Meet the 20 Most Successful M&A Bankers of 2024 - Business Insider
- Welcome to the sixth edition of "The Rainmakers," representing the top 20 investment bankers of 2024.
- These 20 bankers completed some of the year's biggest deals, based on data assembled by MergerLinks.
- This year's list marks the first time a woman, Anu Aiyengar of JPMorgan, took the top spot.
If you were to describe dealmaking in 2024, you might say it's the year Wall Street got its swagger back.
US companies announced more than $1.43 trillion in deals last year, the highest amount since 2021, when a dealmaking frenzy resulted in a record $2.51 trillion in US M&A activity, according to the deals tracker LSEG. The uptick — combined with signs of economic growth and a more relaxed approach to regulations under the Trump administration — has led some industry leaders to suggest that the M&A freeze that started in 2022 may finally be coming to an end.
"There's a lot of pent-up energy in capital markets, particularly around the financial-sponsor community, and that will be unleashed," David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, said at a financial industry conference in February. "I am very confident we will get back to 10-year averages" in historical dealmaking contexts, he said, adding, "This year could be one of those times."
Bankers have good reason to be hopeful: There were 96 megadeals, or deals over $5 billion, announced globally last year — the most since 2021, according to LSEG. Such deals are the lifeblood of the biggest investment banks as they can generate hundreds of billions in fees for firms. Last year's M&A activity generated advisory fees of about $33.4 billion, a 7% increase from roughly $31.3 billion the year before, LSEG said.
Some of the multibillion-dollar tie-ups facilitated by the battle-hardened M&A bankers on this year's list included the nearly $36 billion sale of the food manufacturer Kellanova to the snack brand Mars and the $26 billion takeover of Endeavor Energy Resources by its rival Diamondback Energy.
To find out which bankers helped their firms benefit from last year's boom, Business Insider partnered with MergerLinks, a UK-based data provider that reviews M&A performance, to present the sixth annual edition of "The Rainmakers," a list of the top 20 investment bankers ranked by overall transaction volume in the US.
This is the first year a woman — Anu Aiyengar of JPMorgan — has snagged the No. 1 spot. It's also the first time more than one woman has made the ranking.
Aiyengar, JPMorgan's global head of mergers and acquisitions, was joined by Lily Mahdavi, who was recently promoted to cohead of M&A in the Americas at Morgan Stanley.
It's Aiyengar's fourth appearance. Other repeat names include Suhail Sikhtian, who leads Goldman's natural-resources practice; Blair Effron, a cofounder of the elite-boutique investment bank Centerview; and Stephan Feldgoise, Goldman Sachs' head of M&A.
More notable, perhaps, are the unusually high number of new faces — including Mahdavi and her fellow Morgan Stanley dealmaker Steve Munger. Also new to the list are Centerview's Todd Davison, Jefferies' Conrad Gibbins, and Xavier Loriferne of JPMorgan Chase. In total, nearly 50% of the members on this year's list — nine names — are making their inaugural debut, MergerLinks said.
The 2024 list also marks the first time a Jefferies banker has made the top 20.
MergerLinks tracks publicly announced deals and calculates deal values on a net basis, including both equity and debt components. To make the individual league table, a banker must have been the lead advisor on either side of a transaction.
Deal sizes are sourced from MergerLinks and public press releases and include the target company's net debt. The transaction values are converted from British pounds to US dollars at the average 2024 exchange rate. As a result, some deal prices announced in dollars throughout the year may not match up.
Anu Aiyengar, JPMorgan Chase
Title: Global head of M&A
Number of deals: 14
Value of deals: $83.2 billion
Aiyengar became JPMorgan's solo head of mergers and acquisitions in 2023 but has been with the bank since 2002. She's routinely cited as one of the financial services industry's most powerful and influential female leaders. She has appeared on the list three times in the past.
Her 2024 deals included:
- Advised Intel in its $11 billion joint venture with Apollo Global Management tied to semiconductor development.
- Advised the private equity firm Bain Capital in its $4.5 billion acquisition of Envestnet, a tech company focused on wealth management.
Advised Rio Tinto, a global mining organization, its $6.7 billion acquisition of the chemicals firm Arcadium Lithium.
