Chris serves as a trusted adviser on a full spectrum of complex corporate deals including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spinouts, exits, growth and private equity financings, recapitalizations, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships. Drawing on almost three decades of experience, he regularly partners with private equity funds, sponsors, and strategic buyers to implement their growth-by-acquisition strategies while also advising related portfolio companies in connection with strategic add-on acquisitions and ongoing corporate matters. Chris also routinely advises companies, both existing and referred, on sell-side exit transactions.
He works across a broad range of industries including IT, technology, software, health care, branded consumer goods, financial services, construction, life sciences, media and entertainment, retail and e-commerce, food and beverage, manufacturing, and sports. With an unwavering focus on consummating deals, Chris strives to provide pragmatic, direct, and actionable advice.
As co-chair of the firm’s Emerging Business & Venture Capital group, Chris remains dedicated to serving those in the venture and entrepreneurial arena, including startup and emerging growth companies, venture capital funds, angel investors, family offices, and corporate venture units. He enjoys helping innovative companies adapt, thrive, and grow through all stages of their lifecycle, very often in the role of outside general counsel. Chris’ advice and guidance is regularly sought on day-to-day legal and business issues such as executive summary and pitchdeck development, entity formation, business model development, capital structure, pitch coaching, financing, capital raising, growth and exit strategies, employment and founder matters, equity compensation, and other strategic or tactical matters. He is highly experienced in all financing structures, including seed preferred stock, series preferred stock, convertible notes, SAFEs, bridge loans, PIPE transactions, and financing-related recapitalizations.
Chris works across a broad range of sectors including enterprise SaaS, health care IT, digital health, medtech, AI/ML, infosec, fintech, insurtech, DevOps, proptech, e-commerce, Web3 and DeFi, social, gaming, foodtech, better-for-you CPG, conscious consumption, LOHAS and wellness, and mobility tech. Always looking to make value-added connections, Chris opens his network of funds and investors to clients in order to assist in their capital raising.
Chris earned his bachelor’s degree from Providence College and his law degree from Widener University School of Law, where he was the internal managing editor of The Delaware Journal of Corporate Law.