CFA Florida and ACG South Florida Present "Valuation - Methods, Trends and Impacts (on Private Equity and Lenders)"

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, October 20, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Thursday, November 20, 2014, 12:00 noon (registration begins 11:30am)

Reception, Presentation and Luncheon

Lauderdale Yacht Club, 1725 SE 12th St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

$45 for CFA and ACG Members; $65 Non-Members and day of event

Visit www.cfa.com/florida for information and registration. Also register for this event at http://tinyurl.com/FloridaCFAEvents. Event Sponsorships available.

The Florida Chapter of Commercial Finance Association (“CFA”) and the South Florida Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (“ACG”) are pleased to announce this special South Florida event featuring a well-respected panel of valuation experts and those from the lending, private equity and investment banking sectors. Join us and bring your colleagues to this CFA educational and networking event. The Valuation panel includes moderator Brian Urbanek (Managing Director, Sun Capital Partners) and panelists Richard E. Schmitt (CEO, Accuval-Liquitec), Christopher A. Gouskos (Senior Managing Director, Salus Capital Partners), Scott Salpeter (President and Co-Founder, Cassel Salpeter & Co.), Michael D. Sullivan (Managing Director, Gordon Brothers Valuation and Advisory Services) and Chip Vandenberg (Partner, Trivest Partners).

Richard E. Schmitt, ASA, CVA
CEO & President, AccuVal-LiquiTec

As CEO, President and a founder of AccuVal-LiquiTec, Rick Schmitt is responsible for guiding the company's corporate valuation, advisory and liquidation services worldwide. He previously served as the firm's chief operating officer for 25 years. In that role, he oversaw production of all appraisal, liquidation and consulting engagements and was responsible for driving the achievement of the firm's profitability goals. A multi-disciplined appraiser, he has more than 30 years of experience appraising businesses, intangible assets, machinery, real estate and inventory across a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution and service companies.

Mr. Schmitt holds numerous accreditations, frequently speaks on valuation topics and has published several articles related to the appraisal process. He is recognized as a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) in business valuation by the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts and is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) with the American Society of Appraisers. Mr. Schmitt completed the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) coursework. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a B.B.A. in accounting and has authored numerous publications.

Christopher A. Gouskos

Senior Managing Director, South Central Region

Salus Capital Partners, LLC

Based in Atlanta, Chris is Senior Managing Director, Corporate and Business Development at Salus Capital Partners, responsible for leading the South-Central Region in corporate strategy, origination and structuring of new business opportunities and maintaining an industry leading quality of service to prospects and customers across the region. With over 20 years of relevant industry experience, Chris’ prior achievements include the startup of an ABL platform for GreenTree Financial,  President of Textron Business Credit, and a Managing Director at Focus Management Group, a nationwide turnaround and restructuring firm.  Chris started his career with GE Capital and Heller Financial where he held a number of positions including portfolio management, underwriting and workouts.

Chris is an active member of the CFA, TMA and ACG and is a former Board Member of the CFA’s Southeast Chapter. He is a graduate of Iowa State University where he received a BBA in Accounting with an emphasis in Finance. He has also received his Series 7 and Series 63 certifications and is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.

Scott Salpeter, CVA

President and Co-founder, Cassel Salpeter & Co., LLC

Scott Salpeter, President and Co-founder of Cassel Salpeter & Co., uses his background in finance and accounting and his meticulous, pragmatic, straightforward style to help the firm’s clients achieve their goals. Scott has successfully structured and negotiated an extensive array of deals and executed numerous M&A transactions for clients in the U.S. and worldwide. As a credentialed valuation professional, Scott has handled more than 350 fairness opinions, solvency opinions, valuations, and related assignments for a multitude of transactions in varied industries.

Prior to establishing Cassel Salpeter, Scott was a co-founder and served as managing director of Capitalink, where he worked alongside his partner and longtime friend, James Cassel. When Capitalink was acquired by Ladenburg Thalmann, Scott continued there as managing director in its investment banking department.

Scott also served as Chief Financial Officer for three publicly held corporations and has served on the board of directors of several public and private companies. Scott is recognized as a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) in business valuation by the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts and earned his bachelor’s degree in commerce in 1981 from Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, VA.

Michael D. Sullivan

Managing Director, Sr. Appraiser, Gordon Brothers Valuation and Advisory Services

Mr. Sullivan is Managing Director, Senior Appraiser at Gordon Brothers where he runs both GB Energy Partners as wells as the brands and business valuation group while remaining an active industrial appraiser spending significant time in the field, working directly with asset based borrowers. Mr. Sullivan has conducted over 500 inventory appraisals in nearly every major industrial sector in the United States and around the globe.  His wide ranging appraisal experience covers consumer goods, luxury branded goods, food processing, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, oil and gas, automotive and more.  Mr. Sullivan uses his industry knowledge to assist clients directly as well as through regular speaking engagements and in various industry publications such as the Journal of Corporate Renewal and the ABF Journal.

Prior to joining Gordon Brothers Group in 2011, he served as a Senior Manager at AccuVal Associates, Inc., performing and reviewing inventory appraisals for lending institutions and equity funds. Mr. Sullivan previously was a financial analyst at Hilco Trading Inc.

Mr. Sullivan is an active member of the Turnaround Management Association, Commercial Finance Association, Association for Corporate Growth, a candidate member of the American Society of Appraisers with a concentration in Business Valuation and is licensed by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. Mr. Sullivan received his BS in Finance from the University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Brian Urbanek

Managing Director, Sun Capital Partners

Brian J. Urbanek, Managing Director, is a veteran of more than 15 years in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance industries. Prior to joining Sun Capital Partners in 2006, Mr. Urbanek served as Vice President in the Investment Banking Group with Stephens, Inc., as Vice President, Investment Banking with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., and as Manager of Corporate Development with AutoNation, Inc. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with dual majors in Economics and Finance from Creighton University.

Chip Vandenberg

Partner, Trivest Partners

Mr. Vandenberg joined Trivest in 1987. During the late 1980s and 1990s, he served in various operating roles as CEO, COO, or CFO for over 25 Trivest portfolio companies. His current responsibilities include the origination of investment opportunities, oversight of portfolio companies and overall administration of Trivest's insurance programs across the portfolio. Mr. Vandenberg leads the Firm's investment activities and limited partner relations in Canada. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of North Star Seafood and has served as past Chairman of ATX Networks and Herbal Magic. Prior to joining Trivest, Mr. Vandenberg spent 10 years with KPMG in New York and Miami. He is a certified public accountant (inactive) and received his B.A. in accounting from William Paterson University.

CFA Florida Chapter
The Commercial Finance Association's Florida Chapter is the trade group for commercial finance companies, factors, banks and other financing agencies engaged in the lending and financial services industry of Florida. The CFA serves the financial services industry on an international, national, regional, and local basis. The Commercial Finance Association's Florida Chapter is comprised of professionals with great insight and experience. Each member brings their expertise to the Chapter providing excellent stewardship, information, and valuable experience for association members. Chapter sponsors are Crestmark Bank, BMT Financial, Inc., Kingery & Crouse P.A., Central Pinellas Chamber of Commerce and Wetherington Hamilton Attorneys at Law.

ACG South Florida Chapter

Founded in 1954, the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) is a global association for professionals involved in corporate growth, corporate development, and mergers and acquisitions. Today ACG stands at more than 14,000 members from corporations, private equity, finance, and professional service firms  representing Fortune 500, Fortune 1000, FTSE 100, and mid-market companies in 58 chapters in North America and Europe. For more information, please visit www.ACG.org