Westport, Connecticut, January 29, 2016:
Westbury Group LLC, the investment bank for entrepreneurs, is pleased to announce that James Whitcomb, Jr. and John Jensen, Jr. have joined the firm as Managing Directors. Jim and John each bring decades of experience in investment banking in the United States and international markets. They will form the core of Westbury’s Equity Capital Markets advisory business. In addition, they will augment Westbury’s overall investment banking services, with particular emphasis on consumer product, food and beverage companies as well as telecom, media and technology sectors.
Prior to joining Westbury, Jim Whitcomb was a Managing Director at The Chart Group and has worked for investment banks in New York and London, including Lehman Brothers and predecessor firms of JP Morgan Chase. He has advised consumer product and industrial clients in markets around the world. During his career, Jim has focused on acquisitions, divestitures, restructuring and equity and debt capital raisings. Jim graduated from Williams College with a B.A. with Honors and received an M.B.A. from The Darden School at the University of Virginia.
John has more than forty years of investment banking experience. He spent thirty-two years at Merrill Lynch, retiring as Vice Chairman of Global Equity Capital Markets. Initially, John served as an equity research analyst covering U.S. consumer products, retailing and industrial companies. During his remaining tenure, he held leadership positions in all areas of Equity Capital Markets, both in New York and London. He led transactions raising more than $100 billion in equity, including large, complex, global privatizations, such as France Telecom.
After retiring from Merrill Lynch, John founded a healthcare technology company, which was sold to a Belgian company in 2012. In addition, John has been a partner of STJ Advisors, a London based independent equity capital markets advisory firm. John graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. with Honors and he attended the New York University, Stern School of Business.
“We are excited regarding the commitment of Jim Whitcomb and John Jensen to Westbury”, stated Bryan MacDonald, Partner of Westbury. Jonathan Rubin, Partner, added “Jim and John contribute valuable knowledge to our team of experienced investment bankers, especially in the area of independent Equity Capital advisory skills. We look forward to building a comprehensive product focused solely on issuers.” Patrick Huddie, Partner, commented that “the international, cross-border experience that Jim and John deliver, combined with their consumer products focus, adds to Westbury’s ability to source and execute transactions with both national and cross-border dimensions.”
About The Westbury Group
Westbury is a FINRA-registered investment banking broker-dealer dedicated to providing exceptional financial and strategic advisory services for entrepreneurial middle market clients.
Headquartered in Westport, Connecticut, Westbury’s bankers serve clients across the country and in international markets. Westbury’s professionals bring transactional and real-world operations experience to engagements in a broad range of industries, including consumer products, technology/media/telecom, manufacturing, aerospace/defense, healthcare and energy products and services. Drawing on this experience, Westbury’s teams assist clients with mergers, acquisitions, raising equity and debt capital and provide strategic counsel. The Company engages in transactions ranging in size from $10 million to more than $250 million.
