Our M&A Advisor Event Series facilitates knowledge and connections for service providers and business owners related to merging and acquiring companies
Professional advisors gain knowledge that is helpful in advising clients and grow their referral networks.
Business owners hear about fundamental principles and considerations, both from transaction professionals and from CEOs and executives who have gone through M&A transactions.
This event will feature Mark Murphy, founder and CEO of Greenlight Networks, discussing his experiences starting, growing and selling his company to private equity investors.
Who Will Be There?
The M&A Advisor Series will be attended by executives, investors, and industry professionals interested in M&A and ownership transitions.
Invitation-only Roundtable for Business Owners and Founders
4:00PM
Registration + Networking
5:00PM
Keynote Conversation with Mark Murphy, founder & CEO, Greenlight Networks
Upstate Capital welcome with Sam Ticknor, Union Hill Advisors, and David Kocen, Bluehenge Capital Partners
Mark Murphy
Founder & CEO, Greenlight Networks
Mark Murphy is the Founder and CEO of Greenlight Networks, holding overall responsibility for creating, planning, implementing, and integrating the strategic direction of the organization. He also serves as a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Murphy leads and motivates a leadership team that works to develop, implement, and manage scalable and efficient strategies to ensure both consistent results and exponential growth. He has responsibility for all aspects and departments of the business as well as being accountable for the performance of the company. Leading with a customer-first mentality, Murphy’s stress on the importance of superior customer service has resonated with both employees and customers. Greenlight Networks maintains a Net Promoters Score of +77.4, a customer loyalty metric used to measure how likely a customer is to recommend a product or service. He has ownership of Greenlight Networks’ go-forward operating model, repositioning as needed to exceed both short term and long-term company goals while ensuring alignment with the Board of Directors and investors. The company was recently awarded number 18 on the Rochester Chamber Top 100 list of Fastest-Growing, Privately Owned Companies and ranked in the Top Third of the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Privately Owned Companies, all a testament to the growth driven by fiercely loyal customers and dedicated employees.
Prior to Greenlight, Murphy most recently served as Regional Vice President for XO Communications, responsible for leading the CLEC's Northeast Region including New York, New England, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and Delaware. Murphy also served as Regional Vice President for Frontier Communications in Rochester, New York. In this role he managed commercial sales, support, and operations; developed and implemented sales and marketing strategies; and oversaw all hiring, training, retention, and recognition of customer contact personnel for the Rochester and East regions of the company. Murphy also served as Vice President and General Manager for Time Warner Cable in Rochester, New York and as the Senior Director of Business Development for Fibertech Networks. Murphy was recognized by the Rochester Business Journal as one of Rochester’s “Forty under 40” in 2008.
Murphy earned his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from St. Bonaventure University. He is a past president and current member of the Rochester, NY chapter of the St. Bonaventure University Alumni Association and former committee member for the St. Bonaventure University Gaudete Medal Awards.
Murphy has served on the Boards of Directors of the American Cancer Society, Rochester Rehabilitation Center, Sports Net, eBusiness Association, and the High Tech Business Council, and is on the Board of Stewards and Past President of The Country Club of Rochester. Murphy resides in Penfield, NY with his wife Margaret and their two children Jack and Caroline.
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Bank since March 2013
Prior Business Experience – President and Chief of Community Banking of the Bank (2012–2013); Commercial Banking Executive and Rochester Region President (2005–2012) – President, CEO and Director of subsidiary, The National Bank of Geneva, 2005 – President of Rochester Region, Bank of America (2004–2005) – Progressive corporate banking roles including Regional President, Fleet Financial Group (1989–2004)
Current Nonprofit Boards – Federal Reserve Bank of NY Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council – New York Bankers Association (Treasurer) – AAA of Central and Western New York, Inc. (Past Chair and Past Vice-Chair) – Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce – MCC Foundation – St. John Fisher College (Former Chair) – The Business Council of New York State – University of Rochester Medical Center
Past Nonprofit Boards – The Strong National Museum of Play; St. Ann’s of Greater Rochester Foundation; United Way of Greater Rochester; American Red Cross; Seneca Park Zoo Society; and YMCA of Greater Rochester
Education – St. Lawrence University – MBA, Simon Business School at the University of Rochester – Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, St. John Fisher College
Michael is a Partner at The Bonadio Group, a nationally ranked top 50 CPA firm. He’s is a member of the Firm’s Management Committee and also lead the Firm’s Advisory and Middle Market Practices. These Practices offer assurance and strategic consulting services from analysis to execution to drive profitability, increase efficiencies, mitigate risk and improve operations. He work closely with clients to evaluate opportunities and achieve their strategic goals by delivering value-add solutions.
Gordon E. Forth is a Partner in the firm and Chair of the Firm’s Business & Finance Department. He concentrates his practice in the area of corporate finance, with primary emphasis on public and private offerings of securities, mergers, acquisitions and venture capital transactions. His practice includes the representation of clients in connection with continuing disclosure, periodic reporting and other requirements of the SEC, the major stock exchanges, and the NASD. He also acts as counsel for boards of directors and board committees on matters relating to corporate governance and corporate legal compliance.
Mr. Forth represents senior lenders and subordinated lenders in financing transactions. He negotiates and prepares documentation relating to public and private mergers, acquisitions and recapitalizations, equity arrangements between investors and other acquisition participants, subordinated debt, and venture capital transactions. He also provides support to the firm’s Business Litigation area of practice in shareholder and securities litigation.
Sam is a Principal at Union Hill Advisors and an Advisor at Hamilton Lane, where he represents and advises their NYS direct investment platform. He is also Managing Director for Fort Ghent Brokerage where he raises capital globally and and introduces high quality investment opportunities to investors. Prior, he was Executive Director at Upstate Capital. Sam earned a BA from Bucknell University in 1983 and his MBA from the Simon Business School at University of Rochester.
David is a Managing Member at Bluehenge Capital Partners where he invests in unitranche/mezzanine loans and minority equity investments from $3MM to $25MM in size to middle market businesses. Prior to Bluehenge Capital, he was a Director at Stonehenge Capital for 16 years. Ari earned his BA in business administration from the of Texas at Austin in 1995.
The roundtable is most suitable for people with $1M+ revenue companies who are actively thinking about growing their businesses, possibly by making acquisitions, as well as people who have larger companies and are thinking about exiting by getting acquired.
Do I have to bring anything with me or will I be asked anything specific?
You should come prepared to share who you are, what you do, and a question you’d like to ask the co-hosts and experienced people in the room.
Is there anything else I should know?
This is an opportunity to make more intimate connections with your peers and with people who have in-depth experience with business topics that are relevant now, or could be relevant in the future, for you. You can assume that what is spoken about in the room will stay there, and should afford the same courtesy to other participants.
