Paul Stillmank, the founder and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Salesforce consulting firm 7Summits, will be the keynote speaker at BizTimes Media’s M&A Forum.
The annual event, which provides business leaders with insight and strategies to help them buy or sell a business, will be held on Thursday, March 12, from 7-11 a.m. at the Milwaukee Marriott Downtown hotel, 625 N. Milwaukee St.
7Summits ranked No. 4806 on the 2019 Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America. At the M&A Forum, Stillmank will discuss the importance of three key strategies within a business: a focused go-to-market strategy, a defined offering set and predictable bookings motion. He will describe how those strategies, combined with a strong company culture, help to grow a business.
After Stillmank’s talk, there will be a panel discussion covering numerous M&A topics including: growing your workforce through a business acquisition, developing an effective company culture to accelerate growth, the advantages of recapitalization and the use of ESOP ownership.
Panelists will include: Bukacek Construction CEO Andrea Bukacek, Sprecher Brewing CEO Sharad Chadha, APi Group chief learning officer Paul Grunau and Midwest Composite Technologies CEO Ryan Martin. The panel discussion will be moderated by Ann Hanna, managing director and owner of Taureau Group.
Bukacek is the third generation of her family to lead the business, which was started by her grandfather. She recently acquired it from an ESOP.
Chadha leads the group of local investors that recently acquired Sprecher Brewing.
Midwest Composite Technologies was acquired by a private equity firm in 2018, and acquired two companies last year.
After the panel discussion, there will be three concurrent breakout sessions:
- Secrets to Unlocking Business Value, led by Hanna and Corey Vanderpoel, managing director and co-owner of Taureau Group.
- Creative Financing that Maximizes Cash Flow, speakers will include: Gerard Berenz, director of SBA and senior vice president for Old National Bank; Steve Kohl, vice president of WBD Inc.; Frank Lotter, president of Lotter Enterprises; Tommy Olson, senior vice president of commercial banking for Old National Bank; and Dan Phlegar, founding partner and mezzanine investor of Oxer Capital. The session will be moderated by Inge Plautz, senior vice president and executive business development officer for Old National Bank.
- Avoiding Data Privacy Traps in the M&A Process, speakers will include Martin McLaughlin, corporate shareholder and the chair of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren’s Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice; and Melissa Zabkowicz, corporate attorney and a member of Reinhart’s Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice.
The sponsors for the M&A Forum are Old National Bank, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. and Taureau Group. Vistage is an event partner.
