M&A advisory LAVA appoints five new hires

LAVA Advisory Partners, a London-based M&A advisory firm, has announced five new hires with the addition of three associate directors, an analyst and its first operations coordinator.

Felix Neate, Joseph Sharp and Sunil Samani have all joined LAVA as associate directors.

Neate trained in accountancy before joining PwC for four years, followed by almost five years at Coller Capital. In 2022, he entered the M&A sector as vice president of Dyer Baade and Company, where he honed his skills working with clients of all sectors and sizes, as well as developing a special interest in buy and build transactions. 

Sharp brings a wealth of experience in lower-mid market M&A, and spent five years with Highstead Partners, followed by nearly five years with KPMG, first in New Zealand and then in Australia. He joined LAVA on his return to the UK, bringing a global perspective to the team alongside his vast deal expertise.

Samani joined EY on an internship before going through the company’s graduate programme, and then spent several years working closely with private equity houses to rationalise their portfolios and transform their investments following the 2008 financial crash, before rejoining EY for a seven-year stint, holding senior positions in the company’s Strategy and Transactions team. 

Meanwhile, Cannelle Ramas joins LAVA as an analyst. Ramas moved to London from Paris, where she completed her Corporate Finance degree before completing several analyst internships across the M&A, venture capital and private equity industries. 

Most recently, joining at the start of February, Summer Bond has become LAVA’s first operations coordinator, heading up what is now LAVA’s third female-led department. Born in Tokyo and having lived in London, Athens, and Copenhagen before returning to the UK, Bond brings a range of professional experiences and a keen interest in the M&A sector as she joins the company to build its operations function from the ground up.

Simon Woodcock, partner, said: “As a small team, welcoming five new faces to LAVA has already had a massive impact. Each brings a unique set of experiences and perspectives, as well as fantastic enthusiasm which aligns perfectly with our human-centric approach to M&A. 

“Bolstering our team with new associate directors, adding a new analyst and bringing in our first ever ops coordinator is hugely exciting and ensures our growth is sustainable, our team is diverse, and our clients receive the best possible results. We’re delighted to have Felix, Joseph, Sunil, Cannelle and Summer with us, and we look forward to seeing how their skills and personalities help drive us forward over the months and years to come.”