Ted is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Capstone’s Industrials Group. He has over 25 years of experience working with businesses across a variety of industries and has focused interest working with businesses providing tech-enabled products and services to industrial, government-related, and other markets.

Prior to joining Capstone in 2010, Ted ran the corporate finance practice in the Central region for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Capital Strategies Group and its predecessor, Citi Capital Strategies. Early in his career, Mr. Polk also provided valuation advisory services for an entity now owned by Duff & Phelps and was a lender to the utility industry in the Corporate Banking Group at The Bank of New York and its predecessor Irving Trust Company.

Ted is an active public speaker on the topic of business exits and recapitalizations of privately owned businesses and is a frequent recipient of industry awards for his advisory services. In 2020, Ted was recognized by the Global M&A Network for his participation in both the Canadian Deal of the Year and the Aerospace and Defense Deal of the Year. He was similarly recognized in 2018 for his involvement in the USA Recap Deal of the Year, in 2017 for his participation in the US Corporate M&A Deal of the Year and in 2015 for USA Recapitalization Deal of The Year. Previously, he was also recognized by the M&A Advisor in 2016 for his role on the Professional Services Deal of the year and was also previously recognized by this organization for his role on transactions awarded the Middle-Market M&A Deal of the Year, the Middle-Market M&A Financing Deal of the Year and the Cross-Border Middle-Market Deal of the Year.

Ted holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BSBA from Georgetown University.