About ECHELON

Dan Seivert is the CEO and founder of ECHELON Partners, helping clients envision, initiate, and execute a diversity of complex business strategies and transactions. Dan’s experience spans acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, valuation, M&A strategy, new ventures, management buyouts, capital raising, equity sharing, and succession planning. He has utilized his range of expertise to provide significant value and guidance to clients throughout ECHELON’s history. He is a frequent keynote speaker at industry events, being quoted extensively as a leading authority in wealth management M&A.

Prior to starting ECHELON, Dan was one of the initial principals of Lovell Minnick Partners, a financial services focused middle market private equity firm, where he helped invest over $100MM in capital across 15 companies. Before his involvement in private equity, Dan was a buy-side analyst at The Capital Group (American Funds) where he focused on valuation for firms in the asset management and securities brokerage industries. Dan’s initial focus at the Capital Group was strategic planning and marketing research, working directly for the chair of the company as well as the fund boards. Dan began his career in M&A law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Through his various roles, Dan has conducted detailed valuations on over 800 companies, evaluated more than 2,000 acquisition targets, and authored 25 reports dealing with the wealth and investment management industries. During this time, Dan has served on the Board of Directors of AssetMark Financial Holdings (Ticker AMK), BridgePortfolio, and Occidental College.

Dan has an Advanced Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Occidental College and a Master of Business Administration from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Dan is a native of Los Angeles and currently resides in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Mike Wunderli has been a Managing Director at ECHELON Partners since 2016 and is integrally involved in all firm activities throughout the wealth & asset management industry, including leading M&A and advisory services in the Turnkey Asset Management Platform (“TAMP”) subsegment. During his tenure at ECHELON, Mike has led some of the industry’s most notable transactions and has been a thought leader during the industry’s remarkable advancement and consolidation.

Prior to ECHELON, Mike spent 12 years at Lehman Brothers and UBS as a Senior Vice President in the Private Wealth Management division. During his tenure he pioneered one of the industry’s most successful cross-divisional business practices, in which he helped business owners prepare for and eventually sell their companies, then reinvest the proceeds into strategically diversified investment portfolios. During his time at Lehman Brothers and UBS, Mike helped clients execute $2+ billion in transaction value and built a $400 million AUM advisory business. Prior to his Wall Street experience, Mike spent four years as a business development manager for Marriott International’s new ventures initiative, where he helped develop and launch two new ancillary businesses.

Over his career, Mike has worked with hundreds of private companies, helping their owners navigate the critical stages of growth and engineer the most appropriate and lucrative exit strategies such as: full and partial sales, recapitalizations, LBOs, ESOPs, IPOs, succession plans, etc.  He has also worked with many top investment managers, hedge funds, private-equity funds, family offices, trading desks and a variety of capital providers.

Mike has a B.A. degree from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mike, a native of Salt Lake City, UT currently resides in Redondo Beach, CA.

Barnaby Audsley is a Senior Vice President at ECHELON Partners and focuses on a diversity of M&A, capital raising, and strategic advisory projects. During his tenure at ECHELON, Barnaby has supported a number of notable transactions such as SEIA’s strategic investment from Reverence Capital Partners, Daintree Advisors and its sale to Cerity Partners, Vestmark’s sale of Adhesion to AssetMark, and Sawtooth Solution’s sale to Simplicity Group. He has over 10 years of experience advising entrepreneurs, investors, and executive teams in the wealth and investment management industries.

Barnaby’s prior experience focused on private equity and financial sponsor coverage at a prominent multi-family office, Bel Air Investment Advisors. During his time with Bel Air, he assisted in the sourcing and underwriting of fund, co-investment opportunities, and direct transactions, culminating in over $400 million of assets deployed. He also participated on the firm’s investment committee and supported strategic planning initiatives across finance, marketing, and operations, coordinating with the board and management team.

