By Published On: April 26, 2019

The 30th M&A Worldwide Rainmaker LISBON Summit, held April 4-5 in Lisbon, Portugal included 278 people from 40 countries—breaking all previous attendance records for the prestigious event.

Like the MIAMI Summit hosted by FOCUS in November 2018—as well as previous Summits in Amsterdam, Barcelona, ​​London, New Delhi, Warsaw, and Shanghai—the LISBON Summit united corporate deal makers from across the globe, stimulating discussion around ongoing transactions, as well as the latest trends in research, deal software, and process management.

M&A Worldwide is distinguished by the diversity of financing solutions, operations, and expansion opportunities available to medium-sized enterprises. Entrepreneurs and managers attending the LISBON Summit had an unprecedented opportunity to meet with informed decision makers who could help them through acquisitions or partnerships in other markets.

All the 103 M&A Worldwide bankers—plus, the 151 business guests attending—thoroughly enjoyed the LISBON Summit. Everyone learned a great deal and many, many productive connections were made, producing outstanding results for all involved.

M&A WORLDWIDE, established in 2004, a global network of leading M&A advisory firms from six continents and 44 countries, is comprised of high-quality firms with proven skills and track records in both domestic and cross-border M&A transactions.

In 2018, M&A WORLDWIDE completed more than 419 successful deals worth over 4.633 billion USD—establishing the group as one of the top 10 M&A networks in the world and one of the leaders in mid-market transactions.

M&A WORLDWIDE members are closely linked to advise clients on mergers and acquisitions, financing, and other corporate projects, focusing on fulfilling clients’ domestic and cross-border objectives through Partner Cooperation.

Douglas E. Rodgers, FOCUS Chairman Emeritus, served as CEO and Managing Partner from 2001 until late 2018. During his time as CEO, he led the firm’s growth from one office in Washington, DC, to three offices across the US. He has C-level management experience in software, aerospace, e-commerce, manufacturing and distribution, real estate and construction, serving both commercial and government clients. He has served FOCUS clients across many industries emphasizing merger and acquisitions opportunities. As FOCUS Chairman he currently develops and manages relationships with strategic partners and clients. Before joining FOCUS Mr. Rodgers served as the President and CEO of Corcentric, Inc, an e-commerce services provider spin off from Litton Enterprise Solutions. As the first CEO of the company, he raised both venture and debt capital and led the company to achieve 500,000 electronic transactions annually with a transaction volume of $180 million, including over 30 Fortune 1000 trading partners. As CEO of Global Software Corporation, which served the government public safety market, Mr. Rodgers raised venture and debt capital, guided the development of initial software products and sales to reference clients. As President and CEO of Perfection Equipment Company, a distributor and manufacturer of industrial goods to the oilfield services and transportation industry, he was instrumental in the merger and IPO into a NYSE industry consolidation play. Mr. Rodgers is also a founding director of a National Bank and a manufacturing company. Prior to Perfection Equipment, he was Vice President of business development for a $150 million real estate developer. Mr. Rodgers is a pilot, with ATP and jet ratings, a BS in Aerospace Engineering and MBA coursework. He was educated at the U.S. Air Force Academy and the University of Kansas; he has been a member of the Young Presidents Organization, (YPO) since 1988, served as the president of the Oklahoma City Chapter in 1996, and is currently a member of the Washington Baltimore YPO Gold chapter.