Birch Risk Advisors: Formation, Transformation, Acceleration
The Origin Story
“Ex-Goldman Sachs Executives Partner with Insurance Veterans to Launch Global Transactional Risk Firm, Birch Risk Advisors”
That was the headline of the first press release in November 2023. Backed by global insurer AmTrust Financial, Birch Risk Advisors was founded by Advisory Director Steve Bunson, along with Partners Barry Sklar, Sheldon Elefant, and David Danesh.
These leaders are seasoned veterans, well-known for decades of advisory experience and cross-disciplinary expertise in the finance, insurance and tax arenas. Steve Bunson, a former Goldman Partner and longtime Global Head of Tax, and Barry Sklar, a senior Goldman Managing Director and U.S. Head of Structured Investing, have advised on billions of dollars’ worth of complex transactions and maintain strong relationships within the international investment banking and private equity communities. Sheldon Elefant, previously the U.S. Head of Tax Insurance at Willis Towers Watson, and David Danesh, previously SVP and Director in the Specialty Insurance practice at Alliant Insurance, are well-known tax attorneys with extensive transactional risk experience across the global M&A markets and tax-controversy landscape. Both Sheldon and David have structured and executed specialty insurance coverage for several of the largest and most prominent deals in the industry.
Expansion and Strategic Hires
In the initial phase, Birch established itself as a trusted advisor in the transactional risk insurance market, capitalizing on the extensive expertise of its founding members. To further enhance its capabilities and market reach, the firm hired Troy Lauterbach as Renewables Energy Advisor and most recently, Brandon Edwards as Partner.
A recognized leader and veteran of the clean energy industry, Troy brings years of experience and a deep understanding of the development, construction, and operational life cycle of renewable assets. In his role, Troy assists developers in monetizing renewable energy credits. Prior to joining Birch, he served as Chief Executive Officer and President at NovaSource Power Services, a global leader in solar and storage services for renewable energy assets, where he led over 1,500 employees in 10 countries.
Brandon is a seasoned entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience building high-growth organizations, spearheading successful mergers & acquisitions, and managing tax credit sales organizations. In his role as Partner, he manages the Birch network of top corporate buyers while offering expert intermediation and structuring services, ensuring efficient, high-value deal closures. Previously, Brandon was the Chief Strategy Officer for Experian Employer Services (EES), a global provider of best-in-class employee solutions for 3,000 clients, including the majority of Fortune 500 companies and Chief Executive Officer at the Tax Credit Co. (TCC), which provided Fortune 1000 companies with tax credit screening and employment verification services.
These strategic hires marked a significant expansion in Birch’s advisory services, particularly in the burgeoning field of clean energy.
Tax Insurance and Renewables Tax Credit Transfer Opportunity
A significant tailwind powering the recent surge in tax credit transfers and tax insurance is President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA represents the United States’ biggest investment to date in fighting climate change and the Department of Treasury states the IRA is forecasted to yield cumulative global economic benefits from reduced greenhouse gas pollution of over $5 trillion from the present to 2050. This legislative framework has created a robust market for renewable energy tax credit transfer and risk solutions, one that the Birch team is uniquely qualified to dominate.
Our structuring, intermediation and tax insurance policy placement capacities are core strengths, thanks to a diverse team that has worked in a myriad of relevant industries for decades. We are a one-stop shop. By offering these services under one roof, we significantly lower total transaction costs and reduce execution timeline for our clients. This efficiency stems from Birch’s in-depth transaction knowledge and capacity to streamline fees.
Today, Birch Risk Advisors is a strategic partner to corporate taxpayers and developers, providing sophisticated risk, structuring and renewables tax credit transfer solutions.
We are a leader in arranging tax credit transfers, having matched buyers and sellers of upwards of $600mm in clean energy tax credit transfers in our first six months of operation.
Our tax insurance policy acumen is second to none. We leverage our technical and tax expertise to mitigate risk and to offer executional certainty to all of our clients. In fact, Birch team members have executed some of the largest and most complex risk transfer programs in the tax insurance and tax credit space.
We are experts at structuring deals that extract the most value for renewables credits, net of costs. We are nimble, focused on execution and optimization. Our strengths are quick execution, a thorough understanding of transactional risk and our ability to match buyers to sellers.
By providing certainty around renewable energy tax credits and mitigating risks associated with potential IRS challenges, Birch Risk Advisors delivers confidence and security to its clients.
Interested in learning more? If you are a corporate taxpayer, please click here. If you are are renewables developer, please click here.
For more information on Tax Insurance, click here.
