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SoBro Meeting Room Session A

Transaction Audits: How to prepare your company for any type of deal

Presented By: Hylant & KraftCPAs PLLC

No matter what type of M&A transaction you’re looking to do, being prepared comes down to three areas--your finances, operations, and people. A group of entrepreneurs and experts offers a deep dive into how to make sure you’re checking the right boxes before you go to market with a deal.

Moderator:

Chris Hight
Member, Assurance Services
KraftCPAs PLLC

Chris Hight is a member (owner) in KraftCPAs. As the member-in-charge of the KraftCPAs Assurance Services Department, he oversees quality control and administration for the assurance services practice area. He is also responsible for building and maintaining client relationships, overseeing the work of engagement teams, reviewing ongoing work, approving final reports and presenting our work to clients’ management teams and boards of directors.

Panelists:

A.J. Byrd
Managing Director
TVV Capital

Mr. Byrd joined TVV in 2009. He is responsible for legal, financial, and operational analysis of potential acquisitions and portfolio companies. Mr. Byrd received his B.S. and M.Eng. degrees from Cornell University in 2002 and 2003, respectively, and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University in 2009.

John Cerasuolo
President
ADS Security LP

John is the President of ADS Security. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983 with a BS degree in economics and political science. He earned an MBA degree from Clemson University. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy John joined the Navy Nuclear Power Program and was a senior officer in the Engineering Department of the nuclear-powered cruiser USS Virginia. John was then Vice President at Alcoa Fujikura Ltd, a telecommunications company, until 2008 when he joined ADS Security.
John is board chairman of the Beacon Center of Tennessee and serves on the Advisory Council for the Atlas Network.

Vic Gatto
Founder & CEO
Jumpstart Foundry

Vic has been an investor in healthcare and technology since 2001.  He has made over 200 investments in early-stage innovation companies in the areas of healthcare services, medical devices, diagnostic tools, technology, and data analytics.   

Vic co-founded Jumpstart Health Investors in 2014.  Designed to be a new type of healthcare investment platform, the firm leverages four complimentary business units to covey and unfair advantage to investors, innovators and industry.  

Before Jumpstart, Vic served as a Partner at two different venture capital firms, focusing his investment activity primarily in healthcare services and technology.  In the 1990s, before switching to the investor side of the table, Vic co-founded and subsequently sold a software company.  

Vic was the seed investor in Change Healthcare.  He helped growth the company from a concept to the multi-billion enterprise it is today.  Vic served on the Board of Directors for seven years. He also joined Change in a full time capacity as President during a critical transition period.  As President, Vic helped the original Founders define the skills needed to lead the company forward. He then recruited a two-person team of Chairman and CEO to leave a large publicly-traded healthcare company to lead the growth of Change Healthcare.  The company is now publicly traded on Nasdaq and valued in excess of $1.5B.

Vic lives in Nashville with his wife and two sons.  He has a MBA from Vanderbilt University and a BA from Amherst College.  



Kip Irle
Senior Vice President, Practice Leader, Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions
Hylant

Kip’s areas of expertise include strategic planning and customized consultation for captive
plan evaluation and design. He also directs Hylant’s private equity and mergers &
acquisitions, insurance due diligence, deal facilitation structuring, alternative risk finance
structuring, cash flow analysis, large casualty and loss sensitive program design and placement.

Kip is a featured speaker at many national business conferences including those hosted by
Information Management Network [IMN], Association for Corporate Growth, [ACG], Financial
Executives International [FEI] on timely topics of interest to various businesses especially as
legislation changes occur.

Kip earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing from Northern Illinois University and
earned his master’s degree in business administration from the J.L. Kellogg School of
Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Conference Location

807 Clark Place
Nashville, TN 37203
Tel: 615-248-2800