Our Team

Amy Forrestal

Amy joined Brookwood in 2002. At Brookwood, she focuses on Mergers and Acquisitions as well as private capital raising for middle market consumer companies. Prior to joining Brookwood, Amy was a Managing Director in Banc of America Securities’ Mergers and Acquisitions group. Over her 15 years spent at Banc of America Securities and predecessor organizations including NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, she advised senior management teams, boards of directors and business owners in a variety of strategic and financial transactions including: acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, exclusive sales, divestitures, ESOPs, public equity and debt offerings and private equity and debt placements.

She has over 30 years of experience advising companies across a broad range of industries but primarily focuses on multi unit consumer facing businesses and franchise businesses. Over the past 25 years, she has developed specific expertise in the restaurant industry working with both restaurant concepts, franchisors and franchisees on numerous assignments. She was named one of 25 top women in Mid-Market M&A by Mergers and Acquisition magazine in 2015 and 2016.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude with a double major in mathematics and economics from Duke University.

She lives in Atlanta with her husband and has three grown children and two precious Labradoodles. She is also an active community volunteer and on the board of Sandy Springs Society, a group which raises money to improve the quality of life for the residents of Sandy Springs, GA. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, spending time at the lake, hiking, and following the Duke Blue Devils.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-v-forrestal-4568445
404.419.1570
Managing Director
Amy Forrestal
af@brookwoodassociates.com

Anish Gandhi

Anish has over 20 years of experience providing financial and strategic advisory services to senior management teams, boards of directors and shareholders of public and private companies. These services include but are not limited to exclusive sale assignments, acquisitions, divestitures, public debt and equity offerings, private debt and equity placements, as well as various other strategic advisory engagements.

Since joining Brookwood in 2011, his specific focus and expertise lies in serving middle market companies in the Consumer & Retail sector, including the restaurant, retail, food and beverage, health & wellness and active living industries. Over the years, Anish has accumulated a great breadth of experience working with franchised companies (both franchisors and multi-unit franchisees).

He enjoys working with emerging and established companies in helping them think through a broad range of strategic alternatives and has developed a keen ability to communicate complex financial and legal terms and structures into simple business terms.

Prior to joining Brookwood, Anish served as a Vice President with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York focusing on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising for large-cap public companies within the Global Metals & Mining industry. Additional industry experience includes energy, paper and packaging and industrial distribution and services.

He earned a Bachelors in Business Administration from Emory University where he concentrated in finance and international business. As a native to Atlanta, he enjoys living here with his wife and two children, ages 11 and 9. When not busy working or shuffling between activities, he loves to travel, explore new places and new cuisines.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/anishgandhi/
404.419.1572
Managing Director
Anish Gandhi
ag@brookwoodassociates.com

Justin Geeza

Justin joined Brookwood in 2023 to focus on the Consumer, Hospitality & Retail sectors after spending the prior 6 years working with public and private companies, founders, and investors on domestic and international M&A in the middle market. His previous sector focus areas include Business Services, Consumer / Retail, FinTech, Security, SupplyTech, and Technology / SaaS.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College in 2017 with a double major in Economics and Business with a concentration in Finance. He is an Atlanta native and enjoys traveling, visiting new restaurants, and spending time outdoors.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-g-b83a25a3/
404.419.1577
Senior Associate
Justin Geeza
jg@brookwoodassociates.com

Hampton Graham

Since joining Brookwood in 2014, Hampton has advised family- and founder-owned middle market companies and sponsor-backed companies with strategic and financial advisory services, including but not limited to sales, acquisitions, and recapitalizations. His specific sector focus includes Industrial Services, Business Services, and Healthcare. He also has extensive experience advising international companies on buy-side acquisition strategies.

Prior to Brookwood, Hampton was an Analyst at Tobin & Company in the Charlotte office, where he focused on lower middle-market sell-side, buy-side, and financing engagements in a variety of industry sectors.

He earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the College of Charleston.

