M&A Next Symposium
San Antonio, Texas | September 8-9
M&A Symposium
Want to dive into the “next” practices in the world of M&A?
This highly interactive event is designed to provide M&A education and practical application through interactive roundtable discussions, thought leadership from expert panelists, and focused networking to connect leaders from across the country. You will end the day better informed about the opportunities for M&A as a growth strategy.
Thank you to our 2025 sponsors
M&A Next 2025 Speakers
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About Chad Clinehens
Chad Clinehens is the president and CEO of Zweig Group. Passionate about the business side of design and technical service firms, Chad has built a career on leading them through growth and change. He has worked with AEC firms throughout the U.S. on a variety of needs – strategic business planning, turnarounds, partner separations, organizational restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, marketing and sales, growth campaigns, and more.
As a registered professional engineer, Chad brings an in-depth knowledge of what makes professional service firms and the people who work for them unique. Working in the industry for more than 20 years, he has been involved in many aspects of the business including design, project management, department management, regional office management, and directional leadership. He holds a MBA and BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas and is a registered professional engineer in several states.
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About Tracey Eaves
Tracey Eaves will lead a Valuation Deep Dive breakout session at Zweig Group’s M&A Next Symposium next month. Over the last 20 years, Tracey has completed valuations ranging from small businesses to multi-million dollar operating companies to holding companies with a variety of assets.
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About Sarah Kinard
Sarah Kinard will lead a breakout session on Using Market Research to Drive M&A Strategy. Sarah is a strategic visionary with nearly 20 years of experience in professional services firm strategy, marketing, and implementation. A past VP of Global Marketing & Strategy, she is known as a change agent, frequently hired by firms to create a strategy rooted in research, business practice, and scale resulting in their unique growth plan.
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About Will Swearingen
Will leads Zweig Group’s research team and ownership transition consulting group. He received his BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and his MBA from the University of Arkansas with a focus on entrepreneurship.
During that time, Will developed financial models and aided in the fundraising for a startup that has raised over 20 million dollars in capital.
Will has worked closely with management teams across the US to develop ownership transition plans, ranging from simple one-to-one transactions to complex projects that require a great deal of modeling and stakeholder education. Will analyzes and reports on the data AEC managers need to run successful firms. From developing benchmarking tools to compensation programs for transition planning, Will builds resources for decision makers.
Prior to joining Zweig Group, Will provided navigation and telemetry services for oil exploration projects, conducting data analysis for the integration of GPS and seismic readouts. Will comes from a long line of architects and has a passion for the industry that is unmatched.
Monday, September 8, 2025
Monday, September 8, 2025
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3:00pm
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M&A Next Check-In Opens
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4:30pm
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Welcome Cocktail Reception
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Tuesday, September 9, 2025
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7:30am
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Breakfast
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8:30am
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Welcome & What's Next in AEC M&A
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9:00am
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Opening Keynote - Coming Soon
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10:00am
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Networking break
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10:15am
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Hot M&A Topic Roundtables
Roundtable discussions facilitated by subject matter experts. You can choose up to six of ten available sessions. |
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12:00pm
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Lunch Learning Session
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1:00pm
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Breakout Session One
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2:00pm
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Networking break
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2:15pm
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Breakout Session Two
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3:15pm
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Networking break
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3:30pm
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Breakout Session Three
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4:30pm
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Networking break
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5:00-7:00pm
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M&A Next Closing Reception + ElevateAEC Welcome Reception
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