Banking Team

Maria Lewis Kussmaul, CFA
Co-Founder and Partner - Boston

Maria is a co-founder and partner in the investment banking group of America’s Growth Capital. She has led the firm's IT security and data center banking practice since June, 2005 and also works with clients in the communications sector. Previously, Maria was America's Head of Capital Markets and Senior Research Analyst for the information security, IT infrastructure and data storage sectors. In that capacity, she was responsible for overseeing the firm's investment research and institutional sales and sales trading efforts. Maria brings nearly 25 years of entrepreneurial strategic advisory, research, venture capital and investment banking experience to her America's investment banking role.

Prior to founding America's, Maria was a co-founder and general partner of Castile Ventures, a seed and early stage venture capital firm. Prior to Castile, Maria's Wall Street career spanned three firms: Smith Barney, Shearson Lehman and Cowen & Co., where she was a 13 consecutive year member of Institutional Investor's All-American Research Team and later a managing director heading Cowen & Co.'s global telecommunications, data networking and Internet investment banking practice.

Maria, a Chartered Financial Analyst, holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School and a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University.