Our Team
Our team of professionals has significant experience working with the world’s largest corporations, across all industries and geographies.
David Ernst, Founder & Managing Director
James Bamford, Founder & Managing Director
Christina Azimi, Associate
Gerard Baynham, Director
Julian Bene, Senior Consultant
Carlos Bortoni, Associate
Lois D’Costa, Product Director
Peter Daniel, Director
Joseph Jenish, Consultant
Lisa Karlich, Senior Consultant
Michal Kisilevitz, Executive Director
Sam Krassenstein, Associate
Josh Kwicinski, Consultant
Mary Menard, Office Manager
Ines Prieto, Consultant
Nick Sapia, Associate
Brent Sonnek-Schmelz, Director
Ashley Snyder, Director
Blount Stewart, JVAG Business Analyst
Emily Thompson, JVAG Coordinator
Geoff Walker, Managing Director
Susan Waters, Senior Consultant
David Ernst
Founder & Managing Director
David is one of the world’s leading advisors on joint ventures, consortia, and complex partnerships. David is a co-founder of Water Street Partners and works with clients across the globe, in all phases of the joint venture lifecycle from deal making to restructuring and exit.
Prior to founding Water Street Partners, David spent 22 years at McKinsey & Company. David founded and led the JV and Alliance Practice at McKinsey, where he also was a leader of the firm’s Corporate Finance and Strategy practices. As a longstanding partner at McKinsey, David advised on more than 300 transactions, including many of the largest energy and technology JVs in the world. He has served companies across the deal lifecycle, including deal strategy, structuring, valuation, negotiation, governance, restructuring and exit.
Author of the book “Collaborating to Compete,” David has also written articles in Harvard Business Review, The Financial Times, CFO Magazine, and many other business publications.
Prior to McKinsey, David was an economist with Chase Econometrics and Evans Economics. He holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in economics from Tufts University. David grew up in Ethiopia and Korea.
James Bamford
Founder & Managing Director
Jim is a co-founder of Water Street Partners, where he serves a global client base in industries ranging from oil and gas to financial services, across the spectrum of joint venture issues from strategy alignment and governance to negotiating transfer prices and shared services.
Prior to Water Street Partners, Jim co-led the JV and Alliance Practice at McKinsey & Company (2001-2008). His client work at McKinsey focused extensively on restructuring and governance of large JVs in the oil and gas, industrial, and financial services industries. While at McKinsey, Jim founded the JV CEO and Directors Roundtable, a working group of senior practitioners running or sitting on the boards of large joint ventures.
Jim is author of “Mastering Alliance Strategy,” and has written several dozen articles on joint ventures and alliances in Harvard Business Review, Corporate Dealmaker, McKinsey Quarterly, and other publications.
Prior to McKinsey, Jim worked in Asia for an affiliate of Booz-Allen-Hamilton in Asia, was the editor of The Alliance Analyst, and headed a successful information services company focused on providing merger, acquisition, and joint venture transaction information and insights to large global companies.
Jim has an undergraduate degree from Tufts University, and graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and Harvard University.
As an Associate at Water Street Partners, Christina is responsible for supporting our clients in the aerospace & defense, chemicals, financial services, media and transportation industries.
Prior to working at Water Street, she has gained experience by working with international organizations and a strategy consulting firm, and has also received opportunities to research abroad.
Christina graduated with an MS in Commerce from the University of Virginia and a BA in International Comparative Studies and Spanish from Duke University.
As a Director of Consulting at Water Street Partners, Gerard is responsible for leading consulting engagements. He has experience in the oil & gas, utilities, engineered products, telecommunications, and media fields.
Before joining Water Street Partners, Gerard was a Senior Associate at Booz & Company, where he worked on a variety of market assessments, alliance strategies, and transformational efforts. Before pursuing his MBA, Gerard worked at Accenture, focusing on process and organization design and implementation.
Gerard has an MBA from Duke University and a BS in Finance from Virginia Tech, where he was an Academic All-American and All-Conference tennis player.
His 25+ years in consulting started in McKinsey & Company, where he managed engagements for oil refiners and insurers, including integrating a cross-border acquisition. After serving as Regional VP strategy for a hospital company, he started an independent practice with a group of former McKinsey consultants, where he advised on a major utility merger integration and a cross-border pharma-biotech merger, among many other projects. Julian has also served as Total’s alternate director on the Iran Oil Consortium, as a tax policy analyst for the UK government and as a volunteer in the Southern Sudan.
