The former owner of more than 15 businesses in the manufacturing, marketing, publishing and international trade sectors, Jim is not just experienced in closing deals – he is experienced in business. He started his first company when he was 20 years old, and by the time he reached 30 he had launched multiple businesses, employing hundreds of people and, like you, experiencing the joys and challenges of business ownership.

Jim has more than a quarter century of successful experience in the M&A industry, in one memorable year selling 21 companies. Also, he has provided expert-witness service in a variety of court cases relating to business transfers. He is a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) and Merger & Acquisition Master Intermediary (M&AMI), the highest levels of accreditation in the industry.

Jim is a member of the M&A Source and is a Fellow and past president of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), the industry’s largest trade association. He is also past president of the Business Intermediary Education Foundation, Inc. (BIEF).

Nationally recognized in the M&A industry, Jim is a frequent presenter at IBBA conventions, and he is consistently among the organization’s most highly rated speakers.

Bruce’s experience and gracious manner have contributed to his long-standing reputation for excellence among his peers in the M&A industry, both in Arizona and across the U.S. A seasoned industry veteran, Bruce has more than 25 years of experience in business sales, mergers and acquisitions.

He has represented client companies with annual sales ranging from $500,000 to over $100 million.

He also has 12 years of experience as an entrepreneur and 17 years as a corporate executive, during which he was the vice president and general manager of a $100 million international company and division president of a national hotel company.

Bruce offers you a unique perspective and demonstrated experience in business development, marketing, financing and operations.

John is a former Fortune 500 senior executive with over 35 years of experience in high-technology manufacturing, business services and management consulting. He is experienced in both domestic and international operations and has held technical and management positions ranging from design engineer to CEO.

John has founded or co-founded five companies and is a former principal of The Family Business Roundtable, a consultancy that served the marketing, planning, management and governance needs of closely held businesses. He has authored two books, one on strategic marketing and sales, and the other on practical forecasting techniques for marketing and sales. He is one of the 50 primary contributors to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators and is editor and publisher of “Turning Points” and “Micrometrics,” monthly publications that assess macroeconomic risk.

John is the Chair of the Arizona Business Brokers Association (AZBBA) and a member of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations. A native Arizonan, John is a Trustee Emeritus of the Orme School of Arizona and holds Ph.D., M.A. and B.S. degrees in psychology from Arizona State University. He also has a degree in engineering sciences.

Georgann focuses primarily on working with women business owners. She offers over 30 years of experience in consulting with a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to family and women-owned businesses. She has co-owned and founded several businesses and was president of The Family Business Roundtable, a consulting organization working with family businesses on generational succession, career planning, defining roles and other complexities of combining family and business.

As a partner in a recruiting and outplacement firm, she worked with individuals and organizations during times of transition due to mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations. A frequent speaker for associations, she also served as an editor and columnist for regional and national trade magazines.

With her background in financial planning, business consulting and running her own business, Georgann brings a wealth of experience to the business sales process. She is a member of the Arizona Business Brokers Association, the International Business Brokers Association, National Association of Women Business Owners and WATT, a Phoenix-based group of businesswomen. Georgann holds B.S., MPA and Ph.D. degrees from Arizona State University.

Lance Meilech is a merger and acquisition advisor who began working with Fox & Fin in 2006. Lance started his business career in sales, representing companies that sell office equipment and computers, and eventually became a securities dealer. He has extensive experience in international markets and is fluent in multiple languages. As an entrepreneur, Lance has started, built and sold several companies, including a software development company and a multi-location education company. Immediately prior to his association with Fox & Fin, he started and built from the ground up one of Phoenix’s top tax firms.

Lance has a Masters Degree in Finance and a Masters in Taxation. He also holds an Arizona real estate license. Lance has decades of experience in valuing businesses and advising clients on a wide range of strategic and management issues for companies small and large, and he has testified frequently in depositions and courts of law as an expert witness on business valuations.

His in-depth practical experience in multiple aspects of business operations, financial background and educational credentials enables Lance to understand the concerns of business owners and buyers. This unique combination of experience and skills enables him to help clients through all aspects of the business transfer process. Lance is a member of the Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona BioIndustry Association.

An Arizona native, Cindy Stapleton started her business career with Valley National Bank of Arizona. Her 15 years of banking experience included consumer and commercial lending, collections and personal banking services as a Licensed Investment Representative.

Cindy then became a specialist in the field of SBA lending with the nation's top SBA lending institution. As an SBA lender, Cindy worked with business clients throughout the U.S. to refinance debt and finance business and real estate acquisitions, expansions and start-ups from $250,000 to $5 million. In her career, she has funded over $125 million in SBA loans.

Cindy’s knowledge and extensive experience in business and banking allows her to help clients analyze business sale transactions, maximize value and ensure a smoother loan application process to get the best financing available for buyers and sellers.

Troy Stapley is a forward-thinking leader with a successful track record of business development, specializing in consultative sales, marketing, financial analysis, and business valuation. Business owners have come to value his dynamic blend of excellent quantitative, analytical, leadership and communication skills.

Troy’s business sales insight is rooted in his more than 10 years of experience in nationwide consulting, commercial lending and equipment financing/leasing to companies in a variety of industries, and ranging from start-up ventures to Fortune 500 companies.

Troy is a fifth-generation Arizonan whose family settled in the East Valley in the late 1800s. He has an MBA from Arizona State University with an emphasis in Finance & Leadership and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Brigham Young University.

Troy has a passion for community involvement and is active in several non-profit organizations such as Boy Scouts of America.

Tom Garvey began his career in the management consulting services industry, specializing in hi-tech information technology management. A life-long entrepreneur, in the late 1990s Tom founded a New York-based consulting services company that served major international clients.

After relocating to Arizona, Tom worked in the mortgage industry. As a senior loan officer he developed a deep familiarity with that industry while leveraging his entrepreneurial skills to set up and manage more than 20 web-based branches.

Prior to joining Fox & Fin, Tom continued to capitalize on his extensive experience with the banking and financial industries as a member of a boutique investment bank. As part of his duties he worked closely with private equity funds and strategic buyers, offering buy-side advisory services.