NEW YORK, Sept. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EquityZen, the leading pre-IPO marketplace for individual accredited investors, today announces the appointment of Jeff Urban as Head of Capital Markets. Urban’s appointment marks a meaningful acceleration in EquityZen’s pursuit of its mission to bring “private markets to the public.” Urban will oversee the entire sales organization, including institutional and issuer relationships, reporting to EquityZen COO, Justin Howell, and working closely with CEO, Atish Davda.
Jeff brings 20+ years of experience in private and public equity capital markets as EquityZen embarks on its next phase of growth. He started his career focused on smid-cap growth public equity syndication. Jeff led US institutional sales, syndication and corporate access distribution at RBC Capital Markets for 10 years, where he worked on over 500 public and private transactions. In 2021, he pivoted to private markets and originated and executed private company auctions at Carta before being recruited to Morgan Stanley to lead and launch their Private Transactions Desk within their Wealth Management Investment Solutions business. He scaled this business, driving meaningful transactions and building institutional relationships over his tenure.
“We have had the opportunity to work with Jeff over many years and are thrilled that he is joining EquityZen. Jeff brings extensive experience along with a proven track record in both public and private equity capital markets,” said Atish Davda, CEO of EquityZen. “His depth of knowledge and relationships will accelerate the pace at which we continue to innovate. Jeff’s a builder, and we look forward to his contributions as we deliver private markets to the public.”
“The private market ecosystem continues to evolve rapidly with an accelerating need for liquidity solutions to be provided across both individual and corporate clients. EquityZen’s category leading technology infrastructure is a true differentiator in achieving transformational outcomes and reducing transactional friction,” explains Jeff Urban. “I look forward to working with the leadership team at EquityZen to help bring greater access to alternative markets and drive significant growth for the company.”
About EquityZen
Since 2013, the EquityZen marketplace has enabled the buying and selling of shares in private companies. EquityZen brings together over 800,000 investors and shareholders, providing liquidity to early shareholders and private market access to accredited investors for as little as $5,000 up to well over $5 million. Having completed more than 47,000 private placements in nearly 500 private companies through both single company and multi-company funds, EquityZen leads the way in delivering “Private Markets for the Public.”
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