March 23, 2012 Professional Advisors Event Brings Together Expert Leaders in
Privately Held Business & Exit Planning

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BOSTON, MA –XPX Boston (Exit Planning Exchange), an organization of professionals who advise business owners on planning for exit and ways to maximize the value of their companies for ownership transfer, will host the organization’s 2012 Summit on March 23, 2012 at Babson College. This one-of-a-kind gathering of 150 exit planning professionals, including attorneys, accountants, wealth advisors, marketing professionals, and other business advisors, will hear advice from top industry experts, and participate in thought-provoking workshops and networking.

According to Dan Guglielmo, Co-Founder of XPX and Chairman of the XPX Boston Chapter, “Seventy-two (72%) percent of business owners seeking to sell their companies cannot find a buyer. Many business owners do not understand the steps necessary to prepare their company for sale or the full range of ways to exit their business.

Adds Summit Chairman, Michael Oleksak, “This Summit continues to raise awareness for how critically important successful exit planning is to this generation of baby-boomer owners. This fourth day-long educational event will enable professional advisors to learn and deepen their expertise, share ideas and engage in thoughtful discussion, and broaden their networks for collaboration.”

The event’s keynote speaker will be William Taylor, co-founder, former owner and senior editor of Fast Company magazine, co-author of best seller Mavericks at Work, and author of Practically Radical. Taylor will speak on: “Nobody Is As Smart As Everybody—The Practically Radical Style of Leadership.”

This fourth daylong Summit hosted by XPX offers attendees the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills through exit planning case studies, strategies, and best practices while interacting with like-minded professionals including wealth managers, accountants, commercial and investment bankers, management consultants, marketing and public relations professionals, estate planning and corporate attorneys. Participants may choose to attend several breakout sessions including variations on “TEDs” – 12-minute inspired presentations around the themes of business ownership and exit issues—Thoughts on Exit planning Directions.

The XPX Summit will be held on March 23rd from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Space is limited. On-line registration is available at: http://xpxboston.com.

About Exit Planning Exchange (XPX)

XPX was formed in 2007 with the mission of helping business owners to find qualified professionals with deep exit planning expertise; support the growth of the emerging exit planning field; enable members to share their intellectual capital with other members; develop the educational programs required for this emerging discipline; and provide members with exclusive networking, education and collaboration opportunities. Based in Boston, XPX currently has chapters in Boston, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. Metro, and Tampa Bay, and continues to expand. The organization’s members represent a range of professionals who serve privately-held businesses.

For questions regarding XPX Summit 2012 please contact Angie Ellis via email at angie@exitplanningexchange.com.

XPX CT Meeting on April 25, 2012

What are we actually conveying when we say “I trust you”? How and why is trust earned or extended? How is it measured? Does it have economic implications or is it simply a way of describing ones general feelings towards another – either socially, in families, or in business?

With all the distrust taking place around us today in government, business, churches, the media, banks, sports, and an array of other institutions, trust is clearly one of the most fundamental aspects of our lives. The most recent report out from the Edelman Trust Barometer – http://www.edelman.com/trust/2011 – indicates that trust in the United States has significantly declined this year from previous years. As Americans, we often think of ourselves as trustworthy, but for a number of reasons, people of other countries do not agree. Why?

Behaviors are what build or destroy trust – and the core element of Trust begins with self. If you don’t trust yourself, there is probably a good reason for it because only you know yourself best. The next level of trust is that associated with ones nearby relationships…do you talk about others in disparaging terms when they are not present? Do you honor commitments or do you say one thing and then do another? Relationships of trust are built over time – and they affect all aspects of our business and personal lives. An extension of personal trust is organizational trust – how responsibly or trustworthy is the organization which you lead. Do you do the right things for the right reasons? Do you have more than a simple legal obligation to your customers? After all, organizational trust usually leads to market and societal trust. As service providers, there certainly are moral and ethical implications around your business practices – what are they and how do you measure up?

One thing most people don’t fully appreciate about Trust is that it comes with definitiveeconomic implications personally and organizationally- high and low Trust operating environments have financial implications for every business. When high levels of trust exist, things move faster, there is less “games playing”, and with speed comes progress and cost savings. Time to market improves and a feeling of pride and even joy tends to permeate the organization when trust is at a high level. Unfortunately, the reverse of these attributes exists when the atmosphere is one of low trust, suspicion, and fear. So, for economic reasons, as well as good common sense, we all need to strive to understand Trust and make it an active, mindful, and ongoing part of the way we conduct our life and our businesses. These things and more are going to be discussed in two lively XPX sessions on April 25th in Hartford and Stamford – come and enjoy a new perspective on a foundational principal of everyday living.

