G.F. Gay Le Breton heads the Mergers & Acquisitions group of Chaffe & Associates, Inc., with emphasis in services to privately held companies. She has more than 35 years’ experience in the structuring and negotiation of transactions, the valuation of mid- and small-sized companies, and the development and execution of competitive processes for the sale or purchase of businesses. Ms. Le Breton is also President of Chaffe Securities, Inc., the firm’s broker dealer subsidiary. She began her career in 1977 with the Trust Company in New York. She returned to New Orleans in 1980 to join First National Bank of Commerce in commercial lending and was then involved in the negotiation of several bank acquisitions on behalf of the First Commerce Corporation. She joined Chaffe in 1987. Ms. Le Breton is licensed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as a registered representative and holds the Series 7, 24, 63 and 79 licenses. She is qualified as an expert witness in U.S. District Court on matters relating to bank and corporate valuation and merger and acquisition process, and has appeared as a speaker on these subjects. She also authors a monthly column for New Orleans City Business on the subject of M&A activity in Louisiana.

She was active in community affairs and served on a number of civic boards, including served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of GNO, Inc., as a Board Member of the Coalition for Coastal Resilience and Economy, and as a member of the Advisory Council of the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. She is active in the NO/LA Angel Network, and is a member of its Board of Directors. Ms. Le Breton holds a B.A. from Newcomb College and an M.B.A. from the A.B. Freeman School.