NEW YORK -- September 9, 2024 -- Ducera Partners (“Ducera” or the “Firm”), a leading investment bank, today announced that John Vaske, one of the M&A industry’s most preeminent investment bankers, has joined the Firm as Vice Chairman, Partner and Co-Head of its Mergers and Acquisitions (“M&A”) practice.
Mr. Vaske is a Wall Street veteran who possesses nearly four decades of expertise advising major companies and investors on a broad range of M&A and strategic advisory mandates.
The majority of Mr. Vaske’s career was spent at Goldman Sachs where he held numerous leadership positions over a nearly 30-year period that culminated in his appointment as the Global Chairman of the M&A Group. Mr. Vaske helped to expand the firm’s M&A capabilities globally through a variety of roles, including Global Head of Natural Resources (including the chemicals, mining, power, and energy sectors) and Head of Chemicals (including agriculture). His experience spans North America, Asia, Europe, and South America, reflecting his global expertise and leadership capabilities.
Following his successful career at Goldman Sachs, Mr. Vaske spent six years at Temasek as Head Americas, where he was responsible for leading the Americas region. His strategic vision and leadership were instrumental in driving Temasek’s growth and success in these areas.
Most recently Mr. Vaske served as the Chief Executive Officer of Farmers Business Network (FBN), the North American agri-tech company, where he had previously served on the board for five years.
Michael Kramer, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Ducera Partners, said, “John is a widely regarded and deeply respected investment banker that brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise to Ducera. His pedigree, remarkable global background, and differentiated transaction experience spanning numerous sectors and industry verticals perfectly aligns with our longstanding areas of focus. I am confident that he will be an ideal advisor to our clients, and I am certain that he will play a critical role in helping us to further enhance and scale our M&A capabilities as the Firm continues to evolve into a full-service investment banking and strategic advisory Firm.”
Chris Grubb, Co-Head of M&A at Ducera, added, “We are thrilled to welcome John to Ducera as we continue to build out a world-class M&A practice. His reputation and long-standing track record in the global M&A space speaks for itself and will serve to accelerate our vision of building a broader and more complete set of advisory capabilities to deliver to our clients. I am looking forward to working closely with John in support of helping our clients achieve their strategic and financial objectives.”
Mr. Vaske said, “I have known Mike for many years and have long respected his work and the Firm he and his colleagues have built. Ducera possesses an outstanding track record advising on large, complex, and transformational transactions and I believe they have one of the most impressive investment banking platforms. I am excited to bring my experience and expertise to the Firm and I look forward to partnering with a broad array of companies to help them achieve their financial goals.”
About Ducera Partners
Ducera Partners is a leading investment bank with expertise in mergers & acquisitions, strategic advisory, restructuring, liability management, capital markets, and growth capital. Since its founding in June 2015, Ducera Partners has advised on over $850 billion in transactions across various industries. Ducera Partners has offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Stamford. For more information about Ducera Partners, please visit www.ducerapartners.com.
