ST. LOUIS, MO — August 2026 — ButcherJoseph & Co. (“ButcherJoseph”) is pleased to announce the promotion of three professionals.

Courtney Alvarez has been promoted to Senior Associate. As a Senior Associate, Courtney supports a wide range of activities for the Firm, including sale transactions to strategic or financial buyers, employee ownership (ESOP) transactions, capital advisory engagements, and valuation advisory. Courtney joined ButcherJoseph after five years at Orbis Investments, an asset management firm in Vancouver, Canada, where she contributed to the Institutional Client Group and supported the company’s expansion into the U.S. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia, majoring in Finance with distinction and minoring in International Relations, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Chris Ayala has been promoted to Senior Associate. As a Senior Associate, Chris supports a wide range of activities for the Firm, including sale transactions to strategic or financial buyers, employee ownership (ESOP) transactions, capital advisory engagements, and valuation advisory. Chris joined ButcherJoseph after serving as a Senior Analyst at Broadview Group, where he managed investment decisions and portfolio management for the hedge fund’s agricultural commodities portfolio. Previously, he worked as an Equity Research Analyst at Cleveland Research Company. Chris has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Saint Louis University in both Finance and Economics and is a CFA charterholder.

Jake Johnston has been promoted to Associate, Operations & Valuation. In this role, Jake supports business valuations for stakeholders across a range of purposes, including ESOP transactions and annual valuations, fairness opinions, solvency opinions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate planning, and financial recapitalization and restructuring. He also supports the Firm’s day-to-day operations and helps maintain consistency across its financial and operational infrastructure. Jake has been recognized as an Emerging Leader by The M&A Advisor, and in 2025 completed ACG St. Louis’s Emerging 20 program, a leadership development initiative for professionals in the M&A community. Jake joined ButcherJoseph after completing the Firm’s internship program in 2020. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the College of William & Mary, where he lettered four years on the football team, and is originally from Richmond, Virginia.

Joe Strycharz, Managing Partner at ButcherJoseph, said, “Courtney, Chris, and Jake have each earned this step through consistent, high-quality work for our clients. Their growth reflects the depth we’ve built across the Firm, and we look forward to their continued contributions as they take on greater responsibility.”

About ButcherJoseph & Co.
ButcherJoseph & Co. is a boutique investment banking firm specializing in sale transactions to strategic and financial buyers, employee ownership transactions (ESOPs), capital advisory (debt & equity), valuations and fairness opinions and ESOP strategic consulting. ButcherJoseph is headquartered in St. Louis with a presence in Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, Scottsdale, and Washington, D.C.

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