Alliances regularly result in mergers and/or acquisitions. Partnering relationships, which includes joint ventures or strategic alliances, can once in a while result in a merger or acquisition scenario. After organizations work together for a period of time and get to realize one another’s strengths, weaknesses, and synergistic possibilities, new courting possibilities become obvious. One may want to argue that a joint venture or strategic alliance is genuinely the mastering every different part of a courtship among companies and that the actual marriage does not arise till the connection has been consummated through a merger or acquisition.
To make the factor, Dan McQueen, president, at Fluid Components International (FCI) built a Partnering dating with Vortab, a small era organization. Vortab produced static mixers, a technology suitable for float conditioning that complemented FCI’s product imparting. While Vortab additionally had three different distribution companions similarly to FCI, FCI’s volume with Vortab persisted to develop to the factor that Vortab’s era have become an vital a part of FCI’s general sales extent. After approximately three years into the relationship, FCI received Vortab.
Because of the close dating between Vortab and FCI, while the Vortab was placed up for sale McQueen knew its genuine value. Resulting from his expertise, FCI was capable of purchase Vortab at miles more practical charge than Vortab’s asking price. The Vortab generation integrated properly with FCI’s center competency technology and nowadays FCI additionally distributes Vortab thru some of its non-direct competition.
The following listing demonstrates some of the particular values created or developed from the various organizational blending strategies:
· Operational resource sharing
· Functional talent transfer
· Management ability transfer
· Leverage (economies of scale)
· Capability will increase
Mergers
Mergers arise whilst or more groups come collectively to combination or hyperlink their strengths. Also inside the deal is a mixing of their weaknesses. The hopeful result is a new greater effective employer that can better produce items and offerings, access markets, and deliver the highest pleasant customer service. Mergers offer promise for synergistic opportunities. This is accomplished via the blending of cultures and keeping the middle strengths of every. In this situation, a brand new and unique business enterprise normally emerges. The intention is a sharing of electricity, however normally the strongest upward thrust to the pinnacle management.
Exxon – Mobil
The Federal Trade Commission gave Exxon and Mobil the green mild On November 30, 1999 for his or her $80 billion merger. The next day the transaction was finished. The merged enterprise officially became Exxon Mobil Corp. The merger sincerely brings “the agencies back to their roots when they were a part of John Rockefeller’s Standard Oil empire. That enterprise become the most important oil company inside the international earlier than it changed into busted up via the government in 1911.”
At the 1998 assertion of their purpose to merge, Mobil chairman, Lucio Noto made a remark about the want to merge. He stated, “Today’s assertion mixture does now not mean rhat we couldn’t survive on our own. This is not a combination primarily based on desperation, it is one based on opportunity. But we want to face a few statistics. The global has changed. The easy things are at the back of us. The easy oil, the smooth value financial savings, they may be finished. Both organizations have pursued inner efficiencies to the volume that they could.”
While a part of the deal was the promoting of a Northern California refinery and almost 2,500 gas station locations, the divestiture represents best a fragment in their mixed $138 billion in property. Lee Raymond, Exxon chairman, now chairman and chief executive of the merged organisation stated, “The merger will allow Exxon Mobil to compete greater effectively with recently blended multinational oil agencies and the big country-owned oil groups that are swiftly increasing outside their domestic areas.”
Exxon Mobil is now like a small oil-wealthy country. They have almost 21 billion barrels of oil and gasoline reserves accessible, enough to meet the sector’s whole electricity needs for greater than a yr. Yet, there may be nevertheless the opportunity to cut expenses. The organizations count on their merger’s economies of scale to cut about $2.Eight billion in costs within the near time period. They additionally plan to cut about nine,000 jobs out of the 123,000 worldwide.
AOL – Time Warner
On January 10, 2000, Steve Case, chairman and chief govt of America Online (AOL), sent an e-letter to his 20 million individuals. He said, “Less than weeks ago, humans all over the world came collectively in a global birthday celebration of the new century, and the new millennium. As I stated in my first Community Update of the 21st Century, everyone at AOL are extremely excited by using the demanding situations and prospects of this new generation, a time we think of as the Internet Century.
I accept as true with we have most effective just all started to look in reality how the interactive medium will transform our economy, our society, and our lives. And we’re decided to steer the way at AOL, as we’ve for 15 years–via bringing extra humans into the arena of interactive offerings, and making the web enjoy a fair greater valuable part of our members’ lives.
