July 14, 2014, NEW YORK — Christopher Sargent III and James Lee have been promoted to Vice President, and John “Jack” Eakin, Michael Raffaniello and Theodora Townsend have been promoted to Associate.

“Each of these individuals has been a significant contributor to the success of our firm in recent years,” said Fuad Sawaya, Founder and CEO. “They are talented, driven members of the Sawaya Segalas family who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to our clients. We congratulate these outstanding individuals on well-deserved promotions.”

Company Contributions
James Lee joined the firm in 2012 and has worked on a number of the firm’s transactions in the household, housewares and automotive aftermarket sectors. Prior to joining the firm, James worked in the investment banking groups at BMO Capital Markets and Lehman Brothers. James earned an A.B. in Chemistry, cum laude, from Harvard University.

Christopher Sargent III joined the firm in 2008 after being a summer intern. Chris has worked on transactions across a number of consumer verticals and advised privately-held and publicly traded clients on buy- and sell-side assignments. Chris was promoted to Associate in 2011. Chris earned a B.A. in English, cum laude, from Columbia University.

John “Jack” Eakin joined the firm in 2012. Jack has worked on a number of the firm’s transaction in the consumer health and retail services sectors. Jack’s prior experience includes Sagent Advisors, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions in food, drug and specialty retail industries. Jack earned a B.S. Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia with concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

Michael Raffaniello joined the firm in 2011 after being an intern. During his tenure as an analyst, Mike has worked on multiple completed buy- and sell-side assignments across a number of consumer verticals. Mike earned a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Vanderbilt University.

Theodora “Teddie” Townsend joined the firm in 2012. Since joining Sawaya Segalas, Teddie has been an important contributor to a number of the firm’s transactions in the household products and food and beverage sectors. Teddie began her career at BCMS Capital Advisors. Teddie earned a B.A in Economics and English Literature from Kenyon College with a minor in Russian Language.