Lauren M. Smyers

Lauren M. Smyers is the Director of Business Development for Holland & Knight's HK Deal Flow℠ program and is based in the West Palm Beach office. Ms. Smyers has more than a decade of private equity experience and focuses on driving mergers and acquisitions (M&A), advancing strategic growth and building trusted relationships across capital markets.

Ms. Smyers leads deal origination, matching and sharing for HK Deal Flow℠ – a deal-sourcing and matchmaking platform that identifies deal opportunities from an extensive network of attorneys and other deal intermediaries and strategically matches these leads with Holland & Knight's private equity, family office and debt finance clients seeking opportunities. HK Deal Flow℠ includes more than 900 capital sources such as private equity firms, growth equity funds, family offices, banks and other lenders. Both clients and prospective clients can take advantage of deal introductions, and no finder's fees or similar transaction success fees are charged to program participants. Furthermore, Ms. Smyers connects clients with centers of influence and facilitates introductions within Holland & Knight's network to understand their investment focuses and foster new and valuable relationships.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Smyers led business development at private equity firms, where she was responsible for originating investment opportunities and cultivating high-impact relationships across the private equity ecosystem. She began her career in investor relations, contributing to capital formation and investor strategy at private investment firms.