The Deals and Dealmakers Summit Website Headline

Tuesday, August 26th - Thursday, August 28th, 2025

At the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel



Experience the premier event for dealmaking in the wealth management industry.

Renowned leaders, professionals and experts in financial services attend and participate in ECHELON’s annual Deals & Dealmakers (DDM) Summit to experience in-depth conversations designed to educate and inform buyers, sellers, and investors on the most strategic and current M&A topics within the wealth and investment management industries.

This is an unparalleled opportunity to learn from 50+ industry experts, participate in enlightening and intellectually stimulating panel sessions, and network with the industry’s leading professionals.

2025 Featured Speakers

At DDM, we don’t skim the surface—we dive deep. Expect advanced, high-impact sessions enriched with worksheets, analysis, and visual tools. Our speakers are distinguished, often undiscovered voices offering fresh, non-recycled insights. Every session is tailored to our audience, forming a powerful trifecta of depth, relevance, and emotional resonance.

Fielding Miller

CEO, Captrust

Dan Seivert

CEO & Founder at ECHELON Partners

Mark Tibergien

Independent Board Member, Management Consultant & Speaker

Peter Mallouk

President and CEO, Creative Planning, LLC

Sam Sphire

VP, ECHELON Partners

Brett Mulder

SVP, ECHELON Partners

Barnaby Audsley

SVP, ECHELON Partners

Meg Carpenter

CEO, Ficomm Partners

Gary Alt

Partner, Creative Planning

Jim Dilworth

Founder and CEO, Dilworth Capital

Tim Welsh

CEO, Nexus Strategy

Mark DeLotto

Partner, Simon Quick Advisors

Albert Hicks

Director, Crestline Investors, Inc.

Pat McHugh

Head of Investments, Constellation Capital

Andrew May

Director, Synovus

Linda Paullin-Hebden

Partner, Warner, Norcross + Judd

Nikolee Turner

Managing Director, Charles Schwab

David Mainzer

Shareholder, Buchalter

Matt Matrisian

President, SEIA

Chris Frieden

Partner, Alston & Bird

Shannon Rosic

Director, Informa

Jared Baucom

Managing Director, Cerulli Associates

Jamie Price

President & Ceo, Osaic

Richard Lofgren

Managing Director, Goldman Sachs

Jeff Bischoff

Founder and CEO, Old Greenwich Consultants

Stephanie Bogan

CEO, Limitless Advisor

2025 Featured DDM Summit Experts

Our signature small-group format offers exclusive access to top-tier experts—M&A strategists, legal advisors, valuation professionals, and consultants. These curated conversations connect attendees with elite minds typically out of reach, creating high-value engagement that attracts sponsors and centers of influence eager to participate and contribute year-round.

David Mainzer

Partner at Buchalter

Adam Farag

VP, Strategic Markets at Oak Street Funding

Megan Carpenter

CEO at Ficomm

Brett Mulder

SVP at ECHELON Partners

Tim Welsh

President at Nexus Strategy

Richard Lofgren

MD at Goldman Sachs Advisor Solution

Barnaby Audsley

SVP at ECHELON Partners
2025 AGENDA

Tuesday, August 26th

  • Pre-Conference Golf Event at the Monarch Beach Golf Links

Wednesday, August 27th

  • Networking Lunch with Experts & Sponsors
  • Ask the Experts: 150+ One-on-One Meetings with Deal-Related Experts (Over Two Hours)
  • Two Panel Sessions with Eight of the Industry's Top Dealmakers
  • Dinner and Cocktails at Sunset

Thursday, August 28th

  • Networking Breakfast
  • Three Morning Sessions focused on Breakaway Deals, Deal Structuring and Valuation, and Considerations for Top Industry CEOs
  • Keynote Debate
  • Networking Lunch
  • Deep-Dive Sessions Focused on Industry Research, Post-Deal Integration, and Private Capital Solutions
  • Closing Cocktail Reception at Sunset

Interactive Sessions. Innovative Networking. Applied Workshops. Real Deal Experience.

200+ C-SUITE EXECUTIVES IN ATTENDENCE
300+ DEALS CONSUMMATED BY DDM ATTENDEES OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS
55+ M&A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS PRESENT AT EACH SUMMIT