Stephen Dirkes is a Director, Mergers & Acquisitions at Catalyst Strategic Advisors, where he is responsible for M&A execution, project management and client development. He is focused on improving M&A process efficiencies and effectiveness to the best optimize value for the firm’s clients.  Through his commitment to this role, he is helping Catalyst achieve continued growth and continue its reputation for being a leading M&A advisory firm in the middle market.

With more than 20 years of M&A experience in the middle market, Stephen has been a top Investment Banker across a wide range of industry verticals including industrials and rental services.  Before joining Catalyst, Stephen served 12 years as a Managing Director at Oppenheimer & Co., where he advised on over 50 M&A transactions for both public and private companies.

Prior to joining Oppenheimer, Stephen held positions at UBS, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Deutsche Bank where he advised on both capital market and M&A transactions.  Stephen started his career at KPMG as a Certified Public Accountant.

Stephen graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA and earned his MBA from The Johnson School at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.