Greg Ponder

Greg Ponder is a Managing Director of S&P Capital. Greg began his merger and acquisitions career in 1997. He became recognized nationally throughout his M&A career as one of the top business intermediaries in North America while working for another mergers and acquisitions company in Charlotte, NC. In September 2005, Greg founded the predecessor company to S&P Capital in the Asheville, NC area. This firm was quickly recognized as one of Western North Carolina's and Upstate South Carolina's premier M&A Firms. After two successful years growing in territory, Greg and his business partner Eric Smart moved central operations to uptown Charlotte, NC in 2007 under the new S&P Capital name.

Greg continues to focus on developing customized exit strategies and selling privately-held service, manufacturing, distribution, and professional service companies throughout the Southeast. He has established an exhaustive network of accounting and legal advisors, private equity groups, and lenders to assist clients. The key drivers to Greg's success would include his attention to detail, professional integrity, and honesty. These traits, coupled with his drive to succeed, have made Greg one of the top referred business intermediaries in the Carolinas.

Greg, a native to Western, NC, has a very diverse business background prior to M&A. He began his professional career selling industrial equipment to large manufacturing and distribution facilities, primarily on the east coast. He has also developed two start-up concepts over the years into profitable businesses.

Eric Smart

Eric Smart is a Managing Director of S&P Capital. He started both S&P Capital and its predecessor firm in Asheville, NC with his business partner, Greg Ponder, after working for another M&A firm in the Charlotte area for several years.

His introduction to mergers and acquisitions was with the sale of his first business. While in college at The University of Akron, Eric got a loan and bought a failing health club in Canton, Ohio. Over a thirteen-month period, he renovated the facility, doubled the number of members, brought on several nutritional supplement lines and retail clothing lines, hired and trained a sales staff, and sold the company for 4.5 times the original purchase price. This first-hand experience building a business, then negotiating the purchase and sale of that business, has enabled Eric to better understand his clients' needs and concerns as their professional intermediary. It was also this first purchase and sale of a business where Eric found his passion for putting deals together.

After Eric moved to Charlotte in 2001, he spent the first few months in North Carolina meeting with business brokers in a search for his next entrepreneurial venture. Instead of purchasing another business, Eric quickly saw opportunity to use his background in sales and marketing and his experience as an entrepreneur to represent clients in the confidential sale of their businesses.

Eric brings a great blend of entrepreneurism and sales experience to his practice of investment banking. He loves the challenge of identifying ideal buyer and seller matches, then negotiating a deal on his client's behalf. Eric operates with professionalism, honesty and integrity in every step in the process of planning an exit strategy and selling equity to a strategic buyer, a private equity group or an individual financial buyer. He has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top producing intermediaries in the country, and he is proud to have co-founded one of the most respected boutique investment banking firms in the Southeast.

Myriam Huber Breedlove

Myriam Breedlove is a Director of S&P Capital. Myriam brings a unique combination of experience to S&P Capital. She spent six years as the hands-on small business owner of a multi-million dollar sales company. It was a company she purchased from the previous owner and founder. Currently, she is still active in managing a different family-owned business with her father.

Prior to Myriam's transition to entrepreneurship, she worked for seven years in investment banking for Wachovia Securities in Charlotte and Bank One (now Chase) in Chicago.

With S&P Capital, her expertise on both sides of the table are valuable in working with other entrepreneurs and business owners. She understands the challenges and rewards of business ownership very well and helps shareholders capitalize on their sweat equity in finding the appropriate exit strategy.

Myriam holds a MBA degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a BA degree from Duke University.