Chris has been part of the Retail Lawn & Garden and Horticulture industry for over 30 years. As the former leader of a multi-generational family-held company, he closely defined the business ownership succession, gaining deep insight into the legal, financial, strategic, and emotional challenges of multiple family stakeholders. Working with and advising business owners on their succession and exit planning has become a passion. Chris is a CEPA® (Certified Exit Planning Advisor), Certified Value Builder™, and an approved ExitMap® Plan Advisor. The CEPA® credential is the most widely endorsed exit planning designation in the world. He is also trained and approved in exit planning by The ExitMap® organization. Chris is a member of the AmericanHort and the NHPA. In addition, he has authored many articles on succession and exit planning and has been a speaker and seminar host multiple times at Cultivate, IGC and Hardware Co-op Events, and the GROW Executive Summit Conference. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Marquette University and an MBA from Saint Louis University.