M&A Forum panelists to share lessons learned from their deals

The panel discussion at the 13^th annual BizTimes Media M&A Forum will feature insights, perspectives and lessons learned from business leaders with a variety of experiences in buying or selling a business. The M&A Forum will be held on Thursday, March 12, from 7-11 a.m. at the Milwaukee Marriott Downtown hotel, 625 N. Milwaukee St., Milwaukee. Click here to register. The registration deadline is Tuesday, March 10. The panelists will include:

• Bukacek Construction CEO Andrea Bukacek. Bukacek is the third generation of her family to lead the business, which was started in 1963 by her grandfather. She recently acquired it from an ESOP. Her father, Nick Bukacek, sold the company to the ESOP in 2001 and retired in 2005.
• Sprecher Brewing CEO Sharad Chadha. Chadha leads the group of local investors that recently acquired Sprecher Brewing. After founder Randy Sprecher told Chadha that he planned to retire, Chadha left his job at Samsung and spent the next 7 months working on the deal to acquire Sprecher Brewing. Others in the ownership group include prominent Milwaukee entrepreneurs, and advisors with experience in the consumer-packaged goods and beer industries. Andy Nunemaker is the new chairman of the board; Peter Skanavis, the owner of Homeowner Concept Realtors, is a new member of the company’s board. Brewing industry veteran Jim Kanter is also part of the investor group and the company leadership team.
• APi Group chief learning officer Paul Grunau. He acquired Grunau Company Inc. from the Grunau family in 1999, and sold the company to APi Group in 2006. Grunau acquired two other companies from his family, a manufacturer of sprinkler heads which he sold to Tyco and a construction management company which he sold to Gilbane.
• Midwest Composite Technologies CEO Ryan Martin. Midwest Composite Technologies was acquired by a private equity firm in 2018, and acquired two companies last year.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Ann Hanna, managing director and owner of Taureau Group. The theme for the M&A Forum is: "Build local. Grow global. Now is the time to buy or sell." Martin said Midwest Composite Technologies will continue to consider acquisitions as a growth strategy. "For us (the issue is) time. (They consider) is this an end market we want to be in? Then, what's the time period it would take to build that, versus acquire (a business to enter that market)," he said. Paul Stillmank, the founder and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Salesforce consulting firm 7Summits, will be the keynote speaker at the M&A Forum. 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. The panel discussion will occur after Stillmank’s talk. 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; 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. Click here to register for the M&A Forum.