News Category: Team Highlights

Chartwell is honored to announce the transition of its CEO role from Paul Halverson to Wil Becker. Paul, the founder of Chartwell, established the firm 30 years ago, transforming it from a single location office focused on valuation services into a national leader in financial advisory, renowned for its expertise in ownership consulting, corporate finance, and business appraisal.

Since engaging with his first ESOP-owned company in 1987, Paul has dedicated his career to providing unparalleled guidance on the financial challenges organizations face throughout the lifecycle of ESOP ownership. “I am immensely grateful for the friendships forged with colleagues and professional partners throughout this journey. This chapter has been one of my proudest, and I eagerly anticipate Chartwell’s next steps.” Although Paul steps down as CEO, his journey with Chartwell continues as he focuses on developing and leading the firm’s architecture and engineering (AE) industry vertical in 2026.

Wil Becker, who has been with Chartwell since 2002, is a key member of the executive leadership team. Throughout his career, Wil has specialized in supporting middle-market businesses with their unique needs in valuation, corporate development, and M&A services. “I am thankful that Paul took a chance on me all those years ago and for the incredible partnership he has fostered at Chartwell. I recognize the significant shoes I have to fill and look forward to guiding the firm into its next phase of growth.”

Please join us in congratulating Paul and Wil on their next chapters with Chartwell!

Chartwell is pleased to announce Jeremy Alinder has joined the firm as CFO, where he will oversee financial strategy and accounting operations. Jeremy is a proven leader with a combination of business management, deep financial experience, and a passion for growing businesses through organic and inorganic strategies. With broad international and domestic experience supporting global businesses in a wide variety of industries, he is known for transforming businesses and achieving operational excellence with a keen focus on building value.

“We are excited for Jeremy to join the team to support our strategic growth plans,” said Paul Halverson, CEO. “His leadership and M&A experience will be instrumental as we enter the next chapter of Chartwell’s success.”

About Jeremy

Jeremy has nearly 30 years of accounting and finance experience. Prior to Chartwell, Jeremy served in key leadership roles at Tierra Encantada (CFO), Blue Ops Partners (Managing Director), Ulteig Engineering (CFO), Fluence Corporation (CFO – North America), Jacobs Electric Company (CFO), and Pentair (Director of Corporate Business Development).

Jeremy holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in accounting and finance from the University of St. Thomas.

We are pleased to announce Chartwell’s pending acquisition of Atlantic Management Company, a nationally recognized provider of valuation and transaction advisory services. Since its founding in 1968, Atlantic has established itself as a trusted advisor to business owners, corporate boards, and fiduciaries nationwide, offering business valuations, fairness opinions, and solvency opinions tailored to a wide spectrum of legal, financial, tax, and corporate requirements.

Atlantic’s ownership transition group provides specialized expertise in employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), mergers and acquisitions, and business succession planning. Headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Atlantic has earned a reputation for integrity, professionalism, and client-centric service, which aligns well with Chartwell’s core values and strategic objectives.

This acquisition will augment Chartwell’s market-leading ESOP advisory practice through Atlantic’s demonstrated expertise in ESOP transactions and ownership transitions. The partnership will enhance our capabilities, reinforce our commitment to excellence, and expand our service offerings to privately held and employee-owned companies.

Atlantic’s President, John Murphy, has successfully guided the firm for over 35 years. Recognizing the opportunity for strategic growth and succession planning, John identified Chartwell as an ideal partner to support the Atlantic team and its clients moving forward. He remarked, “Partnering with Chartwell allows us to expand our service scope while maintaining the high standards of professionalism and integrity our clients expect. It also provides an exceptional opportunity for our team members to pursue continued professional development within a larger organization.”

Paul Halverson, CEO of Chartwell, stated, “We have a longstanding relationship with John Murphy and the Atlantic team spanning more than two decades. Their reputation for excellence and unwavering commitment to client success perfectly complement our values. We look forward to continuing to serve Atlantic’s clients with the same level of dedication and professionalism they have come to expect.”

