Alton Irby

Mr. Irby is a co-founder of London Bay Capital and is a seasoned executive with a highly successful track record in the financial services and investment banking industries. Mr. Irby sold his Southeastern-based Insurance Brokerage, A.F. Irby & Co. to Fred S James/Transamerica. In 1981 Irby acquired Wigham Poland, a Lloyds Broker/Underwriter in London for Transamerica, and moved to the UK to become its Chairman. After merging this business in 1985 with a dominant UK broker, Sedgwick, Plc., Irby became Deputy Chairman of Sedgwick forming the largest international insurance broker, a post he held until 1988 when he left to become a founding partner of the London-based investment banking boutique Hambro Magan Irby. During its eight years of independence, it became one of the most successful M&A boutiques in Europe, advising on over $50 billion of transactions. In late 1996, Hambro Magan Irby was sold to National Westminster Bank (“NatWest”). After the sale, Irby became Chairman/CEO of the NatWest Global Investment Banking Advisory business and also had executive responsibility for Coutts & Co., as well as NatWest’s leveraged lending business to the private equity community.

In 2001, NatWest was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland. At that point, Irby led his management team in buying back the investment banking business from NatWest, renaming it Hawkpoint Partners, where he was Chairman and Chief Executive. He subsequently sold Hawkpoint to Collins Stewart PLC in 2003. Following that sale, he founded Tricorn Partners, another highly successful M&A boutique and focused advisory firm. Tricorn Partners was subsequently sold to Nomura Securities. In 2006 he moved to San Francisco where he co-founded London Bay Capital, a Private Equity Firm.

In addition to his M&A advisory work, Irby has acted as a senior external advisor to many Chairmen, CEOs, and Boards of both public and private companies in complex settings. He was a director of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:) for 17 years and was Chairman of its Compensation Committee and Finance Committee. He was also Chairman of the UK-listed ContentFilm (LONDON AIM: CFL) and served on the boards of directors for Thomas Weisel Partners (NYSE), Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF), Fred S. James and Company (NYSE), Wigham Poland PLC, Winchester PLC ( London AIM), HBOC Corporation (NYSE), Sedgwick Group PLC (London AIM), Georgia Causality and Surety (NYSE), Aiken Hume PLC (London AIM), Centaur Communications PLC (London AIM), Edmiston, Lion Capital, and Catlin Group Limited PLC (London AIM).