- Cabrera Capital Markets named Jae Kim Managing Director and Head of M&A Advisory, effective January 22, 2026, based in Chicago.
- He brings 20+ years of investment banking experience from Robert W. Baird, Mesirow, and Fifth Third Securities across industrials, technology, consumer, and services.
- The hire signals a push to scale middle-market M&A origination and execution and deepen coverage for sponsors and institutional clients amid more complex transactions.
- Kim’s appointment complements Cabrera’s broader expansion efforts, including Latin America equities growth and partnerships to widen diverse deal flow.
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Jae Kim’s hiring marks a significant strategic milestone for Cabrera Capital Markets (“CCM”) amid intensifying competition in middle-market M&A advisory. As executive demand rises for advisory platforms with breadth, sector specialization, and execution capability, CCM positions itself to compete with established regional and boutique advisory firms by bolstering internal leadership. Kim’s role is likely designed to accelerate deal generation and execution across consumer, tech, and industrial verticals, tapping into his diverse sector background and relationships with private equity and pension capital.
Kim’s arrival complements two recent strategic vectors for Cabrera: geographic expansion and client diversity. The firm’s equities trading operations expanded across the Latin American region—Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru—in mid-2025, showing willingness to build out market-specific capabilities. Concurrently, CCM formalized a multiyear partnership with the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC) to enhance access and deal flow with diverse-owned asset managers. With Kim focused on M&A advisory, these initiatives suggest a coordinated strategy: build advisory scale while strengthening diverse originations and cross-border execution.
Operationally, Kim’s portfolio of prior senior roles at Robert W. Baird, Mesirow, and Fifth Third Securities provides CCM with experience in both sell-side and buy-side mandates, divestitures, and capital raising. However, his joining in 2025 raises questions about how quickly he will build M&A deal volume at a firm historically focused on advisory for middle-market clients and public finance. His impact may depend on key hires and sector teams, deal pipeline access, and how CCM integrates M&A advisory alongside its existing services such as capital markets, global equities, and taxable fixed income.
Key implications for stakeholders:
- For clients: deeper advisory bench at CCM could mean more competitive pitches and broader coverage options, especially across industrials, tech, and consumer sectors.
- For competitors: CCM’s move signals that boutique and regional advisory platforms are stepping up to capture deal mandates traditionally reserved for larger banks.
- For investors and sponsors: increased access to CCM’s growing global and diverse network could unlock new M&A or capital raising partnerships.
Open questions remain:
- How aggressively will CCM invest in M&A deal origination and execution resources beyond Kim (e.g., sector teams, financial modeling, legal / execution capabilities)?
- What deal sizes will CCM target under Kim’s leadership—mid-market only, or larger/specific transaction types (cross-border, sponsor-led, corporate divestitures)?
- How will market conditions (interest rates, valuation gaps, deal financing) influence demand in the sectors where Kim specializes?
- Will Kim’s appointment shift CCM’s positioning in public vs. private sectors or even expand into new sub-industries?
Supporting Notes
- On January 22, 2026, CCM announced Jae Kim’s role as Managing Director and Head of M&A Advisory; he will operate out of Chicago, leading client engagements and expanding the client base.
- Kim has over 20 years of experience advising public/private companies, financial sponsors, family businesses, and entrepreneurs; sector expertise includes industrials, technology, consumer, and services. He joined CCM in 2025 having worked at Robert W. Baird, Mesirow, and Fifth Third Securities.
- CCM’s “M&A Advisory” business explicitly works with middle-market clients to deliver sell-side, buy-side, divestitures, capital structure, growth capital, and strategic advisory services across diverse sectors.
- The firm expanded its equities trading footprint across Latin America in June 2025, hiring Latin America-focused personnel and adding coverage in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru; CCM currently has several U.S. offices and London trading personnel/resources.
- In June 2024, CCM entered a multi-year partnership with NAIC aimed at increasing deal flow with diverse-owned alternative investment firms; this suggests advisory growth aligned with diversity and inclusion goals.
- Leadership bios show that Martin Cabrera Jr founded CCM in 2001, has grown its debt and equity issuance to over US$2.9 trillion, and oversees a platform with global equities, fixed income, municipal bonds, and trading desks.