritz
President & CEO
Stonewood Capital Management

Kenn Moritz has been with Stonewood since 2001 and has experience in business operations as well as in structuring, financing, and executing strategic transactions.

In addition to his general mergers and acquisitions activity at Stonewood, Kenn has helped management teams through post-acquisition transitions and assisted managers with product line extensions, identifying acquisition candidates, plant expansions, and other strategic growth initiatives.

Prior to joining Stonewood, Kenn was the owner and operator of a manufacturing company near Pittsburgh and practiced law with firms in New York City and Pittsburgh in the areas of structured finance, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital.

Kenn attended Carnegie Mellon University’s business school (MSIA 1988), the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (JD 1988) and the University of Pennsylvania (BS 1984).

Kenn is a member of the boards of several of Stonewood’s portfolio companies.

 

Jim Nickel
Pennsylvania Region Head
CIBC Bank USA

Jim Nickel is Managing Director and Head of the Pennsylvania Region for CIBC US in Pittsburgh. Over his 30-year banking career, Jim has focused on providing relationship-driven commercial banking services to middle market companies. He joined CIBC in 2017 through the acquisition of The PrivateBank, the Chicago-based bank he joined in 2014 to spearhead the founding of a Pittsburgh office. Prior to that, he was with TriState Capital Bank and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. He began his career with PNC in Pittsburgh. A native of Pittsburgh, Jim has a finance degree from Bucknell University and a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Conference Location

600 Commonwealth Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Tel: (412) 391-4600