Business Owners
Early in my career, I joined a private company within a global investment bank and was made a shareholder shortly out of business school. Working with this tight knit group for seven incredible years, I witnessed firsthand the realities of a business go through its share of success and hard times.
Succession planning for this ~150 employee private company had its challenges given the constraints of the shareholders’ agreement, the natural conflicts it created, and the impact on the lives of the families it touched. Living through the sale of this business as a shareholder left me with valuable, lifelong lessons.
Also in my career, I have independently acquired a business. As an entrepreneur, I invested via a personally sizable financial commitment as well as through a healthy measure of sweat equity. While well-supported, transitioning this business from its prior owner in a compressed timeframe was one of the most significant challenges I have faced.
Through my years of experience advising corporations on mergers & acquisitions, together with my own experience selling, buying and reshaping businesses, I understand the momentous event that succession represents in the life of an owner.
Closely-held private businesses typically face very few key transitions each generation. However, all business owners will eventually pass on their businesses whether planned or unplanned. Decisions made in these pivotal moments warrant the creation of a thoughtful succession plan which can make all the difference in the continued flourishing of the family enterprise.
