Leadership

Leif Johnson

Prior to co-founding Liberty Ridge Advisors, Leif served 9 years as the Managing Director at Exvere Inc., an Investment Bank focused on M&A advisory services for middle market Northwest closely held businesses. During that time he was involved with many notable transactions in a number of different industry verticals; which created shareholder value in the hundreds of millions of dollars. A few of those notable transactions included deals in the building materials, Aerospace, Manufacturing, and Specialty Contractors space, to name a few.

Prior to to his time at Exvere, Leif spent 15 years as the Executive Director for Enterprise solutions with The Pacific Institute, a Global Consulting Company. There he lead strategic projects for many Fortune 500 companies and notable middle market companies in the implementation of business strategies, leadership alignment coaching, employment engagement, and company wide culture change engagements. He brought proprietary measurement tools to guide these growth strategies, which led to improved client earnings in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Leif is a graduate of The University of Washington. While at the University of Washington, he participated in both football and baseball and played in three Rose Bowls and on the National Championship football team. Leif holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 65 licenses. Leif, his wife Stacie, and their daughter Madeline live in Mercer Island and enjoy snow skiing, cycling, triathlons, tennis, and boating.

MICHAEL S. BENNETT

Prior to co-founding Liberty Ridge, Michael Bennett worked at Exvere Inc., amassing more than 15 years of investment banking experience and advising many successful family and middle market companies across all of Exvere’s industry concentrations, including Aerospace, Food / Beverage Production & Distribution, Manufacturing, Building Products and Services.

Michael’s merger and acquisition work includes sell side, buy side, divestiture, management buyout as well as recapitalization mandates. His prior business experience includes ThinkView, Inc., an internet infrastructure company, and Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc., a New York based investment bank. Michael received his B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington, with concentrations in Finance and Business Economics.

Michael is responsible for M&A assignments and also valuation, research, and financial analysis functions, and holds an Accredited Valuation Analyst (AVA) designation from the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA). A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, Mike lives in Burien and enjoys golf, traveling, running and spending time with his wife Kristina, their son and two dogs.

The Work We Do

We operate with integrity in everything we do

We work diligently to maintain the highest standards of confidentiality, and we always work to put your goals and desires first through transparent, open communication. We’re passionate about establishing trust with clients who are facing the largest financial decision of their lives. We always fight for our clients, the goals they aim for, and the results they expect.

We believe in teamwork

There are numerous moving parts in any transaction and it takes team-based processes to ensure success. At Liberty Ridge, we operate with clear, straightforward communications, accountability, and transparency, which builds trust that we are doing everything in our power to ensure that we are always working toward your goals. You've worked for years, perhaps decades to establish and grow a company; we can play a significant role in your M&A strategy and we’ll work to ensure that this last summit is your pinnacle moment, leaving your legacy and culture intact.

We take a results-driven approach to M&A

Our various disciplines and proprietary processes deliver multiple buyers, providing you with maximum options and the right amount of leverage to increase valuations. At Liberty Ridge, we provide measured, thoughtful guidance through every step of our disciplined M&A process. We operate in a results driven environment by design and our ultimate goal is to deliver you the absolute best outcome.