Julian has a BA in economics and politics from Oxford University and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He is a dual citizen of the US and UK.
As an Associate at Water Street Partners, Carlos works to support our clients in the metals & mining, aerospace & defense, and manufacturing industries.
Carlos has a BA in Government and a Certificate in Latin American Studies from Harvard University.
Lois D’CostaLois D’Costa is the Product Director for Water Street Partners, and part of the editorial team of The Joint Venture Exchange.
Lois supports client engagements; develops tools, guides and other resources for Joint Venture Advisory Group subscribers; and is responsible for benchmarking and other assessments that leverage Water Street Partners’ proprietary databases and repository of best practices.
Lois joined Water Street Partners from McKinsey & Company, where she was a core member of the Corporate Finance Practice and worked extensively on issues related to joint ventures and other forms of alliances.
Lois holds an MBA-equivalent degree from Symbiosis in Pune, India.
Peter DanielAs a Director at Water Street Partners, Peter Daniel works with both our consulting clients and our JV Advisory Group subscribers across a number of industries including chemicals, financial services, and media. Peter's recent work includes supporting a biomaterials JV in assessing global expansion options, supporting a media JV and a financial services JV in a review of their governance systems and Board effectiveness, and supporting a multi-owner transportation JV in gaining alignment on a new strategic roadmap.
Peter joined Water Street Partners from the Corporate Executive Board where he advised Chief Legal Officers and Chief Compliance Officers on such issues as risk management, department productivity, and corporate governance. In 2004, he helped launch the Compliance and Ethics Leadership Council, which serves Compliance and Ethics executives at more than 400 leading organizations. In 2008, he served as the sales and marketing director on the launch of Compliance Peak, CEB's online compliance training service.
Peter graduated with a BS degree in International Economics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Jenish is an Associate in the JV Advisory Group at Water Street Partners. Prior to joining Water Street Partners, Jenish worked as Vice President at a technology consulting firm. Jenish has a bachelor’s degree from IIT Madras, a master's degree from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.
Lisa Karlich
Senior Consultant
Lisa is a Senior Consultant with Water Street Partners, where she works on healthcare-related engagements. Lisa recently led an engagement for a leading medical / healthcare association considering partnering options.
Previously, Lisa was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company, where she primarily supported healthcare and non-profit clients on a range of strategy-related issues, and an independent consultant serving non-profits on finance and strategy matters.
Lisa has a Ph.D from Duke University in Clinical Psychology, and BS degree from Virginia Tech, where she was an Academic All-American volleyball player.
Michal Kisilevitz
Executive Director of the Joint Venture Advisory Group
Michal oversees the Joint Venture Advisory Group (JVAG), Water Street Partners’ subscription-based services for JV CEOs and management teams, JV Board Directors, and other executives. In this role, Michal is responsible for ensuring the JVAG is focused on the most important issues for this group, providing valuable resources to help executives address those issues.
Prior to Water Street Partners, Michal was at the Corporate Executive Board (2004-2011). While there she was responsible for the strategy and day-to-day operations of the CLC Benefits and the CLC Compensation, which support benefits and compensation executives in addressing their key challenges. She also led the executive advisory and executive education teams for the Corporate Leadership Council which supports HR executives more broadly.
Prior to the Corporate Executive Board, Michal was an Associate Principal at McKinsey and Company where she primarily helped companies address organizational issues such as performance management, change management, executive team alignment, and organizational structure and core processes.
Michal has an undergraduate degree from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
As an Associate for Water Street Partners, Sam is responsible for supporting our clients in the Oil & Gas and Alternative Energy Industries.
Sam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Finance from Bucknell University.
As a Consultant at Water Street Partners, Josh is responsible for supporting our consulting engagements and our Joint Venture Advisory Group through detailed research and analysis. He has experience in the biotechnology, aerospace and defense, chemicals and engineering fields.
Before joining Water Street Partners, Josh was a senior associate at Taylor Companies, a boutique investment bank and consulting firm focused on synergy-driven mergers & acquisitions, where he led a variety of market evaluations and target searches for clients seeking guidance on the most logical acquisitions and/or divestitures for their business. He also supported transactional teams in capturing the “soft” cultural issues as well as the economic, legal and political hurdles that could impede a successful transaction.
