George is available for hire
Hire GeorgeGeorge O'Kane Serrano
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Location
Bogotá - Bogota, Colombia
Toptal Member Since
July 12, 2017
George is a CFA with 10+ years' combined PE, VC, IB, and senior executive experience. He's the current founder and managing director of Alpha IB, a boutique investment bank focused on advisory. Prior to Alpha, he was CFO of an Edtech startup where he raised USD $10 million to scale the company regionally and launch a ground-breaking product. George received his bachelor's degree in management and a master's degree in finance from UMass Boston.
Career Highlights
Founder and Managing Partner
Alpha Investment Banking
CFO & Board Member
Aulas Amigas SAS
Education Highlights
Master's Degree
University of Massachusetts
Certification Highlights
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Case Studies
Industry Expertise
Other Expertise
Work Experience
Founder and Managing Partner
2018 - PRESENT
Alpha Investment Banking
- Served key leadership roles in the transaction origination process, having successfully originated 25+ projects in 18 months of operation.
- Led and closed both buy-side and sell-side mandates across the region.
- Maintained client relations during the deal origination period and building industry-specific or product-specific expertise.
- Served clients in industries such as logistics, tech (marketplaces, SaaS, and eCommerce), fintech, edTech, food, specialty finance, retail, petcare, biotech, and commodity-related industries.
- Developed and executed the company’s business strategies aimed at growing revenues by 300% in 2019.
- Executed on key responsibilities including financial modeling, market materials, market research, fundraising, and overall client delivery.
Focus areas: Corporate Finance, Market Research, Fundraising, Capital Structuring, Financial Management, Financial Engineering, Structuring, Debt Structuring, Capital Raising, Free Cash Flow (FCF), Valuation Analysis, Financial Modeling, Budgeting, Financial Advisory, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
CFO & Board Member
2015 - 2017
Aulas Amigas SAS
- Grew Aulas Amigas sales by over 300% in roughly 3 years as CFO. Aulas Amigas is a fast-growing edtech company focused on providing both software and hardware tools for K-12 LATAM educators.
- Raised approximately $10 million USD through various fundraising rounds and instruments (equity, debt, mezzanine, and convertibles).
- Structured, negotiated and closed local expansion capital to scale Aulas Amigas's business model in Mexico, Ecuador and a small pilot in India.
- Developed a budgeting and KPI system which directly contributed to EBITDA margins growing from 14% to 31%.
- Structured and closed a third party financing partnership for a B2C commercial strategy, essentially making channel operations cash flow positive, recurring, and scalable.
Focus areas: Corporate Finance, P&L Forecasting, Forecasting, Budget Management, Cash Flow Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Management, Accounting, Investment Monitoring, Financial Reporting, Fundraising, Cash Management, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Strategy, Budgeting
Senior Associate, Andean Market
2014 - 2015
Latin America Alternatives
- Developed and evaluated over 50 different private equity and venture capital investment memoranda across Latin America, and executed on 2 deals worth $10 million USD collectively (closely-held family office private equity vehicle).
- Led Andean market pipeline and screened over 30 investment opportunities.
- Developed a proprietary investment screening methodology for scoring fund-level investments.
- Produced economic-, transaction- and portfolio-level reports for family office investors.
- Supported CIO with portfolio reporting and liquidity management decisions.
Focus areas: Financial Reporting, Portfolio Analysis, Investment Portfolio Management, Private Equity Valuation, Investment Return Scenario Analysis, Due Diligence, Investment Memoranda, Financial Modeling, Early-stage Venture Capital, Private Equity
Associate & Partner
2010 - 2014
BBC Management
- Launched BBC Management (partner and co-founder), a boutique and closely-held asset management and consulting practice with a Latin American geographic focus.
- Developed and evaluated over 80 different private equity and venture capital investment memoranda in Colombia; executed on 3 deals totaling $1 million USD collectively.
- Sourced and created a local pipeline of over 150 growth capital opportunities (taking an industry generalist approach).
- Raised $2 million USD in fund commitments through multiple HNW investors.
- Led multiple market research and consulting projects for a diverse client base (nutrition, biopharma, mining, and retail).
Focus areas: Business Advisory, Market Research, Investor Presentations, Investor Relations, Financial Reporting, Investment Memoranda, Investment Monitoring, Due Diligence, Financial Modeling, Valuation, Private Equity, Early-stage Venture Capital
Education
2013 - 2014
Master's Degree in Finance
University of Massachusetts - Boston, Massachusetts
2006 - 2010
Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration
University of Massachusetts - Boston, Massachusetts
Certifications
JULY 2015 - PRESENT
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Collaboration That Works
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