Verit Advisors, the Chicago-based independent investment banking advisory firm, announced the addition of Jeff Bailey as a Senior Advisor. Bailey joins a team of four existing senior advisors.

Bailey is a long-time financial journalist with leadership roles across print and online platforms and deep experience in shaping coverage of middle market and entrepreneurial companies. He is the editor of YCharts, a fast growing Chicago-based financial terminal company. Previously, Bailey spent 20 years at The Wall Street Journal as reporter, editor and columnist, including four years leading coverage of entrepreneurial companies and writing a column on the topic. He also worked as a reporter for The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. And he served as the editor of Crain’s Chicago Business.

Other senior advisors to Verit include a former President and a former CFO from major Employee Stock Ownership Plan-owned companies. “I am excited to add Jeff Bailey to our group of advisors,” said Mary Josephs, founder and CEO of Verit. “His understanding of the business landscape, his wide familiarity with business leaders and his passion for employee ownership add strength to Verit’s market-leading advisory activities.”

Bailey remarked: “This is a new, non-journalism role for me and I’m very excited. I believe employee ownership has the potential to help solve the nation’s retirement savings crisis, to make U.S. industry more productive and to create and retain jobs in our economy. The benefits of ESOPs are too little appreciated. I met Mary Josephs while reporting an ESOP article while at The Wall Street Journal about 15 years ago and have admired her work since.”

Verit Advisors is an independent investment banking advisory firm that unites sophisticated middle market investment banking capabilities with a client centric boutique, fluent in ESOPs, debt and equity capital markets, valuations and mergers and acquisitions. Integrity, teamwork, service and innovation are at the heart of the organization. Some recent transactions that Verit has completed have been for S&C Electric, Manson Construction Company and Dansko Shoes. Verit Advisors was founded in 2009.