OUR TEAM
John Poynton AO
Chair
John is Co-Founder and Chair of Poynton Stavrianou.
John has more than 40 years’ advisory and capital markets experience across equity, debt, infrastructure and property.
In parallel with his career as an investment banker, John has also been an active non-executive director of ASX-listed companies, government and education bodies and not-for-profit organisations.
John is Chair of Strike Energy Ltd and is Deputy Chair of Sapien Cyber Ltd. He is also a Director of the Future Fund Board of Guardians, Australia’s sovereign wealth fund and Perth Airport.
John has previously served on the boards of Multiplex, Alinta and Austal and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Payments System Board, the Australian Government’s export credit agency (EFIC) and the Higher Education Endowment Fund.
John has chaired the Council of Christ Church Grammar School and was a long-standing board member of the Business School at the University of WA.
In the not-for-profit arena, John has served as chair of Celebrate WA, Giving West and the Foundation of the WA Museum.
In 2006 John was the recipient of the WA Citizen of the Year Award in the Industry and Commerce category and in 2016 he was appointed as an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia.
John holds a Bachelor of Commerce and an honorary Doctor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia where he was also awarded a Dean’s Medal.
John is an experienced pilot and holds a private fixed wing licence with a command instrument rating. He also holds a commercial rotary wing licence.
John is endorsed on executive jets and twin engined helicopters.
Chris Stavrianou
Managing Partner
Chris is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Poynton Stavrianou.
Chris brings over a decade of experience in mergers and acquisitions with Macquarie Capital in London and UBS in Sydney where he advised on more than $50bn of completed transactions with a focus on the energy, utilities, infrastructure and industrials sectors.
As a member of the Australian Treasury senior executive, Chris established and led Treasury’s Western Australian office, which advises the Australian Government on Western Australian trade and investment and the domestic economy. Chris also advised Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board on sensitive foreign direct investment into Australia.
Chris received his BSc from the University of Western Australia, his MBA with Distinction from INSEAD, and his MPA from Harvard University where he was a fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. Chris is an Adjunct Professor at the Business School of the University of Western Australia and is a member of council of Christ Church Grammar School.
Liam Bertelli
Director
Liam is a Director of Poynton Stavrianou with 11 years of M&A experience, most recently as Director at Citigroup’s Investment Banking Division in Melbourne. His experience spans across TMT, Gaming, Industrials and Metals and Mining. Prior to his 8 years at Citigroup, Liam was in Deloitte’s M&A team in Perth.
At Citigroup, Liam was involved in a number of recent landmark transactions, including Blackstone’s acquisition of Crown Resorts ($9bn), Brookfield consortium’s acquisition of Asciano ($12bn), Spotless’ defence against Downer’s takeover ($1.2bn), and Aristocrat’s acquisitions of Plarium (US$475m) and Big Fish (A$1bn). He also has significant experience across equity and debt capital market transactions.
Liam has a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from the University of Western Australia and received the Stan Perron Scholarship. He is also a Chartered Accountant (CA).
Brandon Hayward
Associate
Brandon is an Associate at Poynton Stavrianou and brings over six years of experience having worked in investment banking in both Australia and Hong Kong. Prior to joining Poynton Stavrianou, Brandon was an Associate at Argonaut Capital (Hong Kong).
Brandon holds a Bachelor of Science (Nanotechnology) and a Master of Commerce (Finance) with distinction from the University of Western Australia.
Tom Zekulich
Associate
Tom is an Associate at Poynton Stavrianou and brings more than eight years of experience advising private equity, corporate, and strategic clients on transactions across Australia and Europe. Prior to joining Poynton Stavrianou, Tom held a Manager role within EY's M&A Strategy and Transactions team, having spent time in Perth, Sydney and London.
Tom holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia and is a certified Chartered Accountant (CA).
Lewis MacLean
Associate
Lewis is an associate at Poynton Stavrianou with five years of M&A and advisory experience. Prior to joining Poynton Stavrianou in 2021, Lewis worked at KPMG Corporate Finance, specialising in Expert Reports, financial modelling and other valuation engagements primarily in the natural resources sector.
Lewis holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Finance) from the University of Western Australia and is a certified Chartered Accountant (CA).
Elle Cate
Analyst
Elle is an analyst at Poynton Stavrianou with over two years of experience working in Australian financial institutions. Prior to joining the team at Poynton Stavrianou, Elle worked in the retail banking sector at ANZ, where she specialised in customer engagement and operational efficiency.
Elle holds a Masters of Applied Finance degree (with Distinction) from the University of Western Australia.
Darby Edwards
Analyst
Darby is an Analyst with a background advising multinational mining clients in Perth. Prior to joining Poynton Stavrianou, Darby worked at Deloitte.
Darby holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics & Engineering) from the University of Western Australia.