Rosenkranz began his career in the Bank of New York’s training program, where he landed at the corporate finance desk in 1984, learning the ins and outs of dealmaking. Rosenkranz then moved to Merrill Lynch’s investment banking group in 1988. While there, Rosenkranz gained extensive transaction experience, including working on fairness opinions, divestitures, and buy-side advisory services. By 2000, he’d become a managing director and head of the company’s middle-market sales team. “I had a great experience at Merrill, but it became a challenge because I was focusing on middle-market business while Merrill was increasingly focusing on large-cap opportunities,” Rosenkranz says.

In 2002, Rosenkranz got a call from the head of investment banking at Piper Jaffray and was offered a top position at the middle-market M&A group. Though the move was essentially a lateral one, Rosenkranz was intrigued by the chance to have a leadership position with a firm that was becoming a dominant player in the area of the market he found most interesting. But accepting the offer would mean leaving behind an established brand name and important business relationships.

“It was a very hard decision to leave Merrill because I had been there for 14 years, but I loved being in the middle market,” says Rosenkranz.

Since Rosenkranz’s arrival at Piper, the company has solidified its position as the middle-market investment bank of choice by selling off noncore parts of the business such as its private-client-services division. The firm has also expanded its global presence, opening offices in London, Shanghai, and Hong Kong in the past five years.

Rosenkranz’s strong ties with the private equity community and his ability to drive sales resulted in his promotion to head of M&A at the firm a few months ago, according to Jon Salveson, Piper’s head of investment banking. “Jeff has done an excellent job cultivating our relationships with private equity firms and growing our middle-market M&A business,” Salveson says.

Despite his added responsibilities, which will now include oversight of Piper’s entire M&A group, Rosenkranz expects to continue operating as he always has.

“Whatever the market conditions are or what my role is, my main goal remains the same: give my clients the best advice possible and help them navigate through what for many people is the most important sale of their lives,” Rosenkranz says.