There are many important considerations that face a company’s management team in preparing for a transaction: enterprise valuation, industry multiples, managing key client relationships, management team focus and delivering the news to employees are just a few.  However, there are several items that we consistently see receiving little focus, or are focused on too late, that can have a material impact on deal proceeds and the closing process.

Having GAAP Financials

Scott Stone

Financial statements prepared according to GAAP or IFRS are critical, especially if a sophisticated or larger buyer is involved. Any differences in accrual methods of the seller and the buyer or GAAP will work against seller.  Vacation and PTO accrual are a good example, as differences in accrual methods will either come out of the seller’s pocket or will negatively impact employees, thus straining the relationship between buyer and seller.

Establishing Target Working Capital
Pay attention to this early, preferably before going to market.  If seller is not prepared to understand how it will function, they will be unable to defend themselves in final negotiations – and it will cost them cash at closing.  The structure of the working capital calculation and the company’s working capital cycle should be taken into consideration when deciding when to take the company to market.  Depending on structure and timing, the seller may find himself inadvertently financing a significant portion of the sale of the company.

Establishing Timeline Expectations
Setting sellers’ expectations at one year for the sale of a business is hard enough, and becomes even harder if buyers submit a bid with an unrealistically short period of exclusivity.  Buyers should be asked to resubmit a bid with a more realistic timeframe, or the bid value itself should be discounted in the auction.

Blair Badham

Maintaining a Competitive Environment
Having more than one bid is not enough. Sellers should not put themselves in a position of needing the transaction to close for financial reasons, or they will risk turning over complete control of the process to the buyer.  Therefore, messaging about the reasons for sale are extremely important in the early stages as well as in the final stages of the process, and alternative bidders should be kept “on deck” so the seller has options if the deal falls apart.  Simply put, if the seller is going to walk away, or threaten to walk away, they need a place to walk to.  It’s also important to manage the seller’s interaction with buyer representatives when discussing deal points – if the seller falls in love with the deal, a valuable bargaining tool is lost.

Paying early and close attention to these four items will help sellers maximize their cash at closing and also allow them to arrive at the finish line in a more predictable and less stressful manner.

For more information about preparing your company for a sale or any other BSA service offerings, call 877.832.7629 or contact any member of the Butler Snow Advisory Team.

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CLEVELAND, OHIO — Constant Aviation, offering full-service maintenance, repair and overhaul with a nationwide network, announced the completion of its acquisition of StarPort, a full-service MRO and FBO based in Sanford, FL (KSFB).  Butler Snow Advisory Services represented Starport in the transaction.

Stephen Maiden, President and CEO of Constant Aviation, said, “The acquisition of StarPort provides us continued growth in the Southeast with a 75,000-square foot facility that supports maintenance, interior, paint and FBO operations. It represents an opportunity to expand our business into the exterior paint market, while significantly enhancing our presence in the southeast region of the country. Our transition
plans include the immediate investment of approximately $2M into the paint facility. The upgrades to the paint facility will help increase capacity, allow for quicker turn times, and will utilize the best advancements in technology. The integration of StarPort into the Constant network will be done strategically so that our organization can continue to operate as a collective unit. Our initial focus at the Orlando-based location will be adding team members to boost capacity and increase capabilities.”

“StarPort is well known for their superior paint and interior refurbishment capabilities, specifically on the Falcon, Hawker/Beech, and Bombardier platforms. Constant will be investing in training and necessary tooling to expand the product line offerings to include our niche aircraft which will begin with the Embraer, Cessna and Gulfstream airframes,” continued Maiden.

About Constant Aviation

Constant Aviation has locations at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cuyahoga County Airport, Birmingham International Airport, Las Vegas International Airport and Orlando Sanford International Airport. Constant specializes in airframe and engine maintenance, major repairs, avionics, interior refurbishment, paint, parts distribution and accessory services. As one of the fastest growing MRO’s in the country, Constant Aviation understands the importance of aircraft availability, predictability and minimizing operational costs for their customers. Constant Aviation has raised the bar in aircraft maintenance expectations and provides customers with a one-stop shop option when it comes to maintenance events.  For more information, please visit www.constantaviation.com or call 216.261.7119.

