Mergers & Acquisitions names the 2023 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, including Houlihan Lokey’s Alexandra Lebenthal.
Tell us about yourself.
My career includes more than three decades of experience in financial services. I started my career in the municipal bond department at Kidder Peabody, later joining my family’s business, Lebenthal & Co., which was established by my grandmother and grandfather in 1925. I joined in 1988 and became the president and CEO in 1995 at the age of 31. I orchestrated the sale of the firm in 2001, and after staying with the parent company for several years, I relaunched it as a certified women-owned company in 2007.
I built the company into a leading women-owned broker-dealer in corporate capital markets. We became the first women-owned company to underwrite debt for GE Capital, Microsoft, Apple, Duke Energy and several other Fortune 50 companies, as well as the first to lead the books on transactions for Verizon, Toyota, Duke Energy and GE Capital.
I am a senior advisor in Houlihan Lokey’s financial sponsors group where I lead specialized investment banking advisory for women-led companies.
Describe a recent dealmaking accomplishment.
I have introduced 29 new female CEOs to our banking teams and 11 female CEOs to our financial sponsors group. I have started sponsor coverage of several female-led private equity funds and created a proprietary database of sponsors who are focused on a larger commitment to investing in women-led companies, which tracks funds focused on women by numerous metrics. It is the only database of its kind (to our knowledge).
For the full list of 2023 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, see here.
