Our Team

Ben Scharff

Managing Director

Ben Scharff, Managing Director, has been with Grace Matthews since its inception in 1999 and has more than 25 years of chemical investment banking experience, advising chemical clients globally on mergers, acquisitions, business sales, complex business swaps, and technology acquisitions. Ben spends a great deal of time with private business owners, private equity clients on strategic sales as well as with large corporate clients on divestitures projects and acquisition searches. Ben is a regular contributor to various chemical industry publications, specifically in the lubricants and coatings markets and has been the keynote speaker at numerous industry conferences in the U.S. and in Europe.

Ben, originally from the Minneapolis area, graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a B.S. degree in Economics. Ben is an active participant in numerous trade organizations involving building products, fuels, lubricants and metalworking fluids, paints and coatings and composites. Ben is a member of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and previously served in the United States Marine Corps. He is an avid triathlete and distance runner.

Speaking Engagements

Keys of Successful Dealmaking
ILMA Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association
June 2021

Keynote Speaker​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Southern Society for Coatings Technology
May 2021

Portfolio Strategy: Making the right moves at the right times
IHS Chemical Week Webcast | Online
May 2018

CTT Keynote Speaker
Coatings Trends & Technologies
September 2017

US, DK, and EU M&A: Time to be a buyer or a seller?  
Danish-American Business Forum | Denmark
January 2015

Features & Articles

Private Equity Aims for Creativity Amid Difficult M&A Environment
IHS Chemical Week
July 2020

M&A in Uncertain Times
European Coatings Journal
July 2020

Insight: Industrial slowdown driving lubricant M&A
ICIS
November 2019

Q&A with Ben Scharff
European Coatings Journal
August 2019

Slowing Deal Activity
European Coatings Journal
July 2019

M&A Activity to Remain Strong
Rubber & Plastics News
February 2019

Searching for Opportunities
Coatings World
August 2018

M&A Markets Cut Through the Noise
Compoundings Magazine (ILMA)
June 2018

“Digging into the details of a company in order to identify and extract value is a real differentiator for us.”
– Ben Scharff

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