Stephan Feldgoise, Goldman Sachs
Stephan Feldgoise. Goldman Sachs
Title: Global head of M&A
Number of deals: 7
Value of deals: $78.2 billion
Feldgoise was named Goldman's global head of mergers and acquisitions following a management reshuffle of its investment banking division in January. Feldgoise was previously a cohead of M&A and has also led the investment bank's consumer and retail coverage group. He joined the firm in 1997 and became a partner in 2008. This is his second time on the list, with his first appearance being two years ago.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Pactiv Evergreen, a food industry manufacturer, in its all-cash sale for $6.7 billion to the packaging firm Novolex.
- Advised Ito Kogyo in its $47 billion acquisition of Seven & I Holdings, a retail firm that operates convenience stores in Japan.
Advised the data center firm AirTrunk in its roughly $15 billion sale to the private equity firm Blackstone.
George Boutros, Qatalyst Partners
Title: CEO
Number of deals: 7
Value of deals: $76.2 billion
Boutros is the CEO of the tech-focused investment bank Qatalyst. Previously, he was a senior banker at Credit Suisse, where he served as chairman of both the global technology and healthcare groups. Qatalyst says he has completed more than 700 transactions of various types over the years. This is his fourth year in a row on the Rainmakers list.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised R1 RCM, which provides billing and financial tech to healthcare providers, on its nearly $9 billion sale to the investment firms TowerBrook and CD&R.
- Advised Ansys, a design and engineering software company, on its $35 billion sale to Synopsys.
- Advised Hewlett Packard Enterprise on its all-cash acquisition of the IT networking provider Juniper Networks for $14 billion.
Steve Munger, Morgan Stanley
Title: Chairman of global M&A
Number of deals: 5
Value of deals: $74.2 billion
Munger has been a Morgan Stanley banker for nearly 40 years and chairman of its M&A group for two decades. This is Munger's first time on the Rainmakers list.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Discover on its $35.3 billion all-stock sale to the rival credit card giant Capital One.
- Advised Truist Financial on the sale of 80% of its insurance subsidiary to an investor consortium for $12.4 billion.
- Advised Marathon Oil on its $22.5 billion sale to ConocoPhillips.
Xavier Loriferne, JPMorgan Chase
Title: Managing director, head of FIG M&A, cohead of media & communications M&A
Number of deals: 10
Value of deals: $70.9 billion
Loriferne joined JPMorgan in 2006. This marks Loriferne's first time on the Rainmakers list.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised on the $12 billion sale of HPS Investment Partners to the asset manager BlackRock.
- Advised on the $13.4 billion merger of the real estate investment trust Uniti with the telecommunications and broadband firm Windstream.
- Advised Nippon Life in its $10.6 billion acquisition of the life insurance firm Resolution Life.
Todd Davison, Centerview
Title: Partner
Number of deals: 4
Value of deals: $63.2 billion
Davison is a partner at Centerview and has been an investment banker for more than 25 years. This is his first time appearing on the list. He joined Centerview in 2013 to cohead its media practice and was previously a cohead of North American media coverage at Morgan Stanley. Centerview says he's been involved in more than $300 billion worth of transactions throughout his career.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Verizon on the $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, a rival provider of TV, internet, and phone services.
- Advised Charter Communications on its $17.9 billion acquisition of Liberty Broadband, a data and wireless provider.
- Advised the independent directors of Endeavor, the talent agency and entertainment company, on a take-private sale to Silver Lake, which valued Endeavor at $13 billion.
- Advised the entertainment giant Paramount on its $8.4 billion deal to buy the production company Skydance Media.
Lily Mahdavi, Morgan Stanley
Title: Cohead of M&A, Americas
Number of deals: 9
Value of deals: $59.6 billion
Mahdavi, who has spent the entirety of her career focused on mergers and acquisitions, joined Morgan Stanley in 2012; she was previously at Deutsche Bank and Citi. She was promoted to co-lead the M&A business in the Americas in early 2025. This is Mahdavi's first time on the Rainmakers list.
Her 2024 deals included:
- Advised Marathon Oil on its $22.5 billion sale to ConocoPhillips.
- Advised the insurance brokerage AssuredPartners on its $13.5 billion sale to Arthur J. Gallagher.
- Advised chemicals supplier AOC on its $4.4 billion sale to Nippon Paint.
Timothy Ingrassia, Goldman Sachs
Title: Cochairman of global mergers and acquisitions
Number of deals: 8
Value of deals: $59.2 billion
Ingrassia was previously head of Americas M&A at Goldman, a role he held since 2004. Previously, he ran the consumer retail group. He has appeared multiple times on the Rainmakers list, including last year and the year prior.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Kellanova, the snack food manufacturer, in its $35.9 billion sale to the snack producer Mars.
