Noel Ryan III, IRC
— Managing Partner
Practice Area: Investor Relations, Special Situations, Strategic Communications
Noel Ryan is one of the foremost investor relations and financial communications executives in the United States. His practice at Vallum spans investor relations, transaction communications, governance advisory, and shareholder activism defense. He has more than 25 years of experience serving middle market pre-IPO and exchange-listed public issuers, with a specialization in the Industrial, Energy, Business Services, and Emerging Growth sectors. Mr. Ryan founded Vallum in 2019.
Previously, Mr. Ryan served as VP and Chief Investor Relations Officer for a Blackstone Group-sponsored FORTUNE 1000 construction materials company, where he was named the #1 investor relations officer in his sector over consecutive years, according to the annual Extel survey of more than 3,000 portfolio managers and sell-side analysts. Earlier, he served as VP and Chief Investor Relations Officer at a FORTUNE 500 specialty chemicals master limited partnership and at a FORTUNE 1000 independent petroleum refiner where he was ranked among the top investor relations officers in the energy sector.
Mr. Ryan has been named one of the leading financial communications executives in the United States by PR Week. He is an active member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), where he is a member of the Senior Roundtable, and is also an active member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). He has earned the Investor Relations Charter (IRC) credential, as certified by the National Investor Relations Institute, and his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was recognized for distinguished academic excellence as a California Alumni Association scholar. Mr. Ryan serves on the board of directors of Table of Hope, a faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing food security.
Paul Bartolai, CFA
— Partner
Practice Area: Investor Relations, Special Situations, Transaction Advisory Services
Paul Bartolai is a leading authority on the global capital markets, having served as a former institutional investor and sell-side equity research analyst for more than 25 years. At Vallum, his client practice spans investor relations, special situations and transaction advisory services
Previously, Bartolai served as a portfolio manager and research analyst at Rail-Splitter Capital Management. While at Rail-Splitter, Paul focused on small and mid-cap corporate issuers in the industrial, business services, technology and advanced manufacturing sectors. Before joining Rail-Splitter, Paul was a senior research analyst at SG Capital Management.
Prior to his time on the buy-side, Paul served as a sell-side equity research analyst for more than a decade where he covered both capital goods and business services at Credit Suisse. Paul began his career corporate finance analyst at Banc of America Securities.
Paul received his B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and is a CFA charter holder.
Stefan Neely
— Partner
Practice Area: Investor Relations, Special Situations, Transaction Advisory Services, OCFO
Stefan Neely is a leading authority on investor relations, capital markets and corporate finance, having formerly served as a corporate head of investor relations and FP&A, as well as a sell-side equity research analyst. At Vallum, his client practice spans investor relations, special situations and transaction advisory services.
Previously, Stefan was the Head of Investor Relations and FP&A at Quorum Health Corporation. Prior to Quorum, Stefan was a sell-side equity research analyst at Avondale Partners where he covered small and mid-cap issuers in the Industrials, Engineering & Construction, and Healthcare Services sectors.
Stefan received his B.S in business administration from Birmingham-Southern College.
Sandy Ryan
— Managing Partner
Practice Area: Transaction Advisory Services, OCFO, Capital Markets Advisory
Sandy Ryan is one of the leading transaction and capital markets advisors in the United States. At Vallum, he provides advisory services to industry leading-corporate issuers and institutional investors around transformational events, including acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings. Mr. Ryan has served as co-managing partner of the firm since 2024.
At Vallum, his principal focus is on middle-market transactions ranging from $50 million to $500 million. He has led teams on cross-border transactions across global markets, including high-profile mandates in Asia and Europe. Prior to Vallum, he was a Managing Director at Houlihan Lokey, with transaction expertise across business services, consumer, industrial technology, and emerging growth sectors. Earlier in his career, he served as a senior member of the KPMG Transaction & Restructuring Practice in Los Angeles.
Mr. Ryan holds a dual degree in Business Economics, with an emphasis in Accounting and Political Science, from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Brian Hawthorne
— Managing Director
Practice Area: Investor Relations, Transaction Advisory Services, OCFO
Brian Hawthorne is a veteran investor relations and corporate finance executive with more than 15 years of experience as a public company investor relations officer and sell-side equity research analyst. At Vallum, he provides strategic counsel across the firm’s investor relations, special situations and transaction advisory services practices.
Previously, he was the head of corporate finance, ESG and investor relations for Agree Realty Corporation (NYSE: ADC), an S&P Mid-Cap 400 REIT. Previously, Brian was the head of corporate finance, FP&A and investor relations for Exodus Movement. Earlier in his career, Brian served as a sell-side equity research analyst at RBC Capital Markets and Stephens, Inc.
