Rhone

Robert F. Agostinelli co-founded Rhône in 1996 and became its Chairman in June 2026. Before that, he was a Senior Managing Director in the banking group of Lazard Frères overseeing international banking, and earlier founded Goldman Sachs' international mergers and acquisitions business in London, having also worked for Lord Jacob Rothschild at RIT in London. He holds a B.A. from St. John Fisher College and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Buerstedde joined Rhône in 2004 and became a Managing Director in 2011, working on sourcing, execution, and monitoring of investments across the business services, consumer, energy, and general industrial sectors, with coverage of German- and Spanish-speaking markets. He previously worked in the mergers and acquisitions department of Citigroup. He holds a European Master in Management from ESCP-EAP European School of Management in Paris and a Master in Finance from the London Business School, and earlier served as a second lieutenant in German Army Intelligence.

Jon Hoffman is a Managing Director at Rhône, where he leads investor relations, marketing, public relations, and global fundraising. He joined Rhône in 2014 and became a Managing Director in 2018, later spending part of 2025 at another private equity firm before returning in December 2025. Before Rhône, he was a Partner and Global Head of Distribution for the Private Capital Advisory team at Harris Williams, and earlier worked in investment banking and institutional sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup. He holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester.

José Manuel Vargas joined Rhône in 2007 as a Senior Advisor, became a Managing Director in 2017, and was named Head of Europe in 2026; he stepped away from 2021 to 2024 to lead Maxam, where he remains Non-Executive Chairman. Before Rhône, he was Chairman and CEO of Aena SME, S.A., where he oversaw its restructuring, partial privatization and 2015 IPO, and previously held CFO and CEO roles at Vocento S.A. and served as CFO and General Secretary of JOTSA (Philipp Holzmann Group). He holds degrees in Economics and Business from Complutense University of Madrid and a law degree from UNED, and is a Chartered Accountant.

Lucas Flynn joined Rhône in 2008 as an Associate, following a 2007 internship, and became a Managing Director in 2018 before being named Head of North America in 2026. He focuses on the industrial sector, including chemicals, minerals and materials, and helps cover Spanish-speaking markets. He previously worked at The Boston Consulting Group and Citigroup, holds a B.A. in Industrial Engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires, and earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Steiner joined Rhône in 2007 as General Counsel and became a Managing Director in 2018. Prior to Rhône, she was a corporate associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP from 1999, focusing on mergers & acquisitions and private equity. She holds a J.D. cum laude from New York University School of Law and a B.A. in American Studies from Brigham Young University, and is admitted to the New York bar.

Marianne Kirkegaard was CEO of Baker & Baker (formerly CSM Bakery Solutions) from 2016 to 2021, becoming its Chairman after the sale of its North American business. Before that, she spent much of her career at Unilever starting in 1993, holding various roles including Chief Commercial Officer of CEE, and joined Baker & Baker in 2011 as Global Chief Commercial Officer. She joined Rhône as a Senior Advisor in 2021 and became a Managing Director in 2023. She holds a Bachelor of International Business and an MBA from Copenhagen Business School.

Patrick Mundt joined Rhône in 2006, became a Managing Director in 2018, and has led the firm's London office since 2021. He has worked on opportunities in North America and Europe across sectors including industrials, chemicals, food & beverage, consumer goods, and retail, and contributes to coverage of German-speaking markets. Before Rhône he worked in Rothschild's industrial M&A investment banking division in London and previously did strategy consulting; he holds a Master's in Engineering, Economics and Management from the University of Oxford.

Angelo Giovannone is a Principal at Rhône, which he joined in 2023. He was previously a Principal at Investindustrial in New York and Lugano, Switzerland, working on LBO investing across the USA and Europe and helping establish the firm's New York office. Earlier, he spent 14 years at Lazard in Milan and New York as a Director advising on M&A in the consumer and industrial sectors, and began his career at Benedetti, Rossi & Partners in Milan. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Bocconi University.

Chris Lando is a Principal at Rhône, which he joined in 2021. He previously worked as a Director at Lazard in New York advising financial institutions on mergers, acquisitions, and strategy, and earlier was an investment banking Analyst at Atlas Advisors focused on M&A in the consumer sector. He holds an A.B. in Economics and a Certificate in Finance from Princeton University.

Josh Pollack is a Principal at Rhône, which he joined in 2015. He previously worked as an investment banking Analyst at Lazard in New York, focusing on mergers and acquisitions for financial services firms. He holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.S. in Economics from Tulane University.

