William Blair, a global investment banking and asset management firm, announced that Christina Bresani has joined the firm’s investment banking team as a managing director and head of financial services investment banking.

In addition to leading the firm’s financial services group in investment banking, Bresani will focus on sourcing, structuring, and executing mergers and acquisitions involving high-profile public and private companies across sectors. She will be based in the firm’s New York office.

“Christina is a remarkably talented and experienced M&A banker who will elevate our ability to deliver industry-leading advisory solutions,” said Brent Gledhill, William Blair’s global head of investment banking. “As we continue to expand our M&A prowess, we are thrilled to have someone of Christina’s caliber joining our team in New York. Her expertise will be a tremendous resource for our clients.”

William Blair’s investment banking group draws on the deep industry expertise and relationships of its bankers to deliver optimal results for clients through advisory and capital-markets solutions. The firm’s M&A practice has more than doubled its client service delivery over the past few years, now completing $30 billion of transactions annually.

Bresani has 19 years of investment banking experience and, before joining William Blair, spent her entire career with UBS in New York focused exclusively on M&A. At UBS, she executed 70 transactions with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $175 billion. Over the past two decades, Bresani has completed industry-shaping transactions involving private and publicly traded companies across the financial services and healthcare sectors, including Chicago Board Options Exchange’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Bats Global Markets, TIAA’s $2.5 billion acquisition of EverBank Financial, Eli Lilly’s $6.5 billion acquisition of ImClone, and the $30.3 billion merger of Caremark Rx and CVS. Bresani earned her bachelor’s degree in 1998 from Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

“The opportunity to join a firm such as William Blair that has a global reputation for delivering world-class service and results for clients is incredibly exciting,” Ms. Bresani said. “Across industries, companies today face a broadening array of opportunities for achieving their growth goals, making William Blair’s ability to provide objective advice and outstanding execution more valuable than ever.”