Benjamin R. Pappas

Ben Pappas is the President of Bates Group in Portland, Oregon, where he uses his strategic planning and finance background to set financial policy and direction while also driving the company’s overall growth strategy.

Prior to joining Bates Group, Mr. Pappas was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of D.A. Davidson Companies’ Equity Capital Markets (ECM) business, where he was responsible for the implementation of strategic growth initiatives related to ECM’s Investment Banking and Institutional Equities businesses as part of the Executive Management Committee. In this capacity, he led the development of the firm’s overall business strategy, annual financial budgeting and forecasting process, and was a critical decision maker for all material activities in the day-to-day operation of the firm. Additionally, Mr. Pappas conducted the firm’s competitive analysis and benchmarking; executed the firm’s client feedback process; and was responsible for the integration of the firm’s acquisitions and team lift-outs related to its strategic plan.

In 2007, Mr. Pappas joined D.A. Davidson as part of its Institutional Equity Research Technology Team. During this time he developed strategic equity investment recommendations for mutual fund and hedge fund clientele based on the collection and synthesis of relevant market and technical data; built and maintained detailed financial models of companies in and adjacent to areas of research focus, including forward-looking profit/loss, cash flow, and balance sheet estimates; and performed a vast array of ad-hoc analyses at the request of the firm’s institutional investors, including advanced equity valuation, top-down and bottom-up market projections, and merger/acquisition impact analysis.

Mr. Pappas began his career at Merrill Lynch as a Financial Advisor, where he focused on investment/market research, portfolio management, retirement & estate planning, and nonprofit endowment/foundation management.

Mr. Pappas received his MBA from the University of Oregon, where he was the Valedictorian of his class. He is a graduate of the Securities Industry Institute of University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and completed his undergraduate degree at Linfield College, with a triple major in chemistry, economics, and mathematics. Mr. Pappas is also a Certified Financial Manager (CFM) and previously held FINRA Series 7, 24, 66, 86, and 87 licenses.