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On January 1, 2011 about 8,000 Baby Boomers (people born between 1946 – 1964) turned 65 years of age. Every day for the next 18 years, others will turn 65 at the same rate. While many may know about this trend, a lesser known fact is that, according to the US Census Bureau, 70% of all businesses (with more than 1 person on the payroll) or 4.2 million businesses are owned by people over 53 years old.

What are the prospects for transferring those businesses when the owner is ready? The need to liquidate ownership will impact all of us, young and old, as the boomers try to capture the wealth that they have created over their lifetime. But there is good reason to believe that there is going to be far less of it than they might expect. In fact, the elements of a perfect storm are brewing.

If every owner in the over 53 crowd is depending on selling their business to fund the next stage of their life (be it retirement or something else), the amount of capital required to close all those transactions is over $10 trillion dollars. Where is the money going to come from to fund those acquisitions?

There has been a stock market bubble, a housing bubble, a dot-com bubble, but never before have we seen an owner demographic bubble. This “age wave” is coming like a tsunami.

There is currently about $535 billion in funds available (“private equity overhang”) to acquire businesses — nowhere near the amount of equity needed to do even 10% of the transactions that will be up for sale. Even if fresh investment capital becomes available, the amount of supply will drive values down significantly.

There is a Market Transfer Cycle, and every 10years there has been some kind of recession. It is currently a seller’s market but the bull has had a long run and it will get tired sometime over the next three years. It always does. When it does, it will become a buyer’s market of major proportion and only the strongest deals will get transacted.

There are three major forces at work and together they are impacting the owner’s situation exponentially:

  • Many businesses for sale. In addition to those businesses owned by retiring baby boomers, there are over 7,700 companies in inventory that are currently owned by private equity firms that will become available. Furthermore, there are owners less than 65 years old who will be seeking capital for growth initiatives. There will be lots of competition for the retiring business owners and all of it will drive prices down.
  • There are not nearly enough funds to satisfy all the sellers looking to transact. Private equity fundraising won’t be able to keep up. Limited funding will make buyers very selective and only the A++ deals will get done and even they will have reduced purchase price multiples.
  • The economy goes in cycles and there is only about another three years left to the current seller’s market. Can an owner really afford to wait it out until the market cycles back? It may take significantly longer than any time in the past.

What’s the result? Only the best deals — maybe top 10% — will get transacted. If owners miss this current cycle they will have to wait at least eight years until the market starts to turn in favor of doing deals again, all the while, the boomers are flooding the market with their companies up for sale.

So, if you are a business owner, with thoughts of selling anytime in the next eight years, how do you achieve getting your company in a very competitive position for a transaction?

First: Establish a sense of urgency and a realistic view of the value of your business today. Look at it the way a buyer would. Remember the value for the buyer is based on what he can get out of it, not what you put into it.

Second: Get a road map developed now to increase value. This can be done without significant growth, dramatic improvement in earnings or even increasing your debt. Hitting the current seller’s market window means getting the business ready for a sale process in the next two years (it might take another year to find, negotiate, and close on an acceptable transaction).

Third: Create priorities for how you focus your efforts over the next 2-3 years. You’ve spent a lifetime working “in” the business, now it’s time to start working “on” the business. This isn’t like selling your house where you can get it market-ready in a month or so.

And finally: Get some help from an expert. The storm is coming and riding it out without eroding value will be extremely difficult. The issues here are vast and complex so find a professional who has a portfolio of clients that have done precisely this. You can’t go it alone and expect to be successful. You haven’t done it thus far and so you probably are ill-equipped to do it in the future. After all, you still have a business to run and other demands on your time. The ROI on this kind of help is significant but there aren’t that many qualified advisors available who can help you plan and execute a value enhancement process that will get you where you need to be -well within that top ten percent.

