WHO WE ARE
Our Team.
The strength and experience of Bardi Co. professionals are the foundation of the firm’s success. Our senior advisors have many years of combined experience handling complex and strategic transactions in a variety of industries and share a great passion for excellence, leadership and integrity. The team's comprehensive expertise ranges from middle market transactions to worldwide corporate financial advisory services. The emphasis we place on making a connection with every client is what makes Bardi Co. a trusted advisor beyond a single engagement.
Leadership.
DR CHRIS MANFRE
PARTNER & FINOP
Dr. Manfre’s experience includes serving as a financial advisor and strategic consultant to both domestic and international corporations as related to merger, acquisition, divestiture, joint venture, corporate restructuring, and financing transactions. Before joining Bardi Co., Dr. Manfre led the corporate valuation practice at Marshall & Stevens in the Los Angeles office. He began his financial services career with Standard & Poor’s CVC in Los Angeles. Dr. Manfre holds a BA in political science from the University of Florence, in Florence, Italy, an MBA in finance from the Drucker School of Management, an MA in Economics from Claremont Graduate University and a PhD also in economics from Claremont Graduate University, California. He holds the Series 24, 28, 7, 79, and 63 FINRA Licenses. Dr. Manfre is a visiting professor at Graziadio Business School, Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, where he teaches M&A and business valuation at the MBA level.
We Have to Think of Our Clients’ Enterprises as if They Were Our Own.”
PETER TAMNY
PARTNER
Mr. Tamny has spent his entire business career in the investment banking field in Los Angeles. He initially joined Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. in 1973. From 1981 to 1986, he managed the Los Angeles investment banking office of Blyth Eastman-Paine Webber and, from 1986 to 1990 held the same position with Lehman Brothers. He has served as a corporate director on the Boards of Cherokee Group, SNAP Communications and Phillips Plywood. Mr. Tamny currently serves on the Board of Directors of the USS Pasadena Foundation and a past Director of Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles and Mayfield Senior School (also President.) Mr. Tamny is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration (HBS). He currently is a Trustee of the HBS Association of Southern California’s Scholarship Committee. He served as a submariner in the Navy’s Nuclear Powered Fleet Ballistic Missile force and has completed 22 years of Active and Reserve Naval service, retiring in 1989 as a Commander.
PETER BROCKETT
PARTNER
Mr. Brockett began his career in investment banking with Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. He subsequently managed the West Coast merger and acquisition activity for Security Pacific Bank, before becoming Vice President and Treasurer of Pacific Enterprises, a $7 billion, diversified holding company. Prior to starting Brockett Tamny & Co., Mr. Brockett managed the West Coast Corporate Group and West Coast Energy Merchant Bank for Bankers Trust Company. Mr. Brockett currently serves on the Board of Foundation Energy Company, a Dallas, TX based institutional money management firm. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Duke University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
ANDREA VELATI
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Mr. Velati has spent most of his career advising middle market companies on corporate finance matters including strategic assessments, turnarounds, and M&A. He is a Managing Director at Bardi Co., representing the firm in the Italian market. Mr. Velati began his career at Reconta, Ernst & Young, then later moved to join METRO Cash & Carry. At METRO, Andrea worked in Italy, Switzerland, France, and Germany as the Head of Internal Audit and Continuous Improvement, then served as the CEO’s Executive, in which he was responsible for managing projects of Marketing Practices collaborations between countries and International Business Development in the Far East, East Europe, and South America. After his time at METRO, Mr. Velati held a variety of positions at several privately held firms including: Head of Strategic Development, General Manager, CEO and Management Consultant in small and medium-sized enterprises, managing projects of turnaround, change management, M&A, and International Development. Mr. Velati graduated in Economics from the University of Pavia in Italy.
SYLVIA BLOUNT
DIRECTOR
Ms. Blount has been advising middle market companies on M&A and capital raises for over 7 years. She brings a unique blend of financial acumen and athletic prowess, having secured numerous national and world championships in the sport of rowing. Ms. Blount started her career in finance at Fortune 500 company ING Transamerica as a financial analyst in the wealth management division. During her time at Bardi Co., Ms. Blount has managed domestic and cross-border M&A deals totaling over $600 million of transaction value. Ms. Blount's achievements in the financial industry were acknowledged in 2022, when she was named "Investment Banker to Watch" by ACG nationwide. She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles California, where she earned a BS in finance. Ms. Blount holds the FINRA Series 79 and 63 Licenses.
