meet our
Leadership Team

The Team That Makes Extraordinary Exits™ Possible

diane gray-smith

Chief Financial Officer & Chief Investment Officer

Diane Gray-Smith is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer at STS Capital Partners. She is a dynamic executive with over 28 years of experience and a proven track record in strategic leadership. Diane’s pivotal role in working with the executive team is to shape the company's financial and investment strategies, driving results, and deepening our strengths as a global leader in sell-side mergers and acquisitions advisory services. Her rigorous approach to ROI and IRR makes her a key contributor to STS's overarching strategic aims, ultimately contributing directly to STS’s goal of enabling entrepreneurs and business owners achieve Extraordinary Exits.

diane gray-smith

Diane’s financial leadership has been honed through a distinguished career within hypergrowth sectors such as fintech, blockchain, financial services, regulated entities and new media. She has a notable track record of advising Boards and leading the global finance function through periods of growth and change, whether a Publicly listed company or fast-track startup, working to restructure, fundraise, acquire, divest, maximize enterprise value or an Initial Public Offering. Her most recent roles include Global CFO and Chief Growth Officer of Glantus Plc, a publicly listed accounts payable SaaS platform powered by automation and AI supporting $1.6 trillion transactions globally; the Global CFO of Marco Polo, an innovative and world-leading Distributed ledger and blockchain solution for trade finance; and, Global CFO of Uphold a multi-asset digital currency trading platform operating in 180 countries and supporting $1 billion per month transactions and holding the associated SEC regulatory licenses. In her capacity as CFO at Uphold, Diane’s expertise in regulatory processes supported the successful application with the Bank of England for granting a Small Specialist Banking license for The Bank of London.

Diane holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from James Cook University in Australia, is a CPA and is professionally qualified with FSA registrations and is an experienced Non-Executive Director.

Press Releases

Pursant Founder Mark Herbick Joins STS Capital Partners as Chief Executive Officer 

November 2, 2026

STS Capital Partners is pleased to announce that Mark Herbick has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective November 1, 2026, as Pursant, the firm he founded, joins forces with STS. A serial e…

Press Releases

Steve Weclew is Appointed by STS Capital Partners as Managing Director

October 29, 2026

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Weclew as a Managing Director.  A CPA by training, former public-company CFO, and co-founder and CEO of an acquisition-led platform, Steve brings…

Press Releases

Former Goddard Enterprises Managing Director Anthony Ali Joins STS Capital Partners as Managing Director and Partner  

October 19, 2026

STS Capital Partners is pleased to announce that Anthony Ali is joining the firm as Managing Director and Partner, bringing extensive international leadership experience and a proven track record in b…

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Thought Leadership

If You’re Considering an ESOP, Run a Competitive Process

October 15, 2026

Why founders should apply the same process to an ESOP as they would to any other buyer. For many founders, the decision to explore an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is not driven by valuation…

Press Releases

Claude Zdanow is Appointed by STS Capital Partners as managing director

September 30, 2026

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Claude Zdanow as a Managing Director.   A public-company CEO, serial founder, and M&A principal, Claude brings nearly two decades of experience building…

Thought Leadership

Building for an Extraordinary Exit™ Starts on Day One

September 15, 2026

Founders rarely begin building a business with an exit in mind.  The early years are consumed by proving an idea, winning customers, preserving cash and creating momentum. Decisions about governance…

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