Geoff Beard is a Director in JMP Securities' investment banking group.

Prior to joining JMP, Geoff had been a co-founder and partner of West Lake Partners, an advisory boutique catering to the financial sponsor community, since 2002. Geoff previously spent two years as a member of Thomas Weisel Partners' equity research department, most recently as a Vice President and research analyst covering IT security and financial technology. He also worked at Montgomery Securities, where he was an Associate in the investment banking group with a focus on financial technology. Before starting his career in investment banking, Geoff held marketing positions at the Walt Disney Company, Sybase and Foote, Cone & Belding.

Geoff holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a BA from Williams College.