Legacy in Motion: Preparing for the Unsolicited Knock on Your Door
Presented By: Alvarez & Marsal / Morgan Stanley
Every family business reaches a crossroads where legacy meets the future. This discussion explores how to assess management readiness, design effective succession plans, and ensure smooth ownership transitions. Panelists share lessons learned from planning—and executing—leadership change, balancing family priorities with the realities of today’s deal environment.
Moderator:
Managing Director
Alvarez & Marsal
Michael L. Kohner serves as both the Co-Leader of Private Client Services for Alvarez & Marsal Tax and Head of the West Palm Beach office. With 40 years of experience as an accomplished trusted advisor on taxation and family offices, Michael services clients in various industries ranging from private equity, real estate, aviation, technology, professional sports, entertainment, distribution and blockchain.
Panelists:
Financial Advisor
Morgan Stanley
Mike is the Head of the Flagler Group at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. He and his team are exclusively focused on the needs of multi-generational families and private business owners. Mike joined Morgan Stanley (and its predecessor firms) in 2003 from J.P. Morgan Private Bank in New York. Prior to that, he was a Certified Public Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand from 1993 to 1996.
Mike graduated from the Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania in 1993 and received his MBA from Michigan Business School (now Stephen M. Ross School of Business) in 1998.
Director
Trivest Partners
Brent has spent his entire career working for or investing in entrepreneurs. Now he is a Director at Trivest Partners for TGIF, the firms' non-control growth investment fund. Prior to joining Trivest, Brent was Vice President Sheridan Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm. His previous experience includes working at a financial services platform backed by Carlyle and Warburg Pincus, as well as being an early team member at a venture-backed company acquired by Nasdaq, Inc. Brent began his career at Morgan Keegan, a Memphis-based investment bank. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Furman University, where he was a member of the football team.