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Leadership Team

Team with an average of 25 years of transaction experience amongst the deal professionals, spanning M&A, capital raising, public and private transitions and C-level corporate development leadership.

MAX

Prilutsky

Founding Partner

CHRIS

Novak

Founding Partner

MIKE

Alpert

Managing Director

TIM

Lee

Managing Director

JEREMY

Smith

Vice President

JOHN

Carton

Senior Advisor

GEORGE

Diamond

Senior Advisor

ROB

Driscoll

Senior Advisor

Alex

Koles

Senior Advisor

ROB

Marks

Senior Advisor

Max Prilutsky is the founder and Managing Partner of Roadmap Advisors, a niche mergers and acquisitions firm serving family office, private equity, corporate and individual buyers who invest in privately-owned businesses. The firm partners with its clients to pursue thesis-driven investment strategies across various industries in the lower middle market.

During his career, Max has successfully started, advised, acquired and sold businesses across a broad range of sizes and industries.


Prior to Roadmap Advisors, Max was a partner of an investment partnership that focused on established companies with $5 million to $50 million in revenue in cause-driven sectors such as education & training; environmental, food & agricultural sustainability; and health & wellness. Prior to that, Max ran a consulting practice advising family offices, and was the co-founder of a venture-backed education technology start-up. Prior to that, he was a private equity investor with Gryphon Investors, where he pursued investments in healthcare, education and general industries, and was an investment banker in Merrill Lynch’s mergers & acquisitions practice, where he helped advise on M&A transactions between large, publicly-traded companies.

Max holds a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from UCLA, and an MBA from The Wharton School.​

Chris Novak is a Managing Partner of Roadmap Advisors, and has been a trusted advisor to private and public companies, family offices, and funds for nearly 20 years.


Chris is an experienced deal-maker and has successfully completed hundreds of M&A, capital raise, and other advisory engagement clients throughout the U.S. and overseas. He has particular expertise working on the most complicated transactions, including multi-party deals, cross-border transactions, turnarounds, capital structure reorgs, hostile shareholder negotiations, forensic analysis, fairness opinions, and high-profile litigation.


He has substantial experience working with companies in the basic materials, software, healthcare, business / government services, and diversified manufacturing sectors.


His ability to create value for companies goes beyond his experience as an investment banker. Chris began his career as a corporate consultant with PwC, helping his clients navigate significant strategic and equity / debt capital challenges during the dotcom bust. At Charter Communications, a Fortune 500 media and telecommunications company, he led the acquisition and investment activities for a division with $1 billion in annual revenue. He subsequently joined McGladrey Capital Markets and then Burnham Securities, where he was known for his ability to close even the most challenging deals. Throughout his career he has applied careful, fact-based analysis and used his substantial relationships with venture capital firms, private equity firms and large corporations to help his clients maximize their values.

Chris is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has served on the boards of numerous companies. He is a frequent lecturer and leads seminars on M&A, valuation and due diligence. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree from the Honors College at the University of Arizona.

Mike Alpert has more than twenty five years in management, finance and strategy along with those of his diverse network of seasoned executives to help clients identify solutions to strategic and/or financial issues and then drive detailed but practical execution plans to achieve desired results.  Mike has unique experience in assuming general partner responsibilities for private equity funds whose investments consist of a mix of equity and/or debt in stable, turnaround, and distressed situations. He has represented the funds on portfolio company boards and has also retained others to serve as directors.

Mike’s experience also includes nearly a decade at E-Trade Financial Corporation where he was a Senior Director in its Corporate Development group.  While at E-Trade, Mike served the firm’s global portfolio of operating companies through the sourcing, analysis, evaluation, execution, and provision of leadership on all aspects of strategic initiatives, acquisitions, direct investments and dispositions.

Earlier in his career, Mike worked at Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Mellon Financial Corporation.

Mike holds a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and an MBA from The University of North Carolina.

Tim Lee is an experienced business executive and financial professional. Tim’s role on the Roadmap Advisors team is focused on advising clients on both buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions as well as pre-exit planning.

Prior to joining Roadmap, Lee was the founder of Selective, a company dedicated to using data analytics to transform how healthcare candidates and employers find one another. Lee has shifted his focus to M&A and investment in real estate and high growth companies following a successful exit from the private wealth management company he co-founded. With a deep background in financial analysis and planning, he brings a unique perspective to the M&A process. 

An alumnus of the London School of Economics, he holds degrees in Economics, International Relations and Financial Planning.

Jeremy Smith is an accomplished financial professional with extensive experience in domestic and cross-border transactions spanning numerous sectors. He has advised and analyzed companies ranging from early-stage startups to multibillion dollar public companies.

Prior to joining Roadmap, Jeremy led a small M&A team focused on cross-border transactions in emerging markets. Prior to that, Jeremy worked for U.Group, where he created the Trusted Capital Marketplace, a Private Equity/Venture Capital initiative by the Department of Defense. Prior to that, Jeremy worked at Citigroup as a Latin American focused equities analyst. Jeremy started his career as an officer in the Navy where he deployed to the Baltic Sea, the Horn of Africa, and Iraq.

Jeremy is an angel investor in the EdTech, Consumer, and AgTech sectors.

Jeremy holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Catholic University, and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.

