ATLANTA, Ga. (CitizenWire) — The Georgia Association of Business Brokers has elected Eric Gagnon of Atlanta, President of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com as 2011 president of the state’s only professional organization and Multiple Listing Service dedicated to buying and selling businesses and franchises.
The GABB 2011 board also includes
Vice President C. David Chambless, president of Abraxas Business Services of Atlanta;
Secretary Tom Burdick, principal of BEK Brokers, LLC., of Alpharetta;
Treasurer Matt Slappey, owner of Murphy Business and Financial Corporation of Decatur.
Other members of the 2011 GABB Board of Directors are:
Paul Cushman, principal of Cushman & Associates of Alpharetta;
Melinda Hubbard, principal of the Hatteras Group, Inc., of Marietta;
John Jugovic, a broker with The Business House, Inc., in Atlanta;
Kathryne Pusch, President and Broker of ConsultKAP, Inc., and
GABB Past President Art Lennig, owner of Murphy Business & Financial Corporation – Georgia, Inc.
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 at 101 Centennial Olympic Park Drive SW and serving most of the southeastern United States. Eric Gagnon has served multiple 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. 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 upcoming book, “Appetite for Acquisition,” scheduled for publication in 2011 Gagnon has been designated a Business Industry Expert by Business Brokerage Press and is a member of the International Business Brokers Association. He is also 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.
GABB Vice 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, Chambless has served in sales, marketing, and executive roles in technology firms; as CFO for public and private companies; and as a management consultant. Chambless 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 TAG-FinTech. He also serves on the boards of the Grant Park Conservancy and the Southeast Atlanta Business Association. Chambless is actively involved in All Saints’ Episcopal Church. 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 sponsored by United Way of Atlanta. Chambless has an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from Georgia Tech. Chambless and his family live in Historic Grant Park.
GABB Treasurer MATT SLAPPEY owns the Decatur office of Murphy Business & Financial
Corp., where he works with businesses of all types, ranging from $100,000 to $50,000,000 in gross sales. He is a Certified Business Intermediary through the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and is a member of M&A Source. Slappey was the top-selling GABB Business Broker in 2009. Matt’s practice is split between representing sellers and buyers. Slappey has degrees in Accounting and Business Administration, has 12 years of experience in management with a Fortune 100 healthcare company, holds an FAA license as an airline pilot, and enjoys playing guitar in a band. Matt is married, has three daughters and lives in Decatur, GA.
GABB Secretary TOM BURDICK broker and principal of BEK Brokers, LLC., of Alpharetta; helps entrepreneurs buy and sell their business ventures. Burdick enjoys and specializes in ownership changes of main street businesses. Burdick is also a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS(r) and the International Association of Business Brokers (IBBA), where he earned the designation of Certified Business Intermediary (CBI). Burdick, a licensed Georgia real estate broker, was on the 2010 GABB Board.
GABB Board member JOHN JUGOVIC, broker with The Business House, Inc., in Atlanta has worked in the small business community in Atlanta for nearly 30 years. He has a strong record of success in Operations and Finance in both high-paced environments with significant growth, as well as start-up ventures applying strategies for achieving aggressive business goals. Jugovic has managed acquisition and reorganization of entrepreneurial enterprises in the medical devices, distribution and consumer products industries. Jugovic earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from Purdue University and was recently awarded the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation from the IBBA. Jugovic lives in the Virginia Highland area in Atlanta.
GABB Board member PAUL CUSHMAN founder and managing partner of Cushman & Associates, has a BSEE and a graduate degree in Engineering Management from University of Alabama, Huntsville. He is also a member of the IBBA and the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS®.
GABB Board member MELINDA HUBBARD joined The Hatteras Group as a principal in 2003 and is a life member of GABB Million Dollar Club. Her previous experience consisted of owning and selling a large family business. She also spent three years working in an accounting office, learning tax and bookkeeping skills to handle business evaluations. After staying home to raise two children, she worked in residential real estate for five years and attained her broker’s license. Hubbard represents clients in the manufacturing, distribution and service industries with a strong emphasis on automotive-related businesses. Her other professional affiliations include the Kiwanis Club Marietta, North Cobb Business Association and the Georgia Association of REALTORS®. Melinda lives in Marietta.
GABB Board member KATHRYNE PUSCH, President of ConsultKAP, Inc, began her career consulting for a large international consulting firm in 1979. She has worked successfully in large corporations and small enterprises across a broad range of industries, private and public sector, and has owned and managed two small businesses herself, in addition to her successful brokerage. ConsultKAP intermediary services focus on helping individuals and companies who want to sell or acquire a business to do so with the greatest likelihood of success, as defined by the achievement of their unique objectives. She is the 2003 past president of the GABB, a published author, and a licensed Georgia real estate instructor. Kathryne earned her MBA from George Mason University in VA. She is a frequent public speaker on topics related to business transitions and exit strategy. She volunteers in a broad range of ministries in her church community, and is on the board of Family Promise of NewRock, an interfaith non-profit solution to local family homelessness.
GABB Past President ART LENNIG, owner of Murphy Business & Financial Corporation – Georgia, Inc., became a Business Broker in 2000 after more than 20 years of owning and operating his own businesses. He enjoys working with his clients to help them accomplish their goals and dreams. He has served in various leadership roles with the GABB, is a member of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and has earned his Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation. He received the Senior Business Analyst Award from the Society of Business Analysts in 2003. He was graduated from the University of Evansville, Indiana, with a B.S. in Marketing. Lennig lives in Acworth.
About GABB:
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers or GABB is a not-for-profit statewide membership organization committed to establishing and maintaining an environment and support structure for success and professionalism in the business brokerage industry. GABB actively promotes education, integrity, community responsibility, leadership, professionalism and productivity.
More information about GABB: http://www.gabb.org .
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