That is why I am so thrilled to tell you about an interesting foremost improvement at AOL. Today, America Online and Time Warner agreed to sign up for forces, creating the world’s first media and communications employer for the Internet Century. The new employer, to be created by using the end of this 12 months, may be known as AOL Time Warner, and we agree with that it’ll quite literally trade the landscape of media and communications within the new millennium.”
The next day newspaper headlines study, “America Online, Time Warner Propose $163-Billion Merger.” The Los Angeles Times stated, “In an audacious deal bringing collectively traditional amusement and the brand new global of the Internet, America Online and Time Warner Inc. On Monday introduced they will merge in the largest enterprise transaction in history.”
The story later discovered the fee comparisons of the companies. While AOL earns less than Time Warner, the inventory marketplace thinks AOL’s shares are really worth greater. “America Online is valued by means of the inventory market at nearly two times Time Warner–$173 billion, as compared with $one zero one billion as of Friday’s [1/7/00] market close–even though it has one-third Time Warner’s annual revenues.” The article also stated “AOL earned $762 million on $4.8 billion in income in the yr ended Sept. 30 [1999].”
AOL chairman, Case wants to circulate speedily. The Times article stated, “Case said the 2 chairman started discussing an aggregate this fall [1999], he has tried to affect upon Levin [Gerald Levin, chairman at Time Warner] the need to perform the new organization at Internet speeds.” (We all realize the rest of the story…Nothing is forever.)
The prophets of gloom are usually equipped to point out the downside to deals. In UPSIDE mag, Loren Fox stated a number of the challenges to the wedding. They are:
· “The holy grail of strategic synergy has been elusive in the media global.”
· “In the offline world, it is exquisite that Time and Warner Brothers have continued to run pretty independently in spite of a decade as Time Warner.”
· “‘From any perspective, this has now not been a success to date,’ says Yahoo President and COO Jeff Mallett.”
· “When you buy the company, you get stuff you don’t need.”
· “Warner would possibly make those deals easier, however, it would additionally convey new dangers–even for AOL, a veteran of 25 acquisitions over the last six years. Employees may flee to pure dot-com organizations, ego clashes should stymie plans or economic gains may additionally by no means cool the huge premium paid for Time Warner.”
· “You don’t want to personal the whole thing to do what AOL and Time Warner are doing.”
Warner-Lambert
Merger mania can make extraordinary bedfellows, not to mention promises unfulfilled. Alliances can cause mergers. Warner-Lambert is an instance of all the above. This is company cleaning soap opera at its nice.
· June 16, 1999, Warner-Lambert Company introduced that it has signed a letter of cause with Pfizer Inc. To preserve and extend it’s quite a hit co-promotion of the ldl cholesterol-decreasing agent Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium). The groups, which commenced co-selling Lipitor in 1997, will maintain their collaboration for a complete of ten years. Further, with an intention of expanding their product collaborations, the companies plan to explore capacity Lipitor line extensions and product combos and different regions of mutual interest.
· November four, 1999, newspapers throughout America document on “considered one of the most important mergers of any type, ever.” The Wall Street Journal stated, “Now, American Home is ready to merge with Warner-Lambert Co. In an inventory deal, this is valued at about $72 billion. It stands as the largest deal in drug industry records and one in every of on the biggest mergers of any kind, ever.” Also stated, “Warner-Lambert held talks with Pfizer Inc. At the identical time, it changed into negotiating with American Home.”
· November four, 1999, The New York Times runs a story titled, “Can a Strong-Willed Chief Share Power in a Merger?” The article lead with, “The planned merger among American Home Products and Warner-Lambert yet again raises the query of whether John R. Stafford, American Home’s famously sturdy-willed chairman and chief government, is capable of sharing and, possibly greater critical, letting move of strength.”
· January 13, 2000, Warner-Lambert Company indicated that, because of converting occasions, it’s far exploring strategic options, such as assembly with Pfizer, following Pfizer’s current technique. In that regard, Warner-Lambert stated that its Board of Directors has authorized management to enter into discussions with Pfizer to discover an ability business combination. The Company said that, in mild of changing situations, its Board had concluded that there may be an affordable probability that Pfizer’s formerly announced conditional suggestion should result in a transaction, fairly capable of being completed, this is higher financially for Warner-Lambert shareholders than the proposed merger with American Home Products.
