Our Story
The Mentor Group, Inc. was founded in 1987 by Davis Blaine. His vision
was to perform high value preeminent services for clients, utilizing senior
professionals with superior experience and expertise. That philosophy
and culture thrive today, creating an unmatched capability in valuations
and appraisals, financial consulting, and litigation support services.
For over three decades, we have served thousands of clients, small and
large. Many of these clients have been with us from early on, trusting
us to deliver results year after year.
Who We Are
Davis Blaine, Chairman of both Mentor Securities LLC and The Mentor Group
Inc., is expert in the accounting, tax, and financial aspects of acquisitions,
recapitalizations, valuations and appraisal. He has frequently lectured
and written on technical valuation issues. Mr. Blaine has counseled many
clients on buying, selling, or raising capital. In addition, he has prepared
companies for public and private investment, strategic partnership, and
joint ventures.
Justin Blaine is a Senior Managing Director of Mentor Securities LLC and
The Mentor Group Inc. His experience includes performing business and
IP valuations. These valuations have ranged from medical service firms
to car dealerships….from Internet advertisers to construction companies…and
from consumer goods to aerospace, and many more.
Brad Cashion is a Managing Director with The Mentor Securities LLC and
The Mentor Group Inc. He has extensive experience in valuing and preparing
private companies for sale and capital raising. In addition, he has participated
in financing of real estate and business assets. Among the investment
banking transactions completed by Mr. Cashion are sellside, buyside, restructuring,
strategic partnerships, private placements, spinoff, and senior and mezzanine
debt. He has counseled many public companies regarding fairness opinions,
stock options for IPO's, and acquisitions.
Mr. Epperson is Senior Manager at The Mentor Group, Inc. He has more than
twenty years of professional experience preparing numerous cost segregation
studies of new and used construction. These depreciations analysis have
significantly reduced taxes for clients in industrial, retail, office,
medical, residential rental, refineries, auto dealerships, broadcast facilities,
and high-tech operations.
Eric Klein is a Managing Director with Mentor Securities LLC and The Mentor
Group Inc. As an investment banker, he has completed a variety of corporate
advisory transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, capital raises
(debt and equity), and RTO's (reverse take-overs). Many of these transactions
involved emerging growth and established middle-market companies. Primary
industries include information technology, manufacturing, business services
and eCommerce. He actively maintains extensive domestic and international
relationships with institutional (Private Equity Groups, Family Offices,
SPAC) and strategic investors.
Gary Lotzer is a Managing Director with Mentor Securities LLC and The Mentor
Group Inc. He is an expert in business valuation, business and marketing
plans, industry research and financial modeling. His valuations have been
used for partner dissolutions, IRS estate tax support, litigation damages,
and business sales.
Wesley Romberger is a Managing Director and Senior Financial Appraiser
with The Mentor Group. He has diverse and substantive expertise in the
valuation of both public and closely-held companies. Engagements have
involved options, preferred and common stock, derivative securities pricing
and intangible assets. He has counseled many buyers and sellers, and written
detailed prospectus for raising capital.
Mark Sarchet is a senior finance professional who has valued and sold many
businesses in a variety of industries. The breadth of his practice includes
financial advisory, business and IP valuation, and valuations of financial
derivatives and debt instruments. These analyses have involved public
and private companies in numerous industry segments, from hedge funds
to high tech.….. from medical instruments to food distribution
…… from aerospace to software development, and more.
Fritz Strehlow is a Managing Director with Mentor Securities LLC and The
Mentor Group Inc. with expertise and extensive experience in business
valuations, mergers and acquisitions, raising equity, and business management.
His work has involved private and public entities - corporations and partnerships.
In addition, he is an expert witness in financial valuations.
Senior appraiser of real property, George Ruth focuses on Southern California
real estate. Among his engagements are supermarkets, nurseries, recording
studios, apartments, condominiums, offices, hospices, restaurants, retail,
warehouses and vacant land. His reports have been applied to litigation,
divorce, 1031 exchanges, settlements, estate and gift tax, and sale-leaseback.
Bert Jones, Senior appraiser, manages and performs appraisals for a wide
variety of inventory, equipment, and machinery - from computers and peripherals
to steel production equipment and MRI's. Examples of machinery and
equipment appraised include computer, high tech milling, food processing,
printing presses, oil and gas drilling, transportation, medical imaging,
and manufacturing. On numerous occasions he has testified in court as
an expert witness.
Mark Justmann is a Senior Real Estate Appraiser with The Mentor Group.
His experience spans multi-state and international appraisals for all
types of commercial, industrial, multi-family, vacant land, and special
purpose facilities, estate homes, and agriculture. Most of his appraisals
have involved the Western U.S. - California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.
Rhett Plotner is a Managing Director of Mentor Securities and The Mentor
Group, Inc. At Mentor Securities, his investment banking expertise spans
numerous sell-side, buy-side, and capital sourcing engagements. He has
also advised early-stage companies via venture and angel funding and consulting.
Industries served range from food & beverage to high-tech SaaS, healthcare
to cybersecurity, manufacturing to industrial services, and many more
in-between. Mr. Plotner possesses exceptional skills, indispensable to
execute any investment banking transaction and deliver optimal client results.
Senior Professionals
The TMG management team includes persons well-known in their respective
disciplines. We have relevant experience in nearly every industry and
with every type of asset.
Daniel Christian
Daniel Christian specializes in the appraisal of single family residences,
multiple residential units, apartments, condominiums, planned unit developments,
and small commercial facilities. His appraisals have been used for gifting,
estate tax, charitable donations, litigation, and 1031 exchanges.
Andrew Collins, FRICS, AACS
Andrew Collins is a senior real estate appraiser with experience in multi-state
and international engagements. His appraisals have included vacant land,
commercial, industrial, retail, agriculture and vineyards, and many types
of special purpose facilities. He is qualified as an expert witness in
many courts.
Robert Hunt
Robert Hunt manages and performs machinery and equipment appraisals throughout
the United States. He has a particular specialty in the food and agriculture
industries and all types of industrial equipment. Mr. Hunt is expert in
modeling for forced liquidation.
Rhys Jones
Rhys Jones is a Senior Equipment Analyst with The Mentor Group. His clients
have ranged from aerospace contractors to healthcare facilities and many
other industries. His appraisals have been used for sale, bankruptcy,
property tax, lender collateral, and receivership. He is adept at software
applications for fixed asset reporting.
Alexander Kurin
Alexander Kurin manages and performs real estate appraisals throughout
the United States. He has a particular specialty in multi-location projects.
These appraisals have been used for financing, sale, reorganization, property
and estate tax, depreciation basis, and allocation of purchase price.
Andrew Sheriff, MRICS
Andrew Sheriff is a senior real estate appraiser with multi-state and international
experience. He has appraised nearly every type of industrial, commercial,
retail, apartment, government, university, and manufacturing property.
Some of the major facilities include petrochemical, food and beverage,
cement manufacturing, plastics, and rubber plants.