Our Team – Bray Ventures

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Paul Solitario, Managing Director

Paul has over forty years of experience in all aspects of corporate and retail banking, corporate finance, entrepreneurship, business operations and wealth management services. In addition to currently being a Managing Director of Bray Ventures, he was the founder of Cerium Capital, an investment banking and management-consulting firm with coverage primarily in the technology, business services and healthcare sectors.

Prior to forming Cerium Capital, Paul was a Managing Partner at Tobin Solitario Investment Banking Group and Senior Vice President in the Private Client Group at First Citizens Bank. Paul has served as a Vice President in First Union Capital Market’s Healthcare Finance Group and was a founding member of First Union’s Private Banking Group.

Paul was also the founder of two technology companies, International Thermo Dyne, Inc. and PPN Wireless; and he served as the treasurer for MedCath, Inc., a publicly-traded heart hospital company.

Paul earned his BA in Economics from The College of William and Mary with an emphasis in International Money and Banking, and he has obtained the Series 24, 7, 66, 63 and 82 securities license designations from FINRA.

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Robert Taylor, Managing Director

Robert focuses on M&A advisory and strategic consulting for lower-middle market companies across multiple industry verticals covered at Bray Ventures. Robert has spent the majority of his over 20-year career within the finance sector, having served in multiple capacities across securities trading, investment banking and private equity with such firms as JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo Securities and Bayview Asset Management. In 2017, he founded Bray Ventures to support founders, owners and executive teams with implementation of strategic, operational and capital efficiencies within their existing business models with the goal for reaching an exit in the future.

Robert’s primary focus is on originating and executing M&A mandates with coverage spanning various industry sectors such as financial technology, business services, healthcare services, consumer products and sports, media and entertainment.

Robert holds a Master of Business Administration from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He maintains the Series 7 securities license designation from FINRA.