Lodewijk J.R. De Vink, chairman, president and chief govt officer of Warner-Lambert, said, “It has usually been the Board’s objective to secure the first-class feasible transaction for Warner-Lambert shareholders and we are able to now pursue discussions with Pfizer to determine if a mixture with them to gain that purpose is possible.” The Company emphasized that there may be no guarantee that any settlement on a transaction with Pfizer, or that any other transaction, will eventuate.
· January 24, 2000, in reaction to inquiries, Warner-Lambert Company stated that it might retain to discover strategic alternatives, such as discussions with Pfizer. The Company’s unwavering purpose is to provide the best cost to Warner-Lambert shareholders. Warner-Lambert officers emphasised that there may be no guarantee that any transaction could be completed and presented no further comment.
Was American Home Products the bride left on the altar? The Wall Street Journal didn’t suppose so, in reality they called American Home the Runaway Bride in their November article. Additionally they indexed numerous groups that American Home has themselves left on the altar.
· Early November 1997, American Home Products and SmithKline Beecham start merger talks.
· January 30, 1999, Talks break off.
· June 1, 1998, American Home and Monsanto announce settlement to merge.
· October thirteen, 1998, American Home and Monsanto cancel plans to merge.
· November 3, 1999, American Home and Warner-Lambert Co. In talks to merge.
Acquisitions
An acquisition is essentially the characteristic of 1 company consuming and digesting every other. The result is that the acquiring employer shorelines up core weaknesses or provides a new functionality without giving up control, as might arise in a merger. Added skills, rather than synergy is usually the reasoning at the back of acquisitions. In this example, the obtaining organisation’s tradition prevails. Frequently one company will gather any other for his or her highbrow property, their personnel or to increase market percentage. There are severa strategies and reasons why one corporation acquires every other, as you’ll soon discover.
Guardian Protection Services has been obtaining alarm groups inside its northeast region of operation to complement its internal growth. Russ Cersosimo, president says, “This is simply every other way for us to meet our urge for food for growth. Our desire is to enlarge our possibilities within the other offices. That is any other cause why it’s far appealing for us to appearance to acquire organizations, to get their business base and business income pressure that is in location in the ones offices. We desired to make sure that we are able to digest the new bills without setting pressure on our paper go with the flow and the structures we have in region.”
Who does R&D acquisitions well? Electronics Business these days responded, “Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose, the networking system business enterprise, which boasts many fulfillment testimonies among its 40 acquisitions of the past six years.” None of their acquisitions have been in mature markets, rather all had been the main area, allowing Cisco to expand its product providing. Cisco hedges its acquisition bets thru quantity. Ammar Hanafi, director of the commercial enterprise development institution at Cisco says it counts on out of three acquisitions succeeding and the ultimate 0.33 doing just okay. Acquiring people, intellectual houses and specialized abilities are crucial to companies like Cisco. They suppose that although the acquired technology does not pan out, they have the engineers. Generally, any rapid growing agency like Cisco can’t lease human beings rapid enough and the obtained personnel are a boon to the business enterprise’s development. Retention of received personnel is on the heart in their acquisition approach. “If we’re going to lose the people who are important to the achievement of the target organization, we’re likely now not going to have a hobby,” says Cisco controller Dennis Powell.
“Cisco would not do massive acquisitions, the cultural troubles are too large,” Hanafi says. Cisco buys early stage groups with very little sales. While they often have paid extremely excessive costs for the purchase, they appear to do better than maximum with their choice. Between 1993 and 1996, Cisco sold slicing part LAN switching technology for a complete of $666 million in inventory. More than half of changed into spent on Grand Junction Networks Inc., which developed fast Ethernet switches. At the time of purchase, it’s miles estimated that Grand Junction’s annual revenues had been $30 million. “Today, the four LAN switching acquisitions account for $5 billion of Cisco’s $12 billion in annual revenues.” “We acquire companies due to the fact we believe they will achieve success. If we failed to trust of their achievement, we might now not accumulate them,” says Powell.
Little recognized West Coast Texas Pacific Group (TPG) has been obtaining at a feverish tempo. Their semiconductor and telecom shopping for spree includes, GT Com in 1995, AT&T Paradyne (from Lucent Technologies Inc.) in 1996, Zilog Inc. In 1997, Landis & Gyr Communications SA in 1998, ON Semiconductor (from Motorola Inc.), Zhone Technologies Inc., MVX.COM and Advanced TelCom Group Inc. In 1999.
