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Philip R. Clarke III
Managing Director - Phil.Clarke@focusbankers.com

Mr. Clarke has more than twenty-five years experience in providing investment banking and financial advisory services to middle market companies. In particular, Mr. Clarke has focused on providing strategic advice relating to maximizing shareholder value for both public and private companies and leading execution teams to complete both mergers and acquisitions, valuations, fairness opinions, and new capital financing transactions.

Prior to joining FOCUS, Mr. Clarke co-founded and was a managing partner of Shikaakwa Partners LLC, a firm specializing in providing financial consulting and merger and acquisition advisory services to private and closely-held middle market companies facing strategic and financial decisions that affect shareholder value.

Prior to the formation of SHIKAAWKA PARTNERS, LLC, Mr. Clarke served as president of Prairie Advisors LLC, a firm providing financial advisory consulting services for two privately-owned companies with common ownership; annual ESOP valuation services to long-standing client; and assisting a  privately-owned real estate development company with obtaining bank financing and on-going monitoring of financial results.

Prior to establishing Prairie Advisors in 2002, Mr. Clarke served as managing director and co-founder of Heller Financial Advisors, the mergers and acquisitions and financial advisory unit of Heller Financial, Inc.  Mr. Clarke was primarily responsible for the origination and execution of merger and acquisition transactions and other financial advisory assignments for the portfolio companies of Heller’s private equity fund clients.

Prior to co-founding Heller Financial Advisors, Mr. Clarke had been a managing director and co-head of investment banking at ABN AMRO Incorporated, completing more than 100 M&A transactions representing over $10 billion in value. Previously, Mr. Clarke spent more than twenty years in the investment banking group of The Chicago Corporation, which was acquired by ABN AMRO, most recently as managing director overseeing both merger and acquisition and equity capital markets transactions for companies engaged in business and consumer services, telecommunications and the manufacture of industrial products.

Mr. Clarke currently serves as president of a privately-held consumer services business.  He is an investor in and provides both operating and financial consulting services to a residential housing and marina development company.  He is also president of the board of trustees of the Asheville School, a private secondary institution in Asheville, North Carolina.

Mr. Clarke holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, a C.P.A. from the University of Illinois and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Contact Information:
Philip R. Clarke III
875 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 3100
Chicago, IL 60611
Office: 312 794-7888
Home Office: 630 323-9580
Cell: 312 543-8101
Fax: 630 323-0884
phil.clarke@focusbankers.com

Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Shikaakwa Partners, LLC
President of Prairie Advisors, LLC
Co-Founder and Managing Director of Heller Fiinancial Advisors
Managing Director of Investment Banking at ABN AMRO, Inc.

Managing Director of The Chicago Corporation

President of Board of Trustees of The Ashville School


Securities transactions are conducted through Wm. H. Murphy & Co., Inc. a registered broker-dealer member FINRA/SIPC that is not affiliated with FOCUS.

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