Planning for Success: When Companies Should Have an Exit Strategy 

Overview

Planning for an exit strategy is not just about preparing for the end; it's about positioning your business for future growth and success. Join us for an insightful and engaging panel discussion focused on the critical topic of exit strategies for businesses. Whether you're a startup, a family-owned business, or an established private company, understanding when and how to plan for an exit can significantly impact the long-term success and sustainability of your firm.

• Understand the different types of exit strategies and their implications for business owners and stakeholders.
• Learn some of the key indicators that signal when it might be time to consider an exit strategy and gain insights on prime market conditions, business performance metrics, and personal goals that should influence your decision-making process.
• Hear from both sides of leaders and advisors who have navigated the exit process and the valuable lessons and takeaways they have learned.

Post Event Dinner

Immediately following the event, join us after for an intimate dinner with the event's panelists. Network with fellow PDA members and delve deeper into the panel discussion's topics. The dinner will be held from 7:00-9:00pm CT at The Village at The Italian Village - located at 71 W. Monroe, Chicago. $70 a person for a set menu with your choice of 3 different entrees. Pre-registration is required.

Registration

$35 Member Registration
$45 Non-Member Registration

$70 Optional Post Event Dinner

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Speakers

William J. Bettman is a Shareholder in the Finance & Transactions and Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits groups. He counsels clients using a practical, business-like approach to the practice of law. Mr. Bettman concentrates his practice in the areas of business, corporate and executive compensation law, and private equity and growth capital. He works extensively in mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, financing and other corporate transactions. He represents corporations, compensation committees and individual executives in a variety of executive compensation matters. The Legal 500 United States guide recommends Mr. Bettman in the Mergers, Acquisitions and Buyouts—M&A: Middle-Market (Sub-$500M) category. He has also been selected by his peers as a Leading Lawyer in Corporate Finance. In 2024, Mr. Bettman was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America in the category of Corporate Law.

Barrett is a Principal and a leader, of our Divestiture Advisory Services practice with over 18 years of experience in financial statement analysis, financial and operational due diligence, project management and executive leadership. He has extensive experience in purchase, divestiture and financing transactions and has partnered with leading private equity, investment banking and venture capital firms globally to achieve successful results in hundreds of transaction across industries such as business services, healthcare, technology, retail, manufacturing, distribution and consumer products. Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Barrett served as the Chief Financial Officer of several distribution companies and leverages his dual expertise of executive management experience along with mergers and acquisitions advisory for the benefit of his clients. He is also a CPA and adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University where he teaches a graduate level course in financial due diligence.

 Alex provides mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory services for business services companies. He has spent his entire career in investment banking, focusing on sell-side M&A with significant experience in capital raising, valuations and pensions advisory within the mid-market. Alex has advised private equity firms, entrepreneur and family-owned businesses, as well as public companies in the U.S. and internationally.

Alex specializes in working with financial services companies and has a rich understanding for the dynamics driving opportunity in the business services market. He helps his clients leverage new market opportunities for growth as a result of technological innovation and changing business models.

Alex has spent his entire professional career with Lincoln, joining as an Analyst.

Alex earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science (with honors) from the University of Illinois.

Moderator

Sunil is a Principal in our M&A Tax Services practice with nearly 20 years of tax consulting experience specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Sunil is the Central Region M&A Tax practice leader, and leads our Divestiture Advisory Tax Services practice. Sunil has extensive experience assisting private equity and strategic buyers navigate through complex transaction tax issues and advising selling owners on maximizing after tax deal proceeds. He has worked on various transactions conducting buy-side and sell-side tax due diligence investigations and performing detailed tax modeling scenarios increasing visibility and tax efficiencies for his clients.

Sunil has been involved in a wide variety of transactions across numerous industries, ranging from $2 million acquisitions of privately-held businesses to multi-billion dollar transactions involving public companies. Prior to Sunil's experience at Grant Thornton, Sunil was part of a Big 4's M&A
tax services practice, and a middle-market investment banking transaction advisory practice.

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