Is Your Board M&A Ready?

03:00 PM - 05:00 PM (Pacific)
04:00 PM - 06:00 PM (Mountain)
05:00 PM - 07:00 PM (Central)
06:00 PM - 08:00 PM (Eastern)

Overview

A merger or acquisition presents a significant decision with the potential to make or break a company. How do you ensure your company is ready for this journey? Our three panelists will share their CEO, board, investment banking, and PE perspectives with you. You will walk away with tools to help your board prepare for M&A, clarity on the roadblocks to avoid, and an understanding of how the lifecycle of your company may factor into your M&A strategy.

Parking

Visitor parking is available in the Vectra Bank parking garage. Registrants will receive more details parking instructions prior to the event

Agenda

The doors open at 4:00 pm, and the panel will be from 4:15-5:15 pm—networking prior for virtual participants and after until 6:00 pm for those who attend in-person.

Registration

$50  Non-Member In-Person Registration Fee 
$25  Non-Member Virtual Registration Fee

$25  Member In-Person Registration Fee

$25  Sponsor Registration Fee beyond Four Complimentary Tickets

$  0  Member Virtual Registration Fee

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Thank you to our National Sponsors!

Thank you to our Event Sponsor!

Panelists

Michelle Eidson is Principal and Head of Business Development for Crest Rock Partners, a Denver-based operationally focused investment firm. In this role, Michelle is responsible for devising the firm’s investment sourcing strategy and leading its execution. Prior to joining Crest Rock, Michelle held leadership roles in private equity business development and deal origination as a Managing Director at Shorehill Capital and Vice President at Platte River Equity.

Prior to working in private equity, Michelle was the Director of Corporate Development for EchoStar Corporation, a premier global provider of satellite communication solutions with revenues of $2B. Her responsibilities at EchoStar included sourcing, evaluating and executing strategic partnerships, investments, and acquisitions to enhance EchoStar’s technology platform. Michelle helped establish EchoStar’s strategic investment practice.

Previously, Michelle was an Associate with Holden Capital, a Denver-based venture capital firm focused on early stage technology investments. Michelle was also an Investment Banking Associate with JPMorgan Chase & Co. She began her career in Cairo, Egypt as a consultant on a USAID-backed project for the Government of Egypt.

Michelle earned a joint MBA/M.A. in international relations from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a B.A. in international studies with a minor in economics from Colby College.

Outside of Crest Rock, Michelle enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, skiing, playing tennis, and traveling.  

Dan Pellegrino, a Managing Director and Partner at The Forbes M+A Group, focuses on the middle market technology sector of Investment Banking including SaaS Software, Aerospace and Defense, Tech-enabled Services, and e-Commerce verticals. Additionally, Dan has operational expertise as a management consultant, investor and business owner/entrepreneur. Dan has over 25 years of experience advising companies on strategic growth initiatives, mergers, acquisitions, valuation, and transactional synergies. Dan’s advisory work spans transactions ranging from small businesses and product line divestitures to Pfizer’s $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth.

Dan spent the first part of his career in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles working with Deloitte Consulting in their Growth Strategy Consulting division where he helped Fortune 500 companies with operational and strategic growth initiatives across multiple industries.

In addition to his advisory work, Dan is an investor and entrepreneur. Dan founded and eventually sold Bando.com, an ecommerce consumer goods manufacturer, and White Frog OS, a virtual white label digital agency that specializes in digital marketing for larger traditional marketing agencies. He also co-founded showtimemaps.com, a software development company that created a map-based platform to purchase movie tickets.

Dan also founded South Peak Capital, that focused on sourcing growth capital to lower middle market companies. Prior to South Peak, Dan was with SDG (Strategic Decision Group), now a part of IQVIA, as a senior level consultant where he focused on the life sciences, biotech, and pharmaceutical industries.

Dan has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Biology and Chemistry bachelor’s degree from Baylor University in Texas where he was also a pole vaulter. He also studied at EDHEC in Lille, France. (Master of European Business).

Willie Wallace is an accomplished board member and global CEO with a proven track record of strategically guiding businesses into and through high-growth to exit. He has led rapidly-scaling organizations through both M&A and organic growth resulting in value creation with successful exit outcomes.

He currently serves on the advisory board of H&C Animal Health, a $50M-$100M growing pet product company where he has helped guide the management team through a major acquisition and integration, marketing strategy, as well as sourcing and distribution opportunities. Wallace also serves as an angel investor and mentor of three owner/entrepreneurs as they launch and accelerate their early-stage and start-up companies. He has previously served on non-profit boards including Big Brothers of East Tennessee and WDVX public radio in Knoxville TN.

Retiring in 2022 following a 22-year career, Wallace was a results-driven CEO of Radio Systems Corporation, a $500M-$1B Global Pet Products company. Over his tenure he saw the company’s growth from $29M in 1999 through over 50 acquisitions and integrations. He led new product development, and distribution expansion. The company created positive EBITDA growth every single year throughout his 22-year tenure, until he led the ultimate sale of the company to a private equity firm in July 2020. Through his diverse industry work he has maintained broad experience across consumer insight, retail partner alliance, operations, sourcing, new product development, digital transformation and innovation.

He built a strong, engaged and vibrant executive team. Wallace was known as a highly visible and engaged CEO while growing his team to over 1,300 global employees, across 12 countries, including China, Vietnam, and Europe, carrying a high 90’s Glassdoor rating throughout his tenure.

He was classically trained with early roles including Vice President with Chuck Latham Associates and product management and sales roles with Fort Howard Paper and Nabisco. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management, Economics, and Human Service Administration from Hastings College, and an MBA from the University of Colorado.

Following retirement, he moved north of Steamboat Springs, CO with his wife. He spends his free time with their 2 dogs, skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, fly fishing and hiking. He is also actively working toward community volunteer and support opportunities focusing on the enhancement of youth in the area.

Moderator 

Flossie O’Leary Founder Ripple Affect LLC

Flossie O’Leary is the Founder of Ripple Affect LLC, a consulting firm that aligns strategy, fuels growth, and amplifies impact through cross-sector partnerships. Previously, she was the Deputy Director at Tepeyac Community Health Center, spent 20 years in higher education and K-12 education organizations in Colorado, and 7 years at private import companies in the fashion industry in New York. She’s on the board of Chilaca Ltd in Dublin, Ireland; Sooper Credit Union in Arvada, CO; and is a founding board member of PDA Colorado.

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