S M A R T B U S I N E S SP R E S E N T S

INVESTORS ● DEALMAKERS ● ENTREPRENEURS

W E D N E S D A Y , M A Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 6R E N A I S S A N C E C L E V E L A N D H O T E L

R E G I S T E R T O D A Y !

www.regonline.com/aspire2016

BRINGING TOGETHER THE REGION’S ENTREPRENEURIAL, DEAL MAKING AND INVESTOR COMMUNITIES

#AspireNEO

B U S I N E S S O W N E R S • D E A L M A K E R S • E N T R E P R E N E U R S • I N V E S T M E N T B A N K E R S

On behalf of Smart Business, I’m excited to invite you to attend the 2016 ASPIRE Conference on May 18, 2016, at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland.

Presented by Fifth Third Bank, ASPIRE brings together the region’s entrepreneurial, deal making and investor communities for a day-long event filled with dynamic keynote speakers, engaging panel discussions and ample time for power networking. We’ll also honor this region’s past by exploring the history of business in Northeast Ohio through a partnership with the Western Reserve Historical Society in order to deliver an experience unlike any other business event in town.

Smart Business is working with more than a dozen of the region’s top deal making organizations as supporting sponsors, as well as a knowledgeable host committee and four honorary chairpeople who have together spent the last year developing this program.

The following pages describe ASPIRE in greater detail, including our agenda for the day and the speakers you’ll interact with on such topics as buying a business, selling a business, raising capital, and liquidity events.

I trust that you’ll find this event as exciting as we do, and that you’ll consider joining us by registering for the event at www.regonline/aspire2016. If you’ve got questions, just let our team at Smart Business know. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you May 18th at ASPIRE.

With best regards,

Fred Koury, CEOSmart Business

S M A R T B U S I N E S SP R E S E N T S

INVESTORS ● DEALMAKERS ● ENTREPRENEURS

W E D N E S D A Y , M A Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 6R E N A I S S A N C E C L E V E L A N D H O T E L

I N V E S T O R S • P R I VAT E E Q U I T Y F I R M S • V E N T U R E C A P I TA L I S T S • W E A LT H M A N A G E R S

RONALD AMBROGIO BNY Mellon Wealth

Management

BOB CAMPANA Campana Capital

RALPH M. DELLA RATTA Western Reserve Partners

DEB DONLEY Vocon

MARK GOLDFARB BDO USA LLP

CARL GRASSI McDonald Hopkins

JIM HILL Benesch

MICHAEL JEANS Growth Opportunity Partners

JEFFREY KADLIC Evolution Capital Partners

ADAM KAUFMAN PathNorth

CHRIS KELLY Jones Day

JERRY L. KELSHEIMER Fifth Third Bank

T. SCOTT KING Sun Capital Partners

FRANK LINSALATA Linsalata Capital Partners

BASSEM MANSOUR Resilience Capital Partners

WILLIAM C. MULLIGAN Primus Capital

BRIAN O’NEILL Tucker Ellis

CHRIS PEER SyncShow

BOYD PETHEL First National Bank

JON PINNEY Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

GEORGE W. REYES AMWARE Cos.

GREGORY D. SEELEY Seeley Savidge Ebert & Gourash Co., LPA

GREG SKODA Skoda Minotti

ROBYN MINTER SMYERS Thompson Hine

DEBORAH F. SPAKE, Ph.D. Kent State University,

College of Business Administration

JULIE BOLANDCleveland managing partner, EY

UMBERTO FEDELIpresident & CEO The Fedeli Group

STEWART KOHLco-CEO The Riverside Co.

MAL MIXONretired chairman & CEOInvacare Corporation

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H O N O R A RY C H A I R S

K E Y N OT E S P E A K E R S

WALTER W. BETTINGER II president and CEO The Charles Schwab Corporation

W. NICHOLAS HOWLEY founder, chairman and CEO TransDigm Group Inc. and TransDigm Holdings

www.regonline.com/aspire2016

FRED KOURY Smart Business NetworkC H A I R M A N

S M A R T B U S I N E S SP R E S E N T S

INVESTORS ● DEALMAKERS ● ENTREPRENEURS

W E D N E S D A Y , M A Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 6R E N A I S S A N C E C L E V E L A N D H O T E L

FOR MORE DETAILS, SPEAKER BIOS,

FULL AGENDA OF WORKSHOPS

AND TO REGISTER , GO TO:

B U S I N E S S O W N E R S • D E A L M A K E R S • E N T R E P R E N E U R S • I N V E S T M E N T B A N K E R S

S M A R T B U S I N E S SP R E S E N T S

INVESTORS ● DEALMAKERS ● ENTREPRENEURS

CO N F E R E N C E AG E N DA

REGISTER TODAY AT: www.regonline.com/aspire2016

#AspireNEO

W E D N E S D A Y , M A Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 6R E N A I S S A N C E C L E V E L A N D H O T E L

