Turn Family Business Conflict Into Opportunity
- Family Conflict: Does every challenge have to be a big deal?
- Employee Retention: Long-term employees provide stability and organizational memory
- Community Image: Who you are in town matters
- Longevity, because Father Time is Still Undefeated: At the very least, one family business transition coming down the pike is succession
- Shareholder Expectations: Get ahead of expectations to create positive outcomes
- The internal buy out of inactive shareholders (especially if there are numerous shareholders)
- ESOPs
- Keeping the outcome equal and fair for all children and heirs
- The valuation of business assets (an art, not a science)
- Using stock as an incentive (usually a poor choice as it creates conflict among shareholders)
- A partial sale
Please join Family Business Magazine editor Barbara Spector, who will moderate this webinar on family business transitional conflict.
Speakers
Gerry Murak
President and CEO, SoPark Corporation
Gerry Murak is the President and CEO of SoPark Corporation, an award winning electronics manufacturing services provider. Earlier in his career, he turned around the performance of a Fortune 500 in two different locations, as well as a “Top 100 WNY Corporation.” In 1991, he started his management consulting firm, Murak & Associates, LLC. Gerry is also the founder, President and CEO of Precision Scientific Instruments, Inc. He has served as adjunct business faculty for the University at Buffalo, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and Daemen College.
Theodore A. Beringer
Chief Executive Officer, The Beringer Group
Ted Beringer founded The Mid-Atlantic Companies, Ltd. in 1979 with the mission of serving the financial needs of private and closely held business owners and their families. Mid-Atlantic grew to become a national firm with more than 100 employees and offices throughout the United States. In 1998 Mid-Atlantic's operations were acquired by First Union Corporation (now Wells Fargo.) In early 2000, Ted, his family, and a few select partners established The Beringer Group, a company providing business owners with transition, corporate development, and liquidity options. He specializes in the “keep/sell” discussion and its impact on the family business. Ted is a graduate of the University of Buffalo and holds a Master's Degree from the University of Oklahoma.
Christopher M. Beringer
President, The Beringer Group
Chris Beringer has been advising private businesses with intergenerational issues since 2004, when he joined The Beringer Group after working for AIG. He has direct experience in providing business owners with transitional planning in all stages of corporate life, from aligning personal and business plans to evaluating exit plan options. Chris also is responsible for strategic family enterprise oversight. He is a graduate of Villanova University.
John W. Leighbody
Managing Director, The Beringer Group
Previously with Prudential-Bache and The Mid-Atlantic Companies, Ltd, John Leighbody has been providing business owners with transition, corporate development and liquidity options for over 30 years. He has been successfully navigating these issues with The Beringer Group since 1987, and is a graduate of Westminster College.
Barbara Spector
Editor, Family Business Magazine
Barbara Spector, who grew up in a family business, has served on the editorial staff of Family Business Magazine since 2000. She has been editor-in-chief since 2004 and became associate publisher in 2011. She compiled and edited six volumes in the acclaimed Family Business Handbook Series. Previously, she was the managing editor of Jewelers' Circular Keystone, a trade magazine for the jewelry industry, which is primarily composed of family businesses. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.