Our Host & Moderator
Ben Calkins | Host & Founder of Center for Free Enterprise
Ben Calkins is a seasoned business attorney who has assisted a wide array of both publicly held and privately held business clients in connection with countless business transactions, including but not limited to acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, debt and equity financings and other matters including general business counseling and planning and real estate matters, for over 30 years.
Jill Arena | CEPA CEO of Arena Enterprises
Jill Arena, CEPA, is an accomplished Business Development Expert and Mergers and Acquisition Intermediary. She has enjoyed an award-winning Business Development, Sales and Management career for more than 25 years. Her extensive experience working with small to medium-sized businesses as well as large corporations has enabled her to assist executives and business owners reach their respective organic and acquisition marketing goals.
Arena is adept at consultative selling, strategic alliance development, prospecting, turn-around projects, start-ups and business brokering. She has recruited sales professionals, built top-producing sales teams, helped organizations pioneer new areas for revenue generation, trained hundreds of sales professionals on her branded sales methodology, and developed programs for organizations to exceed their organic growth goals. In 2011 Arena added Buy-Side Intermediary services to her offerings, working with Investment Banks, Private Equity Groups, Strategic Buyers and Individuals providing search, analysis and deal structure services to regional and national buyers.
Jill Arena is a 2011 recipient of the SMEI Distinguished Sales & Marketing Award. She was recognized as an outstanding sales and marketing professional with unparalleled standards of sophistication and skill in her industry. The award was given to recognize, promote, and honor Jill’s excellence, professionalism, and outstanding achievement in sales and marketing. Earning this award illustrates Jill’s high standards, experience, training, and commitment to excellence. A message from Jill is below.
Our Panelists
Gary Burden | CEPA & CEO of Ohio Valley Business Advisors
Gary Burden is a native of Ohio and holds a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering with a minor in Leadership from the United States Military Academy at West Point. While achieving his goal of becoming an Airborne Ranger fulfilled the ambition of youth, experience taught Gary that the battles shaping America’s future would be fought not on foreign soil but in the economy—by small business owners creating jobs, opportunity, and innovation. That insight redirected his mission towards helping business owners in finance and information technology.
After working with four financial planning firms, Gary founded Financial Stewardship Group, guided by the mission “to sow the seeds of financial freedom through wise counsel, one person and one business at a time.” His early marketing efforts as a solo planner led to the successful sale of four businesses within eighteen months—an early indicator of his natural fit in the world of business transitions.
Gary later joined Ohio Valley Business Advisors (OVBA) to help family-owned businesses maximize their God-given resources through thoughtful succession and transfer planning. He specialized in market analysis, strategic positioning, and network-driven introductions that opened new horizons for business owners. When OVBA founder Lee Huff retired in 2022, Gary acquired OVBA—experiencing firsthand the emotional and financial realities of buying a business. Since then, he has guided more than twenty business owners through successful exits and watched several former buyers resell their companies, some for over three times their original purchase price.
Having earned the Certified Financial Planner designation and now as a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Gary brings both analytical discipline and philosophical insights to every engagement. He previously served nineteen years as Treasurer for the West Point Society of Northern Ohio and received Rotary International’s Paul Harris Award for his service.
Gary and his wife, Jennifer, live in Hiram, Ohio, where they homeschooled their six children on a small family farm raising grass-fed beef, dairy goats, and pastured poultry. They now enjoy time with six grandchildren. The Burden family worships at The Church at Troy. Gary is a lifelong student of Scripture, a proponent of Austrian economics, and an advocate for the business owners whose risk-taking spirit keeps the world turning. His personal interests include reading and backpacking.
Jordan Rodriguez | CEPA & Founder of Chagrin Valley Business Strategies
Jordan prides himself on thinking deeply about his clients’ needs. He often speaks about the changes transforming the financial services industry and how he can stay ahead of those trends so that the individuals, families, and businesses he serves can enjoy a superior experience.
“Long gone are the days when a client would pay an advisor to pick which mutual funds or stocks to invest in. I align myself with my clients as a fiduciary in all situations. A simple task like setting up a retirement plan for a small business owner can quickly evolve into a complex transaction involving investment bankers, attorneys, and accountants. I see myself as an extension of the clients I represent—a trusted resource who understands their personal wishes as well as their financial ones and can create structure out of the chaos that is money.”
Jordan holds FINRA Series 7 and 66 registrations, as well as life, health, and disability insurance licenses in Ohio. He is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) who focuses on integrating the individual components of a client’s financial life into a cohesive, actionable plan.
In 2024, Jordan founded Chagrin Valley Business Strategies, a consulting firm that provides business owners with mission-critical data on the strength of their enterprise and the key value drivers—and detractors—behind it. Together with Wernick Spear Wealth Managers, the two firms deliver a true end-to-end wealth management solution for business owners and their families.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in finance, investment, and banking from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Jordan returned to Cleveland, where he now lives in Bainbridge with his high-school-sweetheart-turned-wife, Kaylee, their two young children, Maria and Victor, and their dog, Lily.
An avid chef and golfer, Jordan enjoys trying new restaurants and spending time in the kitchen. Outside of work, he remains actively involved in his community, having held leadership roles with several Cleveland-area organizations including Recovery Resources, The Cleveland Foundation, and Believe in Dreams.
Gary Dagres | Director with EdgePoint Capital Advisors
Gary is a Director with EdgePoint Capital Advisors. In this role, he is responsible for advising clients in matters related to mergers and acquisitions.
Gary joined EdgePoint in 2018. Prior to joining the firm, Gary worked as a Senior Procurement Manager at General Electric’s Aviation division. Gary began his career at GE as a Business Development Associate. In this role, Gary was integral in supporting a variety of transactions, focusing primarily on corporate acquisitions and divestitures.
He received his BA in Economics from The Ohio State University and his MBA with a concentration in Finance from The University of Notre Dame. He maintains the FINRA Series 63 and 79 licenses.
Gary resides with his wife Whitney and three children in Northeast Ohio.
Thomas Furnas | Managing Partner | Growth Strategies Group LLC
Tom is a senior executive with extensive experience in business performance optimization, business turnaround, restructuring, business transition/exit planning, and M&A transaction advisory. Proven track record in driving financial health, operational efficiency, digital business transformation, and growth for organizations facing complex challenges. Leverages data-driven decisions based on financial/operational & technology analytical insights, and cross-functional leadership to deliver transformative results in diverse industries.
