Who Are the1?

 

Mark Dixon - Director

mdixon@the1.com

Mark founded and manages the1. He has broad experience in M&A and strategic consulting. Prior to founding the1 in 2001 to focus on human capital M&A, he had built a consulting company in Eastern Europe and Russia. He entered the M&A field in 1983 when he joined Charles Street Securities, a New York City advisory firm specialising in insurance industry M&A. From 1988 to 1991 he was Managing Director at Translink, a cross-border M&A firm, where he was responsible for adding the UK, German and Italian offices and more than doubling its size. He also owned a data and research organisation specialising in cross-border M&A analysis, and in 1999 he co-founded Breakingviews.com, the leading producer of live financial commentary, which was acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2009. He has been lead dealmaker on more than 50 transactions in human capital covering most business models, functional specialties and more than 20 countries. In addition to managing the firm and advising clients, Mark is responsible for the1's training programme for associates, analysts and researchers which covers the firm's proprietary M&A methodologies.

Francesco Ceretti - Director

fceretti@the1.com

Francesco leads the1 in continental Europe. He has over twenty years' experience in finance and capital markets, working for major investment banks, covering a wide range of sectors from both Milan and London. He started in Hambros Bank in London, moving to Toronto Dominion Bank as a director to develop the bank's products and services into Italy and Switzerland. In 2002 he moved to Societe Generale to be in charge of setting up and developing the structured credit business in Italy and later also embracing the investment bank's financial sales/advisory solutions business. He then joined Glider Trading, an alternative investment manager, in charge of business development in Italy and Switzerland. In addition to leading the1's recruitment M&A team on the continental, Francesco assists on financially-complex M&A transactions of the firm globally.