Meet the Team
Alan D. Austin, CFA
President
Greenville, SC Office
Prior to founding Mt. Vista Capital in 2006, Mr. Austin was a principal with another regional investment banking firm for ten years. Over the last 23 years, Mr. Austin has led both M&A advisory transactions and private financing transactions to include senior debt, mezzanine financing, and private equity. Mr. Austin has also been active in preparing business valuation reports for a variety of purposes.
Prior to his investment banking experience, Mr. Austin had direct experience working for a Private Equity-owned company as Assistant Treasurer at Sterling Diagnostic Imaging for five years. He also served as Treasurer for a publicly traded diversified media company, Multimedia, Inc. (MMEDC: NASDAQ), for six years. In both of these corporate positions, he was responsible for structuring large syndicated credit facilities, negotiated various interest rate hedges, and participated in various corporate acquisitions and divestitures. Mr. Austin began his career in commercial banking with C&S National Bank of SC (now part of Bank of America), where he was responsible for sourcing, structuring, underwriting, and servicing commercial loan transactions for corporate clients in a wide variety of industries.
Mr. Austin received his undergraduate degree at Furman University with a B. A in Economics and Business Administration (concentration in Corporate Finance). He received a post-graduate certificate from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. Mr. Austin has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst Designation (CFA) from the CFA Institute.
Mr. Austin is an active member of the following organizations:
- Association for Corporate Growth
- National Association of Certified Evaluators & Analysts
- CFA Institute
- The Atlanta Society of Financial Analyst
- The Rotary Club of Greenville City Center
William (Bill) M. Neely
Senior M&A Advisor
Rock Hill, SC Office
Since 1971, Mr. Neely has played an active part in the banking community. Starting as a Management Trainee with South Carolina National Bank (bought by Wachovia), Mr. Neely rose through the ranks to become Vice President and Regional Manager. Much of his time was spent in management in commercial lending, but he specialized in business development and marketing. After leaving the bank, Mr. Neely was a principal with various regional investment banking firms for 20 years. He has direct experience in the Merger and Acquisition advisory industry across a broad group of industries. He has closed numerous middle-market M&A and financing transactions in the past 20 years. In addition, Mr. Neely is very much involved within the commercial finance industry, representing customers directly to a variety of lenders on a national basis. Although his focus is the southeast, Mr. Neely has close ties to Texas and has closed transactions in the southwest as well.
Mr. Neely received his undergraduate degree from Winthrop University with a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. He later received a Master's in Business Administration from Winthrop University, and eventually taught part-time in the Business Department at Winthrop University for 10 years. Mr. Neely also received a post-graduate certificate from the Banking School of the South at LSU.
Through the years, Mr. Neely has been an active participant in the civic community:
- Past President of Rock Hill Chamber of Commerce
- Past President of United Way
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes
- Founded the Rock Hill Sports Commission
- Founded the York County Sports Hall of Fame
- Works with M&A CPAs and Attorneys, Hosting Related Seminars
Mike May
Senior M&A Advisor
Greenville, SC Office
Mr. May joins Mt. Vista Capital with 30 years of experience in domestic and international business leadership. He held roles as financial controller, global sales vice president, and for the past 15 years as CEO and President of manufacturing, parts distribution, and service businesses in the US and Europe. He has worked with family-owned, private, and private equity-owned companies with a focus on growth through M&A activity and organic market development. Mr. May seeks to bring his decades of business leadership, M&A activity, and acquisition integration experience to help business owners maximize value in a sale transaction and optimize a smooth ownership transition.
Mr. May received his undergraduate degree from The Citadel and MBA from Clemson University. He is a former US Army Officer and has served on boards and leadership committees with the Association of Manufacturing Excellence, Packaging Machinery Manufacturing Institute, Southern Textile Association, as well as East minster Presbyterian and Advent Methodist Churches. He has certifications in Sales Force Performance, Lean Manufacturing, and Project Management and is a Credit Business Fellow.
Mr. May is an active member of the following organizations:
- The Carolinas-Virginia Business Brokers Association
- International Business Brokers Association.
