Who Should Attend

• CEOs
• Presidents
• COOs
• CFOs
• Vice Presidents
• Directors
• Senior Principals

March 15-18, 2010 San Francisco, CA April 5-8, 2010 Fort Lauderdale, FL

Roundtable Agenda

1. Getting Started
   • Reasons for failure and success
   • How to prevent a built-in-conflict of interest
   • Owners vs. leaders
   • Ten commandments of leadership
   • Leadership development action plan
   • Performance vs. potential
   • Your firm's ownership/leadership criteria
   • 59 points for a successful transition

1. Selecting the Right Successor
   • Customize criteria to pick leaders
   • Take the right steps to groom future leaders and measure their success
   • Select the right successor to an entrepreneurial CEO
   • Make the offer to future owners
   • How to bounce back if a newly selected says "no"
   • Resolve partner disputes
   • Payout provisions under involuntary departure

1. Valuation
   • Different valuation approaches
   • Are you an A/E/C firm with risk factors
   • How much is your firm worth?
   • Intangible assets and how to value them
   • The buyer/seller gap and how to deal with it
   • How to enhance your share value

1. Winning Terms of Buy/Sell Agreements
   • Unbeatable terms for your buy/sell agreements
   • Non-competes that really work
   • How to indemnify former owner without killing the company
   • Creative structure of retirement payout to avoid taxes
   • 35 terms you can implement right away

1. Financing and Cash Flow
   • Finance the transition of a large chunk of stock
   • Minimize the tax impact of a transition
   • Fund the transition internally
   • Use a common valuation formula to keep out of court
   • Handle gifts of stock correctly
   • Learn the restrictions under divorce and marriage to a new spouse
   • Manage the bankruptcy of a partner

1. ESOP
   • Stock-based compensation planning
   • Stock option agreement
   • Stock option plans
   • Stock, compensation and valuation
   • Shareholder agreement
   • Founder special considerations
   • ESOP worksheet

1. Handling the Logistics
   • Who should be involved in planning?
   • When and how to bring in your legal/accounting advisors
   • Do you need an outside consultant/mediator?
   • How to measure the results
   • How ambitious should you be when setting goals

Instructors

This extraordinary process will be led by Don Thomas, who's been actively engaged in the engineering, design and construction industry for over 30 years. He has held key positions with three of the top-ranked engineering firms in the U.S., providing strategic and technical planning, marketing planning, business development, and training for each. During his tenure in marketing and business development, he has consistently demonstrated the ability to acquire strategic business opportunities for the companies he served. His insight and experience have been especially valuable in focusing resources upon specific targets, training and developing the proper skill sets to pursue new business, and carrying out business development plans which achieve high win rates. Also joining us is Kevin Cooley, who spent a good part of his career with PBS&J, a highly respected national ENR Top 20 engineering/architecture/planning consulting firm. He began his career as a technical professional, then as a project manager, and eventually as a senior operations manager, corporate executive, principal shareholder and board member. Through his hands-on experience, Kevin learned how best to handle the myriad of common issues, problems and opportunities faced by A/E/C firms. Kevin became a management consultant in 2001 and has applied his A/E/C firm leadership and operations management background and skills to help other A/E/C firms envision their future, develop appropriate goals and strategies, plan practical initiatives that apply the strategies and integrate these initiatives into on-going operations. He's helped firms to re-align and re-tool themselves and acquire, merge and integrate with others. Kate Allen will also be joining us and has experience that includes 10 years with MKK Consulting Engineers, a multi-office engineering firm and founder of Caveo Consulting Engineers, Inc., specializing in design for the construction and renovation of healthcare facilities. Kate has been responsible for advising and guiding owners and senior managers on the subjects of ownership transition, firm valuation, firm mergers and acquisitions, financial management, management assessment and strategic planning for nearly a decade.

CEO Ownership Transition

March 15-18, 2010
April 5-8, 2010

Travel Accommodations

You also get PSMJ's Ownership & Leadership Transition Digital ToolBox CD, a $595 value, as part of your registration.

Packed with checklists and tools you can implement immediately, this CD helps you resolve a number of critical issues, including:

• 59 Point Leadership Checklist
• Buy/Sell Agreement
• Confidentiality Agreement
• Empowerment Questionnaire
• Leadership Transition Guidelines
• And Much More!

Testimonials

"As our firm has grown, we have become big believers in education. We have used every firm and option and have come to know that PSMJ is truly exceptional. We now look to you exclusively."
— Lonnie Laffen, President, JLG Architects

"Really opened my eyes. Well organized, well presented. Excellent speakers."
­— Gregory E. Schwerdt, President, Schwerdt Design Group

"Extremely valuable information — immediately usable."
— Keith Secton, Partner, SSDG

"Inspiring — USABLE tools to help us implement our leadership transition plan."
— Michelle Allen, Principal & CEO, JLG Architects

"Great intro course. Showed me I need to get some good basic knowledge. Enjoyed presentations. Kept my interest! Whet my appetite!"
— Rich Henly, Vice President, McCulloch Engineers

"This course has helped me organize my thoughts and better understand the ownership transition process."
— Scott Horlander, Vice President, Protean Design Group

"Provides an incredible basis to begin planning and working through this complicated area of practice."
— Jeffrey Bruce, Owner, J.L. Bruce & Company

"We came away with a great focus and action plan."
— Tim Schmalenberger, Principal, MSI

"I am pleasantly impressed that as a very small firm of 6, I got a lot of insight, value and use out of this roundtable."
— Richard Skinner, President, Richards Skinner and Associates

Cancellations received in writing at least 30 days prior to the program receive full refunds. Cancellations received in writing at least 11 days prior to the program receive a credit letter, good for 6 months, towards any PSMJ program or product. Cancellations made 10 or fewer days prior to the program and/or no-shows are not eligible for refunds or credits. You may substitute attendees at any time.