James Kim

Overview

James is a Managing Director in CLA’s investment banking group where he assists clients in selling their companies.  He has a broad range of industry experience, including industrial manufacturing, specialty distribution, consumer packaged goods, aerospace & defense, technology and healthcare.

James has over 20 years of experience in investment banking including mergers & acquisitions, initial public offerings, debt and equity capital raises and fairness opinions. After earning his MBA, James began his investment banking career at Merrill Lynch where he was in the industrials and healthcare groups. James left Merrill Lynch and joined Bank of America’s technology group where he covered the semiconductor industry and assisted pre-IPO companies. He then joined Greif & Co., a boutique M&A advisory firm in Los Angeles where he focused on working with entrepreneurs in selling their companies valued between $20 million to $500 million. After stints with a real estate private equity fund and as the Chief Financial Officer at Electronic Recyclers International, James joined Wells Fargo Advisors’ M&A group where he focused on sell-side middle market M&A transactions. Upon separating from Wells Fargo, James joined CLA’s Investment Banking Advisory group in May 2021.

Prior to his investment banking career, James was a CPA with PwC, graduated from law school and worked at KPMG in its consulting practice.

Education