Brandon Laughren

Chief Investment Officer at The Laughren Group

Speaker

Brandon K. Laughren, Managing Director, Co-Founder and CIO of the Laughren Group, a single family office with investments private equity, private debt, venture capital and real estate. In addition, he serves as a mentor for two startup accelerators. Prior to co-founding the Laughren Group, Mr. Laughren founded and managed Stone Laughren LLC, a private equity and venture capital advisory firm. Mr. Laughren has acted as a transaction advisor and an investor for 30+ years. He has been involved in M&A transactions totaling more than $50 billion in value and debt and equity raises in excess of $10 billion. Mr. Laughren began his career at Goldman Sachs & Co. in Mergers & Acquisitions, working with Fortune 50 clients and top tier private equity firms. He then joined Scully Brothers, Foss & Wight, where he worked with General Motors on the disposition of several operating divisions. Upon graduation from Columbia Business School, Mr. Laughren joined JP Morgan where he worked in Morgan Capital Corporation, the bank’s venture and private equity investing arm. He subsequently moved into M&A to work with the largest industrial clients of the bank. Mr. Laughren was recruited to UBS Securities to set up and manage the cross-border M&A effort. He later joined Salomon Brothers (Citigroup) to work with the largest clients of the firm on M&A and corporate finance transactions. Mr. Laughren subsequently moved into technology investment banking where he advised on IPOs, private placements and debt issuance. He left Wall Street to sell his family’s business and establish a family office. Mr. Laughren received an AB in Philosophy from Columbia College, Columbia University and an MBA in Finance and Management of Organizations from Columbia Business School. Mr. Laughren’s community involvement has included being a volunteer interior firefighter and serving on the Board of the Catskill Forest Association, an environmental education non-profit.