Max Dillard

Max M. Dillard built his career in the drilling and oilfield-services industry, starting at the bottom as a crewman on a drilling rig. After college he progressed through a series of increasingly senior operating roles — drilling engineer, superintendent, operations manager, vice president, and ultimately president of both domestic onshore and offshore drilling companies.

In 1978 he founded D.I. Industries and served as its CEO (later Chairman and CEO), growing the business through internal expansion and acquisitions into one of the largest publicly traded drilling companies in the United States. D.I. Industries later became part of Precision Drilling. Sources describe this as a roughly 35-year operating career that culminated in his position as Chairman and CEO of that public company.

In 1996 he founded The Dillard Anderson Group, a Dallas-based boutique investment bank. The firm advises owners of privately held companies on exit strategies, mergers, acquisitions, and growth, drawing on Dillard's hands-on experience as both an operator and an owner. Since inception the firm reports having helped 80+ clients meet their business and personal objectives (aggregator PitchBook lists it as advisor on 46 tracked deals).

Dillard holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and is a registered Professional Engineer.

• Works with owners of established, operating businesses — not startups — helping them sell, merge, acquire, or plan a transition/exit.
• Sector emphasis reflects his own operating roots: oilfield services and energy, plus manufacturing, industrial and commercial services, transportation/logistics, medical/healthcare, and general business services.
• The firm positions its edge as operator-level experience: its principals have run and owned companies across operations, sales, marketing, engineering, finance, and administration — so they evaluate a business the way an executive/owner would, not just a financial intermediary.
• Operates largely on a referral- and relationship-based model, matching sellers to a network of qualified strategic and financial buyers.
• Also offers advisory (performance improvement/growth) and certified mediation services alongside core M&A work.