Martha L. Sullivan

Consultant

sullivan@thefbcg.com
P: 608.445.5727

Areas of Expertise

  • Succession & Transition Planning
  • Leadership Development & Team Building
  • Strategic Planning & Risk Management
  • Human Resources
  • Exit Planning, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Facilitating Strategic & Challenging Family Conversations

Create a shared and meaningful understanding of what is important: first as a family, second as owners of a critical asset and then for the business. That understanding is your talisman. Talk about it, develop consensus, document it and abide by it.

Resources

Martha L. Sullivan

Martha is a consultant with The Family Business Consulting Group, specializing in transitioning ownership through business improvement, value creation and leadership development. Her experience includes helping family enterprises with exit readiness assessments, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, strategic planning and execution, governance, and business improvement engagements. She has a blend of industry and advisory experience, having “sat on both sides of the desk.”

Martha’s work with family businesses started decades ago, serving as the Controller in a large family-owned, business-to-business manufacturing, distribution, and catalog company in the Midwest. She was later recruited into another family-owned catalog and wholesale enterprise as their CFO, charged with engineering a successful turnaround. 

Prior to joining FBCG, Martha served as a Succession Planning Leader for an accounting and business consulting firm where she co-led the organization’s Business Transition Strategies and Decision Support Services. As the firm’s top thought leader, Martha’s expertise on business strategy and exit-planning has been featured in many webinars, podcasts and industry publications. During this time, she also co-founded the Wisconsin Chapter of the Exit Planning Institute and served as its President from 2017–2020.

Martha has an in-depth understanding of team building and management, accounting and financial analysis, turn-around management, and cross-functional problem-solving skills across numerous internal and external constituencies. Having served in many financial and leadership roles as a CPA, Controller, CFO, COO and owner, Martha delivers a unique perspective on maximizing the value and transferability of private companies to her clients. 

Credentials

  • Certified Public Accountant
  • Certified Mergers & Acquisition Advisor
  • AICPA Accreditation in Business Valuation
  • Certified Exit Planning Advisor
  • Certified Value Growth Advisor

Education

University of Wisconsin, Madison, BBA: Accounting & Information Systems

Personal

Martha and her husband live in the Madison, WI area and have two aspiring adult children. In her free time, Martha serves on the Board of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and enjoys hiking, biking, reading and a good laugh.

Articles, Events and Resources Exclusively for Family Businesses

Sign up for our newsletter

Sign up for our Newsletter

Written and edited by our team of practitioners, our complimentary newsletters feature insights and guidance on the unique challenges that family businesses face.