Bob Beard, FOCUS Chief Compliance Officer and Managing Director, has over 25 years of experience in merger and acquisition placement and financing. Mr. Beard has structured over 50 transactions involving more than $700 million of capital. He specializes in raising capital and advising financial services firms. As the co-founder of a specialty finance company, he engineered the sale or acquisition of over $500 million of specialty finance assets.

Prior to joining FOCUS, Mr. Beard managed his own financial advisory practice, Diversified Financial Solutions. While at Diversified, he arranged the successful placement of over $200 million of debt and equity capital for a number of specialty financial services firms and other diversified entities. In addition, he assisted private equity investors in developing platforms to originate and service specialty finance assets.

Mr. Beard was co-founder of Capital Business Credit, a specialty finance division of a public diversified financial services firm. He assisted in building the business to a $100 million platform in three years. He led the sale of the division to a commercial bank for more than double the contributed capital. He served as regional manager of the commercial finance subsidiary of the acquiring bank and assisted the bank in acquiring $400 million of specialty finance assets.

Mr. Beard previously served as the Southeast Region underwriting manager for the cash flow lending group of Heller Financial. He was previously employed by Price Waterhouse, rising to manager in four years. While at Price Waterhouse, Mr. Beard advised a number of diversified industrial clients. He was engaged to assist a number of clients in various merger and acquisition opportunities, highlighted by an extensive engagement to divest a $500 million joint venture between two Fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Beard has been a licensed CPA in the state of Georgia. He received an MBA from Emory University and a BA from Davidson College. He serves on the board of directors of a variety of civic organizations in metropolitan Atlanta.