TPG banks heavily on intellectual capital. Many accept as true with that through being a part of TPG, their single biggest benefit is access to vast pool of proficient and well-related humans. CEOs can take advantage of TPG’s contacts in other industries around the arena. “TPG has this potential to build a virtual advisory board…That they don’t even have to pay for,” says Armando Geday, president and CEO of GlobeSpan Inc.
Lucent Technologies, Inc. Has also been rampaging via the same market as Cisco. Lucent’s 1999 (January to August) acquisitions as indexed in CFO magazine include:
· Kenan Systems for $1 billion
· Ascend Communications for $24 billion
· Sybarus for $37 million
· Enable Semiconductor for $50 million
· Mosaix for $one hundred forty five million
· Zetax Tecnologia, $ N/A
· Batik Equipamentos, $ N/A
· Nexabit Networks for $900 million
· CCOM, Edisin, $ N/A
· SpecTran for $ninety nine million
· International Network Services for $3.7 billion.
An advantage that Lucent has over its competition is get entry to to its 25,000-worker Bell Labs concept manufacturing unit. As such, they may be more likely to buy era instead of R&D. Still, Lucent always reviews the comparative advantages of era and R&D in dating to its own initiatives in reviewing acquisition opportunities. Lucent govt vice president and CFO Donald Peterson says, “In every space in which we’ve got received, we’ve got had simultaneous studies initiatives inside. It makes us informed, and we could us have a construct as opposed to purchasing alternative.”
Lucent desires their devices as a hole to do properly and if acquisition helps that purpose, they accumulate. Peterson additionally says, “We view acquisition as a device among many that our commercial enterprise units can use to develop their commercial enterprise plans. We examine acquisitions separately, within the context of the enterprise approach of the unit.”
Tyco International Ltd. Is a assorted international producer and dealer of industrial merchandise and structures with management positions in each of its four enterprise segments: Disposable and Specialty Products, Fire and Security Services, Flow Control, and Electrical and Electronic Components. Through its corporate techniques of high-priced manufacturing, decentralized operations, increase via synergistic and strategic acquisitions, and enlargement via product/marketplace globalization, Tyco has advanced. From Tyco’s beginnings in 1960 as a privately held research laboratory, it has transformed into modern-day multinational business organization that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company operates in more than eighty countries around the arena and had fiscal 1999 sales in extra of $22 billion.
In the mid-Eighties, Tyco returned its recognition to sharply accelerating boom. During this era, it reorganized its subsidiaries into the modern business segments listed above. The Company’s name turned into modified from Tyco Laboratories, Inc. To Tyco International Ltd. In 1993, to reflect Tyco’s global operations more accurately. Furthermore, it became, and stays, Tyco’s policy to awareness on adding extraordinary, price-aggressive, low-tech industrial/business merchandise to its product strains that can be marketed globally.
In addition, the Company adopted synergistic and strategic acquisition hints that established 3 base-line requirements for capability acquisitions, inclusive of:
1. A company to be received must be in a commercial enterprise associated with certainly one of Tyco’s four business segments.
2. A corporation to be acquired must be capable of amplify the product line and/or enhance product distribution in as a minimum considered one of Tyco’s commercial enterprise segments.
3. A corporation to be acquired that will introduce a brand new product or product line need to be using a production and/or processing technology already familiar to one in every of Tyco’s commercial enterprise segments.
Tyco additionally developed a noticeably disciplined approach to acquisitions based on three key criteria that the Company continues to apply nowadays to gauge capacity acquisitions:
1. Post-acquisition consequences can have an immediate high-quality impact on income;
2. Opportunities to decorate working income ought to be considerable;
3. All acquisitions have to be non-dilutive to shareholders.
FASB Accounting Rule Change
The policies of the game are changing. Some of the accounting blessings of acquisition will soon disappear. Spending a few extra time along with your accounting and prison departments ought to show useful inside the lengthy-term.
George Donnelly, in his article in CFO mag writes, “The modern country of accounting rules is truly a element inside the frenetic acquisition activity at Cisco Systems and Lucent Technologies Inc. Like many excessive-tech corporations, the two giants can accumulate with little drag on their price range, because pooling-of-hobby accounting allows them to avoid hard goodwill charges that in any other case might ravage income.
