In 1990, Robert Garrett, a principal of Robert Garrett & Sons, a family-owned investment bank, Abbott Jones, a former president and COO of Foote, Cone & Belding, Richard Yancey, a managing director of Dillon, Read, & Co, and three other partners established AdMedia Partners as the first financial advisory firm exclusively focused on advertising and media companies. From inception, the partners executed a strategy that aligned traditional transactional expertise with industry-focused operating knowledge to achieve superior results for clients.

The philosophy created by the founding partners continues to guide AdMedia today. Mr. Garrett started his business career with Smith Barney where he participated in all aspects of corporate financing as the principal officer responsible for a number of corporate clients, including McGraw-Hill and The New Yorker magazine.

Mr. Jones launched AdMedia after a distinguished, 29-year career in the advertising business. Prior to co-founding AdMedia, Mr. Jones was president and chief operating officer of Foote Cone & Belding. At AdMedia, Mr. Jones has advised the owners of many of the best-known independent agencies in high-profile transactions with the largest advertising agencies in the world, including the acquisitions of Federalist Group LLC by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, McKinney & Silver, Inc. by Arnold Worldwide Partners, Inc., Quinn Gillespie & Associates by WPP Group, Noonan/Russo Communications, Inc. by Havas Advertising, Ketchum Communications by Omnicom Group, and AdCom Inc. by The McManus Group, Inc.

Previous to joining AdMedia, Richard C. Yancey was with Dillon, Read & Co., Inc. from 1952 through 1992. During that 40-year period, he served as a senior officer and managing director in the firm's corporate finance department. He is one of Wall Street's most respected advisors in the traditional sense of the term: a confidential financial advisor with integrity, breadth of vision, and focus on client needs.

As the firm grew, it increased its expertise with the addition of new, highly-qualified managing directors and expanded its coverage of industry sectors to include marketing services and related Internet and interactive companies.

The partnership strengthened its media practice in 1994 with the addition of publishing entrepreneur Charles Wrubel. Previously, Mr. Wrubel was owner of a suburban newspaper chain and consultant to the newspaper industry. He continues to focus on newspaper transactions and advisory work throughout the country.

Greg Smith joined in 1997, strengthening the firm's industry and transactional expertise. Prior to joining AdMedia, Mr. Smith was managing director and head of the media and technology group at Dean Witter, responsible for all technology, communications, and media business. Mr. Smith spent 10 years with Dean Witter. Previously, he worked for seven years providing financial advisory services to technology companies at E. F. Hutton and at Dillon, Read & Co., Inc.

In 1999, Mark Edmiston and Seth Alpert joined the partnership to support the accelerating convergence of the media and advertising industries caused by the rapid growth and dis-intermediating forces of the Internet.

Mr. Edmiston was formerly the president of Newsweek, creator of several magazines and co-founder of The Jordan, Edmiston Group. Mr. Edmiston also served as a director of America Online. His broad experience as a global media executive, publishing entrepreneur, and financial advisor solidified the firm's media practice.

Seth Alpert spearheads the firm's activities in Internet and related interactive industries. Mr. Alpert has over 20 years' experience in the media and computer industries and is a recognized electronic publishing visionary, having established and developed the ZiffNet, an early and innovative online service, prior to joining AdMedia.

In 2004, Philip A. Palazzo, Jr. joined the firm as a Managing Director to solidify AdMedia's leadership position in marketing services. Mr. Palazzo is a highly-regarded global marketing services executive having earlier served as president, international operations, of Ammirati Puris Lintas (now part of Lowe & Partners Worldwide, a subsidiary of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc.), one of the world's largest advertising agency networks. During his 18-year tenure at Ammirati Puris Lintas and predecessor agency Ammirati & Puris, Phil was general manager of APL's flagship New York office and chief financial officer of APL Americas.

AdMedia has published its highly regarded Surveys on Advertising/Marketing and Media M&A since 1994.

Today, AdMedia is one of the leading M&A firms for digital and traditional media, marketing and information businesses.