Brian Wheeler, Partner at Foley

Today, my guest is Brian Wheeler, a Partner at Foley who is a seasoned strategic advisor with decades of experience providing legal and business guidance to clients across a wide variety of industries. Both Brian’s work in private practice and his in-house career have given him an extensive background in M&A —particularly cross-border M&A — transactions involving venture-backed companies in the technology and life sciences sectors, growth equity, private equity, and fund structuring.

Brian’s legal acumen extends beyond private practice to his significant in-house tenure at companies on the cutting-edge of the technological revolution. Brian spent five years at SoftBank Investment Advisers, where as managing partner and general counsel he was involved in all aspects of the firm’s formation, expansion, operations, and management, particularly with regards to fund formation, fundraising, fund regulatory matters, and LP relations. At Softbank, Brian led a global team to design a structure for the Softbank Vision Fund, the world’s largest technology-focused investment fund at over US$130bn in invested capital, and managed the fundraising, investing, and compliance functions for the fund. Brian holds a JD from NYU School of Law and a BA from University of Chicago.