But because of the loss of life sentence the Financial Accounting Standards Board has levied on pooling, companies need to use instantly-purchase accounting after January 1, 2001. Then shoppers will must amortize goodwill for no greater than two decades.”
Consolidations and Rollups
Bill Wade in Industrial Distribution stated: “The simple premise couldn’t be any less complicated. Take a fantastically fragmented industry–like distribution–going through technological change, customer upheaval or continual financing difficulties. Add in some properly-healed overseas companies or, worse, more than one previously unknown competition from outside the commercial enterprise. Since the enterprise leaders are possibly family-run agencies with restricted succession strategies, the following step to guard profit and retain increase is apparent: consolidate.”
A consolidation or roll-up, as it’s frequently referred to as, usually happens whilst an organisation or man or woman with deep wallet sets out to buy numerous small agencies in a fragmented industry and rein them in under a brand new or collective pennant. In 1997 the National Association of Wholesale-Distributors stated that forty two of the fifty four industries they studied had been appreciably suffering from consolidation. Frequently a expert management and shopping for strength create economies of scale that lets in the consolidator to pluck the low placing fruit in the enterprise. They will make investments drastically in systems to take away the duplication of effort and inefficiencies that exist within the enterprise being consolidated.
While some name it smoke and mirrors, many consolidators are yielding exquisite consequences. In 1997, at 39 years antique, financial whiz Jonathan Ledecky pulled off a ambitious deal. As said in CFO mag, He went to the general public fairness markets and raised half of one billion dollars for his employer, Consolidation Capital Corp., in a brazen preliminary public offering. Without sales, belongings, running records or identity (call or enterprise), he raised the capital in a blind pool on the electricity of his reputation on my own.
U.S. Office Products (USOP) is the end result of 220 acquisitions. Sharp Pencil turned into one in all six privately owned office-supply corporations that Ledecky prepare. But he didn’t stop, after years, and 220 acquisitions later, USOP turned into a member of the Fortune 500, with $3.8 in revenues. “It turned into crazy,” says Donald Platt, senior vp and CFO at USOP. Platt did rely incredibly on outdoor resources, together with a group of attorneys and accountants to get the activity performed (the 220 acquisitions). “We constrained then to nicely-managed, profitable organizations. At worst, we’d still be earning profits,” says Platt.
H. Wayne Huizenga is the proprietor of the Florida Marlins baseball team. He is likewise the king of consolidators. He pioneered his technique through rolling-up trash-truck organizations to create Waste Management Inc., the nation’s biggest waste agency. He went on to create the biggest video chain, Blockbuster Video. With AutoNation, Huizenga, now struggling, is attacking the retail automobile enterprise. In mid-December 1999 AutoNation had 409 retail franchises but announced the final of 23 of their used-vehicle superstores.
Michael Riley learned approximately consolidations whilst serving as personal legal professional for Huizenga. In July 1999, Riley’s business enterprise, Atlas Recreational Holdings Inc., paid $14 million to buy controlling interest inside the simplest publicly traded RV dealership chain in the United States, Holiday RV Superstores Inc., in Orlando, Florida. Riley’s avowed goal is to develop the organization from $74 in annual income in 1998 to $1 billion by way of 2003 by using acquiring other dealerships.
Riley says, “Consolidations clearly will assist. We can convey blessings to income and career. We could make a difference in warranty. There is a real value delivered whilst you put these groups collectively.”
Same Industry, Different Strategies
In mid-1997, roll-ups, United Rentals and NationsRent had been shaped. They are in a race, but are the usage of specific techniques to obtain their consequences. After years of ravenously gobbling up companies, United had 482 places at the same time as NationsRent had collected only 138 shops. NationsRent has been developing a nationwide identity with shops that appearance-alike and feature the identical signage and layout. United Rentals presence is honestly unknown since the stores maintain their previous look.
Motivations for Consolidators
There are several properly motives why consolidators assault a selected industry. The following list provides a number of the rational that help them of their decision-making technique. As you look to profit from the trend, maintain these elements in thoughts as you are making your selection on whom to accumulate.
· Confidence by the players that they can seize significant and exceedingly worthwhile extra marketplace share by means of imposing the cutting area control, procurement, distribution and service practices that will deliver them an aggressive side over smaller players.
· Gain countrywide clients thru increased abilties in turning in the best stages of standardized provider and countrywide geographical coverage.
· Larger clients of unbiased distribution channels are seeking broader geographic coverage and networks of places that permit for more provider capabilities, and the smaller clients want a high stage of customer support and reaction.
