Bill Light, Finance Expert in New York, NY, United States
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Bill Light

Verified Expert  in Finance

Finance Expert

Location
New York, NY, United States
Toptal Member Since
May 16, 2019

Bill has evaluated and sourced long and short investments at Lakewood Capital (hedge fund with $5 billion under management) and Harvard Management Company (endowment with $35 billion under management). Prior to his investing career, he advised on M&A transactions at Evercore Partners. As a freelancer, he enjoys working with both investors and entrepreneurs across a wide spectrum of industries in public and private markets.

Financial ForecastingInvestment AnalysisInvestor Relations ConsultantFinancial ModelingValuationMarket ResearchEquity ResearchInvestment BankingMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Private Equity

Career Highlights

Investor
Lakewood Capital
Investor
Harvard Management Company
Analyst, Mergers and Acquisitions
Evercore Partners

Education Highlights

Master's Degree
University of Florida

Work Experience

Portfolio Manager

2019 - PRESENT
Red Apple Group
  • Managed the investment portfolio of a multi-billion-dollar family office, reporting directly to the principal and CIO.
  • Led the investment process from start to finish, from idea generation, industry and company diligence, detailed financial analysis, and entry and exit decision-making based on risk-reward assessment.
  • Handled a private equity style deep-dive diligence process focused on mapping the value chain, understanding industry supply and demand drivers, multi-year shifts within industries, and barriers to competitive entry that drive pricing power.
Focus areas: Equity Investment, Valuation, M&A Valuation (DCF), Debt Analysis, Financial Forecasting, Three-statement Modeling, Equity Research, Private Equity, Investor Relations Consultant, Financial Modeling, Excel Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Business Strategy, Market Research, Equity Research Analysis, Quantitative Research, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Investments, Portfolio Management, Financial Data

Investor

2015 - 2018
Lakewood Capital
  • Analyzed and sourced long and short investments at a hedge fund with $5 billion under management.
  • Combined a detailed financial analysis with in-depth fundamental research on the competitive landscape and secular headwinds and tailwinds across many industries including consumer, technology, healthcare, and industrials.
  • Prepared concise investment memorandums (PowerPoint, Word, and verbal) detailing investment recommendations and key points of differentiation from what is implied by market prices.
  • Built hundreds of complex financial models based on all available public data to forecast earnings power and cash flow generation and sensitized valuation implications across multiple scenarios.
  • Led discussions with C-level executives at public companies as well as private competitors, customers, and suppliers.
Focus areas: Finance Strategy, Equity Research, Investment Memoranda, Valuation, Financial Modeling, M&A Valuation (DCF), Debt Analysis, Financial Forecasting, Three-statement Modeling, Excel Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Business Strategy, Market Research, Equity Research Analysis, Quantitative Research, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Investments, Financial Data

Investor

2013 - 2015
Harvard Management Company
  • Evaluated primary investments at Harvard's $35 billion endowment.
  • Conducted in-depth industry diligence including historical case studies of key drivers of inflection points in a business's fundamental performance over time.
  • Consolidated research findings into a decision recommendation presentation that summarized how research on business-specific drivers and competitive dynamics translate into revenue growth, cash flow generation, returns on invested capital, and ultimately fundamental value creation.
  • Built and maintained 3-statement models for all holdings to quantify differentiation compared to consensus and frame range of potential outcomes.
Focus areas: Forecasting, Equity Research, Valuation, Financial Modeling, M&A Valuation (DCF), Debt Analysis, Financial Forecasting, Three-statement Modeling, Excel Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Business Strategy, Market Research, Equity Research Analysis, Quantitative Research, Investments, Financial Data

Analyst, Mergers and Acquisitions

2011 - 2013
Evercore Partners
  • Built dynamic models to analyze accretion/dilution, IRR, pro forma de-leveraging, and value creation based on differing financial goals and limitations of targets and acquirers for proposed transactions.
  • Analyzed industry trends to support valuation assumptions and evaluate proposed transaction structures.
  • Ranked in the top tier of the analyst class.
Focus areas: Financial Modeling, Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Valuation, DCF Valuation, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), M&A Valuation (DCF), Debt Analysis, Financial Forecasting, Three-statement Modeling, Private Equity, Investor Relations Consultant, Excel Modeling, Investment Banking, Business Strategy, Market Research, Quantitative Research, Financial Data
2010 - 2011

Master's Degree in Finance

University of Florida - Gainesville, FL, USA

2007 - 2011

Bachelor's Degree in Finance

University of Florida - Gainesville, FL, USA

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