Value Link Advisors – Consultants
Ralph Berge
Ralph Berge is a business professional with a solid history of identifying business threats and converting them to opportunities. He believes that all business owners must have a formal business exit strategy that creates value for the business and the owner(s).
Mr. Berge is a pragmatist with experienced – based strategic thinking that brings focus to a business owner’s situation, objectives, and needs. After a written exit/succession plan is established, he facilitates appropriate calls to action that achieve valuable results for the business owner, his/her team, and their families. He has developed methodologies and systems that guide a business owner to find his/ her answers, which he then helps to implement. In a world filled with folks who can identify issues and run, he stays with you to implement solutions that are right for your organization and build its value.
Mr. Berge received a BA degree from the University of Minnesota and continued his education at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland) where he received an MBA.
Kipp Krukowski
Kipp Krukowski has been involved in the successful transfer of over 75 businesses. Mr. Krukowski is a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) from the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA). He has grown the parent company, Confidential Business Sale, Inc., through expansion and acquisition to three offices in three cities in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Through demonstration of in-depth knowledge and success in manufacturing transactions, the Business Brokerage Press has recognized Mr. Krukowski as an industry expert.
Mr. Krukowski holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Carnegie Mellon University with concentrations in Entrepreneurship, Production and Operations Management, and Management of Information Systems.
While attending Carnegie Mellon University, the school was prestigiously ranked the #2 business graduate school in the world by the Wall Street Journal. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from Youngstown State University where he was honored as the School of Engineering’s “Man of the Year”.
Previously, Mr. Krukowski held various strategic and management positions at General Motors and Delphi Corporation. His background includes a wide range of commercial and operational assignments. He was responsible for managing the purchase of $82 million of automotive components annually while in Global Purchasing. While in Global Purchasing, Mr. Krukowski was nominated as the Minority Supplier Development Buyer of the Year and for the Global Excellence Award for sourcing strategies which led to significant procurement savings. As a Quality Engineer, he managed the quality assurance of $190 million of purchased components annually. He performed quality systems audits to assure compliance with ISO/QS-9000 standards. Mr. Krukowski was also the Lean and Value Stream Coordinator for Production Control and Logistics where he implemented lean manufacturing initiatives through value stream and total cost analysis.