Boomers have been a driver of economic growth and consumer spending even before the early eighties (remember the hula hoop?) when they started to reach their peak earning years. This demographic group turbocharged rates of home ownership, consumer spending and, most important of all, employment. Almost everyone has either paid or benefited from the taxes they have generated. Will their business ownership legacy be another boon or a victim of a perfect storm?

This article was written by Gary Ampulski and was originally published on FORUM by Axial, April 8, 2015.  Gary is Managing Partner of Midwest Genesis and is not affiliated with Butler Snow Advisory Services, LLC.  

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WilloughbyM-grid

Martin Willoughby

The New Year brings a sense of renewal and change.  Studies show that almost half of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately only about 10 percent of those will actually achieve their goals. As you might imagine, resolutions to improve health and finances rank at the top of the wish list.  One of the key ways to achieve resolutions is to let them become a habit.  Psychologist Williams James noted, “All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits.”  While it is frequently said that it only takes 21 days to make a new habit stick, my review of the scientific literature on the subject indicates that it takes our brains closer to 60 days to actually rewire around a new habit.  As we enter 2015, here are a few leadership ideas to consider making a habit.

Just Say No

It’s tough to say no. We might offend someone or miss an opportunity.  A friend of mine describes the need to “chase shiny things” versus staying focused.  However, great leaders know that the ability to say no is critical.  As Gandhi said, “A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.”  Leadership expert Tony Schwartz similarly emphasized, “Saying no, thoughtfully, may be the most undervalued capacity of our times.” We have more options than ever and countless opportunities vying for our attention.  It is more important than ever to be purposeful about what we say yes to.  However, this is no easy task.  We often have to say no to many good things.  However, unless we say no to the “good” then we will never be able to focus our time, talent, and energy on the “great.”

Show Appreciation 

Studies have shown that for knowledge workers, money alone is insufficient to motivate performance.  Dan Pink summarized this research in his book Drive and noted that workers are best incentivized by creating an atmosphere of autonomy, mastery, and purpose.  In addition, I believe that people need authentic and genuine appreciation.  As I interview employees in organizations, I am amazed at the number of them who have never been shown appreciation in any form.  Appreciation is like a gift.  There is no reason as a leader to be stingy with this gift.  Whether a subordinate, co-worker, or a boss, I highly encourage people to get in the habit of showing appreciation.

Follow Up

I believe one of the most difficult aspects of leadership today is living by the motto “say what you are going to do, and do what you say.”  As I was beginning my career, a wise businessman told me that if I would do good work, return phone calls, and do what I said then I would always have plenty of work to do.  I believe there is great truth in his advice.  As leaders, we need to make a habit of being excellent at follow up and execution.  In addition, if you have people that you are delegating to then you need to be very intentional about follow up.  One of my early mentors kept a legal pad where he wrote down every promise someone gave him regarding delivery on a project or task.  If you missed a deadline, you could expect an immediate phone call from him.  My observation was that his team knew that when they were assigned a task and deadline that he meant it.

I hope these ideas will be an encouragement to you to be the best leader you can be in 2015.  I look forward to sharing more stories about the leaders doing great things around Mississippi in future columns.

[Originally published in the Mississippi Business Journal, January 9, 2015.] Read More


As a young businessperson, one of the most influential books on my thinking was Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” One of the seven habits he described was to “begin with the end in mind.” I continually come back to this important idea. As the old expression goes, “If you don’t know where you are going, then any road will take you there.” If we don’t know where we are heading in life or business, then we are simply consumed in busyness with no clear purpose. We are like Taz, the Tasmanian devil Looney Tunes cartoon character, whirling around in a frenzy of motion. Okay I know I may have dated myself a little with that reference, but at least my younger readers have access to YouTube and can check out Taz!

