Top GABB Brokers in Oct. 27 Expert Panel
A panel of some of GABB’s most active and successful members highlighted the Oct. 27 GABB meeting. The panelists discussed issues that came up during or after due diligence that created a potential problem in getting the deal closed and how those issues were resolved. GABB President Greg DeFoor moderated the panel. Listen to a recording of the panel discussion here.
Panelists were:
Jeff Merry who has been GABB’s top producer in eight previous years, has been a part of the Million Dollar Club since its inception in 1999, and was honored with the GABB’s Phoenix Award denoting an individual who has earned Million Dollar Club status for 10 years. Jeff, owner and founder of the BUSINESS HOUSE, inc. of Gainesville, is a member of the International Association of Business Brokers. For more than two decades, his firm has specialized in serving the manufacturing, distribution, veterinary and medical industries. As a Business Intermediary, Certified Exit Planner and Consultant, Mr. Merry has been involved in more than 300 mergers and acquisitions that have ranged in acquisition price from $60,000 to more than $15 million. He has been an adjunct instructor for the MBA program at North Georgia College. Mr. Merry holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Mercer University, a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Illinois Edwardsville, and a Juris Doctorate from Atlanta Law School.
Kathryne Pusch, 
President of ConsultKAP, is a seasoned professional consultant and broker. She began her career consulting for a large international consulting firm in 1979. Since then, she has worked successfully within the framework of large corporations, and small enterprise, across a broad range of industries, private and public sector. Ms. Pusch has owned and managed two small businesses herself, in addition to her successful business enhancement, transitions, and brokerage practice. Her consulting work focuses primarily on preparing businesses for a successful sale, and exit and transition planning for owners. 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. Kathryne is the 2003 past President of GABB. She has a BS in Marketing and Marketing Research and an MBA. She serves on the Executive Advisory Network of the DBM International Center for Executive Options, is a published author, and a licensed Georgia real estate instructor.
Yasmine Jandali, 
owner and Managing Broker at Starwood Business Group, is the secretary of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. Ms. Jandali founded Starwood Business Group in order to provide a boutique brokerage firm for clients seeking personalized service and specialized attention. As a certified Master Business Intermediary, she provides professional business intermediary services to both business sellers and buyers, including high-level business valuation services to business sellers. She has worked as a foreign exchange analyst at Wells Fargo, a marketing specialist at the Bank of America Corporation, vice president of Jandali Enterprises, Inc., and was managing broker and managing director of VR Business Brokers Mergers and Acquisitions. She has a B.A. in Business Administration Marketing from the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte, and also studied management at The Belk College of Business at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Eric Gagnon, 
former GABB president, 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. Mr. Gagnon 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.
The meeting was held at 10:30 a.m. at the South Terraces Conference Center. The South Terraces Conference Center is at 115 Perimeter Center Place, Atlanta. Contact Diane Loupe at 404-374-3990 or diane@gabb.org for more information, or visit the GABB webpage.