Barnaby received his Bachelor’s in Economics from Occidental College, where he was a Director and Alumni Chair of the student-run investment portfolio. Barnaby, a native of London, England, currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Brett Mulder is a Senior Vice President at ECHELON Partners and spends time across all of the firm’s core activities including M&A advisory, strategic consulting, and thought leadership. He has supported a number of notable transactions in his career thus far, including Heber Fuger Wendin's sale to Mariner Wealth Advisors, GTCR & Reverence's purchase of Wells Fargo Asset Management, and Integrated Wealth Advisory's sale to the Carson Group.

Prior to joining ECHELON, Brett was a Senior Associate with Deutsche Bank Securities, working in their US investment bank and within the Financial Institutions Group. With Deutsche, Brett advised wealth managers, asset managers, FinTech companies, and financial sponsors on a variety of strategic endeavors including M&A, IPOs, SPACs, and leveraged finance. Through that experience, Brett spent significant time cultivating relationships with private equity firms and platform buyers involved and interested in the wealth management ecosystem.

Brett has B.S. in Finance from San Diego State University where he also served as VP of the student investment council. Brett currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Andrea Polizzi is an Event Coordinator at ECHELON Partners who is responsible for event planning, communications, administration, and partial office management. Ms. Polizzi coordinates the marketing strategy, branding, and messaging for the Deals & Deal Makers Summit. In association with this event, she manages the marketing budget and calendar and maintains all collateral, communications, and distribution lists.

Ms. Polizzi possesses 15+ years of senior level marketing, communications, and event management experience, with focus on the financial services industry. She is a marketing leader with extensive experience in managing teams across a full range of hands on strategy, marketing, and communications projects and possesses a depth of experience in creating and managing conferences and events. Ms. Polizzi grew up in Coral Gables, FL and now resides in Manhattan Beach, CA with her family.

Sam Sphire is a Senior Associate at ECHELON Partners and focuses on a diversity of M&A advisory, investment banking, and strategic advisory assignments. Before joining ECHELON, Sam worked as an Analyst at Brookside Mezzanine Partners where he underwrote and analyzed investments for the firm’s investment funds.

Sam has a B.S. in Management with concentrations in Finance and Information Systems from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College where he was a member of the Honors Program Alumni Relations Committee and Outdoor Adventures Club. Sam grew up in Encinitas, CA and now resides in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Ayad Rahman is an Associate at ECHELON Partners and focuses on a diversity of M&A advisory, investment banking, and strategic advisory assignments. Before joining ECHELON, Ayad worked as an Analyst at martinwolf | M&A Advisors, specializing in the IT and Software space.

Ayad graduated Magna Cum Laude from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Honors Finance and Business Data Analytics. Ayad grew up in Ellicott City, Maryland and now resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Ryan Blackburn is a Senior Analyst at ECHELON Partners, focusing on investment banking, M&A advisory, consulting, and thought leadership. Before joining ECHELON, he worked as a Summer Analyst at L Squared Capital Partners, analyzing investments in the business services, industrial, and education sectors, respectively.

Ryan holds a B.B.A in Entrepreneurship with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Finance from Loyola Marymount University, where he was an active member of the LMU Finance Society. Prior to LMU, he played Division III Lacrosse at Babson College. Ryan grew up in La Jolla, CA and now resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Jessica Cline is the Vice President of Administration at ECHELON Partners, where she oversees office management, human resources, and accounts receivable/payable functions. She also serves as the Executive Assistant to CEO Daniel Seivert. Before joining ECHELON, Jessica built a strong foundation as an Executive Assistant in prominent roles, beginning at Oaktree Capital, where she supported a founding member, then at Capital Group, assisting two senior economists, and later at Abbott Laboratories, supporting the President of the Neuromodulation Division.

With over 15 years of experience in the financial and medical device sectors, Jessica is highly skilled in organization, planning, and time management. Originally from Irvine and Solana Beach, CA, she now lives in Carlsbad, CA, with her family.