Bio

Jon Merriman serves as Chief Business Officer for B. Riley Financial, the holding company for RILY's diverse operations, as well as Senior Managing Director, Investment Banking, with B. Riley Securities, the firm's investment banking arm. In these dual roles Merriman works closely with public and private corporations across multiple industry groups, private equity investors, and law firms to leverage the firm's resources to create solutions and drive revenue to the firm. Merriman specializes in actively advising high growth public and private companies on complex financing and operational issues. With over 30 years of experience in the investment banking, brokerage, and trading businesses, he has deep experience in corporate turnarounds, capital markets transactions and growing organizations across a broad variety of industries, including the healthcare, technology and consumer sectors. He also has experience in managing fast-growing organizations, spearheading the growth of the investment bank Merriman Holdings, Inc. to over $100mm in revenues in less than five years. During the pandemic, Merriman was very active with equity and equity linked solutions for a variety of clients in the technology, media, healthcare and entertainment sectors, including AMC's recent $2.2 billion ATM financing solution. Prior to his appointment as B. Riley's Chief Business Officer in April 2019, Merriman served as head of Capital Markets, during which time he was tasked with helping expand and enhance the firm's capital markets and investment banking business prior to its merger with FBR & Co. in 2017. Today, the combined business, B. Riley Securities, is a leading investment bank which provides corporate finance, research, and sales & trading to corporate, institutional and high net worth individual clients. Investment banking services include initial, secondary and follow-on offerings, institutional private placements, and merger and acquisitions advisory services. The firm is nationally recognized for its highly ranked proprietary equity research and is a recognized leader in financing and advising companies under $2 billion in enterprise value. Prior to joining B. Riley, Merriman was co-chairman and CEO of Merriman Holdings, Inc. Before forming his own firm, Merriman was Managing Director and Head of Equities for Wells Fargo Securities (WFS), formerly First Security Van Kasper (FSVK), and served on FSVK's Board of Directors. As a result of a financing completed by WFS, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of RateXchange Corporation, a publicly traded telecommunications company. Merriman was subsequently appointed Chairman and CEO of RateXchange, which he restructured into Merriman Curhan Ford, known as Merriman Capital, Inc. Over the course of his finance and managerial career, Merriman has served on multiple private, public and non-profit company boards and continues to be active as a board member and advisor. Merriman's extensive institutional and personal network and trading experience provide him with unique perspective when serving as a board member, as well as working with investment banking clients and institutional investors. Merriman's broad experience across banking and brokerage, as well as his prior management and board activities, has earned him a reputation as a leading private equity and portfolio company advisor among his peers and network in the greater Los Angeles and Bay Area - as well as across the US and internationally. Merriman holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and is based in the firm's Los Angeles office.