The Benchmark Company Expands its Technology M&A Focus with Leadership Hires

NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Benchmark Company, LLC (“Benchmark”), an institutionally focused research, sales & trading, and investment banking firm, is pleased to announce the addition of two senior banking professionals. Derek Wittenberg and Dmitry Netis, both Managing Directors, Investment Banking, are establishing and leading the firm’s Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) M&A vertical. The creation of the TMT M&A team and its planned build-out further expand the firm's ability to provide exceptional advisory services to emerging and middle-market companies. Based in New York City, Derek and Dmitry will serve as Co-Heads of Technology Banking and work with Benchmark’s banking team to strengthen the firm’s advisory capabilities in the TMT space.

"Benchmark is committed to continually building upon our existing platform in order to provide the most comprehensive M&A and capital markets advisory offerings possible," said Benchmark's Founder, President & CEO, Richard Messina. "Technology is reshaping all of our clients' industries and represents a significant opportunity for their differentiation and growth. We are excited to welcome Derek and Dmitry to the firm and know that their significant industry experience and professional networks provide the ideal base from which Benchmark can launch its next chapter of growth in this important sector."

With nearly 55 years of combined technology industry, M&A advisory, and public and private financing experience, Derek and Dmitry have advised domestic and international clients on a variety of transactions in the areas of Enterprise Software/SaaS, Vertical SaaS, Cybersecurity, Cloud Native/DevOps, Cloud Communications and Customer Engagement, Telecom Network Infrastructure, Mobility and Digital Media, as well as other sectors.

Mr. Wittenberg brings to Benchmark over 30 years of investment banking experience advising growth stage technology companies, most recently as a managing director at Progress Partners and, prior to that, as co-founder of Ion Partners. Over his career, he has worked extensively in the Enterprise, Digital Infrastructure, and Telecom sectors and advised on a wide variety of sell-side M&A, buy-side M&A and capital-raising transactions. Derek began his investment banking career at Lehman Brothers. He graduated from Yale’s School of Management with a Masters’ in Public and Private Management (M.P.P.M.) and holds a B.A. from Amherst College.

Mr. Netis has a wealth of experience in the advisory, equity research, and strategy areas over the past 25 years. Prior to joining Benchmark, he served as Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Corporate Development with AudioCodes, Ltd, a publicly traded digital infrastructure provider. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Q Advisors, a boutique M&A firm, where he led deal sourcing and business development. Before moving to investment banking, Dmitry was a senior research analyst for over a decade at William Blair & Company and later a Managing Director at Stephens, where he led the expansion of its technology equity research platform. He earned his M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, M.E. from Cornell University, and B.S.E.E. with distinction from the University of Rochester.

“We are excited to join the Benchmark banking team to strengthen the firm’s investment banking focus in this important sector. While our firm already has a strong footprint in the TMT sector, we are enthusiastic to bring an expanded array of strategic and advisory solutions to innovative technology companies in the Benchmark universe,” said Messrs. Wittenberg and Netis.

“Our firm has a long history of working with TMT companies to execute advisory and capital markets transactions. We look forward to Derek and Dmitry’s contributions to our deep bench of banking and advisory professionals,” added Richard Messina.

About The Benchmark Company
The Benchmark Company, LLC (“Benchmark”), founded in 1988, offers a full-suite of investment banking and brokerage services. Headquartered in New York City, Benchmark’s focus is fostering the long-term success of growth companies through capital raising, strategic advisory/M&A, insightful research and the development of institutional support, Research, Trading and Sales. Benchmark has a dedicated investment banking team with a proven track record of assisting growth companies. Our team is a leader in raising capital for small-cap and mid-cap public growth companies in the technology, media and telecom (“TMT”), healthcare, and consumer sectors. Our suite of investment banking services includes Underwritten Public Offerings, CMPOs (Confidentially-Marketed Public Offerings), RDs (Registered Direct Offerings), ATMs’ (At-the-Market offerings), PIPEs (Private Investment in Public Equity), merger & acquisitions (M&A) advisory services, financial restructuring, business valuation and fairness opinions, and other strategic advisory services. The Benchmark Company, LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit www.benchmarkcompany.com.

For further information about Benchmark, please contact:

Elise Stern - Managing Director, Institutional Equities & Corporate Services 150 East 58th Street – 17th Floor | New York, NY 10155 D: 212-312-6747 | [email protected]