ATLANTA, Ga. /eNewsChannels/ — Sales of Georgia businesses should be much stronger in 2012, predicts C. David Chambless, a top-selling broker and the incoming president of the GABB, the state’s only professional association dedicated to buying and selling businesses.
“For a number of reasons, we expect a strong increase in 2012 in the number of businesses sold,” says Chambless, president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc. “For instance, many business owners have delayed selling their business and retiring for several years; with the stronger economy, many of these owners will sell.
“Further, buyers are working hard to identify, assess, and acquire businesses that will improve their operations, marketing, and cash flow,” observed Chambless. “And, there is some uncertainty about changes in tax laws, given the tightly contested presidential election.”
GABB members represent owners of Georgia businesses and help them determine the value of their business, create a marketing plan and strategy, and identify and qualify buyers while keeping the sale confidential from employees and customers. Many of today’s business buyers are individuals who have decided not to re-enter the work force, but are ready to control their own destiny by purchasing and operating a Georgia business. Many business buyers are also current business owners who saw 2011 as an opportunity to grow their revenues through purchases of a competitor or a strategic partner.
Other 2012 GABB officers are:
– Vice President: Matt Slappey, owner of the Decatur branch of Murphy Business and Financial Corporation;
– Secretary: Tom Burdick of BEK Brokers, LLC;
– Treasurer: Gareth Young a principal with Abraxas Business Services, Inc.;
– Directors: Mike MacManus, a business transaction specialist with ConsultKAP;
Paul Cushman of Cushman & Associates;
Dominique Maddox with We Sell Restaurants, Inc.; and
Eric Gagnon, GABB Past President and President of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com .
GABB Million Dollar Club Member and GABB President C. DAVID CHAMBLESS is the president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc., which focuses on businesses with revenues between $5- and $30-million in the manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, technology, and services industries. An inactive CPA, Mr. Chambless has served in sales, marketing, and executive roles in technology firms; as CFO for public and private companies; and as a management consultant. He has served or is serving in various roles in the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), including as a member of its board of directors, chair of its Leadership Council, chair of TAG-Finance, and chair of TAGFinTech. He also serves on the boards of the Grant Park Conservancy and the Southeast Atlanta Business Association. Mr. Chambless is actively involved in All Saints’ Episcopal Church. His other community investments include service on the boards of The Samaritan House of Atlanta and the Resource Opportunity Center of Atlanta, and on the Advisory Council of 24/7 Gateway, a homeless-services center. Mr. Chambless has an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech. Mr. Chambless and his family live in historic Grant Park.
GABB Million Dollar Club Member and GABB Vice President MATT SLAPPEY is the owner of the Decatur branch of Murphy Business and Financial Corporation. Mr. Slappey was the top broker in Murphy Business & Financial Corporation of Georgia from 2008-2011. Mr. Slappey has ranked in the top 10% of the GABB each year of his membership. In 2011, he helped clients acquire or sell businesses with revenues ranging from $250,000 to more than $40 million. Mr. Slappey, a native of Decatur/DeKalb County, draws from his experiences in previous business transactions, his Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation from the International Business Broker Association (IBBA), degrees in Accounting, Economics and Business from Presbyterian College and 12 years of experience in management for a Fortune 100 healthcare company. A seven year active duty veteran, Mr. Slappey was a pilot and military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He is an active member of Oak Grove United Methodist Church and enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters, playing in a band, and enjoying the great outdoors.
GABB Secretary TOM BURDICK is broker and principal of BEK Brokers, LLC., of Alpharetta; his company helps entrepreneurs buy and sell their businesses. Mr. Burdick enjoys and specializes in ownership changes of main street businesses. Mr. Burdick is also a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS(R) and the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), where he earned the designation of Certified Business Intermediary (CBI). Burdick, a licensed Georgia real estate broker, was on the 2010 and 2011 GABB Board.
