2023 NFL Panel Discussion: Corporate Development and Internal M&A Strategies

Brent Paris joined Dubin Clark in 2001 and has completed more than seventy middle-market transactions.  At Dubin Clark, Brent focuses on sourcing, financing, executing and overseeing platform and add-on acquisitions.   Prior to Dubin Clark, Brent was an Associate for investment banking firm Latek Capital Corp and, during business school, worked as an Analyst with money-management firms Waveland Capital Management and Brinson Partners. Brent served as an Accounting Manager for money-management firm Grosvenor Capital Management and as a Senior Tax Accountant for public accounting firm Altschuler, Melvoin & Glasser LLP, which is now part of RSM US (formerly McGladrey & Pullen LLP).

Brent currently serves on the boards of directors of Affordable Water Heaters & Plumbing, CE Rental, Euro Motorparts Group, InProduction, iROCKER, Marquee Event Group, SmartSource, Super Home Services, and CustomDrive.

He is the current Chair of Beaches Habitat for Humanity, a board member for Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).

Brent received a B.S. in Accounting from Indiana University Kelley School of Business, an M.B.A. in Finance & Entrepreneurship from The University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business, an MS Taxation from DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, and has a CPA (inactive).  Outside of work, Brent enjoys time with his family, travel, and golf. Brent also competes in various Spartan races throughout the region.

Ron is Principal in Corporate Development at Florida Blue.  He brings over twenty years of experience providing advice and execution in all aspects of the M&A life cycle in the Healthcare and Financial Services industries.  He led multiple organizations through initiatives and investments for long-term value-creation, development of attractive avenues for growth, and transformation of low performing business units into low cost and growing organizations.  

Prior to joining Florida Blue, Ron supported the Fidelity National Financial family of companies through large national and international expansion opportunities and the IPO of two successful multi-billion-dollar conglomerates in the Jacksonville area.

Ron received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sao Paulo and an M.B.A. in Corporate Finance from the Kennan-Flagler Business School at UNC Chapel Hill.

Michael “Mike” Schmitt is the Chief Executive Officer of Super Home Services, a leading provider of pest, lawn and mosquito control solutions to Florida’s homeowners.  Prior to joining Super Home Services in December of 2022, Mike held a series of progressive roles at the Anticimex Group—the world’s third largest pest control company.  Mike joined Anticimex in 2018 as Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions, where he led the completion of over fifty acquisitions adding over $250 million of revenue to the company’s North American operations.  Following three years leading M&A, Mike served as President of the Mid Atlantic and Carolinas regions, where he presided over record levels of organic growth as well as the acquisition and integration of businesses representing over $30 million of additional revenue.  Prior to joining Anticimex, Mike spent time in Private Equity where he focused on Food, Beverage and Hospitality investments and started his career in Corporate Development roles at a venture-backed clean technology company.  Mike holds degrees from Bucknell University, The University of Edinburgh and NYU’s Stern School of Business. 

Trish Skoglund is a corporate director of mergers and acquisitions for Crowley, guiding strategic investments that create sustainable growth and accelerate the company’s competitive advantages. She has previously led sales and fuel sourcing for Crowley Fuels, the company’s Alaska-based business unit. Before joining Crowley, Skoglund worked for 12 years in the energy industry in Alaska and Texas.

Skoglund earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Portland State University, and an MBA in global business from the University of Portland.

She currently serves on the board of Junior Achievement of NE Florida.

Bill Sorenson is a principal with Heritage Capital Group. His primary focus is merger & acquisitions and strategic consulting assignments for clients. Bill leads both sell-side and buy-side assignments for clients seeking to sell or grow their businesses. He also leads Heritage Capital Group’s strategic consulting practice. In this capacity, he provides exit planning consulting to clients to ensure both their personal and business goals are met through long-term strategic planning. Bill is experienced in providing valuation services. His valuation experience includes hundreds of valuations for clients in multiple industries to support transactions, buy/sell agreements, financial reporting, tax filing, and estate planning. Prior to joining Heritage Capital Group, Bill served as a director of management consulting services for an engineering and management services contractor. He also served as a manager for the Supply Chain Optimization team for the consulting division of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, leading consulting projects and serving as manufacturing lead for Enterprise Resource Planning system implementations. Bill began his career in defense contracting and provided logistics support for multiple U.S. Navy weapon system programs. Bill is the past president of the Rotary Club of Jacksonville, serving 2021-2022, and is a graduate of the Leadership Jacksonville class of 2015. In 2016, he was appointed to the National Advisory Council for the National Association of Women Business Owners. He’s served as a panelist for the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center’s ATHENAPowerLink® program since 2018 and was named to the Governing Body in 2022. Bill has served as a judge for the annual Manufacturers Association of Florida's Manufacturers of the Year Award since 2011. He earned a B.B.A from Virginia Tech and an M.B.A., with a concentration in operations and management information systems, from Purdue University. He holds Series 79, Series 63, and Florida real estate licenses and the designation of Certified Expert in Lean Management.