John Carton

John Carton is a senior investment banker and deal strategist with more than 30 years’ experience in corporate alliances, M&A, cross-border transactions, equity and debt placements, alternative channels of financing, buyouts, recapitalizations, turnaround strategies, business valuation, expert financial opinions and testimony, and other strategic and financial solutions.

He has served as an executive of a publicly-traded company and as trusted investment banking advisor to owners and management of middle-market companies – striving to understand the unique values and know-how of each business, offering creative solutions, and providing advice that often transcends a single deal.

John has substantial experience in media, communications, healthcare, consumer packaging, transportation/logistics, food products, building materials, business services and manufacturing.

He has been selected for numerous board seats with corporations and not-for-profit organizations and published and taught in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, buyouts, strategic alliances and cross-border transactions. John holds an MBA from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University. He has been chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hoff Barthelson Music School and president of Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester.

George Diamond

George Diamond is an experienced securities attorney and a pioneer of the alternative public offering transaction wherein either domestic or foreign privately held enterprises gain access to the public capital markets of the United States. George has decades of transaction experience all over the world and a significant roster of middle market clients spanning China, Mexico and Latin America.

With over 25 years of experience, George has advised a large and diverse group of NYSE, NASDAQ and OTC listed companies on capital raising, M&A, and regulatory compliance matters. Since 2005, he has served as a Principal of and General Counsel for HFG Capital Investments, LLC, an international financial advisory services group.

HFG’s clients include major players and emerging companies across a variety of industries including, but not limited to, manufacturing, infra-structure, services, energy, finance, and biotech. As part of the HFG team, George has sponsored and spoken at multiple national and international conferences regarding alternative methods of securing public capital.

George received both his bachelor’s and J.D. degrees from Southern Methodist University.

Rob Driscoll

Rob Driscoll is a tenured private equity and family office investor with over 25 years of experience acquiring, managing and successfully exiting private company investments.

Rob is the Founder and Managing Principal of Driscoll Holdings. He was previously a Managing Principal at Striker Partners, responsible for the sourcing, structuring, closing, oversight and exit of numerous successful Private Equity investments.
Prior to joining Striker, Rob ran Mellon Ventures’ Philadelphia office. Before Mellon Ventures, Rob was President & CEO of Star Anchors & Fasteners, where he directed its successful turnaround in bankruptcy. Prior to Star, he was a Principal at DSP, a private equity group focused on leverage buyouts of firms emerging from bankruptcy. Before DSP, Rob was with the Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group where he focused on strategic and implementation issues, and operational turnarounds of troubled companies. Prior to business school, he completed the First National Bank of Boston’s credit training program and worked in the Restructuring Division. Rob also worked in the firm’s High Technology Division both in Boston, MA and in Silicon Valley where he financed companies in a variety of technology industries.

Rob has been a guest lecturer for the Finance Department at the Wharton School, and is the former Treasurer and Board Member of the Philadelphia Association for Corporate Growth (ACG). In addition to serving on two non-profit Boards, Rob is a current or former Director of Breckenridge Brewery, Business Express Airlines, Clipper Ten, LLC, Fairmount Automation, Inc., InterLine Brands, Inc., LaserGrade, LP, Orchids Paper Products, (NYSE "TIS"), RealWinWin, Inc., Recirculation Technologies, Inc, Four Stripes ETF (Nasdaq "TTTN") where he serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee and Touchstone Wireless LP. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Rob holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont, with Honors, and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Alex Koles is a trusted advisor to companies and investors at the intersection of technology and finance.   He is the CEO, Founder and Managing Director of Evolve Capital Partners, where he has supervised over $400 million of M&A and financing transactions since the firm’s inception in 2012. Alex has over 15 years of investment banking advisory experience and works with numerous regional and multinational companies in the financial technology space. He is also a sought-after speaker at conferences where he educates investors and large companies on the FinTech sector. Alex has been involved in over 30 successful transactions and advisory engagements.

Prior to founding Evolve Capital Partners, Alex worked at several leading investment banks and advisory firms, including BDO, Houlihan Lokey and Merrill Lynch. His restructuring career began at BDO where he provided restructuring advisory and transaction services for distressed companies and their stakeholders, often operating under compressed timelines and with complex capital structures. At Merrill Lynch, Alex advised on many large cap transactions in a variety of sectors in his role as an investment banker.

Alex holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Macalester College.

Rob Marks is a Managing Partner of Tomlinson Advisory Group. As a fellow entrepreneur and a former partner in the Private Equity and Venture Capital Groups of Kirkland & Ellis and McGuireWoods, Rob guided his clients through complicated legal and contractual issues through some of the most important events in their lives, including mergers and acquisitions, investments in growth companies and other transactions.

A graduate of both Harvard Law School (magna cum laude) and Princeton University, Rob has the foundational knowledge paired with over 25 years of practice experience. Rob has expertise in Mergers and Acquisitions, ​Investments (Co-investments and Minority), Raising Capital (Debt or Equity), Partnerships and Joint Venture Agreements, Intellectual Property Protection (Assignments), Contract Law, Employment Law, Business Formation (LLCs, Corporations and Partnerships), Stock Option Plans and Other Employee Compensation Arrangements, Before establishing Tomlinson Advisory Group, Rob worked with McGuireWoods LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LP.