Ryan Berning

Ryan Berning is an M&A and private-equity professional currently serving as a Director at Truce Capital Advisors, a Cincinnati-based boutique investment bank that advises business owners on selling privately held and family-owned companies, helps buyers with acquisition strategy, and provides strategic advisory to lower-middle-market businesses (generally under ~$250M in annual sales). He joined Truce as Vice President and was promoted to Director in an announcement dated July 7, 2025. Truce describes him as bringing "broad transactional and investment experience across the private equity and M&A spheres."

Berning began his career in investment banking at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey (now Truist) and at Harris Williams, where he focused on sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory for businesses ranging from roughly $100 million to $2 billion in value. He then moved into private equity at Liberty Hall Capital Partners — a firm founded in 2011 that invests exclusively in businesses serving the global aerospace and defense industry and manages approximately $550 million. The Liberty Hall email and phone number in the stub data reflect this earlier role; he is no longer listed on Liberty Hall's current team page.

Most recently before Truce, Berning worked at BrightView (a company associated with Shore Capital Partners), where he directed seven acquisitions — giving him hands-on corporate development and integration experience in addition to his advisory and PE background.

A Cincinnati native, Berning graduated from St. Xavier High School and the University of Richmond, where he played Division I lacrosse. Outside of work he enjoys golfing, coaching, and spending time with family and friends.

• Lower-middle-market M&A, not angel/seed: His work centers on buying, selling, and advising established privately owned and family-owned companies — a materially different profile from the "Angel Investor / Seed Round" label attached to the stub record.
• Deal size: Truce serves companies under ~$250M in revenue, with team experience across the $100M–$2B transaction range.
• Sector experience: Aerospace & defense (via Liberty Hall's exclusive A&D focus), commercial/landscaping services (BrightView), and generalist lower-middle-market advisory (Truce).
• What earns a "yes": As an M&A advisor and former corporate acquirer, he is oriented toward established businesses with real revenue, clear seller/buyer objectives, and defined acquisition or exit strategies — rather than pre-revenue startups.