Eric Risley Bio

Eric Risley has guided senior executives and corporate boards through private and public financings, M&A and strategic transactions for over twenty-five years. Eric founded and is Managing Partner at Architect Partners LLC, a digital asset and mergers & acquisition advisory firm focused on entrepreneurs and emerging growth companies and emerging technology sectors. Previously, Eric led Global Software Corporate and Investment Banking for Banc of America Securities, building the practice into the technology group’s largest revenue-generating business while advising some of the firms’ largest clients including CA, BEA Systems, Symantec, Microsoft, Oracle and Veritas among others. Prior to BofA Securities, Eric co-founded the Silicon Valley technology investment banking practice for Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (subsequently CIBC World Markets) where he eventually led both the Internet and Software Investment Banking business units. Eric was also Head of Investment Banking at Rutberg & Company, the well regarded wireless research and investment banking boutique. Eric’s brings clients executive and Board-level relationships built over two decades at hundreds of venture and growth investors as well as important acquirers across the technology, Internet, mobile digital media and newly emerging blockchain sectors. Selected client mandates include financing advisory assignments for Crypto | DLT-based clients: Securitize acquisition of Velocity Capital Markets and Open Finance Network and LO3 Energy financings. Recently completed M&A advisory mandates include the divestiture of FICO’s Cyber Risk Score business to Institutional Shareholder Services, the sale of Velocity Capital Markets to Securitize, the sale of Mavencare to Bayada, the sale of HireAHelper to Porch, the sale of Zetta to Marlin Equity portfolio company Arcserve, the sale of ThinkSmart Technologies to Cisco, the sale of SkyFire Labs to Opera Software, the sale of Avaak to Netgear, the sale of Qualcomm-backed Gimbal to The Mobile Majority, the purchase of Best Buy subsidiary mindSHIFT by RICOH, the sale of ENCAP Security to AllClearID, the sale of ZLEMMA to Hired and the sale of Mobidia to App Annie.