Joe Saad
President | Dallas
Joe Saad is the founder and President of Merger Partners. Under his leadership, the firm has developed into a nationally recognized specialty investment banking firm and invented the only and better alternative to the auction process. Joe led the firm originally on the sell-side and then pivoted to the buy-side and performed dozens of retained acquisition searches for private equity firms nationally. Through his experience on both sides of transactions, Joe discovered the need for a better way to sell a company. Before founding Merger Partners, Joe began his career in Venture Capital at Texas Pacific Capital Corporation and business development and consulting at Kreller Consulting Group.
Joe earned his B.B.A. in Finance from Southern Methodist University.
JoeSaad@mergerpartners.com
Tony Frederickson
Senior Managing Director | San Francisco
Tony is an executive leader in the defense technology industry spanning a wide range of technology disciplines, with a track record of building successful, high-growth teams. He most recently served as CEO of Defense Group Inc, and worked in C-suite roles with Titan Corporation (NYSE: TTN), Schafer Corporation (private equity-held), and Sage Management (a professional partnership). In each case, he has led buy-side acquisition campaigns to enable better organic growth and eventually achieve a high-value exit for equity holders.
Tony earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering from UCLA.
TFrederickson@mergerpartners.com
Garrison Coward
Managing Director | Washington D.C.
Garrison brings to the table many years of political and business experience. Over the course of his career, he has served as the Chief Operating Officer of a data analytics firm and has also served as an advisor to Virginia Congressman Rob Wittman. Prior to joining Congressman Wittman, Garrison served as Political Director and Deputy Director of Minority Engagement for the Republican Party of Virginia.
Garrison also co-founded Result Refinery, a strategic public affairs firm focused on using modern technology and creative methods to create more reach. He has experience leading public-policy initiatives and campaigns.
In 2019, he was a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates from the 68th District. He serves on a number of community boards and initiatives.
Garrison holds his B.A. in Economics from Hampden-Sydney College and received his MBA from The George Washington University’s School of Business.
Garrison@mergerpartners.com
Ben McElhiney
Senior Advisor (Healthcare Services) | Denver
Ben McElhiney brings an array of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries having served as CEO and other senior leadership positions in both PE-backed and Fortune 500 companies over the last 25+ years. Most recently, Ben served as CEO of one of the largest fertility businesses in the country, Village Fertility, CEO of Apothecary by Design (ABD), a URAC multi-site specialty pharmaceutical business, and worked in various roles at CVS Health in their Specialty Division. Ben also spent over 10 years at global drug maker, GlaxoSmithKline in various roles involving hospital and Oncology sales.
Ben earned his a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Bmcelhiney@mergerpartners.com
Brad Barker
Managing Director | Montana
As an executive public and private sector leader, Brad has over 29 years of experience building and leading diverse, multi-function teams to deliver best-in-class services.
Brad most recently served with Andra Partners and now with his own firm, Old Soldier, as a buyside advisor to leading middle market private equity firms. He has led platform and add-on acquisition initiatives across multiple sectors to originate opportunities aligned with each client’s target theses and facilitate proprietary deal flow.
He also serves as a Representative in the Montana Legislature as a member of the Taxation, Agriculture and Transportation Committees and as the Chairman of the Consumer Committee.
Brad is also a retired career US Army Officer where he served in multiple command and staff assignments up through Aviation Battalion Task Force Command in Afghanistan with over 600 personnel and 49 aircraft. Brad is a Master Army Aviator rated in the UH-1(Huey), OH-58 A/C (Kiowa), AH-64A (Apache) and AH-64D (Longbow) with multiple deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and Korea.
Brad earned a Bachelor's degree in Mathematical Economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Master's in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Master's in Military Studies from the US Marine Corps University. He resides in Montana with his family and enjoys all that life in the mountains offers.
barker@mergerpartners.com
Ryan Allison
Managing Director | Stuart, Florida
Ryan is a seasoned business executive recognized for driving revenue growth, operational turnarounds, and transformative strategies across diverse industries, including manufacturing, consumer goods, and private equity-backed enterprises.
Over his career, he has been sought after for his ability to scale businesses, lead multi-site operations, and deliver measurable gains in revenue, EBITDA, and market share. Ryan holds an MBA from Norwich University, a Master of Public Policy from the University of Texas at Dallas, and is completing his Doctor of Business Administration at Liberty University (expected 2025).