We Drive Value

As You Take Your Business To The Next Step In Its Evolution

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Our mission

More value from the business you’ve built.

Your next stage starts with understanding what your business can become.

North Coast Capital Advisors is a boutique investment banking firm based in Northbrook, Illinois. We help business owners uncover hidden value and evaluate their options, bringing financial analysis and operational experience to the decisions ahead.

Our goal is to help you create value and choose a path that supports your business objectives.

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Our services

Business Restructuring

Restore profitability and strengthen your business operations.

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Return your business to a profitable, competitive position. Our restructuring management professionals review the management team, analyze the business cost structure, review business operations and execute a SWOT analysis to identify the underlying problems. A long term strategic plan &  restructuring plan is then created and implemented, reviewed and modified until the business is operating at optimal efficiency and profitability.

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Strategic Asset Sale / Acquisition

Find the right buyer or assets for your next stage.

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North Coast has the skill and experience to assist the seller in securing a fair price through a sale of its strategic assets in a non-distressed and/or liquidation situation. While also wielding, resources and experience to assist buyers in identifying the strategic assets they require to expand their current operation.

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Strategy Advisory

Strengthen your strategic and competitive position.

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We work to strengthen & enhance your company’s strategic and competitive position.

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Financial Advisory

Make informed decisions about cash, costs, and capital.

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We evaluate & optimize your company’s financial condition with thought leadership of a CFO. Our  services  focus on any or all of the following:  

• Cash management  
• Capital structure  
• Budgeting  
• Forecasting & business modeling  
• Pricing & cost analysis

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Navigate buying or selling a business with experienced guidance.

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A  full service  buy-side & sell-side advisory to companies in the lower middle market place. Our approach is project based, and focused on finding the right counter party. We meet with you to:

• Understand your needs
• Provide  a full business review
• Develop a marketing campaign
• Negotiate & close the  transaction

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Corporate Finance

Identify funding sources to support growth and acquisitions.

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Adequate capitalization and liquidity are an essential component to any acquisition or to growing your business and/or taking advantage of opportunities. We assist our clients by identifying the best funding sources, including conventional and SBA financing and by assisting them through the entire process.

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Our approach

A strategy for
your next stage.

The experience that helped you build your business is a foundation for what comes next.

Selling a business or acquiring another brings a different set of decisions. We work with you to identify hidden value, improve efficiency and profitability, and shape a strategy around your objectives.

Talk through your next step
Ocean waves reaching the shore

Experience to help you navigate.

Just as a ship’s captain brings aboard a harbor pilot, we bring specialized experience to help guide your business through its next transition.

The North Coast Team

David Gronski

David Gronski

President

Dave brings 30 years of diversified management experience, with expertise in finance, business operations, and complex transactions.

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Dave brings 30 years of diversified management experience & knowledge,  structuring complex  business  transactions. Based upon his involvement in over  $5 Billion in multinational transactions in 11 countries, he is able to uncover solutions to challenges through his expertise in finance & business operations.  He understands a business owner's passion and  structures  fair transactions.

CPA (Certified Public Accountant)
CCM (Certified Cash Management)
MBA, with Honors from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management
BS Finance from Northern Illinois University

Patrick Backes

Patrick Backes

Business Development Manager

Patrick brings experience in management, sales, and business development, with a focus on servant leadership and client relationships.

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Patrick has worked in various management, director, and sales positions over the last 16 years and is the newest member of the North Coast Team. He is passionate about servant leadership and finding win-win opportunities for our clients. Patrick has led teams ranging from 5 - 45 people and is well versed in planning, implementing, and executing short to long term goals to accomplish the mission at hand. He is eager to serve our wide range of clientele with excellence and will be a great strength to North Coast Capital Advisors. Some of Patrick's recent roles include Director of Development for Align Ministries, Communications and Relations Manager at Igniting Hope Ministries, Sales at Nicor Gas, and Sales & Management at View 202. He recently graduated from a Leadership Development oriented ministry school, and will be pursuing his College Degree and CMAA certification as he begins work for us.

David Levin

David Levin

Senior M&A Advisor

David draws on more than 30 years as a practicing attorney advising lower middle market business owners.

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David has over 30 years of experience, as a practicing attorney, advising lower middle market business owners & representing them in business and real estate manners and litigation. During these decades, he has developed the skill of quickly understanding a business & the issues confronting it. David identifies issues including those not apparent from financial information and formulates potential solutions. He has built a network of relationships in legal, accounting, & business communities that provide him with information concerning potential sellers and buyers before the information is available to the general public.

J.D. Cleveland Marshall Law School
BA Political Science Ohio State University

Kathy Marinangel

Kathy Marinangel

M&A Advisor

Kathy brings more than 30 years of experience in banking, board governance, strategic planning, and business development.

