8:00 a.m.:           Registration/Coffee/Fruit

 

8:20:                    Welcome – Jeff Rogers, Executive Director, NYFBC

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8:30 – 9:45:         Mark N. Levy, Attorney at Law, Scolaro, Fetter, Grizanti & McGough

Succession Planning for Closely Held and Family Owned Businesses 

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In a closely held business, it is common for the assets of the business to make up most of the owners' estate.  Although the objective of a family may be to perpetuate operations for as long as family members wish, outside pressures weigh heavily on the ability to do so.  Estate and income taxes, dealing with children involved in the business and not involved in the business, retirement issues, land value issues, long-term care issues, commodity and input prices, etc…  all add to the complexity of putting together a plan that can withstand these outside pressures and result in a successful multi-generational plan.

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10:15 -11:45:         Renée Downey Hart, Madden School of Business, Le Moyne College

Move Over Millenials:  iGen has arrived!

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We knew it wouldn’t last.  Those Millennials who brought us digital everything have grown up, and are nearing 40.  They have taken their places in leadership and management, and have proven all the tech we thought was distracting was actually a tool to change the world.  And here we go again.  Generation Z – aka iGen – has arrived.  Born around 2000, they are true digital natives, raised in an instant everything world.  Constantly connected, they are emerging from their helicopter parents as technologically capable and interpersonally savvy, with a ‘do it yourself mindset’ and so much more.

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12:00 - 1:30:         Luncheon/Keynote Speaker - John Currier '82, President, Currier Plastics

Learning From the Ground Up - It’s Great to Be Back to the Heights!

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John, a 1982 Le Moyne College alumnus, will share his family’s story and the journey of Currier Plastics - from beginning with two injection molding machines through today - being named a Plastics News Best Place to Work.  From his Dolphin roots to growing up in the company as “Employee Number 5” John will speak of the challenges, victories, family dynamics and many lessons learned along the way.  Learning from the ground up as machine operator, technician, bookkeeper, sales engineer, until being named president in 1987, John will share how, as is typical in a small company, titles and positions meant little.  He’ll share his vision for the company’s future.

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BIOS:

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Mark N. Levy

is a member of the Business Practice Group and the Real Estate Practice Group of Scolaro Fetter Grizanti & McGough, P.C. in Syracuse, New York. His practice focuses on business, estate, tax and succession planning for closely held and family owned businesses. In addition, services Mark offers his clients include: state, federal and international tax and business planning; estate and long term care planning; business and succession planning; e-commerce planning; commercial and residential real estate transactions; zoning and land use; solar farm development; transactional planning; acquisitions, dispositions, mergers, tax-free reorganization of business entities; entity structuring; contract negotiation, and the dissolutions of business entities.

Mark is a lecturer in the area of business, estate and succession planning and has assisted and counseled business owners through entity structuring, formation, growth and recapitalization and eventual transition of ownership.

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Renée Downey Hart, PhD 

is Professor of Practice at the Madden School of Business at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.  Prior to joining the faculty ten years ago, she was a partner in the firm of Eagle Consultants in Syracuse, an international organizational development firm based in Syracuse.  She has been praised for her interactive style and ability to bring research into reality. 

Her research interests have long centered around what she calls the User Friendly Workplace – exploring tangible strategies to create workplaces in which employees feel valued, empowered and individualized.  One key component to this is her work in Generations where she has delivered keynotes for over twenty years, exploring what each generation seeks to perform well and maximize their own super powers to create a strong fabric of gifts that differ with all colleagues.

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John Currier '82

graduated from Le Moyne College in 1982 with a degree in English Literature and pursued his MBA at both Binghamton University and Syracuse University.  His career at Currier Plastics began in 1983, six months after its founding by his father, Raymond Currier.  When Ray retired in 1987, John was named President, with sales under $500,000 and employment around 12.  Today, the company has $41 million in revenue and 150+ employees, and in 2019 was named a Plastics News Best Place to Work.  John serves on the Board of Directors of several organizations. 

As one of the few facilities in the U.S. creating all plastics components in a single location, Currier’s operations have earned the reputation of providing uncompromising quality and unsurpassed customer service. Continuing the legacy of its founder with growth and expansion, Currier Plastics strives to create a culture of integrity and mutual respect for coworkers, customers, and community   by embracing change and fostering an environment that values passion, creativity, and individual dreams.  The commitment to customers is also exemplified in the commitment to the community through Currier Educational Scholarships and an Employee Scholarship program.

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