Executive Team
Our executives have expertise in both M&A and the service and technology sectors our clients represent. Drawing on our years of experience in investment banking and our relationships in our client community, we strive to provide "big company" services to every client using M&A Forum.
Martin Wolf - Chairman
Marty Wolf is President of Martin Wolf & Associates and Chairman of M&A Forum, and has been involved in over 80 IT M&A transactions over the past 13 years.
Marty also founded the Datago distribution business of ComputerLand Corporation in 1991. The company had revenues of $287 million in the last quarter under his leadership before it was sold in 1994. Prior to that, he served as President of the Franchise and Distribution Division of ComputerLand Corporation, a $1-billion plus franchiser of computer resellers, and as Executive Vice President of Merisel, Inc., a $6-billion distributor. In addition to his responsibilities as President of the firm, he actively manages transactions and acts as a counselor and advisor to CEOs and executive management of select IT firms.
Marty received a bachelor's degree from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and is a FINRA registered broker.
Nitin Khanna - Chief Executive Officer
Nitin Khanna is CEO of M&A Forum and prior to that was the founder, Chairman and CEO of Saber Corp. one of the largest providers of state government solutions in the country. Nitin started Saber in July 1998 and helped grow it a minimum of 50% each year.
Some of the highlights of Saber's growth included the Inc. 500 award in both 2006 and 2007, the Deloitte Fast 500 award, and being #1 on Oregon's Fastest Growing Companies list in 2007. Saber's dramatic growth led to a significant investment in the company by Accel-KKR Private Equity in 2005 with an eventual sale of the company for $460MM to EDS in December 2007.
Subsequent to the acquisition of Saber by EDS it was decided that Nitin was best suited to manage the entire EDS State Government portfolio and EDS placed him in charge of both Saber's as well as EDS' State government business.
Prior to Saber, Nitin was employed by Oracle Corporation where he held a number of positions in Consulting and Education.
Nitin has a Master's and Bachelor's of Engineering from Purdue University.
Karan Khanna - President
Karan Khanna is President of M&A Forum and was most recently the founder, President and COO of Saber Corp. a Portland based national firm focused on providing technology solutions to government clients. Karan was the key driver to ensure successful implementations of Saber projects for clients; his primary responsibilities included Project Delivery, Operations, and Recruiting & Hiring.
Saber's success, based in large part on its on time and on budget delivery and enviable record of service and reputation, led to a significant investment in the company by Accel-KKR Private Equity in 2005 with an eventual sale of the company for $460MM to EDS in December 2007. It was through this on-time and on budget delivery that Saber obtained a high degree of profitability and gained the reputation that allowed it to win over 80% of its bids.
As President & COO, Karan managed over 1500 employees spread across the US and India and managed a budget of over $75MM. He worked with clients' business leaders to create long term plans to improve efficiencies and reduce cost.
Karan has a Bachelor of Commerce from SD College in India.
Patricia Wegner - Chief Operating Officer
Patricia Wegner is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations and client services at the M&A Forum. She has worked in mergers and acquisitions focused in the IT sector for thirteen years. Her areas of expertise include IT supply-chain, IT Services and IT Solutions. Her current focus is the management of ongoing services for M&A Forum clients and development of additional service offerings for M&A Forum.
Pat has 28 years of experience in the IT industry, including software product development, marketing and operations for product distribution, and development and marketing of value-added services for national corporate resellers. Prior to launching the M&A Forum, Pat was VP and General Manager of Martin Wolf Strategies, a channel consulting practice of Martin Wolf Associates. She worked with IT sector companies including Microsoft, CDW Corporation, Altiris (now Symantec) and LANDesk (now Avocent)to develop strategic partner relationships for indirect sales.
Pat worked for ComputerLand Corporation from 1983 until 1992 in marketing and operations and was responsible for the franchiser's relationships with the industry's top manufacturers. She then joined Merisel, Inc., as Director of Marketing and was responsible for advertising, promotions, and value-added programs. She later became Vice President of Products and Marketing for Merisel FAB, Inc.
Pat has a bachelor's degree and an MBA from San Francisco State University.
