Sean is a partner in HMB’s Business and Finance Group. His clients are predominantly high-growth companies, ranging from start-ups to more established entities. He provides a counselor-style approach to delivering legal services. His clients rely on him for their transactional needs, such as contracts and agreements, and fully trust he will provide expert advice on big-picture needs to help them realize the business goals behind the legal documents.

Leo Brubaker is CEO at Abundant Venture Partners, a purpose-based incubator focused on improving the human condition by creating companies that improve human wellness, human performance and human engagement. Previously, he was president of CityBase, a payment processing and revenue management technology company in the government space, where he led the successful IPO and sale of the company to GTY Technologies.

Ed has more than 18 years of experience in sales, business development and management. Prior to joining Rose Paving, he held positions at The Edward Hines Lumber Co., including regional manager. He is responsible for setting the overall direction for Rose Paving and assisting in sales, marketing, and operational initiatives. In 2009, he accepted partnership in the company.

Brendan is CEO at Banner Solutions, a PE-owned portfolio business. He is a C-suite executive with 30-plus years of diversified leadership experience within global corporations, publicly traded companies and private equity owned mid-cap specialty distribution and manufacturing businesses, serving industrial, commercial and consumer markets. He has a reputation for value creation as a CEO, corporate director and member of a variety of board/executive committees.

Jenny is office managing partner in Chicago at Marcum LLP and partner-in-charge of Assurance Services and the SEC Practice group for the Midwest region. She also represents the Midwest region on the firm’s national Diversity Program board.

She has more than 20 years of experience providing auditing and consulting services for public and private clients in a variety of industries. Her experience includes writing business plans to assist start-up companies in obtaining funding, as well as buy- and sell-side due diligence engagements.

Ty, executive chairman of TPC Training and CEO1ST partner, is the former CEO of Jones & Bartlett Learning, a division of Ascend Learning and a leading provider of educational solutions. Previously, he was CFO of Ascend Learning, where he implemented a roll-up strategy that resulted in 20 acquisitions.

David “Dave” Goltermann is executive chairman of KI Industries, a manufacturing company producing decorative products and smart surface technology for the automotive, appliance and consumer product markets. He served as CEO from 1995 until his semi-retirement in 2018. He was responsible for opening operations in Mexico, Taiwan, the Netherlands and China, as well as building several new manufacturing plants in the U.S. 

With more than 20 years’ experience in education and technology, Beth Hollenberg is an education technology leader. As Everspring’s co-founder and president, she has driven product strategies that allow its university partners to quickly implement and scale engaging, high-impact, high-quality programs. She has also undertaken business model innovations such as Everspring’s build-operate-transfer model, which allows universities to take greater control over their online operations as their capabilities develop.

A trusted deal lawyer for 30 years, Brian has helped numerous business owners in the sale of their companies in a variety of industries. He is chairman of Duane Morris’ 175-lawyer Corporate Practice Group and a member of the 800-lawyer firm’s Executive Committee. He was selected for twelve consecutive years by Chambers USA as a top lawyer in Corporate/M&A.

Dustin is an award-winning business journalist, bestselling author, and the publisher of Smart Business. Over the past 30 years, he has interviewed thousands of business and civic leaders, and helped more than 50 CEOs and entrepreneurs transform their ideas into books. A trained investigative politics reporter and former digital media entrepreneur, Dustin joined Smart Business in 1997 after serving as an editor at several daily newspapers.

Tom leads Livingstone’s Debt Advisory practice, which provides both companies and financial sponsors with access to a broad range of fixed-income products, such as secured and unsecured commercial bank loans, mezzanine and other junior debt, and preferred and other structured equity securities.  He has over 15 years of commercial finance experience.

Thomas is a builder of businesses and transformational leader with a record of generating shareholder value. He has demonstrated success in shifting mature and commodity operations into high-value specialty products, as well as market diversification through innovation, internal start-ups and acquisitions. He is chairman and CEO of Chaucer Foods, a U.K.-based company, and previously served as president, CEO and member of the board of directors for Penford Corp

Scott is president of Cannabistry Labs, which provides outsourced research and product development, regulatory compliance, manufacturing process engineering, quality assurance programs, branding and market activation to state licensed growers and producers of medical marijuana. He is founder and former CEO of Enjoy Life Foods, dedicated to developing, producing and marketing great-tasting gluten free, allergy friendly products. In 2015, it was acquired by Mondelez International, a $34 billion multinational food company, in an all-cash transaction. 

Diane is CEO and president of Hickory Farms LLC, a leading multichannel retailer of food gifts and specialty foods. She is leading a transformation of the company to reinvent the brand and become the best retailer in the food gifting space. Previously, she was COO and executive vice president of finance for Garrett Brands LLC, a privately held retailer of gourmet, handcrafted popcorn with over 40 locations globally.

Desiree is a leader, communicator, strategist and connector. Her expertise includes building stellar teams, delivering positive financial results and creating sustainable brand strategies. She positioned Chicago as a tourist destination through a worldwide digital campaign, and in 2018, Chicago was named the No. 1 “Big City Destination” by Conde Nast Traveler.

Growing up in the utility construction business as a second-generation leader, Lance has been INTREN’s president for 10 years. He led the company from $180 million to $500 million in revenue while guiding the transition from a family-owned company to family/private equity owned in 2017. He was also the catalyst for the company’s first post-close acquisition in 2018.

Luke is founder and CEO of Farmer’s Fridge, a rapidly growing network of 250-plus automated smart fridges stocked with chef-curated, restaurant-quality salads, sandwiches, bowls and snacks. Regularly challenged by finding fresh food on the road, he arrived at the concept for Farmer’s Fridge: Good health starts with what we eat, and eating well shouldn’t be hard. Today, Farmer's Fridge operates in locations across Chicago, Milwaukee and Indianapolis.

Kenneth co-founded Prairie Capital Advisors with Robert Gross in 1996 after the industry veterans recognized a universally underserved need for objective financial advisory consultation for closely held businesses. Today, he continues to grow Prairie Capital Advisors’ reputation as the most widely respected firm of its kind, designing and implementing customized ownership transition strategies including private sales, management buyouts and Employee Stock Ownership Plans for businesses nationwide. 

Andrew  co-heads Midwest Regional Investment Banking coverage for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He provides a broad range of corporate finance and M&A advisory services for companies across industrial sectors. He is responsible for client development, management and transaction execution leadership, and works in partnership with companies pursuing significant strategic expansions via acquisition, conducting recurrent and transformational financings or implementing changes in corporate form.

Stuart is past president and CEO of Affy Tapple LLC. He transformed the business into the largest wholesale caramel apple company in the U.S. and one of the largest food vendors in the Direct Response Television segment, and led the creation of an e-commerce storefront. He positioned the company for its sale in 2018.

Brian is executive chairman at Tecovas, a direct-to-consumer western boot brand based in Austin, Texas. Until January 2017, he was founder and CEO of Trunk Club, where he focused on making it easy to acquire clothing without the hassles of the traditional shopping experience. Nordstrom acquired Trunk Club in 2014 for $350 million. Previously, he founded Bonobos, a men’s clothing. Bonobos was acquired by Walmart in 2017. 

Nick is a managing director with Cyprium Partners, a private equity fund with offices in New York, Cleveland and Chicago.  Since its founding in 1998, Cyprium has completed 75 non-controlling investments alongside founders, entrepreneurs and management teams.  Previously, he worked for Northlight Capital.

Chuck founded Wholesale Interiors with two containers and grew the business to over 2,000 containers imported per year from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. He drove growth from a zero dollar company to one with over $60 million in revenue within 14 years and sold the business in 2016. He has a vast understanding of managing small to mid-sized businesses and is a consistent innovator, project and sales channel creator.

Michael joined Wynnchurch Capital in 2008 and serves as its managing director. He has more than 15 years of experience in private equity investing and corporate finance, as well as in investment origination and portfolio management. He focuses on the diversified industries sector, including business services, manufacturing, transportation, distribution and natural resources. Previously, he was with Lime Rock Partners, the $6 billion global private equity fund.

Genevieve is a disruptor, entrepreneur, speaker and investor. Her company, Sittercity.com, is America’s first company to take caregiving services online and has millions of users and locations in the U.K. and Canada.
She was recognized at the White House as the Small Business Administration Young Entrepreneur Champion of the Year for 2006. Her companies have won over 18 major awards, and she has been featured thousands of times in the press.

Roger manages the Chicago office of Alex. Brown and has over 20 years of experience working with families of significant wealth. As a Wealth Management Specialist, he focuses on the needs specific to business owners going through a liquidity event.  Strengths include presale planning, assembling your professional team, asset protection, investment management, family office services, philanthropy and building your legacy.  

Scott is the Great Lakes Market Leader of RSM’s Transaction Advisory Services practice. He has over 17 years of professional experience advising clients on acquisitions, divestitures and complex accounting and finance matters. He exclusively works on mergers and acquisitions, having served both private equity and strategic clients on over 150 buy-side and sell-side transactions.

Bill has more than 27 years of investment banking and corporate finance experience. He has completed a range of financial advisory assignments, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and capital raising on behalf of private equity firms and public and private company clients. Previously, he was a managing director with National City Capital Markets Investment Banking Group, where he provided investment banking services within the Industrial group.

Dan is a director at Mentor Group UK, a London-based global technology-enabled services firm that delivers solutions focused on improving sales productivity, leadership capability and revenue growth. Previously, he was founder of GrowthPlay, an integrated sales effectiveness services business that grew rapidly to be ranked No. 22 on the 2017 Inc.500 list of the fastest-growing private companies.

Alan has been a director at ORBA since 1983. He has held positions as head of the tax department and as managing director of the firm. During more than three decades of experience since law school, he has cultivated expertise assisting clients with mergers and acquisition structuring, high-net-worth advisory, family office counseling, estate and trust planning, and tax reduction strategies.

Warren is owner and chairman of ACME Industries Inc., a $75 million contract precision machining company selling critical components to major OEMs. He is also chairman of Automation Nth LLC, a national supplier of system integration and automation controls engineering services.  He has over 40 years of experience in Fortune500 and private companies that manufactured and sold precision industrial equipment.