Scott Adelson

Scott Adelson
File:File:ScottAdelson1.jpg
Born	1960 Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Education	University of Chicago University of Southern California
Occupation	American investment banker and entrepreneur
Employer	Houlihan Lokey
Title	Co-President of Houlihan Lokey Member of the Board of Directors
Website
https://www.scottadelson.com/

Scott Adelson (born c. 1960) is an American investment banker and entrepreneur and has been the Co-President of Houlihan Lokey since 2013. He is the global Co-Head of Houlihan Lokey’s Corporate Finance business and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. Adelson has worked for Houlihan Lokey since 1987 and specializes in corporate finance, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and the issuance of debt and equity capital. He works out of Houlihan Lokey’s headquarters in Los Angeles, California.

Early life and education

Scott Adelson was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Adelson studied at the University of Southern California and graduated with a B.S. in Business and Entrepreneurship in 1984. He then earned his Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing in 1987 from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

Prior to receiving his MBA, Adelson began his entrepreneurship by starting two businesses in the apparel and food sectors. After some success, he subsequently sold the businesses and pivoted to investment banking, joining Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin in 1987. Today, he still owns a number of middle market businesses in those same sectors.

Career

Early career

After joining Houlihan Lokey, Adelson was named a Senior Associate within the first three years. He slowly but steadily moved up the ranks in his department and was named Global Co-Head of Corporate Finance in 2000 and Senior Managing Director for the entire firm in 2006. Finally, in 2013, he was named Co-President of Houlihan Lokey, his current position.

Career and key acquisitions at Houlihan Lokey

As Co-President, Scott Adelson has overseen more than 500 transactions.

Scott Adelson has also been a large factor in driving the growth of Houlihan Lokey and a number of their corresponding acquisitions. Below is a list of some of those key acquisitions:

• In March 2014, Houlihan Lokey acquired independent investment banking firm ArchPoint Partners, which focused heavily on the technology sector.
• In 2015, Houlihan Lokey acquired digital media and entertainment focused investment bank MESA Securities.
• Also in 2015, Houlihan Lokey acquired the operations of the Continental European investment bank Leonardo & Co.
• In January 2018, Houlihan Lokey acquired corporate finance and analytics specialist Quayle Munro, which specializes in corporate finance advice.
• In October 2019, Houlihan Lokey acquired Freeman & Co., a New York-based independent advisory firm that provides a range of advisory services to financial institution clients.
• In November 2019, Houlihan Lokey acquired Fidentiis Capital, which provides corporate finance services and specializes on the mid-cap market in Spain, growing the Houlihan Lokey’s Corporate Finance business in Europe.
• In August 2020, the firm acquired MVP Capital, an independent advisory firm that provides a range of advisory services to clients in the technology, media, and telecom (TMT) sector.
• In July 2021, Houlihan Lokey acquired Baylor Klein, which specializes in providing M&A and corporate finance to the beauty, personal care, and household sectors.
• In December 2021, Houlihan Lokey acquired technology firm GCA Corporation, the firm’s largest acquisition to date, expanding the Houlihan Lokey’s presence in Europe and Asia by adding 500 employees and 24 locations.

Media appearances

Scott Adelson has made several media appearances representing Houlihan Lokey as Co-President and Co-Head of Corporate Finance.

Shortly after Houlihan Lokey’s IPO in 2015, the company opened a new office in Sydney, Australia, after which Adelson was interviewed by The Australian. He said, “Following the success of recent Australian mandates in our corporate finance and financial restructuring businesses, we came to the conclusion that there is a growing need for experienced, independent advisers, the resources of a global platform, and access to unique alternative capital pools.”

In 2017, Scott Adelson was interviewed by the Financial Times, where he spoke about the growth of Houlihan Lokey over the past 40 years.

In December 2021, he appeared on Bloomberg, where he spoke about Houlihan Lokey’s restructuring revenue and growth in connection with debt issues in the energy industry and how retail could easily go a similar way.

In May 2020, Scott Adelson spoke to Bloomberg about Houlihan Lokey’s business model and why it has been resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2021, he and colleague Andreas Dombret spoke with German business newspaper Handelsblatt about their views on monetary policy, the outlook for SPACs, and the significance of incentivizing young investment bankers after the particularly tense year during the pandemic.

Early in January 2022, Scott Adelson was interviewed by Spanish economic and business newspaper Expansión, where he spoke about Houlihan Lokey’s growing presence in Spain and the expected continuation of high M&A activity despite the recent presence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Other activities

Scott Adelson is an active board member of various public and private companies, including Motor Cars of America, and QAD Inc. He is also on the Advisory Council for the Lloyd Grief Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. Previously, he was member of the Board of Trustees of Semester at Sea, which Adelson himself was a part of while at USC.

Currently, Scott Adelson also sits on the Board of Trustees of Adelson Foundations. He started the nonprofit in 2016 with the creation of 7Sherpas, which aims to support Sherpas globally and empower children in South East Asia. Adelson Foundations received official 501(c)3 non-profit status through a fiscal sponsorship by Angels for Angels.

Adelson is also a member of YPO/WPO.

External links

• Official website
• Scott Adelson on LinkedIn