Sandra Goldberg - Managing Director
Sandra Goldberg is responsible for new client acquisition, managing client engagements and partnership development. She brings more than 20 years in the technology sector to the M&A Forum through a progressive career in diverse start-up, corporate and entrepreneurial environments, including experience with both buy and sell-side M&A engagements. Prior to launching the M&A Forum, she was involved with various IT sector clients at the M&A Forum's sister company, Martin Wolf Securities and parent, Martin Wolf Associates, including projects for Altiris (now Symantec), ASAP Software, CDW Corporation and LANDesk (now Avocent).
Previously, Sandra was Managing Director of Martin Wolf Associates, where she successfully managed merger and acquisition transactions for various technology clients. She was also Vice President, Corporate Development and Acquisitions for CompuCom Systems, Inc., a $2B systems integrator, where she successfully facilitated over $600 million in acquisitions during her tenure.
Prior to her work in M&A, Sandra spent eleven years with ComputerLand, starting as the sales manager of the Orlando, FL franchise and eventually becoming Vice President, Sales and Franchise Operations of the franchisor, ComputerLand Corporation, where she managed its $1 billion franchise business, comprised of almost 200 locations. Sandra played key roles in the acquisition of ComputerLand's Franchise and Distribution division by Merisel, Inc. and subsequent acquisition by SYNNEX Corporation.
Sandra received a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and was recognized as Outstanding Female Graduate.
Philip Ma - Managing Director
Philip Ma is responsible for new client acquisition and managing client engagements. He spent 12 years at Hewlett-Packard in business development and marketing roles for various enterprise server and software businesses. Most recently Philip managed HP's Linux platform partners in the Asia Pacific region. Prior to that he developed new businesses for HP in middleware, management software and application development tooling.
Philip has extensive experience structuring and negotiating strategic alliance agreements in the IT ecosystem, including technology licensing, equity investment, and joint marketing relationships. Prior to HP, he worked as a tax consultant in Arthur Andersen's Silicon Valley office, advising on cross-border tax planning issues for Asia-based companies setting up or acquiring U.S. companies. His credentials include a JD, CPA (inactive), and Master's in Pacific International Affairs & Management.
A native of Silicon Valley, Philip also has extensive experience working and living in China. He currently commutes between California and Shanghai, China.
Venkatesh Nagarajan - Managing Director
Venkatesh Nagarajan has over 15 years of varied experience in IT business development and M&A process management as well as a number of years as a senior executive in financial management roles. He is an expert in the valuation of IT sector businesses. Venkatesh began his career with Sharp & Tannan, a leading public accounting firm in India and lead its M&A and due diligence practices. As an executive, he was a superior performer in various senior finance roles in leading Fortune 500 companies including Hewlett Packard and GE Capital International. Just prior to joining M&A Forum, he was an International Business Controls & Risk Manager for Dell.
Venkatesh earned a BS in Mathematics from the University of Madras. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a graduate member of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India.
Lynne Turner - Managing Director
Lynne Turner is responsible for new client acquisition and managing client engagements. She brings eight years of technology-focused M&A experience to the M&A Forum. Lynne has been involved in more than twenty transactions, including sellside, buyside, and capital raisings for private and public companies. Lynne began her career at Broadview International where she focused on enterprise software and financial technology. She later joined the M&A Forum's sister company, Martin Wolf Securities, and focused on IT-supply chain and IT services. In 2003 Lynne joined Seven Hills Group where she provided M&A and corporate finance services to the technology and healthcare sectors. Most recently Lynne joins us from QuinStreet, a privately-held internet marketing and media company. At QuinStreet Lynne managed acquisitions for their corporate development group and later became General Manager of an internal media business unit.
Lynne received a BBA degree, with honors, from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Eric Michaels - Analyst
Eric Michaels is an analyst responsible for supporting the execution of M&A transactions, due diligence items, and performing company and industry analyses. Prior to joining M&A Forum, Eric was enrolled as a student at Claremont McKenna College where he studied finance, economics, and accounting. After graduation, he continued his studies in the MBA program at the Peter F. Drucker School of Management where he concentrated in finance and corporate strategy. Eric brings with him over a year of experience in the financial sector.