Martin Atlas joined Rhône in 2014 and became a Principal in 2019. He previously worked as an investment banking Associate in the financial sponsors group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York and as an Analyst at Infupa, an Argentinian M&A firm. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Philip Kagan joined Rhône in 2017. He was previously an investment banking analyst at Lazard Frères & Co. in New York, where he worked on M&A. He holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Sam Williams is a Principal at Rhône, which he joined in 2017. He previously worked as an investment banking analyst at Harris Williams in Virginia, concentrating on mergers and acquisitions. He holds a B.A. in Economics, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University.

Alexander Tammuni joined Rhône in 2022. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Associate at Goldman Sachs in London and, before that, as an Investment Banking Analyst at UBS in London. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Finance from Bocconi University in Milan and a Master's degree in Management from the London Business School.

Ari Gontovnik joined Rhône in 2019. He previously worked as an investment banking analyst at Rothschild & Co. in New York, focusing on industrials M&A. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Axel Geller is an Associate at Rhône, which he joined in 2024. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Global Technology Group at Citigroup in New York. He holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.Sc. in Management, Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

Cole Stern joined Rhône in 2023. He previously worked as Vice President of Investments and Asset Management at WeWork Capital Advisors, a private real estate investment platform, where he handled acquisitions, leasing, development, financing, and dispositions across its North American real estate portfolio, and earlier was an Associate at the WeWork operating company. He holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

David Orner is an Associate at Rhône, which he joined in 2023. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Financial Sponsors Group at Citigroup in New York. He holds a B.A. from Harvard University.

Dr. Norman Goldberg joined Rhône as a Senior Advisor in 2026, bringing over 25 years of leadership across specialty chemicals, advanced materials, and industrial technology. He was CEO of tesa SE from 2020 to 2025 after serving on its Executive Board, and previously held roles as Co-CEO of Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG and senior positions at Henkel. Earlier he worked in academia at Cornell University and the Technical University of Braunschweig, and holds a Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry from the Technical University of Berlin.

Glenn Eisenberg joined Rhône as a Senior Advisor in April 2025. He previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Labcorp from 2014 to 2024, and held CFO and senior finance roles at The Timken Company and executive positions including president and COO at United Dominion Industries. He holds a B.A. from Tulane University and an M.B.A. from Georgia State University.

Haley Buchan is Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer at Lightyear Capital, where she leads compliance, technology, and artificial intelligence functions. She has more than 18 years of experience spanning Investment Adviser, 40-Act, UCITS, and Broker-Dealer compliance, along with fund formation and registration, cybersecurity, and technology development. Buchan has served as CF4 and CF10 for a UK sub-adviser and was formerly a Series 7 registered representative.

Jaime Muguiro joined Rhône in 2022. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Citigroup in New York, concentrating on Latin American M&A. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Georgetown University.

James Singh spent 35 years at Nestlé, where he served as Chief Financial Officer for his final five years and previously led global M&A and business development. He became a Senior Advisor to Rhône in 2013, working on assessments and acquisitions in the food and beverages sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Guyana and an MBA from the University of Windsor, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a Certified Public Accountant in Canada.

Jeronimo Delgado joined Rhône in 2025 as an Associate. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Associate at Santander in New York, focusing on U.S. M&A, and as an Investment Banking Analyst at Citigroup in New York, covering U.S. media and telecom. He holds a dual degree in International Business and Finance from ICADE University and Northeastern University.

Josh Kratka joined Rhône in 2023 as a Senior Associate based in New York. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Healthcare Services Group at Guggenheim Securities in New York. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kyle Olsen joined Rhône in 2022. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Associate in the Capital Advisory Group at Lincoln International in Chicago. He holds a B.S. and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mark Hayes is Chief Financial Officer at Rhône Group. His accounting experience includes complex products such as credit default swaps, collateralized loan obligations, collateralized debt obligations, and fund accounting, along with SEC reporting, management company accounting, tax reporting, and management reporting for a publicly traded company. He has worked with fair value accounting (FAS 157 and 159), derivative accounting (FAS 133), and consolidations (FAS 167).

Osama A. Alayoub is a Senior Advisor at Rhône. He was previously President & CEO of the Kuwait Investment Office (KIO), the London branch of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), and helped establish the direct infrastructure manager Wren House Infrastructure. Earlier he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, which he joined in 2008, covering sovereign wealth funds in the MENA region and co-heading the European Special Situations Group for the region, and began his career at KIA where he led private equity activities over 13 years. He holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Kuwait University (1994).

Patrick Walder is a Vice President at Rhône, which he joined in 2022. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Rothschild & Co, focusing on Industrials and Business Services. He holds two Bachelor's degrees in Economics and Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen and an M.Sc. in Finance and Private Equity from the London School of Economics.

Ryan Boesky is a Senior Associate at Rhône, which he joined in 2022. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Bank of America Securities in San Francisco within the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications group. He holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.