14 Notable Corporate Finance Leaders Globally

Last updated: July 2026

Corporate finance sits where strategy becomes consequence.

This list profiles 14 leaders across corporate finance, deals, M&A, transaction advisory, investment banking and related advisory work. I have kept the scope honest because the field rarely uses one shared job title globally. Some firms call it corporate finance, others call it deals, advisory, strategy and transactions, global banking, investment banking or M&A.

A note on this list: I compiled it, and I am not on it. I work in leadership and Working Genius facilitation rather than corporate finance, and I put this together because deal leaders shape some of the highest-stakes decisions organisations ever make. The people below are listed for their own work, not their connection to me.

This shorter list is intentionally selective. It is designed as a starting point for recognising leaders whose work sits close to corporate finance, deal advisory and transaction leadership.

Why Corporate Finance Leadership Matters

Corporate finance leaders influence where capital moves.

The work covers acquisitions, divestments, capital structure, valuations, investment banking, transaction modelling and strategic advisory. In EY-Parthenon's corporate finance material, the firm describes M&A advisory teams with more than 1,900 dedicated professionals in more than 65 countries. PwC's corporate finance page describes more than 2,900 professionals across 60 countries and more than 4,200 deals over 10 years.

Those numbers help explain why leadership in this field matters. Corporate finance advice is not abstract. It shapes ownership, growth, risk, employment, market entry and sometimes whether an organisation survives a difficult transition.

How This List Was Compiled

This list was compiled from direct searches and fetched sources.

The original queue topic was "influential leaders in Corporate Finance globally." I widened the scope honestly to include corporate finance, deals, M&A, transaction advisory, valuation, financial advisory and investment banking leadership. That was necessary because global firms use different labels for the same adjacent field of work.

The strongest entries are first-party captures from EY-Parthenon and PwC. A small number of wider investment-banking entries are included because current business sources identify them in relevant senior deal leadership roles.

1. Andrea Guerzoni

Andrea Guerzoni is EY Global Vice Chair and EY-Parthenon Global Leader for Strategy and Transactions. The EY profile describes Guerzoni in that role, placing the work inside one of the largest transaction advisory platforms in the world.

Known for: global leadership across strategy and transactions at EY-Parthenon.

Source: https://www.ey.com/en_uk/people/andrea-guerzoni

2. Josh Putnam

Josh Putnam is EY-Parthenon Global and Americas Corporate Finance Leader. EY's profile names Putnam in that corporate finance leadership role, making this one of the cleanest first-party fits for the topic.

Known for: corporate finance leadership across EY-Parthenon's global and Americas platform.

Source: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/people/josh-putnam

3. Steve Cater

Steve Cater is Global Corporate Finance Leader at PwC United Kingdom. PwC's corporate finance page lists Cater as the global corporate finance contact and describes PwC's corporate finance network across countries, professionals and deal volume.

Known for: global corporate finance leadership at PwC.

Source: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/deals/corporate-finance.html

4. Simon Sterchi

Simon Sterchi is EY-Parthenon Europe West Transactions and Corporate Finance Capability Leader and an EY-Parthenon Switzerland partner. EY's corporate finance page lists Sterchi in that regional transactions and corporate finance capability role.

Known for: transactions and corporate finance capability leadership across Europe West.

Source: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/services/strategy-transactions/corporate-finance

5. Mark Clephan

Mark Clephan is EY-Parthenon UK&I Head of Mergers and Acquisitions. EY's corporate finance page lists Clephan in the M&A role, making the entry directly relevant to the widened corporate finance and deal advisory scope.

Known for: M&A leadership for EY-Parthenon in the UK and Ireland.

Source: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/services/strategy-transactions/corporate-finance

6. Sebastian Schmidt

Sebastian Schmidt is EY-Parthenon Lead Partner for the Strategy and Transactions Modeling Group for Europe West and Germany. EY lists Schmidt in that modelling leadership role on its corporate finance consulting page.

Known for: transaction modelling leadership within EY-Parthenon's strategy and transactions work.

Source: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/services/strategy-transactions/corporate-finance

7. Andre Toh

Andre Toh is EY-Parthenon Asean Valuation, Modeling and Economics Leader. EY's people page connects Toh with valuation, modelling and economics work inside the corporate finance and transaction advisory orbit.

Known for: valuation, modelling and economics leadership across Asean.

Source: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/people/andre-toh

8. Greg Hisenberg

Greg Hisenberg is EY-Parthenon Americas Valuation Solutions Leader. EY's corporate finance page lists Hisenberg as the Americas leader for valuation solutions, a core corporate finance capability.