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT MEREDITH R ANKIN AT mrankin@sbnonline.com OR 440.250.7023

7:00 A.M. REGISTRATION, COFFEE AND NETWORKING

7:30 A.M BREAKFAST IS SERVED

7:45 A.M. KICKOFF AND INTRODUCTIONS

8:00 A.M. KEYNOTE PANEL DISCUSSION Presented by Fifth Third Bank ENTREPRENEURS’ M&A ROUNDTABLE

9:00 A.M. WORKSHOPS 1 A: ACQUISITIONS: BEST PRACTICES AND PITFALLS Presented by Thompson Hine

B: SELLING YOUR BUSINESS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Presented by Western Reserve Partners LLC

9:45 A.M. REFRESHMENT BREAK Presented by Huntington National Bank

10:00 A.M. WORKSHOPS 2

A: RAISING CAPITAL IN THE PRIVATE EQUITY MARKET Presented by Kent State University

B: ESOPS: A CREATIVE SOLUTION TO CORPORATE LIQUIDITY Presented by McDonald Hopkins

10:45 A.M. REFRESHMENT BREAK Presented by Huntington National Bank

11:00 A.M. MORNING KEYNOTE SPEAKER W. NICHOLAS HOWLEY of TransDigm Group Inc. and TransDigm Holdings

NOON NETWORKING LUNCH Presented by BNY Mellon LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PRESENTATION TO MAL MIXON

1:00 P.M. WORKSHOPS 3

A: ARE YOU ENGAGED: TIPS FOR BUILDING A STRONGER BUSINESS Presented by Convero

B: SOLD! MANAGING THE PROCESS OF SELLING YOUR BUSINESS Presented by BDO USA LLP

1:45 P.M. REFRESHMENT BREAK Presented by Huntington National Bank

2:00 P.M. WORKSHOPS 4

A: LIQUIDITY EVENTS: WIND UP … DON’T WIND DOWN Presented by Smart Business

B: CAPITAL RAISE INSIGHTS: ARE YOU PREPARED? Presented by First National Bank

2:45 P.M. REFRESHMENT BREAK Presented by Huntington National Bank

3:00 P.M. CLOSING KEYNOTE SPEAKER WALTER W. BETTINGER II of The Charles Schwab Corp.

4:00 P.M. COCKTAILS AND NETWORKING RECEPTION Presented by AMWARE Cos.

I N V E S T O R S • P R I VAT E E Q U I T Y F I R M S • V E N T U R E C A P I TA L I S T S • W E A LT H M A N A G E R S

S M A R T B U S I N E S SP R E S E N T S

INVESTORS ● DEALMAKERS ● ENTREPRENEURS

SMART BUSINESS®

College of Business Administration

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S U P P O R T I N G S P O N S O R S

P R E S E N T E D B Y

H O S T E D B Y

W E D N E S D A YM A Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 6R E N A I S S A N C EC L E V E L A N D H O T E L

L E A D I N G S P O N S O R S

CONTENT AS OF MAY 10, 2016

REGISTER TODAY AT:www.regonline.com/aspire2016

MONTE AHUJA MURA Holdings

RON AMBROGIO BNY Mellon Wealth Management

KRISTY AMY Convero

DAN CALLANAN Western Reserve Valuations

RALPH DELLA RATTA Western Reserve Partners

DEBBIE DONLEY Vocon

STACY FEINER BDO

MICHAEL FEUER OfficeMax/Max-Ventures LLC

LOREN GARRUTO EY

MARK GOLDFARB BDO

CARL GRASSI McDonald Hopkins

BOB HISRICH Kent State University

JEFF HOFFMAN ColorJar, Priceline.com

CHRIS HYLAND Hyland Software

MICHAEL JEANS Growth Opportunity Partners

JERRY KELSHEIMER 5/3rd Bank

STEWART KOHL The Riverside Company

LEE KOURY Convero

TONY KUHEL Thompson Hine

RAY LEACH JumpStart

MATTHEW LIKENS Ulthera

BOB LITTMAN BDO

TOM LITTMAN Kirtland Capital Partners

KEN MARBLESTONE Cascade Partners

STEVEN MARKS Main Street Gourmet

TONY MERCURIO National Interstate

JIM MOONEY STERIS

SCOTT MUELLER Dealer Tire

BILL MULLIGAN Primus Capital Funds

CHRIS PEER SyncShow

BOYD PETHEL First National Bank

BOB SHEARER Shearer’s Inc.

GREG SKODA Skoda Minotti

RON WEINBERG Weinberg Capital Management

CHAS WITHERS Dix & Eaton

DALE VLASEK McDonald Hopkins

TOM ZENTY University Hospitals

Health System