Family Business Owner Series: Building an Effective Board and the Role of Outsiders

Mariann Mihailidis, Managing Director, Councils

Mariann oversees the FOX member councils, which are private networks of close peers working together to advance their professional development and to solve the unique challenges they face in their management of private wealth. She has extensive experience in the accounting and legal fields. As a practicing tax and estate planning attorney, she develops strategies in wealth transfer issues, taxes, and corporate structures.

Sarah Kerr Severson, Schiff Hardin LLP

Sarah Kerr Severson has significant experience in estate, trust, and guardianship litigation and administration, business succession planning, special needs planning, wealth transfer planning, and charitable foundation and exempt organization litigation and administration. Her clients include family groups and individuals, business entities and corporate fiduciaries.She works with clients to develop comprehensive estate plans, business succession plans and charitable planning techniques. Ms. Severson develops plans which maximize and protect wealth while minimizing transfer taxes, and which implement her clients' familial, philanthropic and other non-tax objectives.

Matthew Galo, Schiff Hardin LLP

Matt Galo counsels private companies and their founders, investors and management teams in all aspects of their corporate activities, including formation and governance issues, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, business counseling and negotiations, management issues, restructurings and transition. He serves as leader of our firm’s Private Companies practice group. In addition, Mr. Galo represents bank holding companies and other financial institutions in their mergers and acquisitions, including FDIC-assisted acquisitions of failed banks, as well as regulatory, corporate and governance matters. Mr. Galo has broad experience in business combinations involving mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private offerings, private equity and venture capital investment, recapitalizations and other transactions.

Robert Pluth, Jr., Schiff Hardin LLP

Robert R. Pluth Jr. represents taxpayers in connection with various federal and state income tax controversies, including complex tax accounting matters, tax shelters and transnational disputes. Along with partners in our White Collar Crime and Corporate Compliance Group, Mr. Pluth represents taxpayers under criminal investigation regarding tax-sensitive activities. In addition, he implements customized tax, succession planning and estate planning strategies to enable business owners and other wealthy individuals achieve their long-term planning goals. His practice places special emphasis on business and tax planning for businesses organized as limited liability companies (LLCs), joint ventures, partnerships, S corporations and other privately held business and investment entities