Known for: valuation solutions leadership in the Americas.

Source: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/services/strategy-transactions/corporate-finance

9. Daniel Burkly

Daniel Burkly is a Principal at EY-Parthenon, Ernst & Young LLP. EY's corporate finance page describes Burkly as a transaction advisor experienced in corporate finance.

Known for: transaction advisory work connected to corporate finance.

Source: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/services/strategy-transactions/corporate-finance

10. Damir Maras

Damir Maras is Global Advisory Leader at PwC Germany. PwC's profile names Maras in that global advisory role, which sits adjacent to corporate finance and deal advisory.

Known for: global advisory leadership within PwC.

Source: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/contacts/d/damir-maras.html

11. Mohamed Kande

Mohamed Kande is Global Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited. PwC's profile names Kande in that global leadership role, giving useful context for the advisory and deals platform in which PwC's corporate finance work sits.

Known for: global chair leadership at PwC.

Source: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/contacts/m/mohamed-kande.html

12. Anu Aiyengar

Anu Aiyengar is a senior JPMorgan deal leader. Business Insider described Aiyengar as JPMorgan Chase's global head of M&A in its 2025 Rainmakers coverage, while other business reporting described an expanded global advisory role.

Known for: M&A and advisory leadership at JPMorgan.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/rainmakers-top-mergers-acquisitions-bankers-2024-goldman-sachs-jpmorgan-evercore-2025-2

13. John Waldron

John Waldron is President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs. Recent business reporting has described Waldron as a central senior leader in Goldman Sachs' leadership structure and succession planning.

Known for: senior operating leadership at Goldman Sachs.

Source: https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/goldman-sachs-president-john-waldron-promoted-to-board-34e2a5ae

14. Stephan Feldgoise

Stephan Feldgoise is a Goldman Sachs M&A leader. Business Insider's 2025 Rainmakers coverage described Feldgoise as global head of M&A at Goldman Sachs.

Known for: M&A leadership at Goldman Sachs.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/rainmakers-top-mergers-acquisitions-bankers-2024-goldman-sachs-jpmorgan-evercore-2025-2

Notable Voices Almost Included

The reserve pool should be built from first-party pages across Deloitte, KPMG, BDO, Grant Thornton, RSM, Houlihan Lokey, Lazard, Rothschild & Co, Evercore, Citi, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Alvarez & Marsal and FTI Consulting.

This list does not claim those people as featured entries. They should only move into a future featured set after a source page names the person, organisation and role together, with a clear current-role check.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

Do not treat visibility as merit.

Corporate finance has many public personalities, but a good list should not confuse media presence with the scale or quality of advisory work. The strongest evidence is still role, responsibility, deal leadership, published work, current organisational authority and clearly sourced outcomes.

Do not use one firm as the whole field.

EY-Parthenon and PwC were the easiest first-party captures in this short build, but the final article should not be dominated by one or two networks. A publishable version needs broader distribution across professional services firms, investment banks, independent advisory firms and restructuring specialists.

Do not overstate certainty.

Some people are obvious field leaders, but every role still needs current evidence. A name should not be included just because it is familiar.

Implementation Guide

Start with first-party corporate finance service pages.

The quickest safe route is to harvest official service pages, official people pages and official leadership pages. Each person needs a source that names the person, the organisation and the role together.

Then widen to adjacent labels.

Search for deals, M&A, transaction advisory, valuation, restructuring, financial advisory, investment banking and global advisory. Keep the final title honest if the published list uses the widened scope.

Finally, run a second pass.

Every featured entry should be re-fetched, checked for current role, checked against departure or successor evidence, and matched to the exact claims used in the entry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this list use 14 people rather than 50?

This list uses 14 because the field is broad and role labels vary across firms. A full 50-person version would need a much wider organisation harvest and a deeper second verification pass.

Are the Cincinnati names part of the article count?

No.

The Cincinnati names belong only to the LinkedIn companion post. They are not featured people in the article, not part of the title count, and not included in structured data.

Final Thoughts

Corporate finance leadership deserves careful handling.

The people on a list like this are attached to real organisations, real clients and real market outcomes. That is why even a fast draft needs sources and restraint.

About me: I am a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, certified through Patrick Lencioni's The Table Group, and the author of Step Up or Step Out. I work with leadership teams on trust, clarity, execution and decision-making. If that is useful for your team, you can reach me at jonno@consultclarity.org.