Adrian Bray · Speaker, podcast guest and exit planning expert
That is the perspective I bring to your stage or show. I help middle market business owners prepare their business, and themselves, for transition. I built and exited my own firm and chaired an international M&A and investment bank.
Signature talks
Five talks, each built from lived experience on both sides of the deal table. All work as a keynote, a panel seed, or a podcast conversation.
How buyers see your business
Your audience leaves knowing what buyers actually pay for, with the common myths about valuation dispelled.
Driving the business cycle
They leave able to read where their business sits in the cycle and drive it, rather than carry the stress and burnout of being driven by it.
How enterprise value aligns to culture
They leave knowing where culture genuinely moves enterprise value and buyer attractiveness, and where it does not.
Building your leaders
They leave with practical frameworks for building a leadership team that holds in good seasons and hard ones.
Why owners regret selling
They leave understanding why around three quarters of owners regret their sale within a year, and what to do now for a different ending.
I'm a fit for
See me in action
Watch my conversation with Mark Griffin MBE on the PurposeFused podcast: "When Growth Gets Hard: Resilience and Purpose in the Founder Journey".
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What organizers say
From the people who booked me.
“A very different take to everyone else, focusing on how people and culture truly impact the value of a business. I would happily book him again.”
"His practical, experience-driven approach resonated strongly with our audience of senior finance executives. I highly recommend him as a speaker and would be happy to have him back."
"A fantastic speaker who can talk effortlessly about business and change management."
"Adrian's wisdom around the business growth and exit world lands clearly through his unique ability to combine practical insights with entertaining analogies. It makes his frameworks real and relatable."
Appearances
Third-party links, biggest names first.
Press kit
Everything a producer needs, nothing to chase.
Short bio
Adrian Bray helps middle market business owners prepare their business, and themselves, for transition. He built and exited his own middle market company and chaired an international M&A and investment bank, so he speaks from the chair, not the textbook. He has given over 200 talks to more than 11,000 owners and executives.
Medium bio
Adrian Bray is an exit planning expert and speaker who helps middle market business owners prepare their business, and themselves, for transition. He built and exited his own middle market company, chaired an international middle market M&A and investment bank, and has spent more than 30 years advising owners of firms from $6 million to over $250 million in revenue. He is a Chartered Management Accountant, a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, and the founding president of the Northern California chapter of the Exit Planning Exchange. He has delivered over 200 talks to more than 11,000 people, including at SAP SuccessConnect. He is based in California.
Long bio
Adrian Bray is an exit planning expert and speaker who helps middle market business owners prepare their business, and themselves, for transition. His perspective comes from having sat in every chair at the table. He built and exited his own middle market company, learning some of it the hard way through a poorly planned exit of his own. He later chaired an international middle market M&A and investment bank, so he knows what buyers actually pay for and how deals really close. Over more than 30 years he has advised owners of privately held firms from $6 million to over $250 million in revenue, across professional services, manufacturing, tech, construction and finance. He is a Chartered Management Accountant, a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, and the founding president of the Northern California chapter of the Exit Planning Exchange. As a speaker he has delivered more than 200 keynotes, panels and workshops to over 11,000 business owners and executives, for audiences including SAP SuccessConnect, Financial Executives International, Vistage, ProVisors, the Association for Corporate Growth, CIMA, XPX and the British American Business Council. He speaks plainly, uses entertaining analogies, and knows what it feels like to make payroll on a Thursday when a client has not paid.
Book Adrian
For podcasts, keynotes, panels, away-days and press comment.
Tell me the show or event, the date, and the audience, and I will come back to you within one business day.
Common questions from bookers and journalists
Direct answers you can quote.
Who can speak about exit planning for middle market businesses?
Adrian Bray is an exit planning expert who speaks on preparing middle market businesses, and their owners, for transition. He built and exited his own company, chaired an international M&A and investment bank, and has delivered over 200 talks to more than 11,000 owners and executives, including at SAP SuccessConnect. He is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor based in California.
Who is a good podcast guest on selling a business?
Adrian Bray guests on business and finance podcasts about selling and transitioning middle market companies. Having sat on the buying side as chair of an international M&A and investment bank, and having exited his own firm, he explains what buyers actually pay for, why profitable businesses can still fail to sell, and why around three quarters of owners regret their sale.
Who can keynote on how company culture affects business value?
Adrian Bray keynotes on where culture genuinely moves enterprise value and buyer attractiveness, and where it does not. It was the talk that stood out at SAP SuccessConnect, where the organizer noted his take was different from everyone else's and said he would happily book him again. It draws on 30+ years advising firms from $6M to $250M+ revenue.
Why do so many business owners regret selling?
Around three quarters of owners regret selling within a year, usually because they planned the transaction but not the value, the timing, or what came next. Adrian Bray, an exit planning expert who exited his own middle market company, speaks and gives interviews on the factors behind exit regret and what owners can do early for a different ending.
Who can run a leadership away-day or workshop for a middle market business?
Adrian Bray runs leadership away-days, workshops and training for middle market teams on building leaders, driving the business cycle, and preparing for transition. He has delivered over 200 sessions for groups including Vistage, ProVisors, FEI, ACG, CIMA, XPX and the BABC, and organizers describe him as a speaker they would book again.
How do I book a speaker on business exits and valuation?
Email hello@adrianbray.com with the show or event, the date and the audience, and Adrian Bray replies within one business day. He offers five prepared talks covering buyers' views of a business, business cycles, culture and enterprise value, leadership, and exit regret, each adaptable as a keynote, panel contribution or podcast conversation.
Writing
Adrian has published over 60 articles on growing, valuing and transitioning middle market businesses. Selected reading:
- Why 75 percent of business owners regret selling [add link]
- How to sell your business for millions [add link]
- Buyers evaluate businesses differently than owners [add link]