Your Safewater team will consist of experienced former “big firm” employees that saw an opportunity to deliver better value on advising in “special situations” transactions within the middle market, while avoiding the situational ethics and greed factor that tends to permeate the larger investment banking and restructuring markets.

Your team is also committed to competing solely in the middle-market and lower middle-market segment of the economy.

Unique Approach within Special Situations Engagements

We only represent privately-held (typically family-owned) businesses in the middle-market.

We work for you, the client. We do not ever work directly for lenders – although we are sometimes referred into transactions by lenders and lawyers.  We take care to avoid even the appearance of potential conflicts of interest with respect to our role and loyalty within a transaction.

We assign two senior bankers to each transaction and charge a fixed monthly work fee.

A critical part of our job is to make sure management and ownership clearly understand their rights and obligations to better navigate the unfamiliar territory of refinancing, mergers and acquisitions, or distress.

We help senior lenders understand that it is always in their best interest to avoid costly, contentious battles in order to achieve the best outcome for all stakeholders.

Many times, we can eliminate significant costs through open, honest and frequent communication with the lender(s). Accordingly, there can be significantly less strain on liquidity when compared to traditional transactions adding significant value to all stakeholders in a transaction.

We try to provide better outcomes to you, and all other stakeholders, by focusing on the endgame, and trying to eliminate wasted time and fees that can potentially occur in every transaction.

Our People

The SafeWater Team has been drafted from a variety of specialty backgrounds, including investment banking, commercial banking, big four accounting, real estate, strategy/operations consulting, middle market executives, and the legal profession.

SENIOR ADVISORS:

John O’Neill is a Managing Director of SafeWater Capital Advisors LLC. John’s primary focus is on out-of-court restructurings within the middle market.  He specializes in providing restructuring advisory services and traditional corporate finance and investment banking services to private companies and private equity portfolio companies.  John has diverse industry experience, including over twenty-plus years of corporate and middle market banking. Before joining SafeWater, John held senior restructuring advisory positions with a number of national and regional restructuring practices, while living in Dallas, Texas.  Although initially trained as a middle market, commercial banker, he started his restructuring advisory career managing Chanin Capital Partners’ Dallas office in 2001. He also worked for Barrier Advisors and Imperial Capital. Prior to becoming a distressed advisor, John worked in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was a Group Head in the Financial Sponsor Portfolio Group at Bank of America.  This has given him a unique perspective on many relationships with private companies.  He has also held positions at banks in Texas, including NationsBank, Sumitomo Bank, and Daiwa Bank in Houston, as well as First City Bank and RepublicBank in Dallas. John holds a BBA from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.  John O’Neill is Registered Representative of Finalis Securities LLC Member FINRA / SIPC.

Paul Patterson is a Managing Director of SafeWater Capital Advisors LLC.  Paul has spent his career leading technology, strategy, legal and accounting firms servicing a variety of markets. An alumnus of Accenture, he has also served as Managing Partner and Dallas market lead for Tatum CFO Partners, LLP, growing the Dallas business to over $14 million annually.  Four times with 3 different firms Paul has received recognition for fast growth by local and national business publications. He previously served in a national role as General Manager for public technology integrator, Perficient Inc.  Paul also served as President for the DFW chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), and he is a past advisory board member for BBVA in Dallas.  He has served on a variety of non-profit boards as well, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Collin County and Austin Street Center homeless shelter.  Paul holds a BBA in Economics from Baylor University, and an MBA in Finance from Vanderbilt University.

Andy Bravo is a Managing Director of SafeWater Capital Advisors LLC.  He has extensive experience delivering finance solutions to middle market clients throughout South Texas and prides himself on delivering a white glove client experience.  Andy has over 20 years of banking experience with institutions such as: JP Morgan Chase, PNC and Wells Fargo.  In previous roles as a relationship manager, Andy played quarterback for teams that focused on delivering complex financing to his clients.  This experience provides Andy with a deep understanding of the challenges middle market businesses in the region face and helps him to provide thoughtful solutions that meet their evolving needs.  Andy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from The University of Detroit Mercy, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas- Rio Grande Valley and a Master’s degree of Jurisprudence in Risk Management and Compliance from Texas A&M University School of Law.

Tom Earnshaw is a Managing Director of SafeWater Capital Advisors, LLC.  He is a senior executive with over forty-five (45) years of broad-based financial and operating experience and has served as both the CFO and CEO of private and publicly traded companies. He has sourced and closed the placement of over $90 million of capital (debt and/or equity).  Tom works with companies in various stages of their business life cycle including start-ups, fast growing companies (organic and acquisition), turnaround situations, distressed environments, decline (organic and disposition), transition and exit.  Tom has diverse industry experience, including 18 years in the solid waste industry, 23 years in the publishing industry which overlapped with 8 years as a fractional CFO with Tatum CFO Partners.    While providing fractional CFO services he gained experience in a variety of industries which included staffing and recruiting, digital archiving, publishing, auto handling, custom home building, software development, motorcar racing sanctioning, rubber recycling and others.  Tom holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Hawaii, is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and is a member of the AICPA.

Laura Webb is a Managing Director of Safewater Capital advisors LLC, and an accomplished executive with 25+ years of experience in business growth, capital raising, and strategic sales and marketing across various industries.  She has a proven track record of transforming organizations through innovative business development and operational strategies.
Her career includes roles at InfoGroup, CohnReznick, Accretive Solutions, and Jefferson Wells, where she built high-performance teams driving revenue growth for Fortune 1000 and middle-market clients.  As a board advisor, she has guided organizations to raise significant capital and expand market share.   Most recently, at Texas Capital Bank, she strengthened the market presence in central Texas by matching internal and external capital providers with bank client needs.  She has an extensive network of C-suite officers, board members, family offices, venture capitalists, and private equity sponsors, that will benefit Safewater’s future clients.
A graduate of Bellevue University with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Laura is known for her integrity, thought leadership, and client-centric approach.

