A Look at YPO Membership

Trevor M. Saliba is an experienced management consultant and financial professional that holds executive education credentials from the Harvard Business School. With expertise in corporate strategy, capital markets advisory, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions, Trevor Saliba is a managing partner at NMS Consulting, Inc. and maintains membership with the Milken Institute and the Yount Presidents Organizations (YPO).

Since its inception in 1950, the YPO has provided an open platform for chief executives and business leaders to engage in peer sharing and networking. Today, YPO is a premier leadership organization in the world, with more than 29,000 members.

YPO members are divided across more than 460 global chapters that span 130 countries. Forty-one percent of the organization’s members are entrepreneurs, while 34 percent are family business operators. The remaining 25 percent of YPO members hold professional management positions. Together, YPO members oversee an estimated 22 million employees and manage a combined revenue of nine trillion dollars.

For additional information on YPO membership, visit www.ypo.org.

Basic Components of a Good Market Analysis

Founder and CEO of NMS Capital Group, Trevor M. Saliba also leads the firm’s independent management consulting firm NMS Consulting as managing partner. In this capacity, Trevor Saliba and his team provide clients with guidance regarding everything from branding and corporate strategy to new market entry.

Before expanding to a new market, it’s essential that businesses complete market analyses. This type of research provides businesses with an in-depth understanding of growth rates, competitors, and potential barriers to entry.

Typically, a good market analysis consists of several components that can be combined into four basic categories: industry overview, target market, competition, and pricing and forecasts. As suggested by the name, industry overviews are relatively simple components of market analyses that describe the industry the business operates in. This description should be detailed enough that a person who is unfamiliar with the industry would be capable of grasping its challenges and outlook.

From there, companies must define their target markets and competition within a given market. The target market refers to the group of individuals that would be ideal customers for the business. This distinction requires that businesses define the gender, income level, and age of their preferred group. Meanwhile, examining the competition helps companies understand any direct and indirect competitors by providing information about their weaknesses and strengths.

Finally, setting the pricing and forecast helps businesses see where their companies would be positioned in the new market, and shows the portion of the market that can be secured by the business. This information is essential so companies can have an idea about any special pricing schemes or gross margin levels associated with new locations.

History of Merchant Banking

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As managing partner of NMS Capital Group, Inc., Trevor M. Saliba performs several roles in overseeing both private equity and merchant banking holdings. As a merchant banker, Trevor Saliba is involved in underwriting, loan services, financial advising, and fundraising.

Merchant banking has a long and interesting history on the global stage. Merchant banking dates back to the late medieval era in the 17th and 18th centuries. The practice started when merchants financed other merchants, but would not take off until the Italian Renaissance. In the 18th century, the merchant banking industry would flourish in the UK after the country would expand and begin trading abroad.

Governments would see the value of the merchant banker in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many countries did not have the budget to fund a war, so merchant banking would be one to raise funds for particular projects (i.e. building railroads). However, the only caveat for the merchant banker is that the banker had to properly assess the property when selling bonds or risk losing money. Then, merchant bankers also risked foreign governments defaulting on their loans.

While the practice would continue into the 20th century, merchant banking would not become a topic in finance in the US until the mid-1980s. The role of the merchant banker would shift where instead of just providing financial advice they would act as intermediaries. Businesses who could not get financing through traditional means (i.e. loan) would seek a merchant banker who would help them raise capital for their venture.

Today, the functions of the merchant banker differ around the world. For example, in the United States, the role of merchant bankers are narrower in focus in that they deal with multinationals and high net worth individuals. In the UK, however, the word merchant banker describes an investment banker.