For more than 30 years, Ed Rayner has represented senior executives, investment professionals, founders, and management teams in significant employment, compensation, equity, carried-interest, and transaction-related matters. The following selected clients illustrate the level, range, and industry breadth of that work.
Format of the entries below: Client: position and employer, or a description of the representation.
Each named client authorized the use of the client’s name and information about the representation on the firm’s website.
Large public-company CEOs
- Mark Wang: CEO, Hilton Grand Vacations (ticker: HGV).
- Flemming Ornskov: CEO, Shire plc (formerly ticker: SHPG), later acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
- Steve Spinner: CEO, United Natural Foods Inc. (ticker: UNFI); previously CEO, Performance Food Group (ticker: PFGC), acquired by a Blackstone affiliate. Ed represented Mr. Spinner and the management team in the acquisition and subsequently represented Mr. Spinner in multiple negotiations with UNFI.
Management teams
- McCord Christensen, Founder, Chairman and CEO of PetIQ, and the PetIQ management team in PetIQ’s going-private acquisition by Bansk Group.
- Solvay USA Eco Services management team in connection with the sale of the Eco Services Division to CCMP Capital.
- Global Traffic Network management team (ticker: GNET) in a management buyout with GTCR LLC.
- Cushman & Wakefield New York Capital Group: Richard Baxter, Jon Caplan, Ron Cohen, and Scott Latham; in its move to Jones Lang LaSalle (ticker: JLL).
- Performance Food Group management team in its acquisition by a Blackstone affiliate.
Fashion industry
- Mark Mendelson: CEO, Ellen Tracy, later acquired by Li & Fung; Ed also represented Mr. Mendelson in the Li & Fung acquisition.
- Yehuda Shmidman: CEO, Sequential Brands Group.
- Kobi Halperin: Member/Chief Creative Officer, Komark LLC (doing business as Kobi Halperin); Executive Creative Director, Kenneth Cole Productions; Executive Creative Director, Elie Tahari.
- Michael Crotty: EVP/CMO, Hudson’s Bay Company (ticker: HBC, owner of Saks and former owner of Lord & Taylor); CMO, The Shade Store.
- Ruth Hartman: President, Lord & Taylor.
Funds
- Matt Cushman: Partner/Portfolio Manager, Engineers Gate; Senior Managing Director, Citadel Investment Group.
- Chris Scarpelli: Portfolio Manager, Citadel.
- P. Casella/R. Shriner: Partners, Point72 Ventures. Ed represented both in connection with their executive agreements. He subsequently represented Mr. Shriner in negotiations with Point72 and Portage/Sagard regarding the transition of Point72’s fintech group.
- Marc Pfeffer: Chief Business Officer/Managing Director, Benefit Street Partners.
- George Mouzaris: Portfolio Manager, Millennium Management.
Biotech
- Mark Day: CEO, Bioasis Technologies, Inc. (ticker: BTI).
- Flemming Ornskov: CEO, Shire plc (formerly ticker: SHPG), later acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
- Philip Dormitzer: Head of Research, Novartis Influenza Vaccines (ticker: NVS).
Real estate
- Cushman & Wakefield New York Capital Group: Richard Baxter, Jon Caplan, Ron Cohen, and Scott Latham; in its move to Jones Lang LaSalle (ticker: JLL).
- Gene Spiegelman: Vice Chairman/Principal, Ripco Real Estate Corp.
- Todd Korren: Principal/COO, HSP Real Estate Group.
Other selected clients
- David Cohen: General Counsel, New York Mets.
- Andrew Lee: General Counsel, New York Jets.
- John Austin: CFO, Chef’s Warehouse (ticker: CHEF); CFO, Performance Food Group (ticker: PFGC).
- Hervé Brunet: CEO, StickyAds.tv, a startup acquired by Comcast; Ed represented Mr. Brunet in the Comcast acquisition.
Where an employer is identified, it is the company with which Ed negotiated the executive’s agreement. The client may no longer be with that employer, and the company may no longer exist. For example, Mark Mendelson is listed above as CEO of Ellen Tracy because Ed represented him and negotiated his employment arrangements with Ellen Tracy; Mr. Mendelson is now retired, and Ellen Tracy was later acquired by Li & Fung.