He lives in Buckhead and is an active member of the Association for Corporate Growth, Southern Capital Forum, and Atlanta Alternative Investment Group. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring the food scene in Atlanta, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/hampton-graham-3338771b
404.419.1582
Director
Hampton Graham
hg@brookwoodassociates.com

Corey Hays

Corey joined Brookwood in 2022. Prior to Brookwood, he interned with the Audit team at Aprio.

He graduated from Georgia College & State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-hays
404.419.1581
Analyst
Corey Hays
ch@brookwoodassociates.com

Aleks Huryn

Aleks joined Brookwood Associates in 2022. Prior to Brookwood, he interned with the Asset Based Lending team at Truist Financial Corporation and with Heritage Growth Partners, an Atlanta-based family office.

He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Finance.

 

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleks-huryn-028b3216a
404.419.1573
Analyst
Aleks Huryn
ah@brookwoodassociates.com

Luke Miller

Luke joined Brookwood Associates in 2022. Prior to Brookwood, he interned with Bravaldo Capital Advisors, an Atlanta-based M&A advisory firm.

He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a concentration in Finance.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-miller-46682a1a1
404.419.1571
Analyst
Luke Miller
lm@brookwoodassociates.com

Amy Rarick

Amy has been in the finance and non-profit industries for over 25 years. She has worked in both boutique and Fortune 200 companies utilizing administrative and detail coordinating skills.

She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in Public Administration and a concentration in Politics.

She lives in East Cobb with her husband and needy black lab, Riggs, and are the proud parents of two grown children. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her friends and family.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/amysrarick
404.419.1576
Executive Assistant
Amy Rarick
ar@brookwoodassociates.com

Amanda Spence

Amanda joined Brookwood as Controller in 2018. Previously, she worked as an auditor for Ernst & Young, a tax accountant for Gifford, Hillegass and Ingwersen and in both audit and tax for Arthur Andersen.

She earned a Masters of Accounting degree from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree magna cum laude from Florida State University.

She lives in Marietta with her husband and golden retriever and has three grown children. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and taking long walks.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-spence-b24149150
404.419.1585
Controller
Amanda Spence
as@brookwoodassociates.com

Smith Wheeler

Smith joined Brookwood in 2023. Prior to Brookwood, he interned with Costal Wealth Management in their Charleston office.

He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance with a minor in Business Administration from the College of Charleston. He also serves as the President-Elect on Darlington School’s Young Alumni Council.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithwheeler
404.419.1578
Analyst
Smith Wheeler
sw@brookwoodassociates.com

Robert Winborne

When Rob founded Brookwood, he saw an opportunity to address a market that was not adequately served by the major Wall Street firms – providing exceptional investment banking service to middle market companies.  Prior to founding Brookwood, he was a Vice President in Goldman Sachs & Co.’s investment banking group in New York. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he worked in the investment banking group at Kidder, Peabody & Co.

Rob serves as a trusted advisor to management teams, boards of directors and business owners on a variety of transactions, including exclusive sales, divestitures, acquisitions, recapitalizations, financings and bankruptcies. He also has experience in fairness opinions, in representing special committees dealing with complex corporate transactions, and in representing foreign buyers in making acquisitions in the U.S.

He is an active board of directors member for private companies and non-profits. Rob serves or has served as director of private companies such as: Vectorply Corporation, a manufacturer of highly-engineered composite products; Incident IQ, the leading provider of service management SaaS software to the K-12 school market); Crom Corporation, a specialty service provider to the water infrastructure industry; Atlantic Investment Company, a family-controlled investment firm; and a family office focused on real estate and natural resources investments. Rob also serves as a director of non-profits: Emory Saint Joseph’s Inc. (hospitals); and Saint Joseph’s Health System/Mercy Care (medical care for the poor and homeless); SteerSmart (safe driving education); and MARR (addiction recover services).

He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and the Harvard Business School. Rob and his wife Lauren live in Atlanta and are the proud parents of six grown children.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-winborne-69b49956
404.419.1575
Managing Director
Robert Winborne
rw@brookwoodassociates.com

Experience. Insight. Integrity.

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