NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to expand the leadership of its growing Aerospace Investment Banking division, Seabury Group LLC (Seabury) announced today that it had promoted two of its Directors, Brian Karpiel and Antares Reis, to the position of Managing Director. The new Managing Directors represent the combined in-depth expertise and experience from across a variety of Seabury's client advisory groups, including Consulting, Corporate Advisory, Restructuring, and Investment Banking.
"The promotion of our latest class of Managing Directors represents the deep expertise Seabury brings across a comprehensive array of advisory services, as Seabury continues to deliver value to its Aviation and A&D clients across multiple business functions," said Seabury Chairman & Chief Executive Officer John E. Luth. "These individuals have each played an important role in advancing our firm’s growth, and with addition to our recently appointed Chief Operating Officer & President Chris E. Kubasik, will continue to drive our mission of resolving our clients' most strategic, complex and critical business problems.”
Mr. Brian Karpiel, who was named Managing Director and has served for the past year as acting Global Head of Aerospace & Defense Investment Banking division, will continue to lead the firm’s Aerospace Investment Banking team based in Seabury’s world headquarters in New York, as well as help lead its growing middle-market M&A and sponsor coverage activities.
Mr. Karpiel re-joined Seabury in 2012 as Director of Aerospace Investment Banking. Mr. Karpiel brings more than 23 years of Investment Banking and Operations experience in the Aviation, Aerospace & Defense (A&D) and Industrial Products market segments. During his career at Seabury and prior firms, he has led or participated in more than 100 advisory assignments, including consulting, in-court restructurings valued at $25 billion, and investment banking transactions valued at more than $7 billion. During his Investment Banking career, Mr. Karpiel led and executed transactions in the A&D sector with Lehman Brothers, CIT (Edgeview Partners), and Janes Capital Partners. His Seabury aviation clients also include Air Canada, Qantas, South African Airways, and U.S. Airways. Prior to transitioning into Investment Banking, Mr. Karpiel was an engineer and operations leader at General Electric, with expertise in lean manufacturing, labor and operational productivity programs, new facility development and managing operations for growth.
“Looking forward, the prospects for our investment banking activities are very strong,” stated Mr. Karpiel. “Since returning to Seabury, we’ve added additional talent to the team and further focused our activities to create substantial value through Investment Banking services to a growing number of high-quality middle market clients. As we continue to meaningfully expand our global footprint, we are well-positioned for delivering unique value in niche-market, cross-border, growth capital, and complex situations to deliver superior results to our clients.”
Brian Karpiel can be reached at bkarpiel@seaburysecurities.com.
Mr. Antares Reis, who was named Managing Director for the European Aerospace & Defense Investment Banking division, will have primary responsibility for leading the European team, which originates and executes Investment Banking-related transactions in the A&D industry from Seabury’s London-based office. His appointment follows two successfully completed transactions in Germany and the U.K. in 2014, and a significant pipeline of business yet to be executed.
Prior to joining Seabury in early 2013, Mr. Reis spent a career nurturing A&D relationships as Vice-President at Barons Financial Services, CIT Aerospace, and the General Electric Company. He led and was an integral part of originating and closing a variety of financing and M&A transactions, spanning key A&D market segments that are complementary to Seabury’s core advisory practices, including the MRO, Aerospace Distribution & Logistics, Aircraft Interiors, Aerospace Propulsion, Aerostructures, Training & Simulation, and Defense Systems. During his career, Mr. Reis also held positions with McKinsey, PricewaterhouseCoopers, CCF Bank, and Pactual Bank.
“I feel grateful for the trust my clients and industry friends have placed into the Seabury platform in such a short but intense period, as well as the support Seabury Group has given to my European franchise. Clients and counterparties have been benefiting from the maturity of a long period of industry specialization initiated in 2005, which is set to deepen in the decades to come. Seabury has honored all its commitments to me, first and foremost as a place where Aviation and A&D enthusiasts can realize their dreams by serving the industry.”
Mr. Antares Reis can be reached at areis@seaburysecurities.com.
ABOUT SEABURY GROUP
Seabury is a global advisory and investment banking firm with over 250 professionals based in 14 countries on five continents, with six offices in the United States, providing clients a comprehensive approach to driving business solutions, no matter how complex or challenging the issues. Seabury provides investment banking, merchant banking, management, human capital and IT consulting, and restructuring services to clients in aerospace, automotive, aviation, cargo/logistics, explosives/mining, financial services, gaming, hospitality, infrastructure, insurance, manufacturing, maritime/offshore oil & gas exploration, metals processing, mining, private equity, debt and hedge funds, real estate and travel industries. Seabury’s subsidiaries also offer enterprise MIS software solutions, structured investment products, FX trading and trade finance solutions and trading platforms, and solid fuel products derived from waste streams for the mining and metals processing industries.
Seabury professionals are a unique combination of top-tier bankers, consultants, software solutions experts, and former industry executives that provide in-depth advisory services to effectuate enterprise-wide change. Since 1995 Seabury’s professionals have advised on over 1,000 client engagements globally including assignments involving negotiating new or existing aircraft orders totalling over $250 billion (list prices) and structuring over $80 billion of equity and debt capital transactions. Additionally, Seabury served as investment banker and restructuring advisor for 10 of the 15 largest airline turnarounds, including restructuring over $100 billion of debt and lease transactions.
Seabury has increasingly broadened its global businesses to include structured finance products, enterprise software, and trade finance services. Seabury is a global leader in providing software tools and data products covering aviation, aerospace, cargo/global trade, FX trading and human capital. Seabury has developed world-class, enterprise-wide MIS systems that can extract information, manage contracts, and evaluate data across an array of IT systems delivering real-time analysis and executable information. In early 2013, Seabury acquired FXone Ltd., a leading provider of new software tools and enterprise software for market makers, brokers and traders targeting the $5 trillion per day FX trading market. FXone, which is based in San Francisco, has been renamed Seabury Financial Solutions LLC. In late 2013, Seabury acquired 1 East West Limited, a provider of innovative supply chain finance solutions, based in Hong Kong, which has been renamed Seabury Trade Finance Exchange Ltd. Seabury launched in March 2014 SeaVS, a finance company dedicated to providing financing for the $14 billion extended vehicle services warranty contract business.
