Succession Summer School Summit

Registration to come soon with different options for sessions listed below!

Cost:  Members – Educational Programs – Free | Lunch $39 per member $49 nonmember | Nonmembers $36 in-person per educational session or $99 day pass | Nonmembers -$15 Zoom & Recording per session

How To’s for the Family Business
A series of practical conversations about the real work of running a family business—how you lead, communicate, and make decisions along the way.

Each conversation focuses on a different part of the work—how your business grows, how your people experience it, how decisions get made, and how things actually run day to day.

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A day of conversations about the parts of succession that are hardest to name—and often hardest to navigate alone.

For those thinking about what comes next—whether you’re stepping into leadership, stepping back, or somewhere in between. This isn’t about creating a perfect plan. It’s about making sense of where you are, what’s changing, and how others are working through similar decisions in their own businesses.

10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

Big Picture – Deciding What Comes Next—When It’s Not Just a Business Decision

Succession decisions rarely live in a spreadsheet. They show up in conversations with family, in questions about timing, and in the weight of getting it right—for the business and for the people connected to it.

This conversation includes perspectives from David Jean (Albin, Randall & Bennett), Chris Yonker (The Center for Conscious Living and Fulfillment), and Michael Fallona (former owner, On Target Utility Services), along with additional voices from the IFOB community. Together, we’ll look at how decisions actually get made, what can get in the way, and what it takes to move forward without losing what matters along the way.

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch & Conversations

A chance to stay in the conversation with others who are navigating similar questions.

You’ll find a mix of family business leaders and a small number of trusted advisors who work closely with businesses during times of transition—available as part of the conversation, not separate from it.

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Deep Dives – Choose the conversation that fits where you are

Business Stage – Leading What Comes Next: Navigating the Lifecycle of a Family Business

Understanding where you are, and what that means for what comes next.

Every family business reaches moments when the old playbook stops fitting. Growth stalls, leadership shifts, ownership evolves, and the family dynamics underneath it all begin to pull in new directions.

Good leadership decisions start with a clear-eyed diagnosis of the moment, one that isn’t filtered through habit, history, or hope.

In this session, Paul Botticello (Botticello Consulting) is joined by Rich Hussey, (Hussey Seating Company) to share how these transitions have actually played out in their businesses, what they saw coming, what surprised them, and how they found their footing.

This is a working session. Participants will apply a Dynamic Lifecycle Framework directly to their own business, leaving with a clearer picture of where they are and what that means for what comes next.

Ownership Options – Exploring Your Options—Including ESOPs—When It’s Time to Make a Decision About the Future

At some point, the question becomes more specific: what are our options, and how do we think about them?

This conversation includes Laura Pfeiffenberger (Spinnaker Trust) and Tabitha Croscut (Devine, Millimet & Branch) who work closely with ownership transitions, alongside Jeff and Charlie Zachau (Zachau Construction), who will share their experience of evaluating succession paths and ultimately choosing an ESOP structure from the family-owned business perspective.  We’ll also include the recent transition at ProSearch, where Ed McKersie moved to the CEO role and Dave Vasconcelos is the new president.

For those wondering whether an ESOP might be a fit, this is a chance to hear how that decision actually gets made—what’s considered along the way, and what the process looks like from the inside.

Sponsored by: ProSearch

Life After – Thinking About Stepping Back—and What Comes After

Stepping away from a business—whether gradually or all at once—raises questions that go beyond logistics.

This conversation includes Joni Stone and Scott Mazuzan (FL Putnam Investment Management Company), who work closely with business owners navigating this transition. Together, we’ll create space to talk about what stepping back looks like in practice—financially, personally, and within the business itself—and what it means to stay connected without staying in control.

How to Participate

You’re welcome to take part in whatever feels most useful:

• Join the full day
• Come for the morning conversation
• Stay for lunch and connection
• Or step into a focused afternoon discussion

All sessions will be available to join virtually, and recordings will be shared afterward for those who want to revisit the conversations or couldn’t attend live.

For those who want to stay in these conversations – Next Gen Peer Groups

Some of the themes explored during the day—stepping into leadership, navigating family dynamics, and making decisions without a clear playbook—are the same ones that continue over time in IFOB’s Next Gen Peer Groups.

These small groups bring together emerging family business leaders in a confidential setting to talk through what they’re experiencing in real time. It’s not a class or a formal program—just a consistent space to connect with others who understand the work from the inside.

Next Gens Sponsored by Machias Savings Bank