Brian holds an MBA in Finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and a B.S. from Michigan State University. Brian has successfully completed the CFA Level 2 certification.
Dylan Botha, CFA, CA(SA)
— Managing Director
Practice Area: Transaction Advisory Services, OCFO
Dylan Botha is a Managing Director in Vallum’s Transaction Advisory Services practice. At Vallum, Dylan provides data-centric financial, accounting, valuation, and operational advisory services across the full lifecycle of client transactions.
Prior to joining Vallum, Dylan held senior roles at Deloitte Australia and PwC, where he advised clients on mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, valuations, financial due diligence, and management consulting engagements.
Dylan has advised a broad range of clients, including private equity firms, listed and multinational corporations, and large privately held companies, with a primary focus on middle-market transactions. His experience spans a wide range of industries, including industrials, consumer products, business services, and entertainment/media.
Dylan holds a Bachelor of Business Science (Honors) in Accounting and Finance from the University of Cape Town and an Honors degree in Accounting from UNISA. He is a Chartered Accountant, CA(SA), and a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). He is also a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA® Institute.
Fred Buonocore, CFA
— Managing Director
Practice Area: Investor Relations, Transaction Advisory Services, OCFO
Fred Buonocore is a leading investor relations and financial communications professional with more than 20 years of experience advising small, mid, and large-cap organizations across the energy, industrials, services, consumer, and emerging growth sectors. At Vallum, his client practice spans investor relations, transaction communications, and governance advisory.
Most recently, Mr. Buonocore served as Vice President of Investor Relations for LSB Industries, a leading supplier of nitrogen chemicals to the U.S. agricultural and industrial markets. Previously, he served as Director of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications for K&F Industries, a public Aerospace & Defense company that was acquired by Meggitt, PLC; Investor Relations Manager at Nike; Investor Relations Manager at J.D. Edwards, an enterprise software company acquired by Oracle; and Director of Investor Relations at Syntroleum Corporation, an energy technology company. Earlier in his career, he served as an equity research analyst with CJS Securities where he covered companies in a range of industries including Aerospace & Defense, Industrial Electrical Equipment, and Engineering & Construction, among others.
Mr. Buonocore received an MBA with honors from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a BS in Business Administration from Villanova University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Jeffrey Beyersdorfer
— Advisory Board Member
Jeff Beyersdorfer has more than 30 years of senior leadership experience within the energy and financial services industries. His areas of specialization include corporate development, investor relations, treasury, and strategic planning. Currently, Jeff is a managing director at Franklin Mountain Capital, a private equity firm focused on the energy supply chain. He currently serves on the board of directors at Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), the largest refining complex on the U.S. east coast.
Previously, Jeff served as Senior Vice President of Western Refining, where he led the investor relations, corporate development and treasury functions prior to the company’s sale to Andeavor. Prior to Western, Jeff led the treasury function at FMC Technologies and the corporate development and treasury functions at Premcor, an independent refining company sponsored by the Blackstone Group. He began his career at Bankers Trust in New York and London, followed by a senior investment banking role at A. G. Edwards & Sons, where he was the head of the energy practice. Jeff received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his M.B.A. from the London Business School.
Mark Cox
— Advisory Board Member
Mark Cox has nearly 40 years of senior leadership experience within the energy industry. His areas of specialty include strategic planning, capital formation, investor relations, risk management and corporate development. Currently, Mark serves as chairman of the board of directors at Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), the largest refining complex on the U.S. east coast and on the board of directors at Southcross Holdings GP LLC, a midstream energy company.
During his career, Mark has served on the executive management teams of two FORTUNE 500 corporations and three NYSE-listed refining and marketing companies. Most recently, Mark was the Chief Financial Officer for Eco Energy, Inc., the largest diversified downstream biofuels company in the United States. Prior to Eco Energy, Mark was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Delek US Holdings, Inc, an independent refining and midstream company. Earlier, he served as senior vice president and treasurer and head of investor relations for Western Refining, Inc. and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Giant Industries, Inc. Mark began his career in the finance department at ConocoPhillips, Inc. (formerly Conoco, Inc.). He received his B.S. and M.B.A degrees from the University of Missouri.
Justin Speer
— Advisory Board Member
Justin Speer has 20+ years of capital markets experience, including more than a decade as an institutional investor specializing in small/mid-cap companies within the industrials, materials and consumer durables sectors.