April 26 – Family Dynamics: Managing a Difficult Business Transition: A case study in three parts focused on a family-owned business in transition featuring a reluctant/incapacitated father and feuding children. Mike Camerota of Touchstone Advisors played the role of the consultant, John Lawrence of Shipman & Goodwin LLP and Robin Bienemann of Crimson Rook, LLC role played as the father and daughter roles, and Paul Sessions, Director of the Center for Family Business at the University of New Haven participated as moderator.

May 25 – Succession Planning for Business Continuity: The 2010 Tax Relief Act provided business owners with an extraordinary opportunity to significantly reduce confiscatory gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes. This session addressed the business succession and continuity planning opportunities presented in the current tax climate, and also outlined strategies for business owners, CEOs and CFOs to mitigate risks to business continuity and effectively manage a business succession due to a planned transition or a sudden loss. The panel included Glen Macdonald from Northwestern Mutual and Withers Bergman attorneys Ed Renn and Dan Crosby.

June 15 – Common Pitfalls Encountered in the Due Diligence Process: Moderator Steven Norris of Wells Fargo Private Bank and panelists David Bowman of Wells Fargo Private Bank, Scott Trenholm of Grant Thornton (formerly CCR LLP) and John Lawrence of Shipman & Goodwin LLP explored common pitfalls buyers and sellers encounter on their road to completing an M&A transaction.

September 8 – “Demystifying” Employee Stock Ownership Plans: Robert Schatz of Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP reviewed ESOPs and why the ESOP alternative should be considered whenever an owner of a privately-held business, regardless of age, is considering a liquidity event. Don Miller, a former CFO of an ESOP-owned company and currently a director of several ESOP Companies, discussed his hands-on experiences with implementing ESOPs as a succession plan, managing an ESOP owned company, including the practical benefits that can be obtained and the obstacles to be avoided.

October 13 – Family Dynamics in  Business Succession and Exit Planning: Panelists from GenSpring Family Offices and Wiggin and Dana LLP discussed the importance of advisors understanding family dynamics in  the context of family business succession and exit planning. The focus was on how advisors can help manage family dynamics issues so that the succession is successful or the sale succeeds.

November 15 – Taxation and Your Transaction: Taxation expert’s Jay Rasmus CPA, PFS, MST, Mahoney Sabol & Company, LLP, Partner and Vince Liberti, Attorney, Halloran & Sage LLP described some of the pitfalls they saw with Federal and State taxes.

Networking Event
September 13 – Outdoor Evening of  Networking: A relaxing evening of networking outside on the Withers Bergman LLP dock was enjoyed by all. The evening included public speaking coach Debbie Fay of bespeak Presentation Solutions who debunked the myths  and illuminated the realities of what makes confident compelling change-making presenters and presentations.

Summit
March 15 - Assess, Adapt and Arrive: Navigating through challenging terrain: This summit featured three dynamic keynote speakers experienced in selling businesses or successful exits. In addition to the keynote presentations participants choose two of six break-out sessions and four of twelve “TEDs.”

Mike Oleksak oleksak@trekconsulting.com 781-729-1008
Larry Girouard girouard1@cox.net 401-849-9393

• Make it easier for business owners to find qualified professionals with deep exit planning expertise
• Support the growth of the emerging exit planning field
• Enable members to share their intellectual capital with other members
• Develop the educational programs required for this emerging discipline
• Provide members with exclusive networking, education and collaboration opportunities

Babson College
Wellesley, MA
7:45 am – 6:00 pm

Mark your calendars for the first annual XPX 2009 Summit. Join us to:

• Learn about the latest exit planning strategies and trends from a variety of industry leaders facilitating multiple interactive workshops;
• Interact with high-level professionals who can help expand your business and add value to your client relationships;
• Meet entrepreneurs who have staged successful exits and hear their stories.

More information about the agenda and speakers in the special Summit area of the website.

Sponsors
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Registration
Advance Registration: $200 for XPX members; $400 for non-members. Register online today!

Advance registration ends March 13, 2009. Space permitting, walk-in registration will be available on March 17th. Fee: $250 for XPX members; $450 for non-members.

Special Information for XPX Members who wish to bring guests: XPX members are encouraged to bring their guests. If you wish to invite a guest, please call Cheryl Warren-Powers at 781.489.9804 with your guest’s name. The guest may then call Cheryl to pay with a credit card and receive $75 off the non-member price of $400. This discount is only available for phone registration.