Matthew D. Bergman

Principal

Matt Bergman is an experienced, accomplished and passionate C-suite executive, corporate attorney, business consultant, financial analyst, strategic marketer and trusted counselor with a unique blend of legal, financial, analytical, communications and quantitative acuity. He comes primarily from a corporate legal and finance background, having been a practicing transactional attorney for 15 years, over which time he has advised and assisted on the closing of more than 100 transactions in an aggregate value in excess of $50 billion. He was initially trained - and continues to practice - in the areas of debt finance and restructuring, but also routinely handles middle market/SMB M&A, private securities offerings, equity financing on behalf of early stage ventures, entity formation and structuring, outside general counsel services and, broadly, the drafting, negotiating and consummation of complex commercial transactions.

Matt has previously worked as a credit analyst, with a focus on distressed leveraged credits and as a valuation consultant to privately held companies. He is trained in advanced corporate finance, capital budgeting, cost optimization, financial modeling, scenario analyzes, as well as in the preparation of confidential information memorandums, financial forecasts and projections, working capital analyzes, accounts receivable cross-aging, relevant data analytics and continually emerging AI-powered tools.

As an attorney, he addressed a number of complex syndicated banking transactions. His transactional background includes high profile business reorganizations, both via the Chapter 11 process and out-of-court workouts, large-cap syndicated bank financings, as well as M&A and highly specialized middle market deals.

Immediately prior to forming Ridge Strategic, Matt served as Vice President & Senior Counsel at Marino - a nationally-ranked, full-service strategic communications and consulting firm in NYC and he continues to serve as Marino’s outside counsel. While in-house, his primary areas of responsibility included internal legal and financial services, client-facing counsel and strategic planning, business and strategic development and applied analytics.

Matt is assisted by a dedicated network of peers who practice in particularly specialized areas, such as taxation and ERISA. He is able to bring an unusual depth and breadth of both industry knowledge, deal experience, and practical insight. A voracious reader and lifelong learner, Matt loves the challenge of quickly diving deep into emerging industries and market segments and, as a result of his network of relationships, is often able to provide a curated, one-stop shopping resource for clients.

Throughout his career, Matt has taken great pride in forming long-term relationships with clients and has been blessed to build Ridge Strategic to scale on what has been effectively a referral only-basis. Matt does not hold himself out as the low cost provider in his space, but places tremendous emphasis on being among the most flexible, efficient, and value-accretive providers. It is always his pleasure to sit for a free initial consultation with a prospective client. Being blessed to have reached a point at which Ridge Strategic is able to be deliberate in selecting the assignments will take on, Matt is often willing to enter into creative arrangements with good, interesting people and businesses engaged in interesting work.

Matt received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2008. He later earned an M.S. in Finance, summa cum laude, from Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating cum laude and with distinction in Political Science, with a minor in Economics.

Living in Holmes, NY with his wife, Michelle (and their dogs Fozzie and Charlie), Matt is a lover of all things business; he has more than a decade of investment management experience; counsels students considering careers in the law or in finance. Beyond spending time with his family, Matt is rarely without reading material; he is a voracious exercise junkie; and tends to take the New York Yankees entirely too seriously.