Introduction
Dr Craig West is a strategic accountant with over 25 years of experience advising business owners. He is widely regarded as the “go-to” expert on Business Succession and Exit planning and employee ownership and is a sought-after business conference and keynote speaker.
Following 6 years of study to gain two master’s degrees, Craig West focused on Capital Gains Tax (CGT) for business sales advising clients who are business owners on strategic management of taxation issues. This experience formed a strong view that most business owners (and often their advisers) were unprepared and unaware of the steps required to maximise business value and prepare the business, the family/shareholders and finances for an exit.
Author
Craig West now acts as a strategic business and financial mentor for mid-market business owners and has written five critically acclaimed books educating business owners on employee incentives, business succession, succession planning, asset protection and exit strategies. His expertise in the financial aspects of business sales and exit planning is particularly noteworthy. He emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive Business Succession and Exit Plan, particularly focusing on the unique 21-step Business Succession and Exit planning process he has designed and utilised with over 1,000 business owners in the last fifteen years. This process has led to the success of many business owners.
Keynote presentations
Craig West has conducted numerous seminars and keynote presentations throughout Australia & internationally, including adviser education programs for the CAANZ, Family Business Australia, IOOF, Macquarie Bank, Colonial First State, AusIndustry, AI group and CPA Australia, and is a sought-after presenter.
SME Association of Australia
In March 2014, Craig West was appointed Executive Chairman of the SME Association of Australia, Australia’s largest small business organisation representing over 300,000 business owners.
Exit Planner of the Year
In October 2014, Dr Craig West was awarded the Exit Planner of the Year at the Exit Planning Institute Annual Conference in Texas, USA, due to his innovative development of a business succession and exit planning process to help business owners maximise business value and achieve a successful exit, as part of their business succession and exit planning.
Peak Performance Trust – employee ownership trust
Craig’s proprietary structure – a Peak Performance Trust – has won the award for the Employee Share Ownership Plan of the Year twice in four years. it is widely regarded as the first Employee Ownership Trust in Australia and is now utilised by over 150 mid-market businesses in Australia to attract, retain and motivate over 1,500 key employees. These employees now own over $60 million of equity in the businesses they work for. Craig West is widely regarded as the expert in Employee Ownership for Australian privately owned businesses.
Podcasts
In November 2018, Craig West launched SME Experts podcasts in partnership with Mark Bouris’ Mentored on Podcast One and quickly grew the monthly podcast’s audience to over 26,500 downloads, marking a significant success; in October 2019, he released a new podcast focused on medium-sized businesses – Mid-Market Matters.
Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners
In July 2021, Craig West joined the NSW Committee for STEP (Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners) – focusing on advising families across generations and broadening the membership of STEP beyond the legal profession.
Capitaliz
Dr Craig West has also launched a software as a service (SaaS) platform, Capitaliz (which captures the 21-step process), to assist other advisers internationally deliver advisory services at scale. The platform is a digital version of the 21-step process and is now used by over 250 advisers in eight countries.
In November 2021, Craig West was appointed Executive Chairman of NSW Leaders, a business mentoring group for leading NSW businesses.
Doctoral Thesis
In July 2022, Dr Craig West received the award of Doctor of Business Administration for his research thesis titled “Examination of the key factors driving business exit options in Australian Small and Medium Enterprises.” This research highlighted the key drivers of business exit options and change of focus of exiting owners between financial harvest and legacy/stewardship exit options. The examination of exit options
Dr Craig West is passionate about encouraging owners to think strategically about succession and maximise the value of their business. The findings of his doctoral thesis have helped develop further solutions for business succession and exit planning and led to an increased focus on tools designed to help the mid-market Australian business owner.
Forbes Business Council
In August 2023, Dr Craig West became a Member of the Forbes Business Council where he leverages his extensive experience in business succession and exit planning to contribute valuable insights on helping business leaders navigate the complexities of growing and exiting their businesses. Craig West regularly publishes business insights focusing on the company, finance, personal, valuation, mergers and acquisitions benefits of succession and exit and helps other experts create significant companies.
International Exit Planning Circle of Excellence
In April 2024, the Exit Planning Institute admitted Dr Craig West to the International Exit Planning Circle of Excellence, based on his work in business succession planning, utilisation of value acceleration and the 21-step process for business owners.
Succession Plus
Craig West is the founder of Succession Plus, the largest Business Succession and Exit planning consulting business in Asiapac.