- Advised Oneok, an energy company, in its $2.6 billion acquisition of Medallion Midstream.
- Advised Oneok in its $4.3 billion acquisition of a majority stake in EnLink Midstream, an energy firm.
Chris Gallea, Goldman Sachs
Title: Vice chairman of investment banking
Number of deals: 7
Value of deals: $51.3 billion
This is Gallea's third time on the list. Gallea joined Goldman Sachs from JPMorgan in 2018 after spending nearly two decades there. He has distinguished himself as a leading banker in the industrials sector.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Carrier, a climate and energy solutions company, in the $3 billion of its commercial and residential fire business to the private equity firm Lone Star.
- Advised Emerson, a technology and software firm, in its $3.5 billion sale of a joint venture, Copeland, to the private equity firm Blackstone.
- Advised Emerson in its $7.2 billion purchase of a large minority stake in the software company Aspen Technology.
Gary Posternack, Barclays
Title: Chairman of global M&A
Number of deals: 6
Value of deals: $49.8 billion
The longtime global M&A leader moved into a new role as chairman last year so he could spend more time advising Barclays' top clients. Posternack joined the firm in 2008 after it bought Lehman Brothers, his previous firm. He led its natural-resources practice and its M&A takeover defense business. He became head of M&A worldwide in 2014.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised R1 RCM, which provides billing and financial tech to healthcare providers, on its nearly $9 billion sale to the investment firms TowerBrook and CD&R.
- Advised Frontier Communications, a provider of TV, internet, and phone services, on its $20 billion sale to Verizon.
- Advised the fuel pipeline and storage operator NuStar Energy on its $7.3 billion sale to the gas station chain Sunoco.
Suhail Sikhtian, Goldman Sachs
Title: Global head of natural-resources investment banking
Number of deals: 3
Value of deals: $45.9 billion
Sikhtian became Goldman's sole head of natural-resources investment banking in 2020. He's been with the firm since 1998, when he started in the energy and power group. He has also worked with European energy companies from London. He made his first appearance on the list last year.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Southwestern Energy on its $11.4 billion acquisition of Chesapeake Energy, the Oklahoma City-based natural-gas producer.
- Advised the energy company Endeavor in its $26 billion sale to Diamondback Energy.
- Advised Schlumberger, an energy tech firm, in its $8 billion acquisition of ChampionX, a maker of pumping equipment.
Chris Ventresca, JPMorgan Chase
Title: Global chairman of investment banking and mergers and acquisitions
Number of deals: 14
Value of deals: $45.1 billion
Ventresca, a three-decade veteran of JPMorgan, has advised on mandates spanning industrials, telecoms, consumer retail, and more. He appeared on the Rainmakers list for the first time last year.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised IBM in its $6.4 billion acquisition of the software firm HashiCorp.
- Advised the energy firm Allete in its $6.2 billion sale to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Global Infrastructure Partners.
- Advised Vizio, a consumer electronics firm, in its $2.3 billion sale to Walmart, the US retailer.
Conrad Gibbins, Jefferies Financial Group
Title: Managing director
Number of deals: 10
Value of deals: $44.5 billion
This year marks Gibbins' first appearance on the list. The banker, who's based in Texas and concentrates on the energy sector, joined Jefferies as an analyst nearly 15 years ago. Since late 2022, he's served as Jefferies' cohead of Upstream in the Americas and a managing director.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Diamondback Energy, an oil and gas company based in Texas, in its $26 billion acquisition of Endeavor, an energy firm.
- Advised Grayson Mill Energy, a Texas-based energy production firm, in its $5 billion sale to Devon Energy Corporation.
- Advised Franklin Mountain Energy, a Colorado-based oil and gas firm, in its $3.95 billion sale to Coterra Energy.
Drago Rajkovic, JPMorgan Chase
Title: Global chairman, mergers and acquisitions
Number of deals: 5
Value of deals: $43.6 billion
Rajkovic joined JPMorgan from Barclays in 2011 as the head of technology mergers and acquisitions and has since risen to serve as a global chairman of M&A at the firm, led by CEO Jamie Dimon (shown above). At Barclays, Rajkovic led tech M&A as well. It's his first time on the list.
His 2024 deals included:
- Juniper Networks/Hewlett Packard Enterprises
- Advised Squarespace, a custom website-development platform for businesses and entrepreneurs, in its $7.2 billion sale to the private equity firm Permira.