GABB Treasurer GARETH YOUNG of Abraxas Business Services, Inc., has extensive experience in business and corporate development, finance, and the nuts and bolts of running a small business. In 2006, Mr. Young founded finanSight LLC, a professional services providing financial and operational services to start-ups and small businesses, including services such as training, organizational consulting, and assistance with state tax credits. Previously, Mr. Young was Executive Director of Corporate Development for BellSouth Corporation, where he was responsible for developing and executing business expansion strategies through mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and other transactions. Mr. Young began his career at Deloitte, where he spent seven years serving diverse clients in industries including banking, retail, paper and printing, and light engineering. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the United Kingdom and worked as an audit manager in the U.K. and the U.S. He has received a number of awards, including the Elijah Watt Sells Award for the C.P.A. exam. A graduate of Jesus College, Oxford, in the U.K., with an M.A. in mathematics, Mr. Young is married and lives in Atlanta with his wife and two teenage children. His is also an author of novels and interfaith works.
GABB Board Member MIKE MACMANUS is a business transition specialist with ConsultKAP, Inc. His career experiences have included business planning, marketing and sales positions within a range of companies including Fortune 500 corporations such as Glaxo SmithKline, BellSouth, Anheuser Busch and the Coca-Cola Company. Mr. MacManus has also worked extensively in the telecommunications and technology industries where he was active in a number of start-up operations and small niche service companies. Prior to joining ConsultKAP in 2007, Mr. MacManus owned a business that provided marketing services to Commercial Real Estate firms specializing in multi-family sales. Mr. MacManus is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has an MBA in Marketing from Georgia State University. Mr. MacManus, his wife Judy, their twin children live in Peachtree Corners and are active members of the Simpsonwood United Methodist Church. He enjoys coaching volleyball, photography and has the occasional triathlon.
GABB Board member PAUL CUSHMAN is the founder and managing partner of Cushman & Associates, LLC; the CEO of CM Payroll & Business Services, founded in 2001; the founder and managing partner of Lawnscapes of Georgia, LLC., a landscaping firm; and is the General Manager of CM Properties, a property management firm. With the exclusion of the landscaping firm, the sum of the businesses manage over $20 million in commercial and residential real estate. Prior to real estate, Mr. Cushman was an Aerospace Engineer with several firms including McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, and spent several years subcontracting for NASA in the design of the Space Station. He received his BSEE and graduate degrees in Engineering Management from University of Alabama, Huntsville, where he also played intercollegiate soccer and basketball. He is also a member of the IBBA, where he received the Certified Business Intermediary designation and is also a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS(R). Mr. Cushman served in the Air Force for four years, attends First Redeemer Church in Cumming and enjoys singing in the church choir, volunteers for local and national political campaigns, and volunteers in the assistance of disabled veterans.
GABB Board member DOMINIQUE MADDOX is a licensed Georgia Real Estate agent who has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Management from Morehouse College. Mr. Maddox attended Morehouse on a football scholarship and brings that competitive spirit and energy to the field of restaurant brokerage. He has worked in mortgage financing, real estate, and business to business sales. Mr. Maddox is a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and enjoys spending time with his wife, Veronica, and their 5-year-old daughter, Amaya.
GABB Million Dollar Club Member and 2011 GABB President ERIC GAGNON became a Business Broker in 2001 after a successful career in the financial services industry for Bank of America, Bank of New York and KPMG. He founded We Sell Restaurants in the Atlanta marketplace, headquartered near Centennial Park and serving most of the southeastern United States. Mr. Gagnon has served several years as an executive board member and officer for the GABB, and is also a multi-year recipient of the GABB Million-Dollar Club recognition. Mr. Gagnon is a graduate of Francis Marion University and the University of Montreal. A frequent speaker and writer about the restaurant brokerage industry, he is co-author of the recently released book on restaurant brokerage, “Appetite for Acquisition.” Mr. Gagnon has been designated a Business Industry Expert by Business Brokerage Press and is a member of the International Business Brokers Association. He is a member of the Business Brokers of Florida (BBF), and is the preferred broker for Georgia Restaurant Consulting Group. Eric is a licensed Broker in both Georgia and Florida.
More information: http://www.gabb.org .
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