Financing M&A Transactions... and the Power of Relationships

Dustin is an award-winning business journalist, bestselling author, and the publisher of Smart Business. Over the past 30 years, he has interviewed thousands of business and civic leaders, and helped more than 50 CEOs and entrepreneurs transform their ideas into books. A trained investigative politics reporter and former digital media entrepreneur, Dustin joined Smart Business in 1997 after serving as an editor at several daily newspapers.

Mark is the President and co-founder of Masteq Holdings, LLC; The parent company of Masteq Manufacturing and Masteq Tool & Engineering. Masteq Manufacturing operates out of New Berlin, Wisconsin and provides production machining services. Masteq Tool & Engineering is based in Muskego, Wisconsin providing prototype and production tooling as well as product development and engineering services. He has led his group through multiple expansions since the initial founding of the company in 2006, most recently the acquisition of Tape Machining Corporation in 2017. Prior to his current position he has held roles in design and operations management.

With more than 35 years of experience as a commercial banking professional, Mike Cornell excels at developing relationships with middle market businesses to help them succeed along with assisting companies to successfully complete business acquisitions with created financing. His vast experience, proven success within the industry, and robust leadership capabilities make him an integral member of the North Shore Bank Commercial Banking team. Cornell received his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Minnesota.

Dan is President and CEO of White Family Investments, the family office investing arm for the White family, who are the founding family and owners of privately held Rite Hite Holding Corporation. Dan is responsible for all oversight and management of the family office including investment portfolio management, trust administration, family assets, and financial planning. Previously, Dan was worked as the Global Head of Corporate Development and M&A for Kohler Co, a $7.0 billion privately held, family managed diversified holding company.

Steve brings nearly 20 years of experience in SBA lending. He works closely with commercial lenders to offer creative financing structures to their customers. Through this Public/Private partnership, Steve has been able to provide access to capital to business owners at various stages of the business cycle; start up businesses, growth businesses, and long-standing multi-generational businesses.