Jude David, JD, DCL, MBA
Managing Partner
Jude made investment banking his primary focus after practicing for 12 years as a successful M&A attorney. From lower mid-market family-owned companies to multi-billion dollar corporate behemoths, Jude has advised sellers and buyers on over 200 transactions totaling billions in enterprise value.
Jude has leveraged his M&A experience to start a self-funded company in the building materials sector. Since its inception, the business has grown via acquisitions to over 400 employees across the USA.
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Jude and his wife Ashley have six beautiful children and are very active in their community. Jude’s favorite pastime is taking the family to their fishing lodge on the beautiful Gulf Coast.
Chase Kenner, CFP®
Partner
Chase began his finance career in 2009 as an advisor for a major private wealth institution. His deep understanding of economics and market cyclicality led to his role as Chief Strategist and Director of Equity Research at a billion-dollar, private equity-backed asset management firm. In this role, Chase developed a valuable skill set in assessing and projecting behavior across multiple sectors and economic cycles—a skill that is critical at Final Ascent for executing effective sales strategies for our clients.​
After leading M&A efforts at his previous firm, Chase’s exposure to dealmaking eventually led him to focus primarily on the private markets, culminating in his current role as a sell-side advisor and partner at Final Ascent. As an M&A Advisor, his primary responsibility is to leverage his financial expertise to create a competitive private marketplace of buyers for our clients.​
When Chase is not advising business owners, he enjoys spending time at the family farm with his wife, Megan, and their twins, Oliver and Olivia.​
E. Scott Shea
Partner
Scott has entrepreneurial grit running through his DNA. After graduating in business from Texas Christian University in 2005, he joined his family’s four-generation company. Scott’s exceptional leadership skills and operational mindset were instrumental in driving his family’s legacy business to unprecedented performance, eventually leading to a 9-figure exit. Scott experienced firsthand the day-to-day grind and mixed emotions a family and enterprise go through during an acquisition.
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In 2011, Scott’s love of numbers, relationships, and entrepreneurship organically led him to start his own private wealth practice, focusing on advising and consulting business owners. His entrepreneurial background and reputation as a champion advisor to his business owner clients created a perfect fit when he joined Final Ascent's deal team in 2022.
After accumulating his own dealmaking experience, Scott eventually acquired a welding company that was once part of his family’s legacy business.
Scott and his wife, Amanda, reside in South Louisiana with their three sons. Scott is also our firm’s scratch golfer. When he needs to quiet his mind, he finds solace on the fairway.