
Greg Barasia, CFA
Finance Expert
Location
New York, NY, United States
Toptal Member Since
September 16, 2019
Greg has executed over $20 billion of transactions from seed-stage venture investments to large corporate buyouts. His experience spans the capital structure and includes time at Lazard Frères and some of the top private investment firms on Wall Street. He has worked as as a fractional CFO, M&A and financing advisor, and board member. Greg enjoys freelancing as it allows him to work with a wider variety of clients and company maturities.
Greg is available for hire
Hire GregCareer Highlights
Director, Private Investment Strategies
New Vernon Capital
Vice President
GKM Advisors
Analyst | Associate
Lazard Frères & Co.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree
Cornell University
Bachelor's Degree
New York University
Select Certifications
Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
CAIA Association
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Case Studies
Valuation and Acquisition Model for a $120 Million Real Asset
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Financial ModelingLeveraged Buyout (LBO)Leveraged Buyout ModelingEquity FinancingDebt Financing+ 7 more
Structure and Analysis of a $450 Million Real Estate Fund
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Leveraged Buyout (LBO)M&A (Buy-side)Financial ModelingAsset ValuationFinance+ 3 more
$15 Million Acquisition, Merger, and Recapitalization
AcquisitionsPost-merger IntegrationMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)RecapitalizationFinanceValuation+ 2 more
Industry Expertise
FinanceInvestment BankingVenture Capital & Private EquityMedia & InternetTextiles & ApparelReal EstateRetailApparel & Accessories RetailOther Expertise
CFOGrowth EquityMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Private EquityValuationWork Experience
2017 - PRESENT
Director, Private Investment Strategies
New Vernon Capital
- Institutionalized a private investment platform for two family offices—managing ~$1.5 billion through direct investment in venture, growth and private equity along with co-investments and LP positions.
- Sourced, conducted due diligence, negotiated, and structured the acquisition and subsequent consolidation of a ~$15 million online retail platform and consumer electronics brand.
- Performed due diligence and structured co-investments in an $825 million private airline, a $160 million consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, and a $15 million business services company.
- Built three-statement models and operating projections for internal and external uses for companies in industries including transportation, eCommerce and financial services, among others.
- Constructed valuation models, LBO analyses, and investor materials to facilitate capital investment for companies in industries including energy, food & beverage, and construction services, among others.
Focus areas: eCommerce, Investments, Valuation, Finance, Growth Equity, Business Development, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Capital Structure Optimization, Venture Capital, Private Equity
2015 - 2017
Vice President
GKM Advisors
- Led business development efforts including direct investment, capital structure advisory, and growth consulting.
- Served as the interim CFO of a $40 million, venture-backed SaaS CRM company as it successfully navigated a $10 million equity raise.
- Conducted due diligence on, structured, and arranged the financing for buyouts including $650 million hotel acquisition and $120 million oil and gas asset purchase.
- Identified lower-middle market investment opportunities, including a $4 million mobile development platform, a $5 million industry and trade publication, a $20 million water purification company, and a $50 million data services company.
- Developed three-statement models and operating projections for internal and external uses for companies in industries including SaaS, consumer retail, and cleantech among others.
- Created valuation models, LBO analyses, and investor materials to facilitate capital investment for companies in industries including real estate, consumer packaged goods, and SaaS, among others.
Focus areas: Investments, M&A (Sell-side), Valuation, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Finance, Investment Banking, Management Consulting, Business Development, Venture Capital, Investment Capital Raising, Capital Structure Optimization, Private Equity, Growth Equity
2012 - 2014
Analyst | Associate
Lazard Frères & Co.
- Completed over $20 billion of transaction advisory including working as the sole buy-side advisor to Burger King in its $15 billion acquisition of Tim Hortons and the sole sell-side advisor to Holiday Retirement in its Canadian real estate portfolio sale to Ventas.
- Evaluated strategic alternatives, including acquisitions, divestitures, and capital structure allocation, on behalf of numerous public and private companies.
- Assessed macroeconomic and industry trends as related to clients' positioning to qualitatively identify avenues for accretive growth.
- Developed long-term, three-statement financial models to determine cash flow and capital structure trends.
- Created full valuation analyses including trading comparables, precedent transactions, dividend discounts, sum of the parts, max pay, and discounted cash flow analyses.
- Analyzed capital allocation implications of client subsidiary companies to determine the ultimate leverage and earnings profile.
- Constructed multiple merger and leverage buyout models to determine the feasibility of transactions based on targeted financial thresholds, including relative earnings, realized returns, and value accretion.
- Identified and valued optimal corporate modification strategies including subsidiary sales and business separations.
- Prepared and delivered presentations to client senior management to review qualitative and quantitative ramifications of alternatives analyses.
- Conducted diligence efforts to evaluate long-term viability of client and target company operating projections.
- Interfaced directly with client senior management and potential investors to coordinate transaction processes.
Focus areas: Investments, Private Equity, Valuation, Finance, Investment Banking, Financial Modeling, Corporate Finance, Leveraged Buyout (LBO), M&A (Buy-side), M&A (Sell-side), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
Other Experience

Publication
All in the Family - A Guide to Family Offices
https://www.toptal.com/finance/private-equity-consultants/family-office

Publication
Unwrapping the Mysteries of Brand Valuation
https://www.toptal.com/finance/valuation/brand-valuation

Publication
Platform Business vs. Pipeline Business: How to Leverage Your Network
https://www.toptal.com/finance/business-model-consultants/pipeline-business-vs-platform-business
Education
2009 - 2011
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree in Finance
Cornell University - Ithaca, NY, USA
2006 - 2009
Bachelor's Degree in Business Management
New York University - New York, NY, USA
Certifications
NOVEMBER 2020 - PRESENT
Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
CAIA Association
SEPTEMBER 2019 - PRESENT
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute