Rocky Pontikes is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Mesirow Investment Banking. In this capacity, he provides strategic direction and oversight for the group and manages its day-to-day operations. He is also responsible for developing key relationships, leading deal teams throughout the transaction process and providing advisory services on middle-market M&A assignments.

Rocky has more than 25 years of investment banking experience. He has led transactions across numerous industry sectors including Business services, Distribution & supply chain and Industrials.

Prior to joining Mesirow in June 2001, he was a member of the global investment banking division at Merrill Lynch & Co., providing corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and public and private capital advisory services to middle-market and growth-oriented companies.

Rocky has played an integral role in many notable M&A and capital markets transactions across numerous industries with aggregate transaction value of over $15 billion. He has led several industry award-winning and notable transactions in recent years such as the:

• Sale of Circle 8 Logistics, Inc. to Globaltranz Enterprises, Inc.
• Sale of Adams Manufacturing Corp. to Keter Group
• Sale of CX Connexion to Graybar, among others

In 2012, Rocky was named a winner of The M&A Advisor 40 Under 40 Awards for the central region. Rocky is an active member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Association for Corporate Growth and Turnaround Management Association.

Rocky earned a Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds FINRA Series 7, 63 and 79 licenses.