Kenneth Wanko

Ken Wanko is an M&A and corporate-finance executive who specializes in employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transactions. He earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1992 and an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in 1998. Early in his career he was a founding member of the ESOP corporate finance group within the investment banking practice at Houlihan Lokey (then Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin), a leading middle-market investment bank, where he advised on some of the largest and most innovative employee buyouts of the era.

In 2005 he joined Alliance Holdings, Inc., a 100% employee-owned (ESOP) holding company based in suburban Philadelphia (Abington, PA) that operates like a traditional private equity firm in the lower-middle market, with a focus on control investments in niche manufacturing and industrial companies. At Alliance, Wanko served as Director of Acquisitions — leading national deal sourcing and M&A execution — and later as Chief Operating Officer, before being promoted to CEO and Chairman. As CEO he implemented a new corporate governance structure, drove growth through acquisitions, and notably led the effort to protect ESOP participants by settling outstanding ERISA litigation, helping ensure the firm's viability.

In July 2020 he left Alliance to join SES ESOP Strategies as a Managing Director, based in Colorado, expanding the firm's presence in the Western United States. He is also a Senior Managing Director in the ESOP Group at the affiliated broker-dealer Griffin Financial Group. In these advisory roles he counsels companies, business owners, and other stakeholders on M&A and private capital-raise transactions, with a particular emphasis on ESOP ownership transitions. He holds a FINRA Series 79 license.

• Centered on employee ownership (ESOP) transactions — advising owners on selling to an ESOP, and structuring deals to align long-term interests of employee-owners.
• Brings the perspective of "a former board member, business leader, investor and advisor for a wide range of ESOP-owned businesses" (his own stated positioning).
• Historically (at Alliance Holdings) pursued control investments in lower-middle-market industrial and manufacturing companies, typically with ~$10–$100M in revenue, using equity, debt, and structured finance.
• Now focused on M&A advisory and private capital raises rather than direct seed/angel investing — founders seeking early-stage angel checks are not his primary mandate.
• Values durable, cash-generative businesses and governance structures that protect employee-owners — a theme reflected in his ERISA-litigation resolution work at Alliance.