Bringing Big Bank Experience to the Middle Market

Steve Yahnke, Managing Director, has over 25 years of professional experience in the commercial lending and investment banking industries.  Prior to joining TKO Miller, Steve spent 7 years at a Chicago based Investment Bank sourcing debt capital for Middle Market Companies.  This process included placing senior debt, mezzanine capital, minority equity and/or distressed sales for companies that either were experiencing tremendous growth or were in the midst of a turnaround. 

Steve began his career at Firstar (now US Bank) in the early 90’s in Madison, WI as a participant their Management Trainee and Credit Underwriting Programs.  He spent a number of years underwriting middle-market companies and their financing needs, including syndicated bank transactions from $5 million to $250 million in a broad range of industries.

Steve later worked for M&I Bank (now BMO Bank) and held several senior management positions in the Community Banking arena as well as non-bank financing sources such as GE Capital, allowing him to bring in-depth knowledge,  building and modeling complex capital structures.

Steve is a Milwaukee native and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree. He also has an MBA in finance with a concentration in investments from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Graduate School of Business.