31 Mar 2026
Holland & Knight Adds Lauren Smyers as Director of Business Development for HK Deal Flow
"Holland & Knight hires Lauren Smyers as director of business development for HK Deal Flow; she will work in deal sourcing and private equity business development."
Based in West Palm Beach, Ms. Smyers brings more than a decade of private equity experience focused on sourcing investment opportunities, advancing strategic growth and building trusted relationships. She will lead deal origination, matching and sharing for HK Deal Flow, the Firm's deal-sourcing and matchmaking platform that identifies opportunities from Firm attorneys and an extensive network of intermediaries and strategically matches these leads with Holland & Knight's private equity, strategic acquiror, family office and other clients.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Smyers led business development at Validor Capital and Weatherford Capital, where she was responsible for originating investment opportunities and cultivating high-impact relationships across the private equity ecosystem. She began her career in investor relations at The Carlyle Group and Siguler Guff & Company, contributing to capital formation and investor strategy.
Ms. Smyers is the founder of The Fairway Society, a golf society for dealmaking professionals, and has been recognized by the Association for Corporate Growth and The M&A Advisor as one of the top business development professionals in the middle market.