WFU Center for Private Business

Summer socials are happening across the state and we are so happy to gather and network with our Members! Here are photos from our Charlotte social. Up next, we're gathering on Thursday, June 25 at Easy Tiger Beer Garden in Winston-Salem. Register today!

We want to celebrate two Members who recently contributed to a special public art moment in Winston-Salem: the Dandelion Install, part of City of Arts in Bloom! 🎉🎨

Congratulations to Adam Sebastian, Partner, and
Andrew Viator, President, . Your work helped bring beauty, energy, and community pride to downtown—thank you for showing what private businesses can do when creativity meets leadership!

See more info on the Dandelion Install / City of Arts in Bloom here: https://www.cityofws.org/3686/Dandelions

"The timeline is always longer than you think. If you haven’t started the conversation around succession planning, the best time to begin was last year. The second best time is now."

On May 12, McKinley founder Ken Dull and Cornerstone’s Richard Novak shared the real story of transferring ownership of a commercial construction firm to the Key Employee Group that helped build it. A process that took over 10 years, which included timely pauses, a rejected acquisition offer, and a financial mechanism most business owners have never heard of.

See all of the key learnings from this talk here: https://cpb.wfu.edu/2026/05/08/succession-without-disruption-protecting-culture-leadership-with-ken-dull-mckinley-building-corporation/

"Presume success. Presume success. Presume success." This was the theme of our Charlotte panel on protecting wealth through major business and personal transitions. And when is the right time to begin? "The moment you are thinking about it, you are in it" said our panelists.

This panel marked the first Center event at the stunning new Wake Forest University Charlotte Campus at The Pearl. We're looking forward to many more events in this modern space!

Thank you to Barry, Evans, Josephs & Snipes and Forvis Mazars along with Jeff Lenhart, Brandon Allain, Sheila Christie, Thomas Yonchak, and Clint Crocker.

We closed out our final Author Talk from Dr. Will Lewis with an outstanding session in Raleigh. Earlier this week our Members and guests in the Triangle learned more about building resilience and finding strength in the eye of a storm.

We're looking forward to joining our Raleigh Members next week in a discussion with Bill Crouch and William T. Lewis, MSW, PhD about resilience in leadership!

In today’s unpredictable landscape, privately held small and midsize businesses face mounting challenges—tight cash flow, workforce pressures, succession uncertainties, customer concentration, and the rapid pace of change. For leaders within the WFU Center for Private Business, navigating these storms requires more than operational excellence—it demands resilience.

Dr. Lewis will unpack the 7 Behaviors of Resilient Leadership—a framework grounded in hard-earned lessons from business owners who’ve weathered some of the toughest storms. These behaviors aren’t just inspirational—they’re actionable tools every private business leader can implement to stay steady, strategic, and strong in times of crisis and complexity.

This Author Talk Will Address:
✅ The Common Headwinds Facing Businesses Today
✅ A Practical Lens for Assessing Your Own Resilience
✅ How to Develop Behaviors that Bring Stability Amidst Chaos
✅ A Preview of “Perched in the Storm” by Dr. Lewis

Moderated by Bill Crouch, CEO, BrightDot

Hosted by Huntington National Bank

🗓️ Date & Time: Tuesday, April 21, 2026 | 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM EST
📍 Location: Huntington Bank | 4000 Center at North Hills Street #100 Raleigh, NC 27609
🎟️ Cost: Free of Charge for Center Members | $100 for Non-Members

Register Here: https://cpb.wfu.edu/programming/register/

Preparing for AI and integrating AI into professional workflows has been the #1 topic of concern for many of our business leaders in 2026. We had such an intelligent and illuminating discussion yesterday around the possibilities of what AI can do for small businesses. Thank you to Joe Parrish for his wisdom and our attendees for showing up for a great workshop!

What differentiates a family that can retain wealth for generations? Proper planning. Exorbitant tax bills and sky-high legal fees await affluent families, high-income professionals and business owners who fail to mitigate common estate planning pitfalls.

“Roadmap to Protecting Your Wealth” on April 22 invites six of Charlotte’s most notable financial and insurance experts to lead a masterclass on how smart families can begin preparing now. Discuss cutting-edge tax strategies. Understand how multigenerational wealthy families are structuring their insurance coverage. Learn how legal entities can shield personal and business assets from crippling bills.
Don’t lose your hard-earned wealth by leaving these decisions to chance.

Register for this workshop today!

Key Learnings:

✅ Various Asset Protection & Legal Entities
✅ Mitigating the Impact of Taxes on Estates
✅ Sophisticated Insurance Coverage for Affluent Clients

Speakers Include:

Clint Crocker, Partner, Barry, Evans, Josephs, and Snipes
Brandon Allain, Associate, Barry, Evans, Josephs, and Snipes
Jeff Lenhart, Partner, Forvis Mazars Private Client
Sheila Christie, Director, Forvis Mazars
Thomas Yonchak, Managing Director, Forvis Mazars

🗓 Date & Time: Wednesday, April 22, 2026 | 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
📍 Location: The Pearl | 235 Innovate Ln, Charlotte, NC 28204
🎟 Cost: Free of Charge for Center Members | $100 for Non-Members

🔗 Register Here: https://cpb.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_jevents&task=icalrepeat.detail&evid=251&Itemid=115&year=2026&month=04&day=22&title=charlotte-panel-qroadmap-to-protecting-wealthq-with-barr&uid=edf9ff89c5305928d600b29664f55869

When is the last time you audited your company's cybersecurity? If you paused before answering, you need to be at this breakfast on Monday!

Register Here: https://cpb.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_jevents&task=icalrepeat.detail&evid=244&Itemid=115&year=2026&month=03&day=16&title=triad-qa-cyber-security-checklist-protection-a-planningq-with-kristopher-fador-ciso-at-bank-of-america&uid=25629ef3897a787b2d01fb6a3b8920db

Join the Center in welcoming Bank of America’s Triad President and Global Commercial Banking Senior Relationship Manager, Greg Cox, for a fireside chat with Bank of America Chief Information Security Officer, Kristopher Fador. The discussion will focus on top cybersecurity threats for small businesses, AI in today’s world, and cost-effective, simple ways to improve your company’s security.

Guests are invited for breakfast and networking starting at 9 a.m. with the fireside chat and Q&A to run from 9:30-10:30 a.m.