· Customers’ choice for more product sophistication.
· Insurance and financing synergies.
Fragmented Industries Are Ripe for Consolidations and Rollups
Some industries which are geared up for consolidations or roll-up examples include heavy-responsibility truck restore, workplace merchandise, recreational car dealerships, condominium shops (equipment, gear and birthday party) and distribution. Consolidation does no longer simply happen. It is precipitated by shifts in dealer and customer expectancies. Consolidation in a dealer base or patron pool frequently alters the monetary rationale for the shape of an industry. Functional shifts are accompanied through severe margin shifts among channel members.
Take word of the velocity in which an industry can revel in consolidation. If you’re a consolidator, select the low placing fruit earlier than any other beats you to it. If you’re combating consolidation, take word of the state of your industry and make adjustments (like strategic alliances) for your marketing strategy in case your enterprise is rather fragmented.
· TruckPro, the $a hundred and fifty million income introduction of Haywood and Stephens Investments, became offered in May 1998 to AutoZone, the $three billion distribution king of do-it-yourself car components.
· In June 1998, nine heavy-responsibility distribution businesses with volumes of $6 to $37 million, simultaneously merged and raised $46 million from the public for their latest $two hundred million corporation, TransCom USA.
· Brentwood Associates, a undertaking capital agency, during Spring and Summer1998, created HAD Parts System, Inc. A $one hundred forty five million operation, via acquiring 3 businesses in the Southeast.
· In July 1998, Aurora Capital’s QDSP received majority interest in nine heavy-responsibility organizations from FleetPride, a $two hundred million components and provider operation.
Stated in Truck Parts & Service, “Here the unbiased suffers an impressive downside to roll-ups. Consolidators have got admission to massive quantities of capital. The independent businessperson, however, should basically finance his boom by means of earnings retains from contemporary operations. New excessive efficiency provider bays, giant and growing training charges, information processing and communications generation all clamor for accelerated running capital. The large gamers’ acquisition cost benefit finally will win him all the mega-fleet commercial enterprise and the good sized majority of business from mid-sized fleets.
Supplementing his elements acquisition fee benefit, the consolidator may be able to decrease many overhead fees through centralized management and volume reductions…Combined savings in components acquisition cost and overhead discount ought to easily exceed four% of sales.”
Some of the signs that an enterprise (any industry) is poised for consolidation are indexed underneath. If you observe your industry has similar problems, it’s far just a count number of time. Plan now for what’s coming. Where do you need to be while the teach arrives?
· A high degree of fragmentation with severa smaller corporations and few, if any, dominating games.
· A big enterprise this is strong and growing.
· Multiple advantages for economies of scale.
· Synergies that may be executed through consolidating businesses.
· Infrequent use of superior control statistics systems.
· Limited get right of entry to public capital markets and somewhat inefficient capital structures amongst companies.
· Lack of possibilities, historically, for owners to liquidate their companies in the event that they wish to go away the enterprise.
Reasons for Business Owners Selling to Consolidators
The reasons for a enterprise proprietor to sell his or her commercial enterprise are as various as there are people. Usually it isn’t always one purpose but numerous mixed motives that impact a dealer’s choice. The following listing provides you with the overall regions that could force a promoting selection:
· First era owner, without heirs, nearing retirement.
· Lack of capital to make necessary technological and capital upgrades to compete, inside an enterprise, and with new competition.
· Flat growth charge in industry.
· Better profitability as a part of a larger employer.
· Centralized buying.
Ed Rigsbee, CSP, for over two decades has often been called the Renaissance Man. He allows commercial enterprise people and businesses of all sizes to grow their market through clever alliance relationships. He is the founder and govt director of a non-earnings public charity. He regularly publishes articles and blogs on personal dating development. He administers a Facebook group; Relationship Glue and a Linkedin group; Member ROI for Associations & Societies.
Ed has served as adjunct professor for 2 California universities and is the author of Developing Strategic Alliances, PartnerShift-How to Profit from the Partnering Trend, and The Art of Partnering. He has over 1,500 tough-copy published articles to his credit score and is a everyday keynote speaker at corporate and exchange association conferences coaching North America the way to get admission to their Collaborative Advantage.
He stocks his proprietary Member Value Process globally with exchange associations and expert societies-the cornerstone for grassroots member recruitment and retention campaigns.