WilloughbyM-grid

Martin Willoughby

As much as we might want to deny the fact, we are all mortal and have seasons of life. Businesses similarly have seasons as well. There are the exciting startup days when passionate entrepreneurs try to launch businesses into existence. For those businesses that survive this phase (most don’t), they hopefully enter a nice phase of growth as they scale toward their full potential. At some point, most businesses plateau and begin a gradual decline until they reach some end point such as dissolution, bankruptcy or sale. Of course, mature businesses can have seasons of growth and renewal as well, with new products or services, and a very small number of companies will eventually become publicly traded.

I used to do a fair amount of estate planning. I found that most people don’t like to talk about planning their estates. I get that. Making plans for dying is not exactly on anyone’s Top 10 list of fun things to do. Similarly, I find that very few business owners spend much time talking about the inevitable transition of their business. Since there is still a 100 percent mortality rate, the question is not if, but when, a transition will occur in a business. Business transitions are not all triggered by death. For example, the triggering event could also be a partnership dispute, disability, divorce, or simply a desire to work less or retire.

I have found that there are some common reasons why people put off thinking about succession/exit planning for their business. Probably the most common is simply the tyranny of the urgent. The pressures of the “now” take precedence, and long-range succession planning stays unattended to in the important, but not urgent, bucket of things to do. Others are uncomfortable discussing this topic with family or partners, so they simply don’t. Some owners simply don’t have the advisors around them to properly think through the issues. Successfully operating a business and successfully transitioning a business are two different things and usually require different skill sets.

Chris Mercer, founder of Mercer Capital, presents a compelling case in his book “Unlocking Private Company Wealth” that there is a tremendous need for business owners to better keep the end in mind and consider ways to diversify their wealth away from their closely held business. For more than 75 percent of business owners, their business represents more than 50 percent of their net worth. Mercer points out that most people spend more time professionally managing their liquid wealth (e.g., stocks, bonds, etc.) than they do their illiquid wealth (their business). Managing your business is not exactly the same thing as managing the asset of your business. By viewing your business as an asset, you can reshape how you view your expected returns and target performance.

I have summarized below a few considerations when thinking about the transition of your business:

Do You Have a Plan for Involuntary Transitions?

I’m amazed at the number of successful businesses that don’t have a written plan for involuntary transitions like death, divorce, disability and shareholder disputes. While you can’t plan for every contingency, it is highly advisable to make sure that you plan for some common situations that can occur. This is typically done in the form of a buy-sell agreement with the owners of the business. I also recommend that business owners (particularly sole owners) have written instructions on how they want the affairs of the business to be handled and keep critical information easy to find. I lost a business partner at a very young age, and I learned first-hand how important this type of planning is for the business and the family. It is easy to procrastinate on these issues, so don’t delay!

Do You Have a Plan for Voluntary Transitions?

I regularly visit with business owners who desire to spend more time away from their business to better enjoy their family and golden years. The challenge is to define a target date for a transition from the business and what that transition actually means. I find that some people want to always stay engaged with the business while others would like to hand off the keys and sail into the sunset. It is important to clarify your personal goals so you can plan for a successful transition.

Have You Identified Who You Would Like to Take Over Your Business?

Is there a family member who has the aptitude and interest, an employee or perhaps a third party? Answering these questions will be critical to developing a realistic plan for succession. Most importantly, you want to begin as early as possible in your planning. I find many family-owned enterprises plan three to five years in advance. If you are behind in your planning, the best time to start is today!

Do You Know the Value of Your Company and Your Financial Needs?

Many business owners don’t really know the value of their business. Savvy owners often have an annual appraisal to see how their asset is performing. It is important to be able to look objectively at your company’s valuation. Remember, a business is only truly worth what someone will pay for it.

I also encourage business owners considering a transition to carefully evaluate their cash flow needs. Often, owners fail to consider all of the “perks” that they enjoy as the owner of the business that they would not have if there were a different owner. I recommend a thorough review of the cash flow needs of owners so that they don’t find themselves cash poor after a transition.

It is easy to mistake succession planning as a transaction rather than a process. In reality, business owners should be treating their business as an asset and actively managing that asset in addition to managing the business. They should consider their investment returns and whether they are growing their wealth. In addition, proactive planning for the inevitable transitions that will occur is simply the prudent thing to do. There is a tremendous amount of wealth that will be transitioned in the upcoming years (estimated to be as high as $ 10 trillion). This is an important topic that I hope thoughtful business owners will actively address.

[Originally published in Pointe Innovation, the quarterly publication of Innovate Mississippi, in its Winter 2014 issue.

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Between 2008 and 2010, the United States had a loss of over 200,000 businesses and 3 million jobs. This period of the “Great Recession” was particularly challenging for those businesses in the housing sector.  For those that survived, many found themselves in a better position with fewer competitors and leaner operations.  I had the opportunity this week to interview Floyd M. Sulser, Jr., Chairman of Southern Lumber Company, whose team persevered though the tough times and rebounded to have their best year in history in 2013.   Sulser’s father, Floyd Sulser Sr., retired from his first lumber career, and in 1983, he co-founded Southern Lumber with Bill Dearman. They acquired two sawmills and launched a very successful business. Sulser, Jr., a Jackson native, joined the company full time in 1996 when his father decided to retire for good.

fsulser

Floyd M. Sulser, Jr.

Sulser, a Jackson native, had his own career before going into the lumber business.  After obtaining his undergraduate and law degrees from Ole Miss, Sulser went on to serve four years in the military with the JAG Corps.  In 1974, he moved back to Jackson and began his law career.  In 1981, Sulser along with Dick Bennett, Joe Lotterhos, and Marcus Wilson formed the law firm of Bennett, Lotterhos, Sulser, and Wilson, P.A., which continues to this day.  Sulser had provided legal services to Southern Lumber and held a seat on the Board, but he still faced a major life decision when his father asked him to consider taking over the company.  He explained, “I had grown up around the lumber business, and I felt this was an opportunity I could not pass up.”  His father’s partner Bill Dearman retired the same year and his son-in-law, Jerry Lee, joined Sulser in making a career transition that same year.

Making a successful family leadership change is never easy, but Sulser shared that his father was great through the process and allowed him room to lead and develop his own leadership style.  Sulser noted, “I worked very hard to really learn the business and to earn the trust and respect of the employees.”  He continued, “It was an interesting change coming from the law and abstract ideas to the practical realities of the importance of numbers and metrics in our business.”  In addition to succeeding his father, Sulser was essentially learning to work with a new partner in Jerry Lee.  The Sulser and Dearman families own the business 50-50, and so Sulser and Lee continued the successful tradition of their predecessors in learning to run a business cooperatively as equals.

Sulser candidly shared that he learned some powerful lessons in survival during the Great Recession years.  Their business, like many others tied to housing, took a major hit.  He noted, “Our industry had always been cyclical, but the challenges we faced in 2008 and the years following were unlike anything we had ever experienced.”  The owners cut and eventually eliminated their salaries; hard decisions were made; and they obtained creative financing to survive.  However, out of those hard times came opportunity.  As the economy slowly returned, they were a lean and highly efficient organization and began to have record growth and profits.  This rebound has now culminated in the acquisition of the company by Canfor, a publicly traded Canadian lumber company, which is scheduled to close in April.  I was inspired by Sulser and his team’s story of perseverance and resilience, and I am excited for the owners to have achieved the feat of exiting on a real high note.

