Exit Without Regret: Strategic Preparation That Protects Value, Control, and Legacy
Presented By: Graystone Consulting / Honigman
Regret rarely comes from valuation. It comes from decision asymmetry - where owners optimize the deal economics without equal rigor applied to timing, buyer selection, retained risk, family governance, and personal financial architecture. In privately held and multi-generational businesses, a poorly prepared exit doesn’t just impair value - it reshapes family power dynamics, alters legacy trajectories, and can constrain optionality for decades. Today’s discussion is not just about completing an exit successfully but doing it deliberately and without regret.
Moderator:
First Vice President, Private Wealth Advisor
Graystone Consulting
Matthew Gurwin is a First Vice President, Private Wealth Advisor, and Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) for Graystone Consulting at Morgan Stanley. He specializes in advising wealthy business owners and families, especially those considering substantial liquidity events due to the sale or recapitalization of a privately held business. A veteran of the financial services industry, Matt draws on his 25 years of experience, helping entrepreneurs and private business owners maximize the value of their business, take their personal and personal financial plans to the next level, and be prepared for what adventure comes next after transitioning their current company. He draws on his 20 years of experience in the field to collaborate with professionals in a range of industries, build relationships with existing and prospective clients, and enhance internal operations to improve our clients' experience.
Matt earned both his BBA and his MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Prior to joining Graystone Consulting - Chicago, Matt was a Principal at Doeren Mayhew leading their firm’s business development efforts. Earlier in his career, Matt worked at Telemus Capital Partners, LLC, as a managing director and as an Investment Banker for Deloitte Corporate Finance.
Outside the office, Matt enjoys spending quality time with his spouse and their four children.
Panelists:
Partner, M&A Practice Leader
Honigman
Matt VanWasshnova concentrates his practice on representing public and private companies in a broad range of corporate and securities law matters.
Matt’s practice has a particular emphasis on complex domestic and cross-border business transactions, including leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, equity and debt financing transactions, recapitalizations, executive employment and equity incentive arrangements, and joint ventures. Matt executes these transactions on behalf of public companies, advising boards of directors, board committees and management; and on behalf of private equity funds, family offices, independent sponsors and their respective portfolio companies, advising a host of involved parties.
During his career, he has advised on and closed hundreds of acquisition/sale transactions in a variety of industries with transaction sizes ranging from a few million dollars to over $1 billion in deal value encompassing a wide range of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, industrial, automotive, services, retail and information technology.
Matt also regularly counsels public and private companies on corporate governance issues, fiduciary duty matters (both generally and in the M&A context), and compliance with the U.S. federal and state securities laws.