Professionals



Michael McAllister Michael McAllister
CEO and Managing Director

Mike McAllister is a co-founder of Westlake Securities, and leads the Firm in a broad range of investment banking services. He brings over 28 years of corporate finance and equity capital markets experience to Westlake Securities.

Mr. McAllister began his career with The First Boston Corporation in New York (now Credit Suisse), and later joined Lehman Brothers. He has also held Managing Director positions at Kemper Securities (now Wachovia Securities), (Capital One) Southcoast, Southwest Securities, and Tejas Securities. Over his investment banking career, Mr. McAllister has raised in excess of $7 billion for clients and advised on mergers/acquisition transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $3 billion.

After receiving his BA in Economics from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, Mike earned an MBA in Finance from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University.

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Wilson Allen Wilson Allen
Managing Director

Wilson Allen most recently served as President of Signature Capital Securities, LLC, a position he has held since November 1997. In 1996, Mr. Allen was a co-founder of Wind River Capital Company, a venture capital consulting firm with offices in Houston and Austin. With Wind River Capital, Allen created capital investment strategies for development-stage and medium size businesses involved in medical technology; computer hardware and software; hospitality; oil and gas and consumer non-durable products. Previously, Mr. Allen served as online content editor for Hoover's, a business-research publishing firm that provides a database of information on 2500 public and private companies. Mr. Allen worked, from 1990 to 1993, with Eagle Management and Trust Company, an investment advisory firm with $1.5 billion of assets under management. At Eagle Management, he served as a senior equity trader and a member of the Equity Asset Allocation Committee. He directed and administered all trades in U.S, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany. Spain, England, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands. Mr. Allen earned a B.A. in economics from The University of Texas at Austin in 1989 and earned an M.B.A. degree from Pepperdine University in 1995. He holds Series 24, 62, and 63 securities licenses.

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Randolph Ewing Randolph Ewing
Managing Director

Mr. Ewing has been a successful business and transaction attorney for 30 years, specializing in merger and acquisitions, and venture capital transactions in a variety of industries, including energy service, construction materials, telecommunications, software, high-tech, service, industrial, sports, and wholesale and retail products.

During his legal career, Mr. Ewing has represented and advised sellers and purchasers of businesses, investors, and entities raising capital and various entrepreneurs and executives. Mr. Ewing brings to Westlake substantial expertise in structuring transactions, negotiating business and legal issues, and consummating transactions. Over his legal career, Randolph has represented purchasers and sellers in transactions with an aggregate value over $5 billion. He has performed transactions with entities from or businesses located in Mexico, Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Venezuela, Panama, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Libya, Malta, and Oman.

Mr. Ewing received his BBA, MBA and JD from The University of Texas.

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Ben Davis Ben Davis
Managing Director

An entrepreneur and private investor, Ben Davis has founded and sold several companies in the commercial diving, telecommunications, specialty chemicals, and energy services industries. In 1995, Mr. Davis co-founded LandTel Communications LLC, currently the market-share leader in mobile satellite communications for onshore drilling platforms. In October 1997, he co-founded Aquatica, Inc., a commercial diving firm. In March 1999, Ben and his partners exited publicly through a sale to Cal Dive International, becoming as a group the 4th-largest shareholder of Cal Dive.

Ben Davis is a co-founder and Managing Member of Rapid Energy Services, LLC, a holding company for diverse industrial interests (www.rapidenergyservices.com). Started in 1999, Rapid develops and sells solutions for the energy, maritime, and aviation industries. In 2004, Mr. Davis and a group of private investors acquired an 85% interest in Carolina Polymers, LLC.

Mr. Davis is a Baylor University honors graduate, with undergraduate and graduate degrees in Finance and Economics and a law degree with a concentration in Business Planning & Drafting.

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Randy Finch Randy Finch
Managing Director

Prior to joining the Firm, Randy Finch was Managing Director of the Austin Office of Chiron Financial Group, a middle-market investment banking firm. While at Chiron, Randy was responsible for corporate finance engagements including debt and equity placements, M&A transactions and other financial advisory services.

Mr. Finch was a founder and Chief Financial Officer of GX Technology Corporation, a venture-backed company serving the oil and gas exploration industry. In 2004, he sold the Company to a NYSE listed company for $150 million. Mr. Finch began his career at Deloitte where he served clients in a variety of industries including technology, banking, securities and retail.

Mr. Finch holds a BBA degree in Accounting with a concentration in Finance from The University of Texas, and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas.

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J. Sulester J. Sulester
Senior Vice President

J. Sulester is a co-founding partner of the Institutional Sales & Trading group at Westlake Capital Markets. He manages the daily operations of the group as well as trading equities. Prior to joining Westlake Securities, Mr. Sulester was Vice President of Equity Trading at Tejas Securities for more than 6 years.

Mr. Sulester graduated from the University of Texas where he earned a BA in Math.

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Matt Richter Matt Richter
Senior Vice President

Matt Richter is a co-founding partner of the Institutional Sales & Trading group for Westlake Capital Markets. Mr. Richter brings 13 years of institutional sales and trading experience with an emphasis in agency execution and block transitions. Most recently, Mr. Richter was Senior Vice President for Tejas Securities and began his career with Hanifen Imhoff and Stifel Nicolaus in Denver, Colorado.

