Middle Market Musings

Andy Greenberg & Charlie Gifford
  • 4.6 (18)
  • BUSINESS
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Middle Market Musings, a podcast dedicated to the people and ideas of the Middle Market, hosted by Andy Greenberg (GVC) and Charlie Gifford (New Heritage Capital).

  1. DEC 17

    Episode 79 Michael Butler, Cascadia Capital

    Michael Butler is Chairman and CEO of Cascadia Capital, the independent investment bank that has completed more than 550 deals since Michael co-founded it in 1999.  Discussion begins with early stops in Michael’s journey – childhood and college in Washington state, then moving cross country to try his luck in Manhattan, a first job at Morgan Stanley and then business school at Wharton.  This episode stands out, though, as a world-class case study on how a CEO thinks about building, capitalizing, and differentiating his firm.  Michael charts Cascadia’s evolution to highly particularized vertical specialization and to representing private equity as well as non-institutional sellers.  Atlas Capital’s strategic investment in late 2022 and the firm’s move from Seattle to Austin are more recent highlights of a large independent investment bank on the rise.

    45 min

  2. DEC 3

    Episode 78 Tim Miner, By the People Technologies (BTP)

    Tim is the CEO and Founder of BTP, an AI Strategy consulting firm devoted to helping private equity firms and other clients understand and develop a competitive advantage by leveraging artificial intelligence.  Tim is a clear thinker on what AI is, and what it isn’t.   Discussion begins with Tim’s well-traveled boyhood as the son of an oil executive, followed by college lat Texas Tech and a career helping sales forces optimize technology. Key takeaways:  (1) a surprising number of financial firms are only scratching the surface in their AI usage and (2) those who have embraced AI are using it in rapidly evolving ways. Once again, Middle Market Musings goes where the puck is headed!

    50 min

  3. NOV 19

    Episode 77 Justin Abelow, Houlihan Lokey

    An urban whirlwind blows through the MMM studios when Justin Abelow drops by.   Justin is a long-tenured Managing Director in the financial sponsors group at Houlihan Lokey.  He manages to be both a resolute Manhattanite and a global student of business, history and culture.   Upper East Side boyhood steeped in the “Masters of the Universe” world of corporate finance in the ‘80s, undergraduate and law degree a short subway ride away at Columbia, and an early stint as a corporate lawyer all pointed toward a career in investment banking.  Justin shares the story of the firm’s evolution into a market leader and his own career path in sponsor coverage.  Concluding with Justin’s interest in history, the hosts and he each name their three ideal dinner companions (where Andy and Charlie were each surprised not to be on one another’s list).

    1 hr

  4. NOV 5

    Episode 76 Jack Markell, Former Governor of Delaware and M&A professional

    Jack Markell – elected five times (without a loss) to state-wide office in Delaware, veteran of more than 200 deals in the telecom industry, home from two ambassadorial postings in Europe – finds himself on the biggest stage yet.  Jack more than meets the moment in this MMM episode.  Discussion begins with a life-changing trip to India before Jack headed to Brown, McKinsey and the University of Chicago.  He and the hosts then trade notes on his early days as a deal guy at Nextel, a name that Jack came up with.  Much to cover from there – Jack’s career in public service, the differences between managing in business and in government, and the troublesome state of politics today.  Jack’s decades-long friendship with Andy – ooh, cut for time.

    58 min

  5. OCT 15

    Episode 75 Kip Wallen, SRS Acquiom

    SRS Acquiom is known to many for shareholder representation, paying agent, escrow agent and other services that help the parties on both sides complete an M&A transaction.  They’re also known for the annual Deal Terms Study and other analysis extracted from their data and experience.  It turns out there’s a guy for that!  Kip Wallen is SRS Acquiom’s Senior Director for Thought Leadership.   Click on this one for a survey of Kip’s Minnesota boyhood and early legal background, how SRSA’s product and service offering is evolving in a changing information landscape, and a surprisingly honest exchange on how people with different life experiences find their place in the M&A community.

    38 min

  6. OCT 1

    Episode 74 Steve Tipler, Piper Sandler

    Middle Market Musings kicks off its fifth season with a true survivor.  Steve Tipler is managing director in the Financial Sponsors group at Piper Sandler Companies.  He has survived a lifetime of Minnesota winters, a long-tenured friendship with Charlie Gifford, 20 years in the investment banking business and becoming a parent in the 1990s and in the 2020s.   He shares all in a wide-ranging discussion.  Valuable insights include his thoughts on the Piper Sandler platform as well as the world of sponsor coverage, post-pandemic.   Andy and Charlie are rusty (stated politely) after a summer off, but with such low ceilings for competence and engagement, they quickly return to “peak” form.

    51 min

  7. JUL 23

    Episode 73 Robert Landis, The Riverside Company

    Bob Landis may be the Middle Market Musings guest least in need of introduction – the O.G. business development partner at one of the most active middle market private equity funds, and the person cited most often by other MMM guests as career inspiration.   Bob is Founding Partner, Origination at The Riverside Company, a multi-vehicle investment company with more than $13 billion in assets under management.  After charting his Midwestern childhood, military service and early career in commercial banking, Bob shares the details on his arrival at Riverside in 2002.  He and the hosts trade stories on early days on the road  – and the fundamentally collaborative culture built while competing for deals.  Discussion winds up with Bob’s current role focusing on Riverside investment exits and his mid-life embrace of hockey as recreation and charitable endeavor.

    52 min

  8. JUL 9

    Episode 72 David Acharya, Acharya Capital Partners

    David Acharya gives Andy and Charlie the chance to dig into the world of independent sponsors. David began his career in leverage finance at JP Morgan Chase and charts his evolution into operationally minded principal investing. Much discussion ensues on Impact XM, an experiential marketing firm built up through acquisition and then sold to Riverside Company in a stellar 2023 exit. Finally, David talks up New York from his perspective as a lifelong Queens resident, while the (Boston- and Philly-based) hosts feign polite interest.

    46 min
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4.6
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

Middle Market Musings, a podcast dedicated to the people and ideas of the Middle Market, hosted by Andy Greenberg (GVC) and Charlie Gifford (New Heritage Capital).

Information

  • Creator
    Andy Greenberg & Charlie Gifford
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    84
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Middle Market Musings
  • Show Website
    Middle Market Musings

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