Douglas L. Hoffman Email me at doug@adkfamilybusiness.com  Douglas L. Hoffman has been working with small family owned businesses and high net worth individuals with their estate, tax, business and personal planning for over 25 years. He is a CPA who also has been accredited with the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Doug has a B.S. degree in accounting from the SUNY at Plattsburgh and an MBA degree from the University of Connecticut. Before starting his own CPA firm, Doug worked for Price Waterhouse & Co. and was the corporate controller for the Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games.    Gregory Claude Fetters Email me at gregory@adkfamilybusiness.com  Gregory Claude Fetters is a CPA who joined Adirondack Wealth Builders in 1997 to assist in the financial planning practice. Greg has been accredited with the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) designation by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards and the PFS (Personal Financial Specialist) designation by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Prior to joining Adirondack Wealth Builders, Greg obtained his CPA at an International CPA firm and continued in private industry for 18 years building his own personal investment portfolio to allow him to relocate permanently to his vacation home in the Adirondacks. He now looks forward to helping others achieve their own financial independence. Greg graduated from Gettysburg College in 1979 with a B.A. degree in Business Administration.   Rod Garrett Email me at rod@adkfamilybusiness.com  Mr. Garrett specializes in financial advisory and valuations for mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, estate & gift tax and ESOP’s. His expertise is in the valuation of business enterprises, intangible assets, intellectual property, and financial securities including various types of equity and debt instruments. He has performed forensic valuation work for several court cases including economic damage assessment, solvency analysis, and going concern value. Mr. Garrett has testified as an expert witness in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and arbitration proceedings under the guidelines of the American Arbitration Association. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Garrett was Director of Lending and Entrepreneurial Training for the Adirondack Economic Development Corporation where he was responsible for managing the department. From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Garrett was a Senior Advisor at COMSAT Corporation where he provided direct support to the company’s senior management on valuing acquisition targets and many other corporate finance issues which ranged from valuing financial securities, setting dividend policy and reviewing senior management compensation practices. From 1989 to 1990, Mr. Garrett was an Associate at MNC Investment Bank, LTD where he was involved in providing financial advisory services to middle-market firms in the areas of mergers, acquisitions, private placements and valuations. From 1987 to 1989, Mr. Garrett was Director of Finance for Medical Services Corporation International (MSCI), a firm providing health care services to third world countries. From 1984 to 1987, Mr. Garrett was a Senior Financial Analyst for the RCA Corporation.   Jonathan Vehar Email me at jonathan@adkfamilybusiness.com  Jonathan Vehar is a Senior Partner at New & Improved where he works with organizations to create teams who can work together productively to create innovation. Investor’s Business Daily calls him an “Innovation Guru,” and his quick wit, piercing insights and commitment to excellence create powerful programs in the areas of creative thinking, new product ideation, strategic planning, creative problem solving, and group meeting facilitation. Some of the organizations to benefit from his training and facilitation include: Andersen Consulting; Bath & Body Works; Clorox; Deloitte & Touche; General Mills; Kraft; Nestle; Procter & Gamble; Times-Mirror; and Xerox. Jonathan has presented creativity programs to thousands of people on five continents. Jonathan is a regular instructor at the Creative Problem Solving Institute, works with the Creative Education Foundation's Creativity and Leadership Camps for youth, and has been an adjunct professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is the author of many articles, videotapes and training manuals about creative problem solving, and holds a Master’s Degree in Creativity and Innovation from the State University of New York. Jonathan was formerly the Director of Training and Consulting for the Creative Education Foundation and prior to that worked in the field of advertising and marketing for Leo Burnett, Lintas:USA and Schutte & Company. Jonathan lives in Santa Monica, CA, with his wife Susan and their dog Cabesa. When he's not working, he can be found racing sailboats, swimming, hiking, writing satire, and trying to avoid traffic jams on the LA Freeways.   