Mr. Richter attended Colorado State University where he earned a BA in Economics.

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Brian Gilmore Brian Gilmore
Senior Vice President

Brian Gilmore is a co-founding partner of the Institutional Sales & Trading group for Westlake Capital Markets. Mr. Gilmore has more than 10 years of experience in the financial industry including investment banking, institutional sales & trading, as well as hedge fund equity analysis. Prior to joining Westlake Securities, Mr. Gilmore was a Senior Vice President at Tejas Securities where he focused on sourcing and placing block transactions.

Mr. Gilmore began his career at H.C. Wainwright & Co. in New York and graduated with a BA of Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.

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Bradley S. Alexander Bradley S. Alexander
Director

Mr. Alexander has over 17 years of expertise in corporate development, financial leadership and deal execution. Prior to joining the firm's Houston office in 2009, Mr. Alexander was a Senior Vice President with GulfStar Group where he participated in over 25 client transactions involving sell- and buy-side M&A transactions, private placements of equity and debt as well as corporate advisory assignments.

Brad has held a variety of key executive positions for Fortune 100 companies, including serving as operations leader and board member of a $2 billion financing company and as the financial executive for businesses with $5 billion in assets. Mr. Alexander was Vice President of Operations for American Express Business Finance, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Express Company and a Vice President of Finance in American Express Company in New York City. Prior to his tenure at American Express Company, Mr. Alexander held corporate development and financial executive roles at First Union Corporation, where he was involved in over 30 acquisition and integration efforts. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Administration with a finance concentration from Old Dominion University.

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Cory Allen Cory Allen
Director

Mr. Allen is a Director for Westlake Securities. Prior to joining Westlake, Mr. Allen worked for the Chicago office of Lincoln International, one of the leading global middle market M&A advisors. He has been involved in more than twenty sell and buy-side transactions totaling over $1 billion in transaction value in a wide variety of industries. Mr. Allen has conducted transaction in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Mr. Allen also previously worked as an Associate for Bentley Associates, a New York-based boutique investment bank and as an Associate with Merlin Biosciences Limited, a biotechnology-focused institutional venture capital firm in London, England.

Mr. Allen received his MBA, with concentrations in Finance and International Business from Columbia Business School. Mr. Allen graduated cum laude from Texas A&M University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences and was a member of the Corps of Cadets Army ROTC for four years.

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Scott Bartley Scott Bartley
Vice President and CFO

Scott Bartley is a Vice President in the Financial Advisory Services practice and also serves as the Firm's Controller. Prior to joining Westlake, Mr. Bartley worked at Deloitte in assurance and mergers and acquisition services, and has more than 10 years of experience serving multinational, public and private companies in energy, technology, manufacturing, and consumer business.

Mr. Bartley holds BBA and MPA degrees from the University of Texas, and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas.

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Jon D'Andrea Jon D'Andrea
Analyst

Jon D'Andrea is an Analyst for Westlake Securities. Mr. D'Andrea graduated with High Honors from The University of Texas at Austin, where he received his BBA in Finance and minor in Accounting.

While completing his degree, Mr. D'Andrea spent one semester on exchange at The University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Prior to joining the Westlake team, Mr. D'Andrea worked in operations at Anchor Marine, a Houston- based marine and industrial supply company, and as a Senior Guard for Galveston Island Beach Patrol.

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Josh Cobb Josh Cobb
Analyst

Josh Cobb joined Westlake in 2008 as an Analyst. Mr. Cobb assists senior bankers at Westlake in executing M&A and capital raising transactions. Mr. Cobb is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin where he received an MPA in Accounting and a BBA in Accounting with a concentration in Finance. As part of the MPA program at The University of Texas, Mr. Cobb experienced a summer studying abroad in Paris.

While pursuing his degree, Mr. Cobb worked in the operations and lending departments at PlainsCapital Bank and obtained internship experience as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Cobb also served as a middle school math tutor for Austin Partners in Education.

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Paul Howell Paul Howell
Analyst

Paul Howell joined Westlake in 2009 as an Analyst. Mr. Howell works closely with senior executives at Westlake in the execution of M&A and capital raising transactions. Mr. Howell is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where he received a MS in Finance and a BBA in Accounting. While pursuing his degree, Mr. Howell experienced a semester studying abroad in Italy.

Prior to joining the Westlake team, Mr. Howell worked as a financial and research analyst for Cedars Capital, a Houston-based development and advisory firm focused on the renewable energy sector. He also gained internship experience as a financial consultant with KPMG.

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Jessica Dahl Jessica Dahl
Marketing Coordinator

Jessica Dahl is responsible for coordinating all marketing activities on behalf of Westlake Securities. Her responsibilities include planning and implementation of the firm's market coverage and public relations initiatives. Ms. Dahl's prior professional experience has included leadership and planning of marketing campaigns and events for several organizations in both the non-profit and private sectors, including an Austin-based insurance brokerage. She received her undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin in Government, and also completed both the McCombs Business Foundations program as well as a concentration in Communications.

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