CEO Spotlight: Don Manifold, Managing Director of Equity & Advisory and Founder of Manifold Advisory Partners

Don Manifold is a world-renowned expert on mergers, acquisitions and divestments. He is Joint Managing Director of Equity & Advisory also the founder of Manifold Advisory Partners. In addition to these positions, Don is the current chair of EC Carpets, ADX Depot and Hybrid Ag and was the former chair of Booth Transport. Don is a director of Whittles Management and a member of Seymour College’s Finance and Risk Committee.

Don has over thirty years’ experience in business, including twenty-five years in corporate finance. He has spent the last 15 years in transaction advisory, where he has served in senior leadership roles with some of the world’s largest professional service firms. Don has worked in a broad range of industries, including agriculture, consumer goods, financial services, information technology, manufacturing and retail. He has also worked in Australia, England and Croatia.

Don has advised clients on over 60 completed acquisitions, capital raisings, divestments and initial public offerings (IPOs), which have a total value of more than $3 billion. He has also prepared over 50 reports and valuations as an independent expert for clients with a total value of more than $25 billion, including some of the largest companies in South Australia. The divestment of S. Kidman & Co in 2016 is the largest transaction Don has led to date. Other high-profile deals include the acquisition of ABB Grain, the acquisition of Adelaide Bank and the sale of Powerhealth.

Education

Don attended Flinders University from 1987 to 1991, where he earned a Bachelor of Economics with Honors. He also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM), which he attended from 2003 to 2004. AGSM is consistently rated one of the top business schools in the world. In addition, Don is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountant.

Experience

Don started his career in 1990 in Adelaide, South Australia, and later worked in other major cities like Melbourne, Sydney and London. He returned to Adelaide in May 2006, where he worked for KPMG until 2012. Don has also advised on international transactions in various countries, including Australia, Croatia, England and Papua New Guinea. 

In addition, he led the Transaction Advisory division for Ernst and Young (EY) in South Australia from 2012 to 2014. Don became a Managing Partner at EY in South Australian and Northern Territory in 2015 until leaving the firm in March 2018. 

Current Positions

In 2018, Don became the Joint Managing Director of Equity & Advisory, a leading South Australian Corporate Advisory firm. He also founded Manifold Advisory Partners in 2018, which assists companies in developing and executing their business strategy at the Board level. His firm offers its clients decades of experience in professional services, allowing it to deliver optimum outcomes for clients in a variety of industries. These clients are based in Australia and other countries.

Summary

Equity & Advisory and Manifold Advisory Partners provides practical advice for private businesses that’s independent of their boards of directors and management teams, usually direct to boards and management or through an advisory board. It specializes in acquisitions, divestures, strategic reviews and valuations. This firm leverages its extensive knowledge and experience through its consultancy services.

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