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François M. de Visscher - is a pioneer in the field of corporate finance for family owned companies. In 1986, as a partner at Smith Barney, he created the Family Business Group, which was the first Wall Street corporate finance group exclusively dedicated to serving family owned companies. In 1990, he founded de Visscher & Co., the predecessor firm to de V, O & A, which became one of the nation’s leading independent financial consulting and investment banking firms for family owned and closely held companies. A native of Belgium, Francois is an active advisor to family businesses worldwide and a board member of his own family’s global enterprise, a fourth generation diversified wire and steel manufacturer. He is currently President of the Family Firm Institute, a frequent speaker on family business matters and a contributor to many publications including The Wall Street Journal and Family Business Magazine. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Economics honors degree from Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and an MBA from Rutgers University.
Richard F. Allen - Richard Allen has more than 30 years of experience as an investment banker in New York, London and Toronto. Prior to joining de Visscher & Co. in 1998, he was a managing director and head of the merger and acquisition group at Toronto Dominion Bank (U.S.) following the purchase by the bank of Lancaster Financial, a private investment bank where he was president of the U.S. operations. Previously, he was a senior vice president at Dillon Read, an executive director of Credit Suisse First Boston’s merger and acquisition group, and a director at Wood Gundy Inc. where he was also president of its U.S. subsidiary. He is a director of Blessing White and MedScan, two of the fund’s investments. Mr. Allen holds a Bachelor of Commerce honors degree from McGill University and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
James A. Murphy - has over 15 years of experience in middle market corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. He has spearheaded the firm's debt and equity fundraising activities and also is actively involved in sourcing mergers, acquisitions, financings and business valuation projects for family and closely held businesses. He is a member of the Family Firm Institute, the Association for Corporate Growth and the Connecticut Venture Group and has spoken at various conferences on the financial solutions to the capital and liquidity needs of family owned businesses. Mr. Murphy was previously affiliated with Goldman Sachs & Co. and Ernst & Whinney’s Privately-Owned Business Group. He earned his BA from Yale University and an MBA from New York University and he is a Certified Public Accountant.