He currently serves as a Principal and Senior Analyst on the Public Equities team at Sovereign’s Capital, a firm that provides capital and strategic partnership to values-driven, faith-led companies. Previously, he served as a managing director at Zelman & Associates, a leading research firm specializing in the coverage of the building, housing finance, home improvement and non-residential construction verticals. In this role, Justin led the firm’s building products sector practice where he provides research insights to a client list that includes global asset management firms and hedge funds.
Prior to Zelman, Justin served as a portfolio manager and senior analyst at Invesco Advisors, an institutional advisor with more than $470 billion under management. He joined Invesco in 2010 following a strategic combination with Van Kampen Investments, where he was an analyst for the Van Kampen small-cap growth strategy. Before joining Van Kampen Investments in 2008, Justin served as an equity research analyst with Credit Suisse, where he focused on the enterprise software, electric utilities and homebuilding/building product industries. Justin graduated summa cum laude from Texas Christian University, where he earned a BS degree with an emphasis in finance and accounting.
Chi Chow
— Advisory Board Member
Chi Chow is a leading authority on matters related to investor relations, capital formation, industry research and corporate finance, with extensive experience in the global energy markets.
Chi is currently the CEO of Removr, a developer of innovative, sustainable carbon removal technology targeting industrial-scale direct air capture. Previously, Chi was the vice president of strategy and business development at Andeavor, a $23 billion integrated oil company acquired by Marathon Petroleum in 2018. In this role, Chi managed teams accountable for competitive analysis, business development, strategic M&A and investments in organic growth across the company’s portfolio of refining and logistics assets. Prior to Andeavor, Chi was recognized as one of the leading sell-side equity research analysts in the energy sector, serving as a partner and managing director at Tudor, Pickering & Holt, the energy practice of Perella Weinberg Partners, in addition to Macquarie Capital, Tristone Capital, Merrill Lynch and Petrie Parkman. He began his financial career in the investment banking group of Houlihan Lokey, having also worked previously at ARCO and as a civil engineer.
Blake Fernandez
— Advisory Board Member
Blake has more than 25 years of capital markets experience within the global energy markets. Currently, he serves as the Vice President of Investor Relations for Plains All American, an energy infrastructure company.
Previously, he served as SVP of Investor Relations and Market Intelligence at Delek US Holdings. Earlier, Blake was a managing director and senior research analyst covering integrated oils and independent refiners at Simmons Energy, a division of Piper Jaffray. He joined from Scotia Howard Weil where he had more than 12 years of experience, with similar research coverage in addition to crude macro outlook responsibilities. Prior to Howard Weil, he worked as a financial analyst in the Client Advisory Services unit of Hibernia Bank in New Orleans. Fernandez also held various investment/financial positions at Banc One Securities, AXA Advisors and Merrill Lynch in London. He holds an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University with a degree in Economics / International Trade & Finance and an MBA from the University of New Orleans with a concentration in Finance.
A. Patrick Busby
— Advisory Board Member
Pat Busby has more than 30 years of senior leadership experience within the energy, chemicals, manufacturing, financial services and technology industries. His areas of specialty include strategic planning, capital formation and corporate development. Between 1986 and 2018, Pat held numerous executive and board-level positions at Ergon, Inc. and its affiliates, one of the largest privately-held companies in the United States. During his career with Ergon, he helped to lead the strategic expansion of the organization into a global, multi-billion dollar enterprise, leading over $1.0 billion of merger, acquisition and divestiture activities.
From 1994 until his departure in 2018, Pat was the executive vice president and chief financial officer for Ergon, where he helped to lead oversight of the company’s oil and gas, refining and marketing, asphalt and emulsions, transportation, storage and real estate investments. Pat is a licensed CPA (inactive) and sits on the board of directors for numerous charitable organizations, while remaining actively engaged in global consulting assignments.
Bill Hatch
— Advisory Board Member
Bill Hatch has more than 40 years of senior leadership experience within the energy industry. His areas of specialty include executive leadership, operations oversight, strategic planning and change management. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP, a master limited partnership in the fuels refining and chemicals manufacturing sector.
For more than 30 years, Bill served in a variety of positions at CITGO Petroleum Corporation, retiring in 2008 from the role of Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, Bill led an executive team that engineered a successful transformation of one of the nation’s largest petroleum refining and marketing companies. The results were a streamlined operating group that produced record profitability in the light oils and lubes segment, together with record utilization and profitability in the refining segment. While at CITGO, he championed and implemented a complete restructuring of CITGO’s branded gasoline sales program. Under his leadership, CITGO had the best safety and environmental compliance record in the company’s history. Further, Bill directed CITGO’s annual capital expenditures programs, which included projects that totaled between $500 and $900 million each year. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Tulane University and an M.B.A from McNeese State University.