[Originally published in the Mississippi Business Journal, November 26, 2014.] Read More


Leadership guru Ram Charan noted, “Talent, as every leader knows, is the most essential ingredient of business success.” Good to Great author Jim Collins echoed the importance of people when he said “To build a successful organization and team you must get the right people on the bus.”  While most business leaders would agree with these statements, I have found that it is harder in reality to “walk the talk” of valuing the importance of people.  One business owner told me, “My employees should just be happy they are getting a paycheck!” In contrast, visionary leaders understand the importance of people and act on it.  Starbucks founder Howard Schultz is a great example of this.  He recently announced that in addition to providing health insurance for part time employees, his company has partnered with Arizona State University to create a program to help his employees earn degrees for essentially no cost. He explained, “You cannot build long-term value for the shareholder, in my view, without building long-term value for your people.”

My interviewee this week, Hal Miller is one of those leaders that understands the value of people.  Miller, a Jackson native, recently left his position as Executive Vice President of Miller Transporters, Inc. to serve as President of the Mississippi Trucking Association.   Miller had worked in his family business for over thirty years before joining the MTA full time.  He had previously served as a Board member for 22 years for the organization that serves over 320 members with a wide array of services.  Miller shared with me that the trucking industry plays a vital role in the state’s economy and that 1 in 12 jobs are tied to the industry.

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Hal Miller

Miller brings a people-oriented perspective to the job.  He shared, “My grandfather established a tradition of making sure people mattered in all of his decisions when he started the family business. I had the honor of working directly under two Millers, my uncle Scott and my cousin Lee. Both upheld that tradition started by my grandfather over 70 years ago. I try to make sure that plays a major role in my decision making whether it be the people employed within the Association, the members, the employees of the industry as a whole, as well as the general public that our industry interacts with every day.”  Miller emphasized that his father Hal Miller who spent his career as a lawyer influenced him as well on the importance of people.  He noted, “My father has a plaque in his study at home that has been there since I was a child that reminds him daily of the value of people which states ‘People are important. We are God’s gift to one another.’”

I asked Miller about making the major career shift to leave the family business.  He explained, “It was very difficult to make the decision to leave my family’s business as I am very proud of what Miller Transporters stands for and think very highly of all of the great people that worked with in that organization. However, being allowed to represent our industry as a whole was very exciting idea for me. Our industry has many wonderful stories of success and perseverance. The trucking industry represents the best of the best when it comes to down-to-earth hard-working people that live by very strong principles. To be allowed to provide support and advocacy for this group is indeed an honor.”

I have observed first hand Miller’s passion for putting people first, and I know that he “walks the talk” like other truly great leaders. I know that the MTA and many others will benefit from this conviction and his commitment to “doing the right thing.”

[Originally published in the Mississippi Business Journal, November 7, 2014.] Read More


Joel Bomgar is the founder of Bomgar Corporation, a leading provider of enterprise remote support solutions.  The company had an ownership change in May when TA Associates, a global private equity firm, acquired a majority interest in the company.

MW: Joel, what has life been like for you after the Bomgar ownership change?

JB: Life is fantastic! My wife and I have baby #4 on the way in early November, and I’ve really enjoyed having the time to pursue an interest in public policy while still being very engaged in Bomgar as well as having time with my wife, Rachel, and our children.

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Joel Bomgar

MW: What now is your role with Bomgar Corporation and how are you staying involved with the company?

JB: As chairman of the board, I continue to be involved in strategy, without the need to be involved in tactics or execution. That allows me to focus on vision and assist in numerous other ways where I feel I can add value.

MW: Being the founder of Bomgar Corporation, I’m sure you want to see the company thrive. Where would you like to see Bomgar go from here?

JB: We have spent the last 11 years building an incredible technology platform and worldwide sales and marketing reach with more than two hundred employees worldwide. Those ingredients provide a lot of opportunity for the future in addition to maintaining our #1 position in market share worldwide for enterprise remote support technology. My hope for the future is that we leverage all those assets to maximize their value while keeping and growing our #1 position in the marketplace.

MW:  Along with your involvement as the chairman of the board of Bomgar, what else are you doing with your time?