Sylvain Matte Email me at sylvain@adkfamilybusiness.com  Sylvain Matte is a Partner at New & Improved and is President of Coefficient Management in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His areas of expertise include strategic planning, organizational diagnostics and business processes re-engineering, and he also consults and trains in the areas of creative problem solving and applied relativity to business development and change management. Sylvain brings to his practice strong analytical skills and his ability to quickly assess situations, to focus everyone's energies on the real issues and to bring forth pragmatic solutions. Some of the organizations to benefit from his facilitation and training include: Alcan Aluminum, Hydro-Quebec, National Bank of Canada, Mead Johnson, UniGlobal, the City of Montreal, the City of Laval and the Outaouais Transport Authority. Sylvain has also presented creativity programs to various not-for-profit organizations, including the Greater Montreal Scouting Association and the Quebec Youth Camps Association. His background includes a degree in IT, an MBA, 14 years in an international manufacturing company, and several years as a consultant, including 3 in major technology and management consulting firms. He is also, since day one, among the Collaborators of An Idea Whose Time Has Come, a consulting and training firm helping businesses bring out creative potential and put forward innovative ideas from within. Sylvain is a faculty facilitator of the Creative Problem Solving Institute where he has been a leader since 1991 and he is a member of the Program Committee of the Creative Education Foundation. Sylvain lives north of Montreal with his wife and adolescent son and daughter. When not working and not attending Board meetings, Sylvain loves fishing, hiking, volunteering and reading sci-fi, and he has just recently started to experiment with oil painting. David González Email me at david@adkfamilybusiness.com  David is a Partner at New & Improved in addition to being the Manager of International Momentum and a part-time faculty member at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College, NY. David works as a trainer, facilitator and consultant in the areas of creative thinking, creative problem solving, team-building, facilitation, and leadership. Some of the organizations to benefit from his training and facilitation programs include: Coca-Cola, Pontiac, Amoco, numerous departments and bureaus within the United States Government, Infor-Resources Systems (Malaysia), Burchfield Penney Art Center, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Singapore) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. David is a former advertising and marketing executive and spent eight years managing a variety of major accounts within the DMB&B and Leo Burnett networks. Naturally, he loves to help organizations breakdown and rebuild their brand vision, positioning, character and all those other cool 50-cent advertising words. David holds a Master of Science in Creativity & Change Leadership where his research focused on a comprehensive analysis of three popular creative problem-solving methods (CPS, Lateral Thinking and Synectics). He is also in the process of co-authoring a book on creativity with Dr. Gerard Puccio. David is fluent in Spanish and his family is from Argentina. He lives in Buffalo, NY, and befitting a man with the nickname, “Gonzo,” spends most of his free time thrill-seeking...mountain biking, skiing, adventure racing, and driving in snowstorms. Robert "Bob" Eckert Jr. Email me at bob@adkfamilybusiness.com  Bob is Senior Partner of New & Improved. His work focuses on enhancing personal productivity through programs in team development, creativity, creative problem solving and leadership development. Bob works worldwide with business, healthcare, criminal justice systems and educational institutions, as well with children. A critic of the "flavor of the month" style of training, he has a solid track record of satisfied clients including: Pfizer; Coca-Cola; Kodak; Kraft; Lotus; MDS/Nordion; Nestle; and Procter & Gamble; as well as many health care systems, social service agencies and school systems. Bob speaks from a background which includes: management experience in both manufacturing and retail, work as a family therapist, creation/direction of the nationally renowned Leadership and Healthy Lifestyles program, teaching in both youth and adult criminal justice systems, and work as a senior "Outward Bound" instructor for incarcerated juvenile delinquents. Bob is a faculty member of the Creative Problem Solving Institute, is on the design team for the Creative Education Foundation's Global Odyssey, and is the research chair, and on the board of directors for, the National Association of Teen Institutes. With his wife, son and daughter, Bob lives, works and tends his tree farm in the northern Adirondack Mountains near Lake Placid, NY. Debbie Allen Email me at debbie@adkfamilybusiness.com  As a consultant to a variety of businesses throughout the country, Debbie provides guidance for change management processes, leadership development, Creative Problem Solving sessions and Innovation Team training; both in traditional classroom and experiential outdoor settings. Clients that have benefited from her training and facilitation include: Pfizer, Husky, America’s Community Bankers, The New England Training Directors Association, the Young President’s Organization, MONY, Williams College, and a raft of other financial institutions, among many others. Debbie brings 19 years of management in the world of financial services to her client base. Her credentials include extensive experience in business development, as both a commercial and consumer lender, and in bank administration including Retail Management and Human Resources. Her education includes a BA in Economics for St. Lawrence University, and a graduate banking degree from Stonier Graduate School of Banking, where her research addressed Transformation Management and its impact on corporate culture. She is also on the faculty of the Creative Problem Solving Institute. Call us at 1-800-254-5567 for a no-charge, no-obligation conference where we can discuss your business and family planning needs. We will help you determine where you can profit from our assistance.