Joseph W. Valis is a founding partner of BOVARO Partners, LLC. Mr. Valis has worked with a broad spectrum of clients ranging from start-up and venture stage companies, to emerging growth companies, to Fortune 500 clients in energy, including oil and gas exploration and production, mining, oil field services, public utilities, power technology, and midstream oil and gas and coal transportation and storage, technology, including seismic software and power line communications. Mr. Valis has worked on over $1 billion in equity, equity-linked and debt financings from private equity and debt placements of less than $1 million to over $40 million, to initial public equity offerings, secondary equity offerings, convertible bond offerings and debt financing in excess of $100 million.

Prior to founding BOVARO Partners, Mr. Valis was a Vice President in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division and a member of the firm’s Global Energy Group and a Vice President in the Energy Investment Banking department of Schroder & Co. Mr. Valis also the Director of Venture Capital Services for The Catterton Group, Ltd. The Catterton Group, Ltd., an investment banking, merchant banking and investment advisory firm, and its affiliates, had investments and operations in mining, transportation, construction, environmental services, natural resources, engineering and consumer products and services and business services.

Prior to the Catterton Group, Mr. Valis was a senior appointee of Governor Gaston Caperton of West Virginia. Mr. Valis served as the Director of Business and Industrial Development Department of the Governor’s office responsible for all business development, marketing, business recruitment and research functions of West Virginia’s economic development agency. The staff of 30 reporting to Mr. Valis included U.S. business development officers and industry specialists, international business development officers, and industry and economic research staff. Mr. Valis was also appointed Executive Director of the West Virginia Economic Development Authority, the state’s economic development finance bank that had over $250 million in assets and oversight for the state’s venture capital activities.

Mr. Valis serves on the Board of Directors of Appalachian Energy Holdings, the finance committee of the McDonogh School and on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Lacrosse Club.

Mr. Valis is a graduate of Oxford University (M.A. Honors, Jurisprudence) and Swarthmore College.