FOCUS Investment Banking Welcomes New Chief Business Development Officer
Washington, DC, (October 10, 2023) – FOCUS Investment Banking (“FOCUS”), a national middle market investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services, announced today that Paul Waters has joined the firm as Chief Business Development Officer.
Mr. Waters has nearly 30 years of professional banking experience. In this new role at FOCUS, Mr. Waters will be responsible for managing referral programs, identifying and acquiring new referral programs, and identifying new investment banker candidates.
Prior to joining FOCUS, Mr. Waters worked the last 13 years elevating the M&A referral program (PSRN) at Bank of America Securities, Inc./Merrill Lynch. He was involved in all facets running the business, highlighted by his contributions to strategy, process and network investment bank management. Over his 27-year career at Bank of America, Mr. Waters held roles in investment banking, distribution, finance and project management. Prior to working for Bank of America, Mr. Waters worked in public accounting.
Based in Yardley, PA, Mr. Waters holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Rutgers University – Camden. He is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.
“I am excited to be joining the incredibly talented team at FOCUS,” Waters said. “I look forward to leading the business development initiative to help FOCUS accelerate its growth and ensure continued success.”
“As FOCUS continues its substantial growth in terms of opportunities, bankers, geographic coverage and key specializations, adding a strong business development leader will significantly enhance our success,” commented Rick Thomas, FOCUS CEO. “We are very excited to welcome Paul as part of our growing team at FOCUS.”
*These testimonials may not be representative of the experience of all clients; testimonials are not a guarantee of future performance or success.
Prior to joining FOCUS, Rick served as Vice President at VSI, a boutique investment banking firm located in Washington, DC. He led M&A activities for publicly and privately held companies in the middle market, several of which have annual revenues in excess of $1 Billion. Rick’s clients were involved in a wide array of transactions; from acquisitions and divestitures to minority interests and strategic partnerships.
In addition to his experience with clients, Rick has lectured to hundreds of senior executives on M&A best practices and has been an adjunct faculty member for The George Washington University School of Business and Public Management. His M&A teachings focused on coaching companies and senior executives in how to build an acquisition team, create a winning strategy, identify and engage not-for-sale companies, streamline company valuation, perform value added due diligence and techniques for financial modeling. Rick has also served as a U.S. representative to South African companies in the capacity of advisor and consultant on business linkages, partnering and financing for small and medium businesses.
He holds an MBA in International Business and Finance from The George Washington University. He earned a BS in Engineering from Michigan State University. After completing an undergraduate program in engineering, Rick spent several years working as a manufacturing engineer and supervisor for General Motors. In this role he was responsible for the quality and productivity of manufacturing teams. In addition to being recognized as an outstanding team leader and team builder, Rick implemented a number of process improvements which enhanced product quality and efficiency at numerous GM production facilities.