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Kathy is a seasoned professional with more than 30 years of comprehensive expertise in all aspects of banking and board governance. Ms. Marinangel helps mid-sized businesses develop strategic business plans and partnership opportunities and is able to assist with mergers and acquisitions emphasizing strategic planning, operations management and business development. She has conducted due diligence for a large bank stock purchase, conducted a call program to over 500 national banks finding a selling national charter, developed a liquidity policy for a $90 B life and annuity insurance company, conducted a compensation study for a bank to determine C-suite salary suitability.
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Previous
President, CEO & Chairman of the Board | McHenry Bancorp, Inc. and McHenry Savings Bank.
Served on the boards of National American Community Bankers, National American Bankers Association, and Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago boards as well as various State banking and trade associations.
Gubernatorial appointee to the Illinois Board of Saving Institutions
Advisor to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Allen Greenspan for two years
BS from the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana
Series 7 and 63 | Licensed Illinois Registered Broker Realtor with Keller Williams Success Realty in Barrington - ABR certification
Past registered broker at Pickwick Capital Partners LLC in New York
Private Pilots License

Howard Kaufman

Howard Kaufman

Director of Business Intelligence & Turnaround Management

Howard specializes in operations, business intelligence, and turnaround management, drawing on over 40 years of experience.

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Howard has over 40 successful years’ experience as an Operations Executive,
Turnaround Manager, Crisis Consultant and Business Intelligence provider. He has directed
turnarounds for a number of companies in vastly divergent industries and has the skills to
evaluate an organization and drill down to the root cause of performance issues. He can mine the
company’s own data to identify areas with improvement potential and then develop automated
metrics to track progress as well as providing management with tools for daily prioritization and
decision making.
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BS Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison
MBA Financial Management and Statistics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Lawrence Taylor

Lawrence Taylor

M&A Advisor / Operations Specialist

Lawrence combines experience in manufacturing operations, real estate development, and bank lending to identify operational improvements.

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Lawrence applies over 25 years of combined experience in Manufacturing Operations, Real Estate Development and Bank Lending.  Lawrence is a Six Sigma certified process engineer and has a track record of identifying and reducing production cost and operational inefficiencies.  In the Banking world, Lawrence has dealt closely with Lending Operations and Investor Guidelines to comply with Institutional and Private Lending.  Lawrence eventually combined his knowledge and skills as Founder/CEO of Covenant Investment Group, Inc. - a Real Estate and Business Development Company with a passion for working with Entrepreneurs.

Lean Six Sigma Certified
BS Industrial Technology, Iowa State University

Mark Huntzinger, MBA

Mark Huntzinger, MBA

M&A Advisor / Technology Go-To-Market Strategy & Implementation

Mark brings more than 25 years of experience in technology, product introductions, business development, and go-to-market strategy.

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Mark is a technology product and business executive with 25+ years of experience in a breadth of industries at companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500.  He has led hundreds of successful product introductions in his career resulting in over $100 million in incremental revenue on base revenue of $1B.  Mark has also built and managed several large, distributed, world-wide organizations.  Mark has started his own company, worked and consulted on several other start-ups, and has a passion for leading high-growth revenue initiatives.  He has an extensive background including business development, sales, product management, engineering, P&L management, M&A, and customer service.  Operational skills include marketing/branding, life-cycle management, lean development processes, product specifications, roadmap development, customer/technical liaison, sales tools, and requirement development.
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B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School

Common questions

About working with North Coast

What does North Coast Capital Advisors do?

North Coast Capital Advisors is a boutique investment banking firm. Our services include mergers and acquisitions, business restructuring, strategic asset sales and acquisitions, strategy advisory, financial advisory, and corporate finance.

Explore our services

Do you advise both buyers and sellers?

Yes. North Coast provides buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory to lower middle market companies. Our work includes understanding your needs, reviewing the business, developing a marketing campaign, and negotiating and closing the transaction.

Can you help before a business is ready to sell?

Yes. Our strategy, financial advisory, and restructuring services help business owners evaluate their options, improve operations, and plan their next stage. Corporate finance services help identify funding sources for growth and acquisitions.

Where is North Coast based, and how can I get in touch?

North Coast Capital Advisors is based at 555 Skokie Blvd., Suite 500, Northbrook, Illinois 60062. Call +1 312-259-5876 or send a message to discuss your business.

Contact North Coast

Let’s talk about
your business.

Whether you’re planning a sale, exploring an acquisition, or looking ahead, we’re ready to help you take the next step.

Prefer a conversation?

+1 312-259-5876
North Coast Capital Advisors Ltd.
555 Skokie Blvd. Suite 500
Northbrook, IL 60062

How can we help?

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