We are excited to announce the promotions of Chartwell team members across the country. These individuals are tremendous assets to our clients, professional partners, and firm. Congratulations all on a job well done!

September 2025

Managing Director

Rachel Flaskey – Minneapolis

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June 2025

Senior Associate

Sam Callen – Minneapolis
Scott Fudenberg – Minneapolis
John Hooker – Chicago
Michael Mason – Minneapolis
Lucas Pelner – Dallas

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January 2025

Director

Matt Dennison – Minneapolis

Chartwell is pleased to announce that Austin Piech and Will Rehnberg are recipients of the 2025 Emerging Leaders Awards presented by The M&A Advisor. These awards distinguish rising stars shaping the future of mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and corporate finance. Award winners were selected by an independent judging panel for their innovation, leadership, and community contribution.

Please join us in congratulating Austin and Will on this professional achievement!

Past Emerging Leaders Awards Winners

• Matt Dennison – 2023
• Matt Ewing – 2022
• Dan Kaczmarek – 2022

Chartwell is pleased to announce Amanda Strickler has joined the firm as a Vice President in our consulting practice. Amanda brings robust experience in financial modeling and analysis, ownership strategy, corporate development, leadership, and communication. She adds significant value to Chartwell’s team as well as our clients. With Amanda comes the addition of Chartwell’s newest office location in Akron, Ohio.

“We are delighted to have Amanda as the newest member of our growing team. As a former ESOP company leader, she brings a unique and valuable perspective to our sustainability studies,” said Ashleigh Newlin, Managing Director and consulting expert in executive incentive design and ESOP repurchase obligation planning.

About Amanda

Prior to Chartwell, Amanda was Director of Financial Planning & Analysis at ACRT Services, a 100% ESOP-owned environmental consulting company. While at ACRT, she facilitated an ESOP sustainability study and implemented a pivotal new distribution policy, preserving cash flow and enhancing the long-term health of the ESOP. Preceding ACRT, Amanda was a Financial Analyst at FirstEnergy Corp, a $15B investor-owned electric utility company, where she focused on corporate budgeting and forecasting as well as treasury capital markets.

Amanda holds a Master of Business Administration degree in finance as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in finance, with a minor in international business, from The University of Akron.

We are delighted to announce Matt Clark has joined Chartwell as a Managing Director in the firm’s corporate finance group. Matt is responsible for deal origination, relationship management, and transaction execution. He has over 25 years of experience providing strategic, mergers & acquisitions, and capital raising advice to public and private companies and their boards of directors, CEOs, and CFOs in a variety of industries. Matt will contribute to the leadership and growth of Chartwell’s industry verticals in the architecture/engineering (AE) and construction markets. Matt expands our corporate finance presence in the Western region and is based in Los Angeles, California.

“Matt is a key senior addition to our team,” said Greg Fresh, Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance. “He brings both large cap and middle market expertise, as well as deep experience in the AE and construction industry sectors.” Matt spent four years as head of corporate development at AECOM, the world’s leading infrastructure engineering firm, ranked #3 on the 2023 ENR Top International Design Firms list.

About Matt

Prior to Chartwell, Matt provided investment banking services to clients as Managing Director at Wells Fargo Securities, served as Senior Vice President of M&A at AECOM, and was Partner at Moelis & Company. Matt led the execution of AECOM’s $6 billion acquisition of publicly-traded URS and executed M&A transactions ranging in size from $200 million to more than $2 billion at Moelis & Company.

Earlier in his career, Matt worked at Barrington Partners, UBS Investment Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston (Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette), and Deutsche Bank Alex Brown (BT Alex Brown).

Matt holds a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and English from the University of California, Berkeley.

We are pleased to announce that Legacy Equity Valuations has joined Chartwell. Located in Seattle, the team at Legacy has expertise performing valuations for annual ESOP administration, gift and estate tax, financial reporting, and corporate planning purposes.

