M&A Market Insider Prague: Inside European Investment Banking

Jacek has over 30 years of experience in investment banking, gained across M&A, privatisations, debt/ECM transactions and private placements. He supervised the privatisation of the first Polish companies listed on the WSE. He is a member of the Polish Business Roundtable.

Jiří joined J.P. Morgan in July 2000. After a year in the Prague office where he worked on M&A executions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia across all industries, he moved to London to focus specifically on insurance and bank advisory assignments in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Austria. Moved to CEE coverage role after a decade in FIG. Promoted to Managing Director in 2014. Currently responsible for all JPMorgan banking business in Czech Rep., Slovakia, Hungary & Baltics – representing JPMorgan in the region, holding senior client relationships, defining strategy, deciding on client prioritisation and dealing with regulatory matters. Jiří has advised on some of the largest transactions in the CEE region.

Yunus is a Managing Director at Barclays with over 17 years at the firm. He heads CEEMEA M&A and also leads Barclays’ Consumer & Retail M&A practice across EMEA. Yunus has an extensive experience advising clients on complex cross-border transactions across the CEE region with his work spanning a wide range of strategic and financial advisory assignments for leading corporates, financial sponsors, and investment holdings. Notably, he advised Asahi on its €7.3bn acquisition of AB InBev’s Czech / CEE assets and more recently advised ČEZ on its investment into Rolls Royce SMR as well as RWE’s on its sale of Czech gas storage business to ČEPS. Yunus holds an MBA with a specialisation in finance from the University of Maryland and is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the UK.

Markus is Head of Continental Europe at Datasite. Since 2017, he is leading the Frankfurt office and is responsible for expanding Datasite’s footprint across the DACH, Central & Eastern European markets.

Prior to joining Datasite, Markus held various roles in the financial industry, including Sales Manager Europe at Trading Technologies and Account Manager at Thomson Reuters. In 2016, he also co-founded the technology start-up Evo Fintech.

Markus holds an Executive MBA from Purdue University (USA) and brings extensive experience at the intersection of technology, finance, and sales.

Alistair Lester serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Gallagher’s Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Client Practice. He joined Gallagher in 2025, bringing with him nearly three decades of experience in the insurance broking and risk management industry. Alistair is responsible for leading Gallagher’s efforts in delivering tailored insurance and risk management solutions to private equity firms, their portfolio companies, and clients involved in mergers and acquisitions across the UK and EMEA region.

Prior to joining Gallagher, Alistair held senior leadership roles at Aon latterly as global Co-CEO of the Aon M&A and Transaction Solutions business where he was instrumental in building and leading that capability. His expertise spans a wide range of areas, including transactional risk insurance, warranty and indemnity insurance, and bespoke risk transfer solutions for complex deal as well as pre deal diligence and post deal integration and value creation projects.

Alistair is widely recognised for his deep understanding of the private equity and M&A landscape, as well as his ability to develop innovative strategies that align with clients’ business objectives. He is known for his client-centric approach, strong leadership skills, and commitment to delivering exceptional value to clients. Alistair’s extensive experience and strategic vision have positioned him as a key figure in the insurance industry, particularly in the realm of private equity and M&A.