KEVIN GHORM
DIRECTOR
Mr. Ghorm has extensive corporate finance, valuation, and M&A experience. Prior to Bardi Co., Mr. Ghorm worked for Sony Pictures in the in-house M&A division, where he focused on the acquisition of television networks and production companies around the world. Prior to Sony, Mr. Ghorm worked as an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Credit Suisse First Boston, and Lehman Brothers. His valuation experience includes evaluating and managing corporate finance and M&A transactions in healthcare, technology, telecommunications, manufacturing, and media & entertainment. In addition, Mr. Ghorm has analyzed a variety of private equity-related transactions with an aggregate deal value of over $2 billion. Mr. Ghorm holds the Series 24 and 7 FINRA license, a BA in Politics from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was also the recipient of the prestigious Richard Jenrette full-tuition fellowship.
DR WILFRED DAYE
SENIOR ADVISOR
Dr. Daye is a portfolio manager and head quant for an alternative investments organization in NY, specializing in fiat and digital currencies, and their derivatives. Previously, Dr. Daye has worked at UBS as an Executive Director in Structured Financing Trading. He was responsible for portfolio construction and risk management of securitized product collaterals, including CMBS, RMBS, CLO, Mezz CRE Loans, ABS, and CDO's. Prior to joining UBS, Dr. Daye was a counterparty risk quant for Deutsche Bank. He began his career in financial services at Lehman Brothers' CMBS desk. Dr. Daye holds a PhD from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and a MS in Financial Engineering form the Drucker School of Management, Claremont California. He is licensed Series 24, 7 and 63 (inactive).
Board of Advisors.
PETER ANDREYEV
BOARD MEMBER
Mr. Andreyev has held management and executive positions with General Electric, IBM, and Hitachi. He has also served on the boards of six companies, including four as chairman. Prior to joining Bardi Co., Mr. Andreyev was the Vice President of Asia Pacific for both IBM and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. Mr. Andreyev is globally recognized as an expert in conducting business in the Asian Pacific region. For the past fourteen years, he has lived in Taiwan, and mainland China. His expertise makes him a sought-after speaker for conferences and events, and he has authored numerous published articles. Mr. Andreyev has conducted business in Australia, China, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, the United States, Taiwan, Thailand, and Viet Nam. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an MS in Management from Stanford University.
DR CLEMENS KOWNATZKI
BOARD MEMBER
Dr. Clemens Kownatzki has been an executive in the financial services industry for well over two decades. His experience ranges from management positions in brokerage and treasury operations to advising corporate as well as retail clients with a focus on managing their risk effectively. He has also been an active investor in options and derivatives markets. Having lived and worked in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the U.S., his investments range from equity to international capital and currency markets.
In 2010, he joined Pepperdine University and is currently Assistant Professor of Finance. In 2020, he became the Department Chair of Accounting, Finance and Real Estate. During his tenure, he was Academic Director of the MS Applied Finance program from 2017-2019. In 2016, he received a prestigious research grant from the Chicago Mercantile Group Foundation. He also authored the book Money Music 101, which is the foundation for a personal finance class at LA College of Music.
Dr. Kownatzki earned his PhD in Economics and Management from Claremont Graduate University. He also holds an MBA degree from the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.
DR DAVID OFFENBERG
BOARD MEMBER
Dr. Offenberg is a finance professor in the College of Business Administration at Loyola Marymount University where he specializes in corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, executive compensation, entertainment finance, and pensions. His research has appeared in the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Corporate Finance, and Financial Management. Dr. Offenberg teaches innovative courses in theoretical and applied corporate finance, entertainment finance and founded the annual California Corporate Finance Conference (hosted by LMU) and Purdue Alumni Summer Conference. Dr. Offenberg is also a recipient of numerous teaching and research awards. Prior to joining the faculty, Dr. Offenberg was a 401(k) research analyst for Watson Wyatt and Co. He received a PhD in finance and a BS in industrial management from Purdue University.