Our Team

Benjamin Gordon – Managing Director
ben@bgsa.com

Benjamin Gordon is founder and Managing Director of BG Strategic Advisors. Clients include a range of leading companies from Wall Street, venture capital, and the supply chain industry. Benjamin is responsible for leading key client engagements and setting the direction of the firm.

Prior to founding BG Strategic Advisors, Benjamin founded 3PLex, the Internet solution enabling third-party logistics companies to automate their business. Benjamin raised $28 million from blue-chip investors including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BancBoston Ventures, CNF, and Ionian. He generated 3PLex feature stories in the New York Times, Business Week, ABC, Journal of Commerce, Lehrer News Hour, and other media. Benjamin recruited a CEO in late 2000 and formed BG Strategic Advisors the following year. 3PLex has since been sold to Maersk.

Prior to 3PLex, Benjamin led strategy projects in transportation and technology at Mercer Management Consulting, where he developed one of the first e-marketplace strategies for a logistics client. Previously, Benjamin worked with the CEO of Automotive Management, Inc. (AMI) to grow its logistics operations. Benjamin also worked as a venture capitalist with the BRM Group, where he assessed business-to-business e-commerce companies.

Benjamin is an active civic leader who is committed to giving back to the community. As founder and chairman of GesherCity, he has boosted young adult volunteerism in the greater Boston area. In three years, the organization has grown to over 2,000 members in five locations.

Benjamin received a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale College.

Tarun Bhatt – Vice President
tarun@bgsa.com

Tarun is responsible for leading transactions, due diligence, financial valuation and business development.

Prior to joining BG Strategic Advisors, Tarun worked at JPMorgan where he advised on debt, equity, M&A and restructuring transactions to companies in Aerospace & Defense, Airlines, Automotive, Freight, Logistics, Rail, Trucking and Shipping sectors.  His clients included Chrysler, Dana, Delta Airlines, EGL/CEVA Logistics, Ford Motor Company, J.B. Hunt, Lear, Livingston, Navistar, Penske, Trimas, United Airlines and Visteon.

Prior to JPMorgan, Tarun worked at PNC Capital Markets in M&A Advisory group. Previously, he was responsible for product development, manufacturing and launch of Thunderbird and Lincoln LS in Powertrain and Vehicle Engineering groups of Ford Motor Company. Tarun was awarded a U.S. patent for the innovative noise isolation product in Lincoln LS. He has also worked as a Consultant with Caterpillar Inc. and First National Bank of Omaha.

Tarun holds a Master of Business Administration and Master of Engineering Management degrees from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He received a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University. Tarun has published book and research papers in neural networks and acoustics.

Chris Ristau – Vice President
chris@bgsa.com

Chris is responsible for leading transactions and developing new business relationships.

Before joining BG Strategic Advisors, Chris worked in Citigroup Global Markets’ Media and Telecom practice where he advised on capital market and M&A transactions for companies including: Liberty Media, Western Wireless, Jupiter Telecommunications, Discovery Communications and Liberty Satellite and Technology.

Prior to Citigroup Global Markets, Chris worked in Bank of America’s Corporate Finance Group where he specialized in analyzing and resolving complex financial situations for his clients.

Chris received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Northwestern University.

Shai Greenwald – Senior Associate
shai@bgsa.com

Shai Greenwald joined BG Strategic Advisors in 2002. Shai works with clients on implementing successful growth strategies through M&A, with a focus on exploring opportunities in emerging markets. Among others, Shai worked on the AirRoad sale to Reliant Equity Investors, the Unicity sale to PBB, and the PWC purchase of TransLink. Shai is also responsible for the firm’s market intelligence and market research.

Prior to joining BG Strategic Advisors, Shai worked with FleetBoston Financial and EMC as a change agent leading organizational development and process improvement projects. Shai started his career as an executive recruiter with Heidrick and Struggles.

Shai holds an MBA from Boston University.

Justin Mueller – Senior Associate
justin@bgsa.com

Justin is a key team member in the development and execution of transactions. 

Before joining BG Strategic Advisors, Justin worked in the Valuation group at Huron Consulting Group, where he advised clients on business and intangible asset valuations related to bankruptcy, litigation, tax, mergers and financial reporting.  His clients included United Airlines, Meridian Automotive, and other supply chain companies.

Prior to Huron Consulting Group, Justin worked in KPMG’s Transaction Services group, where he performed sell-side and lender due diligence for private equity and banking clients. 

Justin received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Masters of Accounting Science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

Karen Rutt – Marketing Associate
karen@bgsa.com

As Marketing Associate, Karen is responsible for developing and implementing the marketing and communications strategy for the firm, including development of intellectual property such as articles, presentations and website content. Karen has also taken a lead role in automating and tracking the core business processes of the firm and works closely with the New Business Development and Deal Execution teams.

Prior to joining BGSA, Karen began her career in the financial services sector at the ComVest Group, a West Palm Beach-based private equity firm where she was responsible for implementing the marketing strategy to provide greater exposure of the firm and its capabilities. As part of the New Business Development team, Karen led an origination effort for add-on acquisition companies for a ComVest publicly-traded portfolio company. She was instrumental in developing the strategy, methods, infrastructure, and procedures for the team.

Prior to her employment at the ComVest Group, Karen served two years with Teach For America, a highly-selective national service corps of college graduates from all academic majors who commit to two years of teaching in high-need public schools.

Karen received her Bachelor of Arts degree from The Pennsylvania State University where she graduated with honors.