FEI NYC Program & Reception | Trends in M&A

Alan Scharfstein is the Founder and CEO of DAK. For over 40 years, he has served as a trusted advisor to thousands of middle-market business owners, guiding them through growth strategies, expansions, and successful exits.

He launched DAK in 1984 to bring Wall Street–level investment banking expertise to middle-market companies, tailored to their unique challenges. Under his leadership, DAK has become known for its deep focus on the nuances of this market, helping clients maximize value in every transaction.

A skilled M&A strategist, negotiator, and transaction expert, Alan has personally led more than 750 deals across a wide range of industries in the U.S. and internationally. His approach blends financial sophistication with corporate transactional experience and an entrepreneurial mindset, enabling him to deliver exceptional outcomes for his clients.

Mr. Howarth has more than 30 years of progressively responsible experience in financial leadership roles in a diverse portfolio of business models including, Car dealerships products and Services, Domestic Trailer Leasing, International Cargo Container Leasing, Pharmaceuticals, Vacation Exchange, IT Consulting, Health Care Diagnostics and Physical Security. He has extensive experience in private equity owned organizations, partnering with the management teams and private equity sponsors fostering rapid growth both organically and through acquisition.

Bill leads Empire’s Transaction Advisory Services group. He has managed and prepared approximately 2,500 valuations for financial and tax reporting purposes. Bill has taught classes for the American Society of Appraisers related to intangible asset valuation, complex security valuation, and other advanced business valuation topics. He chairs an annual fair value conference for the ASA, and he is considered to be an expert on purchase price allocation and intangible asset valuation matters. He has served as a subject matter expert for the Appraisal Foundation providing best practices related to valuation matters for financial reporting purposes.  He also has a significant amount of experience performing valuations for venture capital and private equity funds, as well as for early stage businesses. Bill has also has served as an expert witness on business valuation matters.