Ian Rusk, ASA, CM&AA
Ian Rusk, ASA, CM&AA
Managing Principal
For the past twenty years Ian has personally worked with hundreds of architecture, engineering and environmental consulting firms, large and small, throughout the U.S. and abroad with a focus on business valuation / appraisal, ownership planning, ESOP advisory services, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic planning. Prior to co-founding Rusk O’Brien Gido + Partners, Ian served as a principal in the financial advisory services group of the A/E consulting, research and publishing firm ZweigWhite.
Ian’s experience includes conducting business valuations/appraisals for a variety of purposes, including internal ownership planning, merger & acquisition due diligence, litigation support and ESOP transaction & administrative purposes. He has worked with firms in almost every state in the U.S., as well as firms in Canada, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Altogether, he has performed over 300 business appraisals of companies in the architecture, engineering and environmental consulting industries.
His experience with mergers & acquisitions includes assisting both buying and selling clients through the process of acquiring a firm, or selling their firm. These services include initial strategic planning, researching the pool of potential candidates, conducting valuation analysis, initiating discussions between parties, assisting with due diligence, and advising clients during the negotiation process right through to the closing.
Ian is a professionally trained and accredited business appraiser and holds the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) designation with the American Society of Appraisers. He also holds the Certified Merger & Acquisitions Advisor (CM&AA) certification from the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors. Professional affiliations include membership in the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and the ESOP Association.
Ian’s experience includes conducting business valuations/appraisals for a variety of purposes, including internal ownership planning, merger & acquisition due diligence, litigation support and ESOP transaction & administrative purposes. He has worked with firms in almost every state in the U.S., as well as firms in Canada, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Altogether, he has performed over 300 business appraisals of companies in the architecture, engineering and environmental consulting industries.
His experience with mergers & acquisitions includes assisting both buying and selling clients through the process of acquiring a firm, or selling their firm. These services include initial strategic planning, researching the pool of potential candidates, conducting valuation analysis, initiating discussions between parties, assisting with due diligence, and advising clients during the negotiation process right through to the closing.
Ian is a professionally trained and accredited business appraiser and holds the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) designation with the American Society of Appraisers. He also holds the Certified Merger & Acquisitions Advisor (CM&AA) certification from the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors. Professional affiliations include membership in the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and the ESOP Association.
Ian has conducted numerous seminars on the topic of business valuation for such organizations as Business Valuation Resources (BVR), the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and others. He was a contributing editor and co-author of the following publications:
- The Valuation Survey of A/E/P and Environmental Consulting Firms, (2003 through 2009 editions) ZweigWhite (Natick, MA)
- The Insider’s Guide to Ownership Transition Planning, ZweigWhite (Natick, MA)
- The Business Valuation and Merger & Acquisition Transactions Study, (2014 – 2018 editions), Rusk O’Brien Gido + Partners, LLC (Maynard, MA)
- 2015 A/E Ownership Transition Study, Co-published by Practice Lab, Inc. and Rusk O’Brien Gido + Partners, LLC
Ian received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in finance and entrepreneurship from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
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