The Source: CHRIS VANDERZYDEN, CPA, CVGA, CEPA, is an author, speaker, and leading educator on exit planning and mergers and acquisitions. She is a founding partner of Legacy Partners, LLLP, an exit planning and M&A advisory firm dedicated to creating and executing exit strategies for privately held business owners. Her career began as a CPA with PricewaterhouseCoopers, then as an asset manager with Northwest Asset Management in Los Angeles, California. Following her positions in the corporate world, she became an entrepreneur, having sold two businesses herself, and has consulted for privately held companies in driving business value and exit strategies for decades. Vanderzyden speaks internationally on exit planning and mergers and acquisitions, is an expert contributor for media outlets, a guest lecturer for Harvard University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation class, and the bestselling author of 7 Steps to Entrepreneurial Victory. Her newest book, Master Your Exit Plan: Sell Your Business, Preserve Your Legacy (Emerald Lake Books; April 19, 2022), offers a step-by-step roadmap to successfully selling a business and includes in-depth advice from five preeminent industry contributors. Learn more at legacypartnersllp.com