Legacy was founded by Dennis Locke, who has over 30 years of business valuation experience. He holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the CFA Institute and the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) in Business Valuations credential from the American Society of Appraisers. Recently, Dennis spent significant time exploring ownership transition options that preserve the legacy of his firm and allow his team to continue to work with its expansive portfolio of clients. He quickly identified Chartwell as an ideal partner for his business. “I’ve observed many industry participants over the years and have seen Chartwell’s commitment to building a well-rounded and broadly respected firm. I’m excited for our staff and clients to benefit from this merger and look forward to contributing to the growth of the firm.”

In addition to Dennis, the Legacy team joining Chartwell includes Vice President Nick Aberle, Senior Analyst Jeff Brooks, and Executive Assistant Yolonda Jones. “Dennis has built a firm that is well-respected not only in the Pacific Northwest but throughout the country. We are fortunate and excited that his team is joining Chartwell,” said Steve Nelson, Managing Director.

Chartwell is pleased to announce Dan Uitti has joined the firm as a Vice President in our Atlanta office. Dan has over 10 years of experience in business valuation and public accounting. He performs valuation analyses for a variety of purposes including shareholder disputes, purchase price allocation, intangible asset appraisal, goodwill impairment, and tax compliance.

“Dan’s expertise is a huge addition to our appraisal service offerings,” said Rachel Flaskey, Director and senior leader in Chartwell’s valuation practice. “He brings significant financial reporting valuation experience to Chartwell and our clients.”

Dan has unique experience calculating economic damages on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. Throughout his career, Dan has worked with companies across a diverse array of industries.

About Dan

Prior to Chartwell, Dan held associate roles at B. Riley Advisory Services (formerly GlassRatner) and Stout. He began his career as an auditor at a regional public accounting firm. Dan holds a Master of Science degree in finance as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance from Florida State University.

Chartwell is pleased to expand the firm’s ownership team by adding eight new shareholders. As we pursue our vision of being the most highly respected and sought-after financial advisory firm serving the middle market, Chartwell’s strategy has been to expand the breadth and depth of our team’s expertise so we can provide our clients best-in-class service and advice.

Congratulations to: Nick Braun, Rachel Flaskey, Ryan Graham, Dan Kaczmarek, Tim Lang, Tina Langlois, Ashleigh Newlin, and Joe Skorczewski

“These senior leaders exemplify the traits and values we believe are crucial to achieving Chartwell’s vision,” said Paul Halverson, CEO. “They are highly skilled and extremely well respected in their fields of expertise. We are proud of their accomplishments at Chartwell and for our entire industry.”

Nick Braun has been with Chartwell since 2007 and is a Managing Director in Chartwell’s Portland office. He provides valuation and transaction opinion services to clients across the country.

Rachel Flaskey has been with Chartwell since 2016 and is a Director in Chartwell’s Minneapolis office. She provides valuation services for corporate planning, financial reporting, and estate and gift purposes.

Ryan Graham has been with Chartwell since 2014 and is a Managing Director in Chartwell’s Minneapolis office. He provides consulting services with a specialty in ESOP repurchase obligation and sustainability analysis.

Dan Kaczmarek has been with Chartwell since 2014 and is a Managing Director in Chartwell’s Chicago office. He provides corporate finance services with a specialty in capital markets advisory.

Tim Lang has been with Chartwell since 2007 and is a Managing Director in Chartwell’s Minneapolis office. He provides valuation and transaction opinion services primarily for ESOP purposes.

Tina Langlois has been with Chartwell since 2018 and is a Managing Director in Chartwell’s Philadelphia office. She provides consulting services with a specialty in ESOP sustainability and capital structure analysis.

Ashleigh Newlin has been with Chartwell since 2018 and is a Director in Chartwell’s Philadelphia office. She provides consulting services with a specialty in executive compensation and ESOP sustainability analysis.

Joe Skorczewski has been with Chartwell since 2005 and is a Managing Director in Chartwell’s Minneapolis office. He leads the firm’s architecture and engineering industry vertical.