JB: I’ve spent a ton of time studying a wide range of public policies both nationally and locally and also a lot of time studying economics and human behavior. If you understand economics as well as how people respond to incentives and how public policy alters behavior and often creates unintended consequences, it becomes a lot easier to understand what public policies will work and which ones won’t.

MW:  What made you interested in public policy?

JB: Back in the mid-2000’s, I read the public policy primer “Governing by Principle” put out by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. It was the first time I had read and understood the fundamental elements of what makes government and society work and that started me on the public policy knowledge quest. Since that time I’ve spent literally thousands of hours studying economics and public policy, including listening through lectures on history, philosophy, intellectual history, Austrian economics, and finance from the Teaching Company great courses series. All of this intellectual investment has resulted in me being even more interested in public policy than before.

MW: What specific areas of public policy are you researching?

JB: I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand and solidify the underlying historical and economic foundations, but ultimately I’d like to have a thorough understanding of every area of public policy that affects Mississippians in a significant way, especially those areas where the state spends the most of the taxpayer’s money. For example, just five areas of the general fund budget represent more than 80 percent of where the money goes. Those five areas are elementary and secondary education (nearly 40 percent), post-secondary education (about 15 percent), interest payments on the debt (7 percent) and Department of Corrections (6 percent). I’d like to thoroughly understand every aspect of those areas as well as any other area that affects Mississippians.

MW: Why, in your opinion, are those areas important to you and Mississippi?

JB: The three criteria I use to determine what is most important and where we need to focus are:

–   What affects the most people and in the biggest way?

–   Where are the most financial or other resources going?

–   How much room for improvement is there in that specific area?

When you look at each area of public policy through those three lenses it becomes much easier to focus and prioritize where time and energy should be spent relative to making Mississippi better and moving our state forward.

[Originally published in the Mississippi Business Journal, September 24, 2014.] Read More


Butler Snow Advisory Services (BSA) is pleased to announce that Rick Gernert has joined as principal in their Nashville office. He brings more than 30
years of experience in the financial services industry.

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Rick Gernert

“Rick will bring a wealth of experience to Butler Snow Advisory,” said Matt Thornton, President and CEO of BSA. “We are thrilled about the knowledge and value he
will provide to our team and our clients.”

Gernert most recently served as a founding shareholder of Iroquois Capital Group and managing director in its Investment Banking Group, as well as president of Iroquois Capital Advisors. Gernert has experience working with early-stage venture capital entities and has been an advisor to institutional investors and high net worth individuals.
Prior to his work at Iroquois Capital Group, Gernert was a managing director of Koch Ventures, a $150 million early-stage venture capital entity. He has also held the position of vice president of business development at EDS Corporation in Dallas, where he was responsible for internal mergers and acquisitions and its private equity investing.

Gernert holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Mississippi as well as Series 7, Series 24, Series 63 and Series 79 licenses.

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Butler Snow Advisory Services, LLC (BSA), a leading strategic consulting and transaction advisory company based in the Greater Jackson area – has named Wesley Roberts to their team of professionals.

Most recently, Roberts served as a manager in the transaction advisory services department of Ernst & Young, LLP in Nashville, Tenn., where he managed and participated in financial due diligence engagements, particularly related to acquisitions by private equity investor groups and strategic corporate buyers. RobertsW-grid

“Wesley’s transaction advisory experience at Ernst & Young make him a perfect fit for our growing company,” said Matt A. Thornton, President and CEO of BSA. “We are excited to welcome Wesley to the team, and look forward to his leadership in guiding our capital markets initiatives. We are particularly encouraged to have him in Nashville, where we see exceptional financial and business opportunities.”

In his role at Butler Snow Advisory, Roberts will focus on transaction advisory services, which include capital formation, buy-side and sell-side representation, mergers and acquisitions.

Roberts holds a bachelor of business administration and a master of accountancy from the University of Tennessee. He is also a certified public accountant, licensed in the state of Tennessee.

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