- Intel Apollo Joint Venture/Intel Corporation
Naveen Nataraj, Evercore
Title: Senior managing director and cohead of US investment banking
Number of deals: 5
Value of deals: $40.8 billion
Nataraj, who has been at Evercore since 2002, is a member of the firm's management committee and a top banker in its technology, media, and telecommunications business. He has advised on more than $600 billion worth of transactions, the company says. His first appearance on the list was in 2022.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Synopsys on its $35 billion acquisition of Ansys, a design and engineering software company.
- Advised the private equity firm Veritas Capital on its acquisition of NCR Voyix's digital banking business for $2.6 billion.
- Advised Gen Digital, a security software company, on its $1 billion acquisition of MoneyLion, a digital banking fintech company.
Dan Ward, Evercore
Title: Senior managing director
Number of deals: 4
Value of deals: $40.1 billion
Ward has advised on more than $450 billion worth of M&A transactions, Evercore says, and is one of the industry's top energy bankers — this is his second year in a row on the Rainmakers list. Before joining Evercore, Ward led the global natural-resources investment banking business at Deutsche Bank.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Chesapeake Energy, the Oklahoma City-based natural gas producer, on its sale to Southwestern Energy for $11.4 billion.
- Advised Enerplus, an oil and gas producer, on its roughly $4 billion merger with Chord Energy.
- Advised ConocoPhillips on its $22.5 billion acquisition of Marathon Oil.
Riccardo Benedetti, Perella Weinberg Partners
Title: Partner
Number of deals: 2
Value of deals: $38.2 billion
Benedetti has been a senior banker with PWP since 2009, joining from Morgan Stanley, where he started his career in 1991. It's his first time on the list.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Holcim, a Swiss building materials manufacturer, on the $30 billion spinoff of its North American operations.
- Advised the German conglomerate Bosch on its $8.1 billion acquisition of the HVAC business unit owned by Johnson Controls and Hitachi.
Adam Taetle, Lazard
Title: Managing director and global head of consumer, retail, and leisure
Number of deals: 2
Value of deals: $37 billion
Taetle is a first-timer on the Rainmakers list, but he's a veteran dealmaker with consumer and retail firms such as Campbell's and Keurig Dr Pepper. He started his career with Goldman Sachs in the 1990s and has since held senior leadership roles at Barclays and Evercore, which he joined in 2018 to co-lead its consumer retail group. He left Evercore earlier this year, taking a top role with Lazard in June.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised Kellanova, the Pringles and Pop-Tarts snack company formerly known as the Kellogg Company, on its $35.9 billion sale to Mars.
- Advised Siete Foods, which makes tortillas, chips, and salsas, on its $1.2 billion sale to PepsiCo.
Michael J. Freudenstein, PJT Partners
Title: Partner
Number of deals: 2
Value of deals: $35.8 billion
This year marks Freudenstein's first time on the list. He joined PJT in 2017, having previously worked at JPMorgan in various roles. Those positions ranged from deputy head of Americas equity research to JPMorgan's head of market structure and asset management, and an investment banker focused on deals in the financial-services sector, before he left for PJT. The firm was founded by the former top Morgan Stanley executive Paul Taubman, shown above.
Freudenstein's 2024 deals included:
- Advised Discover, the financial services firm, in its $35 billion sale to Capital One.
- Advised Victory Capital, an investment manager, in its acquisition of Amundi, a firm offering a variety of financial services products. Terms were undisclosed.
Blair Effron, Centerview Partners
Title: Cofounder and partner
Number of deals: 5
Value of deals: $34.6 billion
Effron cofounded Centerview in 2006 and built it into an influential name in investment banking, with more than 350 employees in the US and UK. Previously he was a top investment banker at UBS and has advised companies across healthcare, media, consumer and retail, and more. He also appeared on the Rainmakers list in 2019 and 2024.
His 2024 deals included:
- Advised the independent directors of Endeavor, the talent agency and entertainment company, on a take-private sale to Silver Lake, which valued Endeavor at $13 billion.
- Advised the entertainment giant Paramount on its $8.4 billion deal to buy the production company Skydance Media.
- Advised Emerson, a technology and engineering conglomerate, on a $7.2 billion deal to acquire the remainder of Aspen Technology, a provider of software for manufacturers that Emerson bought a majority stake of in 2022.
To see more dealmaker rankings, visit the MergerLinks website. For more on its methodology and criteria, click here.
Reed Alexander is a correspondent at Business Insider and can be reached at ralexander@businessinsider.com. Alex Morrell is a senior correspondent and can be reached at amorrell@businessinsider.com.
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