Member Results

Seeking an Exit Strategy

“I had a fantastic experience being a member of Martin’s Vistage CEO group. The main reason for joining the group was to develop an exit strategy where I could sell the business that I had developed and managed for years. This company had grown to over 100 loyal employees in multiple locations. My company was highly profitable and successful, having an international market we had both strong sales and a great reputation.

In addition to my primary goal of selling the company, I had high standards and key objectives for the preservation of this company in the transition. I wanted to protect the culture that I had created at the company, maintain the quality of my products and brand, retain my employees, and continue to serve our long-term customers very well.

Although I had no previous experience selling companies, I had acquired another company in the past through an earn-out agreement. So, I was exploring a sale of my company in the same manner. In one of our Vistage group discussions about my exit strategy, two executives within the group were adamant that I should not take that approach but rather sell for cash only. These Vistage group members gave me the confidence to do just that—something I never expected to do.

The sale materialized. It was a multi-million dollar sale, all cash! With the confidence I had gained, I negotiated the sale for eight months to get the following excellent results:

• All-cash sale
• All Customers kept
• All Company employees and core talent retained
• Company culture preserved
• Product quality maintained
• Company profits continued to rise
• All conditions above were still being satisfied two years later

In short, I benefited immensely from the group’s interactions, discussions and guidance. I will forever be grateful for the Vistage team that Martin put together and how they supported me!”

• Sinthya Penn | Two-year Vistage member, Redding, California

“We had outgrown our less formal way of doing a lot of things and needed more procedure and process in place. We were plateaued for a long time just at $3M in revenue and looking to break the $4M mark. Last year we were able to break that $4M mark for the first time and in place to be at over $5.25M for this year. Vistage has been a huge help in accelerating our growth significantly, hiring key people, restructuring our processes, and even receive new clients. Being able to learn from other CEOs and get their unique view on things and new ways to solve problems has been so valuable.”

• Scott Putnam, President/CEO - Apex Technology | Vistage Redding Founding member, since Nov. 2016 

“What I have enjoyed the most about Vistage is when you’re thinking no one has seen this issue or situation before and then you bring it to the group and many have already experienced it, sometimes twice! Receiving their wisdom and input on how they navigated it is so helpful. There’s always the safe, confidential environment to talk through things that no one else seems to understand. What we talk about here stays here and that’s a really nice place to go.”

• Dr. Joe Wyse, Superintendent/President of the Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District. | Vistage member since July 2017

“The ongoing challenge prior to Vistage is the human resource side of things; the people side. This experience has been so helpful for me in understanding people better, their motivations, the reasons they do some of the things they do and how to interact with them to work more effectively. It’s been helpful to talk through different situations and get new ideas and phrases to use and a fresh perspective to see things. My communications and interactions with the staff is so different than it was a year ago. When you can listen better, it will positively change everything.”

• Ken Wood, Upstate Hearing Instruments | Vistage Redding Founding member, since Nov. 2016 

"If you’re a CEO in a business, it’s oftentimes a lonely spot. Who can you talk to when you have an issue? Usually you can’t talk to people in your organization or you don’t want to talk to your board of directors about things because you might feel it may show weakness.

The strength of Vistage is obtaining a objective perspective in a confidential setting with those who either face similar challenges or have already been through them. Our non-judgmental meetings really help you get clarity on those tough decisions you know you have to make.

I feel like my job as a Vistage member is to repay what I got from my career early on and to pay that forward to others that are growing their business or starting out and can take my 45 years of experience to help them. "

• Bruce Dean, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, The Black Bear Diner | Founding member of Vistage Redding, since Nov. 2016 

“Vistage forces me to look at my business way more than I was thinking before. I may only be thinking about certain aspects of the business but the group helps in reassessing what is the main thing to focus on and my main problems to solve. I’ve never had a mentor, so this group has been a great way to gather feedback from other people as well as caused me to do a lot of self reflection which has been so helpful. The camaraderie is one of my favorite parts.”

• Rick Jensen, Northstar Senior Living | Vistage Redding Founding Member since Nov 2016