Macquarie Capital, the corporate advisory, capital markets and principal investing arm of Macquarie Group, today announced it has expanded its industrials advisory coverage, naming Leland (Lee) Harrs Managing Director, Head of Chemicals for the Americas. In his new role, Mr. Harrs will work with the industrials team to accelerate Macquarie Capital's existing mergers and acquisitions and capital raising activities in the chemicals industry and related sectors.
Mr. Harrs brings three decades of experience providing strategic ideas and advice to corporates and sponsors, with extensive expertise originating and executing transactions in specialty chemicals. Prior to joining Macquarie Capital, Mr. Harrs was Head of Houlihan Lokey's Chemicals practice. Earlier, he was Managing Director and Co-Head of Corporate Finance at C&Co/PrinceRidge. He also held senior roles at KeyBanc Capital Markets, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Chase Securities. Mr. Harrs received his bachelor's degree from Columbia University and his MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.
"Lee is a distinguished veteran of specialty chemicals advisory with a deep network of relationships across key sub-verticals such as adhesives, sealants, coatings, resins, lubricants, activated carbon and the manufacturing and distribution sectors they impact," said David Berman, Co-Head of Macquarie Capital, Americas. "At a time when large strategics, middle-market corporates and financial sponsors are seeking to transact, Lee's extensive knowledge, global focus and actionable ideas are an outstanding addition to our industrials advisory team."
In addition to conducting Americas-based transactions, Mr. Harrs and the specialty chemicals team will work closely with Macquarie Capital colleagues in other regions, including Europe and Asia-Pacific, to originate and execute on cross-border deals.
"Industry demand fundamentals are strong. With supply chains now normalized, interest rates declining and debt markets active, we see many positive signals pointing towards an unwinding of pent-up asset ownership in the next 18 months," said Mr. Harrs. "I am thrilled to be joining Macquarie Capital, which is well positioned to transact not only across geographies, but also across industries, from packaging, building products and consumer goods to infrastructure and commodities."
