Top 50: Americas M&A Investment Bankers

“Distinction in Dealmaking”

Published exclusively by Global M&A Network, the 9th annual list profiles highly respected, successful, and innovative group of 50 investment bankers from the Americas mergers and acquisitions communities. 85 firms and 490 professionals were reviewed for the current A-list.

All transactions are truly a team effort, and inclusion in the A-list also validates the firms’ leadership and record of closing value-creating transactions irrespective of deal size. We have range of identifiable criteria for making the often-hard editorial decisions.

Congratulations: Top 50 M&A Investment Bankers, and the firm’s they represent!


Bruno Amaral

Bruno has over twenty-two years of experience in the investment banking industry. He joined BTG Pactual in 2009 from Credit Suisse. Previously, he worked at the investment banking divisions of BNP Paribas in São Paulo and Paris, Salomon Smith Barney (Citigroup) in São Paulo and New York.


Felipe Bittencourt

Felipe is responsible for the Mergers, Acquisition and Capital Market department. From 2008 to 2009, he was at UBS Pactual Gestora de Investimentos Alternativos, where he was responsible for sourcing, managing and analyzing investments in private and publicly traded companies. From 1998 to 2008 he was VP at JP Morgan’s Corporate Finance department initially in Brazil and, later on, in New York. Felipe is a winner of the prestigious “Investment Banker” accolade at the Americas M&A Atlas Awards (virtual 2020).


Ricardo Lacerda

Ricardo is a widely respected and an experienced dealmaker. Before founding BR Partners, he was Head of Citigroup's Investment Bank in Latin America (2007-2009) and Brazil (2005-2009). Previously, he worked at Goldman Sachs, where he held the positions of Chief Executive Officer in Brazil (2001-2005) and Vice President at Investment Banking in New York (1996-2001).


Rodrigo Mello

Rodrigo previously served as the Country Head for Brazil at Greenhill & Co, which he joined in February 2014. Before joining Greenhill, Rodrigo worked for 13 years at Goldman Sachs and was the Managing Director responsible for the financial institutions, consumer and retail sectors. He started his career at Banco Santander in 1997.


Gustavo Miranda

Gustavo a veteran dealmaker, was named the head of investment banking of Santander Brazil in 2019. He has advised on variety of transactions including mergers, acquisitions, as well as equity and debt related matters. Previously, he served as Head of Oil and Gas investment banking.


Pedro has more than 15 years of experience in mergers, acquisitions and related transactional matters. He joined Bradesco BBI in February 2013. Prior to joining Bradesco BBI, Pedro Quintão had significant work experiences including at Banco BBM, Bunge and Santander.


Thiago C. Rocha

Thiago has vast experience in mergers and acquisitions across variety of industries since 2002. He also serves as the Member of the Board of Directors of BR Properties since June 15, 2016. He joined GP Investments in 2013 as a member of the investment team. Before joining GP, Thiago was Head of MA and New Business of Globalbev.


James Sinclair

James leads Lincoln’s overall strategic and operational efforts in Brazil and manages the firm’s São Paulo office. He spearheads origination efforts and management of clients and institutional relationships in the region, leads deal teams and heads the office`s recruiting efforts. James has more than 35 years of experience originating, structuring and executing financing and buy-side, sell-side advisory as well as restructuring mandates.


José Ignacio Valdez

José brings over 17 years of experience in Investment Banking and Business Development and a successful track-record in M&A transaction origination and execution for Latin American and North American clients to this critical role at Scotiabank. He joined Scotiabank in 2013 as a Director on Peru's Investment Banking team. Prior to joining Scotiabank, José worked with the M&A team at another financial institution based in Toronto.