A Leadership Team Dedicated to Client Service

Coker Capital will become part of the Healthcare Investment Banking group under Fifth Third Securities, Inc. on April 1, 2024. For more information, read our announcement here

Our talented and accomplished leadership team is committed to driving results for middle-market companies and dedicated to building long-term relationships. With experience from boutique firms to full-service investment banks, we believe that our diverse experience gives us a differentiated perspective that is unmatched in the industry.

Our seasoned professionals average over a decade of experience within the healthcare industry with expertise that rests firmly in the middle-market, where we have completed over 250 transactions with an aggregate transaction value over $65 billion.

Our experience within the healthcare middle-market extends beyond investment banking to include private equity, transactional law, and management consulting. We have also worked with healthcare companies at the board and operational levels to formulate and execute key strategic, operational, and financial objectives.

Our leadership team actively participates in every facet of our transactions from initial engagement through closing and is supported by a talented group of junior investment banking professionals.


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James Heidbreder
Managing Director

James Heidbreder is a Managing Director with Coker Capital. Prior to joining Coker Capital in 2016, Mr. Heidbreder spent nearly 18 years working in healthcare investment banking at both boutique advisory as well as bulge bracket investment banking firms. He has deep experience evaluating, negotiating, and executing buy- and sell-side M&A assignments and a track-record of successfully raising debt and equity capital across Fortune 500, mid-sized, and start-up companies. During his career, Mr. Heidbreder has focused exclusively on the healthcare services sector across providers, payers, HCIT, distributors, and other services subsectors. Mr. Heidbreder has extensive experience helping both middle market and large cap healthcare services clients achieve their strategic and financial goals.

Previously, Mr. Heidbreder worked on GE Capital’s Healthcare Financial Services team where he led the coverage of Alternate Site healthcare providers. Prior to GE Capital, Mr. Heidbreder was a Managing Director in the healthcare investment banking group at RBC Capital Markets and FBR Capital Markets. He began his career from 2000-2008 in the healthcare group at JPMorgan.

Mr. Heidbreder earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics / Accounting from the College of the Holy Cross, holds an MBA from the University Of Michigan Ross School of Business, and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Heidbreder lives in New York City with his wife and two children and enjoys coaching his children’s basketball and baseball teams in his spare time.

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Steven Aguiar
Managing Director

Steven Aguiar is a Managing Director at Coker Capital. He has nearly 15 years of healthcare investment banking experience. During his career, Mr. Aguiar has closed more than 50 healthcare transactions, most of which were sellside M&A transactions. He focuses on a wide range of sectors within healthcare services and digital health, including physician practice management, multi-site retail healthcare, post-acute care, pharmacy, behavioral health, revenue cycle management, and healthcare staffing.

Prior to joining Coker Capital, Mr. Aguiar worked for Provident Healthcare Partners. Mr. Aguiar is a graduate of Bentley University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Corporate Finance and Accounting. He also earned his M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.