Investment Banking

Commitment to Building Out Technology Investment Banking Team

by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. January 12, 2023

January 12, 2023 Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. today announced that Matthew Johnson joined the Firm as an Executive Director focused on Education and Workforce Technology (“Edtech”). He will be based out of Oppenheimer’s New York headquarters and report to Robin Graham, Head of Technology Investment Banking.

The addition of Matthew underscores the firm’s ongoing commitment to building out a team of senior investment bankers with deep sector expertise in key growth verticals of the global economy. Under the leadership of Robin Graham, the firm has undertaken and achieved a significant strategic expansion of Oppenheimer’s Technology Investment Banking capabilities with impressive results in recent years.

Matthew joins Oppenheimer with more than a dozen years of experience in the education and workforce technology sector. Prior to joining Oppenheimer, he was a senior attorney at Cooley LLP, which he joined in 2014. In his role at Cooley, Matthew focused exclusively on the Edtech sector working on strategically advising many of the most notable companies on the future of learning regarding mergers & acquisitions, private placements, IPOs and public financings.

“The way society thinks about the structure of learning is being redefined for the first time in centuries. We’ve been committed to servicing the capital and advisory needs of the education sector for many years now and believe we are in the early innings of a transformational period for the global learning economy. We’re excited Matt is joining our team at Oppenheimer to continue this critically important work.”

- Robin Graham, Head of Technology Investment Banking

Matthew has a long record of advising Edtech and workforce technology clients across the corporate spectrum, ranging from high growth startups to unicorns, some of the sector’s most prominent public companies, as well as the key venture capital and private equity firms focused on the sector. His work has extended across the education and workforce taxonomy from early childhood, K-12 and post-secondary education, to lifelong learning and workforce development.

“A deep understanding of how the complex world of education operates – its challenges, opportunities, and future – has always been my north star when advising clients on how to succeed and grow,” says Matthew. “The pandemic highlighted the importance of technology in education and it has accelerated the integration of technology into the way we learn throughout our life. We are still early on the technology adoption curve and, from schools to employers, the spend on digital education resources will continue to grow in a post-pandemic world. Fragmentation of resources is still a major obstacle and I anticipate there will be significant maturation and consolidation in the coming years as institutions and employers favor streamlining offerings and pursue global expansion.”

Matthew received his Bachelor’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University and earned his J.D. from The George Washington University.