Mark Bryson, CFA
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Toptal member since June 22, 2018
Mark is a freelance research analyst and corporate strategy advisor specializing in digital transformation. He has worked with some of the top corporate innovation funds globally, identifying investment opportunities across several disruptive technology verticals. Mark began his career as an equity analyst, which allowed him to develop foundational expertise in fundamental research and financial modeling—skills he leverages today as a research-led strategy consultant and M&A advisor.
Career Highlights
Education Highlights
Certification Highlights
Case Studies
Expertise
Work Experience
Market Research, Corporate Strategy, and M&A Advisory
JLL Technologies
- Collaborated with the JLL technologies strategy team across several key projects.
- Conducted research on the flexible office market, sizing up the market opportunity, evaluating technologies supporting the ecosystem, and identifying attractive points for investment.
- Led the market sizing efforts as part of a growth strategy project for one of the core portfolio companies. Developed a detailed market sizing model that served as the basis for identifying greenfield growth opportunities.
- Drove the market sizing efforts as part of a market feasibility project assessing the product market fit for an emerging technology product.
- Testimonial: "Mark is [hardworking], smart and insightful, and very collaborative. I highly recommend Mark for any team looking for a talented corporate strategy expert." – The client.
Director
Capitalx
- Provided fundraising advisory services to entrepreneur-led ventures, preparing pitch deck material and introducing them to investors.
- Worked with private equity and venture capital funds to source deal flow and identify investment opportunities by utilizing fundamental research.
- Operated with a global venture capital fund with $1.5 billion of assets under management to identify investment opportunities within digital logistics. The project included market sizing, landscaping, and an M&A search.
- Released several white papers on themes across digital transformation, including The Rise of Digital Health and The Rise of Advanced Robotics.
Market Research and M&A Advisory
Advocate Aurora Health
- Conducted research into five emerging healthtech segments.
- Performed market sizing assessment to estimate the total addressable market and market landscaping to identify and rank potential M&A targets for each assignment.
- Engaged in a follow-up project six months after the engagement upon the client's request.
- Testimonial: "Mark helped us identify leading & emerging companies in the sectors under consideration for our investments...He's a fantastic collaborator & [well-practiced] working across all time zones. I highly recommend his advisory services."
Equity Research and Sales
Avior Capital Markets
- Joined Avior as a small boutique equity research and trading firm with less than 20 staff members and a ranking of tenth in the JSE Broker Survey. Helped grow the business to 60+ staff members, expanded trading capabilities across Africa opened offices in London, and achieved a top three rating for research in the JSE Broker Survey, facilitating a public listing in 2017.
- Served as a lead equity research analyst in the industrial and platinum mining sector, developing detailed financial models, valuations, and market commentary for mid-cap companies such as Impala Platinum (IMP:SJ), Anglo Platinum (AMS:SJ), Lonmin (LON:SJ), Kap Industrial (KAP:SJ), Metair (MTA:SJ), and Adcorp (ADR:SJ).
- Constructed a detailed model that incorporated macroeconomic data, industry information, and industry capacity and demand factors to predict platinum group metal prices.
- Received a high rating in the annual client survey for my research on mid-tier industrial stocks.
- Contributed to Avior’s corporate governance research, which was consistently rated the top governance product that covered JSE-listed companies.
- Was promoted to an equity sales position and communicated trade ideas to clients including Aberdeen, Schroders, Invesco and Goldman Sachs.
- Contributed to business development efforts by actively expanding Avior's client base with an emphasis on driving new business in the United Kingdom.
- Arranged corporate access and roadshows for offshore investors, establishing relationships with leading South African CEOs, facilitating meetings and tours in London, and throughout Africa.
Education
Honor's Degree in Finance and Investment Management
University of Pretoria - Pretoria, South Africa
Certifications
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Skills
Finance
Fundraising, Market Research, Asset Valuation, Equity Research, Valuation, Equity Valuation, Startup Funding, Valuation Modeling, Valuation Multiples, DCF Valuation, Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Financial Modeling, Financial Reporting, Forecasting, Total Addressable Market (TAM), Revenue & Expense Projections, Investment Thesis, Value Investing, Due Diligence, Growth Capital Raising, Growth Equity, Venture Funding, Finance Strategy, Equity Financing, Private Equity, Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), Equity Capital, ROI, ICO Plans, Cost of Capital, Structuring of Funds, Accounting, Dividend Policy, GAP Analysis, M&A Modeling, Equity Research Analysis, Revenue Modeling, Cash Flow Modeling, Data Analysis, Cash Flow Forecasting, Fund Governance, CFA Level 1, CFA Level 2, CFA Level 3, Cash Flow Calculation, Property Investment, Investment Briefs, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), M&A (Sell-side)
Output Software
Excel 2016, Excel 2010, Excel 2007, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint
Industry Expertise
Financial Services, Early-stage Startups, Financial Markets, Real Estate, Food & Beverage
Data & Analysis Software
Capital IQ, Bloomberg
Geographic Expertise
South Africa, Africa, Kenya, Nigeria
Other
Excel Modeling, DCF Modeling, Investment Cases, Pitch Decks, Pitch Preparation, Pitch Presentations, Research, Business Research, Company Research, Growth Strategy, Startups, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Management Consulting, Business Models, Business Plan Consulting, Pitch Deck Consultant, Early-stage Venture Capital, Fundraising Consultant, Strategy, Stock Market, Investing, Investment Ideas, Equity Investment, Stock Analysis, Business Strategy, Stock Exchange, Revenue Strategy, Exit Strategy, Exit Planning, Go-to-market Strategy, Customer Segmentation, Financing, Business Planning, Investments, Acquisitions, Investor Presentations, Modeling, Presentations, Funding Presentations, Board of Directors, Board Presentations, Google Data Studio, Pitch Books, Equities, Models, JSE, Technical Research, Property Valuation, Information Memoranda, Presentation Design, Electrical Engineering, Economics, Research Analysis, Analysis, Research Reports, Market Insights, Market Trends, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Thematic Research, Digital Marketing, Growth Hacking, Branding, ICO, Health IT, Healthcare IT, Digital Health, Market Research Analyst, Financial Analysis, Market Research & Analysis, Market Sizing, Proptech, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Climate Change
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