Dan Hyland
— Advisory Board Member
Dan Hyland has more than 25 years of senior leadership experience within the global capital markets. Currently, Dan is a managing director at Ancora, a multi-strategy institutional investor with more than $4 billion of assets under management.
Earlier, Dan led a leading consultancy that provided corporate access services to institutional investors focused mainly on small-cap issuers. He began his career at McDonald & Company (currently Keybanc Capital Markets) where he served as a senior member of the institutional sales team. Prior to starting his career, Dan served as a PGA Tour caddie where he worked full-time for PGA veteran D.A. Weibring. Dan received his B.S. from the University of Dayton.
William Kent
— Advisory Board Member
Will Kent has more than 25 years of corporate investor relations, capital markets and public affairs experience. His areas of specialty include strategic financial communications, shareholder and analyst relations, activism defense, corporate finance, capital formation and corporate governance.
Currently, he serves as the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for PublicSquare, a leading commerce and payments ecosystem. Previously, he led the global investor relations function for QEP Resources, a company engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas properties. Prior to QEP, Will served as senior director of investor relations for Crocs, a national footwear and apparel company, and was director of investor relations for Intrepid Potash, a diversified minerals company. Will has earned his Investor Relations Charter (IRC) credential for the National Investor Relations Institute. He received his B.A. from Trinity College and his M.B.A. from the University of Denver.
Derrick Nueman
— Advisory Board Member
Derrick Nueman has more than 25 years of corporate investor relations, finance and capital markets experience. His areas of specialty include corporate and financial strategy, financial communications, investor relations, corporate finance, capital formation and business transformation.
Currently, he serves as Vice President of Investor Relations at Plus, an AI company whose mission is to build driving intelligence to power a safer and greener world. Previously, he led the investor relations and strategic finance function for Opera Limited, a global internet and fintech platform with over 350 million monthly users. Prior to Opera, Derrick served as vice president of investor relations at Pandora. During his tenure, Pandora’s market capitalization more than doubled, ultimately contributing to the ~$3 billion sale of the company to SiriusXM. Previously, Derrick spent more than 10 years at TiVo Inc. where he served as vice president of investor relations and strategic finance. During his tenure, he managed TiVo’s investor relations program and had a strategic role in the financial operations of the company. Prior to TiVo, Derrick was an equity research associate analyst at JP Morgan within the internet, digital media and advertising technology sector. He began his corporate investor relations career as the director of investor relations for Ask Jeeves, where he led the company through significant financial growth. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Ray Mettetal
— Advisory Board Member
Ray Mettetal III is the Chief Executive Officer of Allegiance Refining, an independent refining business that he founded in late 2020.
Previously, Ray was the Chief Financial Officer of BrightMark Partners LLC, a leading growth equity and management firm. At BrightMark, he leads the financial operations of the firm and serves as CFO or acting CFO at the portfolio companies. As CFO, Ray is actively engaged in evaluating investment opportunities, while serving as the lead interface when valuing and negotiating potential exit opportunities. Prior to BrightMark, Ray led the Financial Advisory practice at Stancil & Co., a management consulting firm to the energy industry. While at Stancil, Ray served as interim CFO for clients engaged in business turnarounds. Prior to Stancil, Ray was the head of financial planning and analysis for CVR Energy, Inc., a diversified downstream energy company. Earlier in his career, he served as the director of strategic planning for Delek US Holdings, Inc., an independent refining and midstream company. He received his B.B.A. from Middle Tennessee State University and his Master of Accountancy from Belmont University, and is a licensed certified public accountant
Noel R. Ryan, Jr.
— Advisory Board Member
Noel has more than 40 years of global investment banking, corporate finance and capital markets experience. During his career, he has lent, arranged and raised billions of dollars for private and public companies, both as a principal and advisor. He specializes in capital raises that involve senior cash flow, asset-based debt, second lien, mezzanine and structured equity.
During the last 20 years, Noel served in a variety of senior roles at Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank, most recently as managing director within the capital markets group. During his tenure, his clients included pre-IPO and private companies, together with global private equity sponsors such as KPS, Brazos, Platinum Equity, Charlesbank, Riverside, Century Park, Gores, Gryphon and Cerberus. Prior to Houlihan Lokey, Noel served in several senior commercial banking roles where he managed lending and placement groups at major global financial institutions. Noel was named investment banker of the year in 2006 by The M&A Advisor and was recognized as co-Humanitarian of the Year by National Jewish Hospital in 2017. He is a regular speaker on the state of the capital markets and corporate lending. He received his B.A. from Stanford University.