William Blair added three senior-level hires in the firm’s tech-enabled services (TES) investment banking practice. Blake Jones joins as managing director in Chicago, and Josh Funt and Louis Oliver join as directors based in Atlanta. All three will focus on the financial services sector, bringing a combined 35 years of experience and joining most recently from Truist.
“We are thrilled to welcome Blake, Josh, and Louis to the firm, and are excited to add senior-level talent into our financial services group,” said Britt Trukenbrod, managing director and head of William Blair’s TES investment banking group. “The financial services sector is an incredibly important area of focus and growth for our TES team. These additions will enable us to continue serving our leading financial sponsor and strategic clients with holistic financial services capabilities.”
Drawing on more than 20 years of investment banking experience, Jones will play a key role in the expansion of William Blair’s existing financial services coverage. Jones’s experience includes work with wealth and asset management firms, registered investment advisors, cloud-based investment solutions, private banking institutions, wealthtech programs, and other financial advisory organizations. Jones received his B.S. with special attainments in commerce from Washington and Lee University.
“I’m excited to join the William Blair financial services platform and continue to build on our existing strengths and capabilities in the sector,” said Jones. “The firm’s collaborative approach and understanding of high-quality, growth-oriented financial services entities are critical drivers in the delivery of dedicated service and comprehensive solutions for our clients.”
Josh Funt has worked in tandem with Jones for the past five years, focusing on delivery of results to companies in the same sectors. His work focuses on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged finance, and other investment banking solutions for clients. He received his B.S. in economics from the University of Michigan.
Louis Oliver works primarily with services and technology companies in the insurance industry on all aspects of their investment banking needs. Oliver received his M.B.A. in finance from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and his M.S. in accountancy and B.S. in analytical finance from Wake Forest
University.
William Blair’s broader investment banking group continues to make significant investments in its team. On July 5 the firm announced the addition of five senior hires in Europe—Manuel Sammut as a managing director in tech-enabled services; managing director Eric Sanschagrin and director Daniel Fiegenschuh in technology; Alex Murrill as a managing director covering specialty distribution, commercial services, and industrial; and Shane Dulabdas as director in debt advisory. The firm also recently announced the addition of Derek Caracciola in the equity capital markets team, along with the launch of the private capital advisory practice with the hiring of Mike Custar, head of private capital advisory, and the additions of Quinn Kolberg, Tom Marking, and Gage Alpert.