Joseph Nappi
Get their honest, personalized take on your startup.
Sign in to pitch Joseph →At a glance
- Full Name
- Joseph Nappi, CTP
- Title
- Senior Managing Director & Shareholder
- Firm
- Phoenix IB / Phoenix Management Services / Phoenix Capital Resources (collectively "Phoenix," now part of J.S. Held)
- Firm Type
- Restructuring & turnaround advisory / middle-market investment bank (M&A advisory, capital placement, financial restructuring) — *not* an angel investor; the "Angel Investor / Seed Round" label in the source stub appears to be a misclassification
- Investment Stage
- N/A as an equity investor. Phoenix Capital Resources arranges capital raises, refinancings, and M&A transactions for middle-market companies, typically in special-situations / distressed contexts
- Check Size
- Not applicable (advisory mandates, not equity checks). Deals advised have ranged into the tens of millions (e.g., ~$50M–$100M+ transaction values)
- Target Company Profile
- Middle-market companies — public, private, family-owned, and private-equity-backed — often facing operational or financial challenges, restructurings, or transitions
- Sector Focus
- Sector-agnostic / multi-industry; documented work in clean-tech/gas turbine manufacturing, metal tubing, automotive and aerospace manufacturing, transportation, restaurants, and eDiscovery
- Geographic Focus
- North America and Europe (cross-border M&A experience)
- Location
- Boston, Massachusetts
Background
Joseph Nappi is a Senior Managing Director and Shareholder at Phoenix, the Boston-headquartered restructuring and investment-banking firm (Phoenix Management Services, Phoenix IB, and Phoenix Capital Resources, now part of J.S. Held). He has spent roughly two decades at the firm and is a mainstay of its Boston office, with more than 15–20 years of experience in special-situation transactions, operational and financial restructuring, refinancing, capital raising, complex balance-sheet restructuring, and M&A — both inside and outside Chapter 11. He routinely serves middle-market companies in interim leadership roles such as Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Before Phoenix, Nappi worked in commercial banking. He was a portfolio manager at FleetBoston Financial, where he oversaw a middle-market loan portfolio exceeding $500 million, and earlier held portfolio and analytical positions at Chase Manhattan Bank, where he completed the Global Investment Banking Training Program. This lending-and-credit background underpins his work as a turnaround manager, investment banker, and financial advisor.
He holds a B.S. in Financial Investments (cum laude) with a minor in Management Information Systems from Babson College. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP), holds a FINRA Series 79 license, and has been active in the Turnaround Management Association, including serving as President-elect of its Northeast Chapter. In 2019 he was promoted to Senior Managing Director and Shareholder of Phoenix.
Investment Thesis & Focus
*(Reframed to reflect his actual mandate — advisory and capital placement, not angel/seed equity investing.)*
- Works with middle-market companies (public, private, family-owned, and PE-backed) that are navigating operational or financial stress, transition, or growth-through-transaction situations
- Core services: operational and financial restructuring, refinancing, capital raising/placement, complex balance-sheet restructuring, and M&A advisory — including Section 363 sales and Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) processes
- Frequently steps in as interim CRO or CFO, providing hands-on financial and operational leadership rather than passive capital
- Sector-agnostic with deep manufacturing and industrials experience; comfortable with cross-border (North America/Europe) and Chapter 11 contexts
Notable Investments
- Clean-tech gas turbine manufacturer — led a cross-border deleveraging/divestiture; recognized as M&A Advisor's "Cross-Border Deal of the Year" and "Divestiture Deal of the Year"
- ~$100M multi-industry holding company — complex restructuring involving pension liabilities
- ~$50M restaurant chain — advised through a successful Section 363 bankruptcy sale
- Additional engagements across transportation, multinational metal tubing, automotive/aerospace manufacturing, and eDiscovery firms, plus work with private equity funds (transactions up to ~$82M in post-acquisition revenue)
Unlock the full research
Get how to approach them, recent activity, sources, contact links — plus pitch their AI twin for a candid read on your raise.
One-time. Stays unlocked for you.