James Reed is a Managing Director of SafeWater Capital.  He is an accomplished investment management professional with over 33 years of experience in real estate development and finance, specializing in private equity, institutional investment and special situations workouts. Mr. Reed previously worked at Fortress Investment Group, the Government of UAE, and Vallenta Capital Advisors where he developed and managed large real estate investments.  During his career, James has structured complex deals, secured funding, and deftly managed financial risks.  He is a strategic leader who has been involved in projects with a cumulative value exceeding $700 billion.  With a focus on investment management and special situations workouts, James is involved in diverse sectors of commercial real estate development, including Multi-Family, Healthcare/Life Sciences, Logistics, Hospitality and Mixed Use.  Beyond his professional achievements, James is dedicated to ethical business practices and sustainable development. He received his BA from the University of Louisiana Lafayette.

Todd Perry is a Managing Director of SafeWater Capital Advisors LLC. He is a senior corporate and investment banking professional with over 20 years of experience as an M&A investment banker, Chief Restructuring Officer, Interim CFO and financial advisor for large corporate and middle market businesses. Mr. Perry spent the first 9 years of his career as a CPA at auditor at Arthur Andersen and then Price Waterhouse Cooper.  He spent 10 years at FTI Consulting providing interim management services, restructuring and bankruptcy consulting, corporate financial advisory services, financial and accounting consulting and mergers and acquisitions consulting.  He spent 5 years as a founding partner in Larx Advisors, Inc., a corporate finance and business advisory firm providing similar services as FTI.  In 2021, Mr. Perry joined Texas Capital Bank as the first employee of Texas Capital Securities where he assisted with launching the broker dealer and more specifically the M&A function within the newly formed investment bank.

Mr. Perry’s experience encompasses a wide variety of industries including oil and gas, healthcare, business services, manufacturing, consumer products, food & beverage, technology and software development, internet services and hosting, cable and telecommunications, and government contracting.

Mr. Perry holds a B.S. in accounting with an emphasis in finance from the University of Wyoming. He is a certified public accountant (inactive) and is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, and the Turnaround Management Association.

Bruce Shilcutt is a Managing Director of SafeWater Capital Advisors LLC.  He has extensive experience working with middle-market, problem credits during all phases of the credit cycle.  Early in his career he held various credit and special asset positions with JP Morgan Chase Bank in Houston and Dallas.  He retired from banking as Executive Vice President and Special Assets Manager at Texas Capital Bank in Dallas.  Bruce brings deep execution experience and a strong understanding of the regulatory issues that lenders must navigate within special situations crises.  Clients benefit from a streamlined restructuring process and better cooperation from distressed lenders.
Bruce holds a BBA in Banking and Finance from Abilene Christian University.

Tim Curren is a Managing Director of SafeWater Capital Advisors LLC. Tim has over 30 years of diverse business, legal, and operational experience. He spent the first fifteen years of his career as a US Air Force pilot and as a pilot, technical pilot, and corporate financial analyst for American Airlines. Subsequent to his aviation career, Tim attended law school and practiced law at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, focusing his practice on the formation and operation of U.S. domestic and offshore private investment funds. Tim later served as the firm’s Director of Innovation, implementing technology solutions and process improvement methodologies to facilitate the efficient delivery and management of legal services and budgets. Tim currently serves as an adjunct professor of law at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and has developed and delivered corporate training programs in connection with the Project Management Consortium at the University of Texas at Austin. Tim has advised clients across a variety of industries and is also a trained and adept mediator known for his ability to communicate and develop consensus across disparate groups. Tim holds a BS in electrical engineering  from Tufts University, an MBA from the University of Texas in Austin and a JD  from Southern Methodist University.

Scott Christiansen is a Managing Director of SafeWater Capital Advisors LLC. Scott has spent his career as a lawyer in both a big law firm focused on middle market companies and as the General Counsel for Lehman Brothers’ Private Equity Group where he advised the management team during the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in 2008 which resulted in a successful management buyout of the business along with Neuberger Berman. While at Lehman Scott also helped the group raise and deploy approximately $8 billion of capital in the private equity across private equity funds in the Large Cap Buyout, Mid Cap Buyout, Venture Capital and Special Situations asset classes. Scott most recently was the founder of a law firm focused on startup and middle market companies in various stages of transition either raising capital, navigating a recapitalization or exit event and purchasing assets from bankruptcy sales. He has served as a member of the Lovejoy Independent School Board of Trustees and is actively involved in various non profit ventures. Scott has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Montana State University, and a JD from Pepperdine University School of Law.

Securities are offered through Finalis Securities LLC Member FINRA / SIPC. Safewater Capital Advisors LLC is not a registered broker-dealer, and Finalis Securities LLC and Safewater Capital Advisors LLC are separate, unaffiliated entities.

Finalis Privacy Policy | Finalis Business Continuity Plan | FINRA BrokerCheck

www.gosafeh2o.com (the "Safewater Capital Advisors LLC Website") is a website operated by Safewater Capital Advisors LLC, a privately held Texas limited liability company. Safewater Capital Advisors LLC provides financial and strategic consulting services, mergers and acquisitions services, fairness opinions, etc.