Rich Ziolkowski

Director of Business Development

BS in Business Administration from the School of Management at Binghamton University

As Director of Business Development at Embarc Advisors, Rich Ziolkowski focuses on building trusted relationships with clients and ensuring alignment, clarity, and confidence throughout their engagement. He works closely with prospective and existing clients to support their strategic needs across M&A Advisory, Quality of Earnings, FP&A, and Fractional CFO services.

Prior to joining Embarc Advisors, Rich served as the founding Relationship Manager at Sutton Place Strategies, a Bain & Company company. In that role, he built and led the relationship management function, overseeing post-sales client engagement, operations, and strategic initiatives to support business development and deal origination for M&A clients across private equity, corporate development teams, lenders, and advisory firms. Earlier in his career, Rich spent a decade at Thomson Reuters in various buy-side client-facing roles. He also spent time in the luxury automotive sector, where he helped build a consumer lifestyle business serving the collector car community.

Rich holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the School of Management at Binghamton University.

Based in Smithtown, New York, Rich enjoys traveling, kayaking and paddleboarding on the Long Island Sound, attending concerts, playing hockey, and spending time with his wife, daughter, and rescue dogs.

See the Difference that Embarc Advisors Can Make for Your Business

Connect with our team below

Contact

Founder/Managing Partner

Goldman Sachs, Investment Banking Vice President

McKinsey & Co., Engagement Manager

Jay is the Founder and Managing Partner of Embarc Advisors. He is a former Goldman Sachs Investment Banker and McKinsey & Company Consultant who has completed over $50 billion in transactions, including marquee transactions such as the sale of Yahoo, the sale of MuleSoft, and the sale of SanDisk.

Jay founded Embarc Advisors under the “Jerry Maguire” principals – on the belief that it is possible to provide first class financial services to clients, while simultaneously providing meaningful work experiences and a sense of enjoyment to Embarc team members. As a result of his vision, and his determination to operate with unwavering integrity, he has earned the trust of countless Founders, CEOs, and other business leaders, who have become valued Embarc clients. He has also been able to assemble an unparalleled team of some of the brightest, and most passionate and effective finance professionals.

Outside of his entrepreneurial and leadership responsibilities, Jay continues to partner directly with startups and middle-market firms as a trusted advisor In M&A, capital raise and growth strategy. His work has been covered in Fortune, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Startup Nation and others.

Jay’s experience spans countless industries, and he has a keen understanding of his clients’ needs as a result of the shared experience of a life of entrepreneurship. In fact, in addition to Embarc Advisors, Jay also co-founded a technology startup that raised capital from Softbank and other VCs.

Jay’s educational accomplishments include a Master’s in Business Administration from the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Based in San Francisco, California, when he’s not working or sleeping, Jay spends most of his time frequenting restaurants with good food and drinks. As a gastronome who also loves to travel, he intentionally ends up in destinations that satiate his cravings for incredible cuisine, wine, sake, and cocktails.