Change the narrative of who, when, and why business owners must plan.

In 2018, Kellie Sheryak and John Daly of UBS had just received their certification as CEPA’s (Certified Exit Planning Advisors) and they realized through that process that serving a clients varied needs required a team. They sought out advisors whom they had worked with to build a steering committee to develop a forum to engage other advisors. Attorney Patrick Schmidt was the first member of the committee. They asked themselves what other disciplines and expertise was required to build out a team. Patrick recruited business advisor and embedded consultant Lewis Rudy.

Throughout 2019 the group held monthly events with local professional advisors to share best practices on building effective teams to serve client. While the pandemic put a hard pause on the group, it gave us a chance to evaluate our purpose. Initially we focused 100% on business professionals. We expanded our purpose post-pandemic to include business owners.

Today, SAGE exists to share our combined experience to professionals and business owners seeking best practices for transition, succession and exit planning.