John Johnson, MBA, CBI, M&AMI, Fellow of the IBBA                                 
                               CEO, Managing Member, Founder                                 
                               BluestemUSA / Bluestem Resources Group, LLC                                
                               Corporate Place Building, Suite 125                                 
                               Tulsa, OK 74135                                 
                               http://www.bluestemusa.com 



John is a degreed petroleum engineer and earned an MBA taking night classes while working full-time.  In positions at various Fortune 500 companies, he specialized in business analysis, valuations, strategy planning and mergers & acquisitions.  In 1979, he took the helm of a startup family business and grew the company to nearly $15M in revenues before selling it to a strategic acquiror in 1987.

Shortly after the sale, John founded Bluestem Resources Group in order to provide business owners with unsurpassed acquisition and divestiture services.  Skilled in communications, analysis and creative solutions, John is a "hands-on" strategist for entrepreneurs and an experienced business owner himself.  As such, he created the Business Wealth Counsel™ to assist business owners from entry to exit, providing counsel and strategies for creating, harvesting and keeping wealth throughout the life-cycle of business ownership.

John is a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI), a Merger & Acquisition Master Intermediary (M&AMI) and a Fellow of the IBBA.  He has received numerous industry awards, such as the Darrell Fouts Award for visionary leadership and contributions (chosen by peers in the M&A Source, the world's premier specialists in mid-market business sales), and the IBBA's Tom West Award for outstanding promotion of goals and ethics of the business brokerage profession.  John is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG).  He served as the IBBA's President, Director and Strategic Planning Chair, and also coordinated writing its certification exam.  He has also held leadership roles with the M&A Source, including Chairman.

    Ronald C. Johnson, CBI, M&AMI, CBB, Fellow of the IBBA
    Chairman, Principal
   ABI Business Sales
   125 Ryan Industrial Ct., Suite 100
   San Ramon, CA 94583
   http://www.abi-ma.com
   

  
Ron is the Chairman and Principal of ABI Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions, which was established in San Ramon, CA, in 1984.  He has been the intermediary in over 100 transactions since entering the profession in 1991, and has managed hundreds of additional transactions for his associates.  Graduating from Long Beach State University with a degree in mathematics, he was a founding principal of Onyx Associates (a "sister" M&A firm to ABI, now incorporated under the existing ABI banner and name).

Ron has served 10 years on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Business Brokers (CABB), and spent two terms as CABB’s President as well as Chairman of CABB’s Education Committee, Governmental Relations Committee and Nominating Committee.  He has garnered professional recognition nationwide, and is a two-time recipient of the "CABB President's Award".  Ron served as the 2007 Chairman of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), the world's largest professional association of business brokers and M&A intermediaries, and has chaired the IBBA's Affiliates Committee, Conference Planning Committee, Finance Committee and Nominating Committee; he recently completed his six year term on the IBBA Board of Directors.

Ron teaches IBBA course 301 – Introduction to Mergers & Acquisitions, and is a frequent contributor to business brokerage professional journals, publications and websites.  His leadership roles in the IBBA and the CABB have added extensively to his network of highly skilled dealmakers and private equity groups, continuously enhancing the array of new ideas for marketing and selling businesses.





  Rocco J. Pezza, CBI, Fellow of the IBBA
  President
  New England Brokerage Corporation
  50 Exchange Terrace
  Providence RI 02903
  http://nebc.com/
 
There is a common thread among people who have had the opportunity to work with Rocco: that they want him to stick around even after the deal is done.  Some say it is his uncanny ability to see around the corner and warn of a potential pitfall.  Others say it is the tenacity he brings to everything he does, especially for his clients.  And yet others claim it is the calm, sensible and reassuring way he will walk a buyer and seller through even the most difficult negotiations.  For over 22 years, Rocco has led NEBC’s clients through the fulfilling, challenging and sometimes intensely personal acquisition and divestiture process.  He is a credit to his profession, having received the highly coveted CBI designation and named a fellow of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA).  Rocco also sits on many industry boards and presents regularly to trade groups of all kinds.  In addition, and perhaps key affirmation of his worth to the companies he has guided, he serves on the Board of Directors of several of those same companies.  Rocco Pezza will bring intellectual integrity and a proven process approach to each opportunity-and will be successful in helping buyers and sellers realize their personal and professional objectives.





  Edward C. Telling, Jr., MBA, CBC, CBI
  President
  Telling Group, Ltd.
  P.O. Box 750
  Cortland, NY 13045-0750
  http://www.tellinggroup.com

  Bio