Meet Leigh Golombick and Alvina Galstian

Choosing an M&A adviser is a decision about people as well as process, people always buy people as we say.  A transaction can involve sensitive information, difficult trade-offs and decisions that affect owners, employees and the future of a business. It is reasonable for clients to want to know who will advise them and how closely those people will stay involved.

G&G Advisory Partners was founded by Leigh Golombick and Alvina Galstian to bring experienced, senior-led M&A advice to Australian privately owned businesses. The firm says that the advisers clients meet are the advisers who lead the transaction. Its About page shares the founders’ backgrounds and their approach to the market.

Leigh Golombick

Leigh is a Founder and Managing Director with more than 18 years advising founders, shareholders and acquirers. In her time, Leigh has completed more than 50 transactions across buy-side and sell-side M&A. Before founding G&G, Leigh was a Director at Morgan Shaw Advisory, leading private company transactions across multiple sectors. She previously held senior roles with EY, BDO and Citibank in Perth, New York and Toronto.

Leigh holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW and is a Chartered Accountant. G&G describes her approach as commercial, pragmatic and highly engaged, with direct involvement from the first conversation through to completion.

Alvina Galstian

Alvina is also a Founder and Managing Director. She has more than 18 years of experience across M&A, corporate development and financial services in Australia and the UK. Before founding G&G, she was an M&A Director at Morgan Shaw Advisory, leading private company transactions across multiple sectors. She previously advised on public and private M&A at Latimer Partners and held senior roles with Commonwealth Bank and KPMG in Sydney and London.

Alvina holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW and is a Chartered Accountant. G&G describes her approach as commercial, considered and highly engaged, bringing clarity and sound judgement to the decisions that matter throughout a transaction.

Why they built G&G

The founders’ stated belief is that owners in the small and mid-market deserve experienced advice, senior attention and a personal approach. They describe founder-led businesses as the product of years of work, personal commitment and relationships, and say these companies deserve the same quality of M&A advice as a significant transaction warrants.

That philosophy is reflected in the firm’s work across selling a business, buying a business and exit readiness. The specific work differs, but G&G describes each service as senior-led and tailored to the client’s objectives.

What senior-led means for a client

A senior-led model can give clients direct access to the advisers responsible for guiding the work. In an introductory conversation, owners and buyers can ask who will lead the engagement, who will attend key discussions, how recommendations will be made and how the adviser will remain involved as the transaction develops.

Credentials and transaction experience offer useful context, but the working relationship matters too. Clients should feel comfortable discussing priorities, raising concerns and asking for an explanation of the trade-offs they face. A first conversation helps both sides decide whether the fit is right.

How the service pathways fit together

The three services meet clients at different points. The selling service supports owners considering a sale, including preparation, buyer identification, negotiation and completion. The buying service helps businesses, management teams and investors define acquisition objectives, identify targets and assess and negotiate opportunities. Exit readiness is for owners looking ahead and wanting to understand how a buyer may assess the business before deciding whether or when to transact. These paths are related, but they solve different client questions.

G&G’s industry overview also shows the sectors where the firm brings an M&A perspective, including technology and IT services, defence, business services, healthcare, industrials and manufacturing, mining services, food and beverage, tourism and leisure, and waste and environmental services. Sector knowledge can inform the buyer questions and strategic rationale relevant to a company, while the advice still needs to reflect that business’s facts and objectives.

With over A$500 million in total enterprise value transacted, more than 60 buy-side and sell-side transactions, and more than 30 years of combined M&A experience. G&G also says every mandate is led directly by senior advisers. These are firm-level figures; individual founder experience is described separately on the About page.

This article is general commentary for Australian business owners and does not take account of any particular business, its circumstances or its objectives. Any figures, ranges and examples are illustrative only and are not a valuation, an appraisal or advice on your business. Advice on a specific business is given only through a confidential engagement with G&G Advisory Partners.