Prior to Taylor, Josh worked as an analyst in the Defense Department. He has a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, with a focus on Science & Technology in International Affairs.
Mary joined Water Street Partners to provide office coordination and management of the day-to-day office needs. Prior to joining WSP, she worked for a software development company where she was the office manager overseeing all human resources and employee benefits as well as serving as the accounting manager and executive assistant to the president of the company.
Mary has more than 20 years of office management and administrative support experience with particular focus on work flow analysis, process development and data management. She has been involved in the development and implementation of processes and procedures designed to increase efficiency and productivity.
Ines joined Water Street from the Wharton School of Business. Prior to Wharton, Ines was an associate at The Boston Consulting Group where she worked in a variety of projects for leading consumer and industrial goods companies, private equity firms and non-governmental organizations. She has a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.
As an Associate at Water Street Partners, Nick supports our clients in tthe chemicals, financial services, media and transportation industries.
Nick has a BA in economics from Harvard University.
As a Director of Consulting at Water Street Partners, Ashley is responsible for leading consulting engagements. He has experience in oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare delivery.
Prior to joining Water Street Ashley was an integral member of the healthcare practice at McKinsey & Company and later, the Managing Member of an oil & gas services company joint venture, conducting business in Nigeria.
Ashley earned a BA, a MA in Religious Studies (ethics), and a PhD in Biochemistry and Genetics – all from the University of Virginia.
As a Director at Water Street Partners, Brent Sonnek-Schmelz works with both our consulting clients and our JV Advisory Group subscribers across a number of industries including metals and mining, manufacturing, automotive, and high technology.
Brent has a deep background as a c-level executive in a variety of industries, having led companies from inception through divestment. Most recently he co- founded and operated RelaxZen, Inc., a leading entrant in the functional beverage space. Brent began his career at Kinsman Capital, LLC as a private equity professional where he managed investments in consumer electronics, building materials and enterprise software.
Brent has a BA from Middlebury College in Political Science, an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is a member of the Bars of New York, New Jersey and California.
Blount Stewart
Joint Venture Advisory Group Business Analyst
As the Business Analyst for the JV Advisory Group, Blount is
responsible for enhancing Water Street Partners’ proprietary databases and repository of best practices.
Prior to joining Water Street Partners, Blount worked at an executive search firm. Blount has a BA in Classics from Columbia University and has studied in Rome through the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies.
Emily Thompson
Joint Venture Advisory Group Coordinator
As the Coordinator for the JV Advisory Group Emily is responsible for supporting subscriber requests on a day to day basis and for supporting the operations behind the group including planning and managing delivery of events and subscriber communications. Prior to this role at Water Street Partners, Emily was an Associate on our team and responsible for supporting our clients in the metals & mining, aerospace & defense and power industries.
Emily is a graduate of the University of Virginia and holds a double major in Political Philosophy and Religious Studies, with a minor in French.
Geoff Walker
Managing Director
Geoff Walker joined Water Street at its inception and is one of our partners. Geoff is responsible for the overall growth of our business and manages the relationships with our clients in oil & gas, alternative energy, power, and related industries. Geoff has recently led engagements in capital-intensive JVs in the Middle East and Scandinavia.
Geoff joined Water Street from the Corporate Executive Board, where he led and launched businesses in the Executive Board’s Legal & Governance Practice. Geoff was responsible for the growth of the General Counsel Roundtable and Compliance and Ethics Leadership Council, providing best practices research, decision-support tools, and executive education to a membership of the world's leading corporations.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Geoff served with distinction as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He is an accomplished helicopter pilot, with over 1000 hours in the SH-60 Seahawk, and served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon.
Geoff holds a Masters degree in International Affairs from Georgetown University.
Susan Waters
Senior Consultant
Susan Waters focuses on health care and pharmaceutical/medical device-related strategy, transactions, and R&D issues.
Prior to joining Water Street, Susan worked at McKinsey & Company as an Engagement Manager and a Pharmaceutical Practice Specialist. During her 12 years with McKinsey, Susan was a core member of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Products Practice, with a focus on serving both leading players and challengers on core strategy and operational issues, often focused on product development and research. Susan has also done work in the non-profit sector, as well as with other companies in the broader health care sector.
Susan has an AB from Princeton University and a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from Stanford University.