Timothy Harned
Managing Director - Group Head: Retail Technologies and Commerce
“The world of commerce has never been as dynamic as it is today. The fusion of digital with traditional retail and the evolving trends that are constantly being set, reset, and reinvented all make for a challenging yet exhilarating environment for businesses. Much of this dynamism can only be met via M&A and the new company innovation that enables these trends.”
With a distinguished M&A and capital raising career spanning more than three decades, Tim has led strategic transactions for both Fortune 500 and early-stage, high-growth enterprises on an international scale; he brings a unique global perspective to his work, leading both cross-border transactions as well as complex U.S.-based situations. At Progress Partners, Tim founded and serves as the lead banker of the Retail Technologies and Commerce Group, where he represented Quad Graphics, Print Syndicate, and Bose Corporation on their recent successful M&A efforts. He has also successfully completed multiple significant cross-border transactions, most recently the sale of Retargetly to Epsilon (a Publicis Groupe Company).
Early in his career, Tim spent 15 years in M&A and capital advisory at Lehman Brothers, Banc of America Securities, and Morgan Stanley, where he was a founding member of several new business initiatives while also being staffed or leading several industry-defining transactions. He then transitioned to work with tech-focused boutique advisory firms for over a decade before founding and leading his own firm, 8Nineteen Advisory, in 2016, which he sold to Progress Partners in May 2021.
Additionally, he’s a member of the Board of Directors at Vuzix Corporation (Nasdaq: VUZI), where he chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee as well as the Acquisition and Investment Committee; he is also a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee.
Tim earned his AB in English from Kenyon College and his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“The world of commerce has never been as dynamic as it is today. The fusion of digital with traditional retail and the evolving trends that are constantly being set, reset, and reinvented all make for a challenging yet exhilarating environment for businesses. Much of this dynamism can only be met via M&A and the new company innovation that enables these trends.”
With a distinguished M&A and capital raising career spanning more than three decades, Tim has led strategic transactions for both Fortune 500 and early-stage, high-growth enterprises on an international scale; he brings a unique global perspective to his work, leading both cross-border transactions as well as complex U.S.-based situations. At Progress Partners, Tim founded and serves as the lead banker of the Retail Technologies and Commerce Group, where he represented Quad Graphics, Print Syndicate, and Bose Corporation on their recent successful M&A efforts. He has also successfully completed multiple significant cross-border transactions, most recently the sale of Retargetly to Epsilon (a Publicis Groupe Company).
Early in his career, Tim spent 15 years in M&A and capital advisory at Lehman Brothers, Banc of America Securities, and Morgan Stanley, where he was a founding member of several new business initiatives while also being staffed or leading several industry-defining transactions. He then transitioned to work with tech-focused boutique advisory firms for over a decade before founding and leading his own firm, 8Nineteen Advisory, in 2016, which he sold to Progress Partners in May 2021.
Additionally, he’s a member of the Board of Directors at Vuzix Corporation (Nasdaq: VUZI), where he chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee as well as the Acquisition and Investment Committee; he is also a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee.
Tim earned his AB in English from Kenyon College and his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
