Cynthia LaConte, chief executive officer of Dohmen, will give the keynote address at the 12th annual M&A Forum, to be held on Wednesday, April 3, at The Pfister Hotel, presented by BizTimes Media.
Since 2006, Dohmen Co. has made nine acquisitions and sold three divisions. And the 161-year-old company is gearing up to make more acquisitions as it transforms itself again.
“Our goal is to continuously apply innovative thinking to how best to realize our vision,” LaConte said. “That means we stay vigilant about monitoring what business models can move the needle and which ones can’t.”
Dohmen has thrived over the years by bringing innovative solutions to market by either buying or building them, she said.
“The other side of that coin is to acknowledge that some business models reach a mature phase of their life cycle or they may need a different level of capital investment,” LaConte said.
Most recently, Dohmen sold its Life Science Services business; launched a new subsidiary, Dohmen Constellations; and transitioned to being a family-owned benefit corporation owned by a private foundation.
“We have a long tradition of innovation at Dohmen, and we’ve been successful staying focused on the future while staying true to our vision and values,” she said.
Following LaConte’s address at the M&A Forum, there will be two panel discussions: “Buy Side Preparation: How to Seize the Moment” and “Sell Side Readiness: How to Prepare for Your Moment.”
The Buy Side Preparation discussion will cover opportunities and risks associated with buying a business; implications of mistiming the market; and managing the before-and-after of a purchase. Panelists will include: Brian Baker, president and CEO of Sentry Equipment Corp.; Sequoya Borgman, managing director of Borgman Capital LLC; Jim Frings, president of G3 Industries Inc.; and Derek Smith, commercial bank executive and senior vice president at Old National Bank. BizTimes managing editor Molly Dill, who covers financial services news for BizTimes, will moderate the discussion.
The M&A Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 3, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at The Pfister Hotel, 424 E. Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee. The theme is, “Selling or Buying a Business? Don’t Miss Your Moment!” For more information or to register for the event, visit biztimes.com/maforum.
