Nicholas B. Merkel is the President of Merkel & Associates, Inc.
Nick is the former President and part owner of Metal Blast, Inc., a
leading producer of metal abrasives sold to the foundry industry.
Prior, he was the President of Merrymaid Plastics, Corp., an
injection molder of proprietary plastic housewares and hardware
products sold to consumer products companies such as Procter &
Gamble and major retailers including Sears and J.C. Penney. In
addition, before joining the investment banking profession, Nick
successfully engineered three startups, two turn-arounds and the
sale of four companies in which he had an ownership interest.
Widely published, Nick has written articles on the acquisition
and sale of closely held companies for Mergers & Acquisitions
magazine, M&A Today, the M&A Insider and Crain’s Cleveland
Business. He has been quoted in such publications as the National
Review of Corporate Acquisitions, Mergers & Acquisitions magazine
and the Wall Street Journal.
Nick holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in business. He is a former Marine Corps officer
and held multiple combat commands in Vietnam. He is a founding member and former two-term
President of the Institute of Merger and Acquisition Professionals.
E.C. "Pete" Peterson is a Managing Director of Merkel & Associates and has over thirty years of corporate finance experience. He is also President of Falls Capital Corporation, which he founded in 1993. Prior to founding Falls Capital, Pete was a Senior Vice President at Kemper Securities Inc. (now Wachovia Securities) in the Cleveland corporate finance department from 1991-1993 where he was involved in initial public equity offerings, public debt offerings, and mergers & acquisitions.
From 1979 to 1991 Pete was a Vice President with First National Bank of Chicago (now J.P. Morgan Chase). For six years he headed the Cleveland office and managed all corporate lending activities in a three state area. For three years Pete was based in Hong Kong as business manager for the Asia-Pacific area, where he was responsible for all administrative activities, including financial planning, human resources, and real estate activities in seven countries. During that assignment, he also served as chief lending officer for CCIC Finance Ltd., a joint-venture merchant bank that First Chicago co-owned with Bank of China and The Industrial Bank of Japan. CCIC specialized in industrial and real estate joint ventures in China. For two years Pete was responsible for originating and structuring LBO and M&A transactions of middle-market companies in the Midwest. Pete began his career in 1970 with Irving Trust Company of New York (now Bank of New York).
Pete holds a BS degree from Miami University and an MBA degree from Fordham University. He served as a computer programmer and operations officer in the U.S. Navy.
Gordon W. Thompson is Merkel & Associates’ food specialist. He has over 25 years of experience within
the industry serving as Director of Marketing for Ward Foods, Group Project Manager for both Standard
Brands and Nabisco Brands, Director of Marketing for The Campbell Soup Company and Vice President
of Sales for Grace Culinary Systems, a division of W.R. Grace. He subsequently purchased and resold
Sunnyside Vegetable Packing in Vineland, NJ and Food Traditions
‘n Technologies in Northcumberland, PA. Food Traditions was a
private label food processor whose clients included Williams-
Sonoma, Smuckers, Marzetti and Keebler.
Later, under Thompson & Thompson Enterprises, Inc., Gordon
developed and marketed custom food products for such
companies as Safeway Select, TGI Friday, American Airlines,
President’s Choice, Amway, Pizzeria Uno and Service America.
More recently, he marketed private label products to grocery,
food service, and wholesale clubs.
In all, Gordon has had responsibility for the operating statements
of over 100 product categories, many of which bear nationally
known brand names. He holds a BA from Northwestern
University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance. He
left the United States Navy as a Lieutenant having served one
tour in Vietnam.
James M. Branson
has over 30 years of experience running manufacturing companies. Following several years in General Electric Management, he led the acquisition of Streamway Corporation, a division of Scott-Fetzer. As President and part owner , Jim and his team introduced to the retail market the industry's first "non-metallic" faucet product line and the first clear-view pilfer-proof packaging of plumbing products. The innovations gained the company substantial market share prior to its eventual sale to Moen.
After selling Streamway, Jim spent twenty years as a turnaround specialist serving as President/CEO of approximately two dozen middle-market companies, which included Flexible Flyer, Bede Industries, American Alloy and Wheeler Boyce. In each case, Jim's strategic plan was successfully executed and included refinancing, recapitalization, acquisition or sale.
Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio University and an MBA from the University of Nebraska. The latter he earned while serving as an officer in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam era.
Christe Norton McGraw
has a strong background in industry research and analysis as well as marketing and transaction management. She is an experienced project manager having quarterbacked a wide variety of buy-side and sell-side assignments with clients from many different industries. She's worked on every Merkel transaction since 2002, contributing in the areas of market research, client management, transactional analysis, and sell-side support. Prior to joining Merkel & Associates, she was an Associate with Falls River Group from 1998 to 2002 and completed her MBA while working full-time.
Christe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Principia College and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Nicholas B. Merkel is the President of Merkel & Associates, Inc.
Nick is the former President and part owner of Metal Blast, Inc., a
leading producer of metal abrasives sold to the foundry industry.
Prior, he was the President of Merrymaid Plastics, Corp., an
injection molder of proprietary plastic housewares and hardware
products sold to consumer products companies such as Procter &
Gamble and major retailers including Sears and J.C. Penney. In
addition, before joining the investment banking profession, Nick
successfully engineered three startups, two turn-arounds and the
sale of four companies in which he had an ownership interest.
E.C. "Pete" Peterson is a Managing Director of Merkel & Associates and has over thirty years of corporate finance experience. He is also President of Falls Capital Corporation, which he founded in 1993. Prior to founding Falls Capital, Pete was a Senior Vice President at Kemper Securities Inc. (now Wachovia Securities) in the Cleveland corporate finance department from 1991-1993 where he was involved in initial public equity offerings, public debt offerings, and mergers & acquisitions.
Gordon W. Thompson is Merkel & Associates’ food specialist. He has over 25 years of experience within
the industry serving as Director of Marketing for Ward Foods, Group Project Manager for both Standard
Brands and Nabisco Brands, Director of Marketing for The Campbell Soup Company and Vice President
of Sales for Grace Culinary Systems, a division of W.R. Grace. He subsequently purchased and resold
Sunnyside Vegetable Packing in Vineland, NJ and Food Traditions
‘n Technologies in Northcumberland, PA. Food Traditions was a
private label food processor whose clients included Williams-
Sonoma, Smuckers, Marzetti and Keebler.
James M. Branson
has over 30 years of experience running manufacturing companies. Following several years in General Electric Management, he led the acquisition of Streamway Corporation, a division of Scott-Fetzer. As President and part owner , Jim and his team introduced to the retail market the industry's first "non-metallic" faucet product line and the first clear-view pilfer-proof packaging of plumbing products. The innovations gained the company substantial market share prior to its eventual sale to Moen.
Christe Norton McGraw
has a strong background in industry research and analysis as well as marketing and transaction management. She is an experienced project manager having quarterbacked a wide variety of buy-side and sell-side assignments with clients from many different industries. She's worked on every Merkel transaction since 2002, contributing in the areas of market research, client management, transactional analysis, and sell-side support. Prior to joining Merkel & Associates, she was an Associate with Falls River Group from 1998 to 2002 and completed her MBA while working full-time.
