Michael Matteson has been a mergers and acquisitions specialist since 1982. His focus has been on selling privately held manufacturing, distribution, and service businesses to facilitate the best outcome for their owners, their employees, and the new management team. In the past 26 years, Mike has successfully completed over 120 business transactions.

Mike shares with our clients a wisdom and empathy gained through diverse experiences as a business owner, having been a principal and CEO of a material systems design and manufacturing company, as well as the owner and CEO of an electronics manufacturing business supplying communication systems and electronic sub-assemblies directly to OEMs. His financial and operational background also includes 12 years with Xerox in financial and marketing management positions, including Manager of the Supply Demand Function for the Information Systems Division and Program Manager for the Printing Systems Division.

Mike is a skillful negotiator; he leads the team as our dealmaker and financial analyst. He deeply values the interconnectedness of the Earth and its inhabitants, and is passionate about "making a difference in the world" through his business practices.  He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh.


Patricia Brown has been a marketing and sales executive and consultant for 25 years; for the past seven years she has worked exclusively as a marketing specialist with middle market mergers and acquisitions clients.  As a managing partner, she is actively involved in every phase of an engagement: the development of our clients' Confidential Business Profile, all marketing functions unique to each assignment, and in the collection and flow of all information to assure the successful execution of each business transaction. 

Patricia's greatest strength in the business is her ability to initiate discussions and develop rapport with owners of targeted acquisition candidates for seller or buyer clients. She brings a high degree of energy, enthusiasm, and optimism to every assignment. Operating from a heart-based philosophy, she sees her work as a form of stewardship, which fuels her determination to "do whatever it takes" in serving the best interests of our clients. She  believes the owner of a privately-held business must have complete knowledge and "ownership" of the company's sales and marketing functions, and must be in the marketplace, in order to ensure the company's long-term success.  She educates our clients in ways to accomplish this, mindful that consistent growth drives value.

Patricia earned a BA in Business Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and has completed graduate studies toward an MS in Education at Canisius College.


Cindy Williams serves as a financial analyst in her primary function for our clients, in developing business valuations and financial assessments on the front end of our process of evaluating client needs.  However, true to the company's team spirit in drawing upon the best resources for each assignment, she can be called, and depended upon, to provide valuable assistance and advice in crafting solutions for clients' web-based sales and marketing, IT structuring, and organizational development needs. 

Cindy has a clear perspective of the myriad of our clients' challenges and opportunities, having owned and operated a wholesale organic food distribution company, and as president and financial officer of an organic food cooperative for 10 years.  She also has a toolbox of skills and knowledge gleaned from 18 years in management positions with IBM and Cornell University, as an instructor in Web-based Marketing in the SUNY system, and as a consultant developing retirement and financial plans for small private enterprises.

Cindy's natural warmth and curiosity are outward expressions of a unique blend of technical and financial acumen and innate interpersonal skills. She is highly relational; in her tenure with IBM, she functioned as a liason to management teams in streamlining processes and procedures to create efficiencies and improved return on investment in programs to enhance the sales and marketing functions, and in maintaining open lines of communication between the managers of converging departments.  On a personal note, she is the "go to" person neighbors always call upon to help to get their electronics up and running!  She has a passion for international business and travel, fueled by work-related experiences, her educational pursuits, and private study of language and world religions.

Cindy earned a BS in International Business and Finance from Ithaca College, and an MBA in Finance and Strategic Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology.  She currently lives in Southern California with her husband Karl.

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Claire Knowles is a Founding Partner of both Richard N. Knowles & Associates and The SOLiance Group. She is an experienced, knowledgeable Human Resource Management professional. Her approach to work is founded on her deep belief in the goodness of people. Openness, honesty and sense of fairness-combined with her instincts of what it takes to find the higher ground-have made her highly effective in this work. Since her retirement from a substantial career at DuPont Company, she has consulted with people in organizations in the United States, Australia and Canada, using the Self-Organizing Leadership approach to problem solving and organizational change efforts.

Claire embraces principle-based management practices and approaches the whole of human resource management from the perspective of living systems. She engages people in all parts of the system, by trying to gain clarity and a sense of purpose. She has shown an ability to build a sense of trust and confidence that enables the work to be done in a collaborative way-achieving the best possible outcomes.

During her 33-year career with DuPont, Claire gained practical experience in all aspects of human resource management-including Personnel Administration, Training & Development, Safety (she is an OSHA-certified safety training professional), Benefit Plan Administration, Labor Relations, Collective Bargaining and Industrial Relations. In addition she completed certification in Mediation, a course recognized by the New York State Unified Court System.

She earned her B.S. Degree in Business Management and Economics from the State University of New York, majoring in Human Resource Management and Labor Relations.


Richard Knowles is president of R.N. Knowles and Associates, and a founding Partner in The SOLiance Group. Their focus is in helping organizations become much more effective through the use of Self-Organizing Leadership ™. His work with teams at all levels in the organization helps to open up the energy and creativity of the people, leading to extraordinary improvements in all dimensions of performance. He has worked with teams in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK

Dick's work experience illustrates the breadth of his interest and expertise. He helped to lead a market development group in commercializing new products for DuPont. In 1976, he moved into plant manufacturing assignments at Repauno, NJ, Chambers Works, NJ (as Assistant Plant Manager), Niagara Falls, NY (Plant Manager, 8/83-3/87), Belle, WV (Plant Manager, 4/87-1/95).

In his final DuPont assignment in Wilmington, DE. Dick served as Director of Community Awareness, Emergency Response and Industry Outreach. In this work he was focused on helping to improve local sustainability with DuPont plants and communities. Dick was the 1992 Recipient of the DuPont Agricultural Products Crystal Award for the Championing of Human Potential. In 1995 he received the EPA Region III Chemical Emergency Planning and Preparedness Partnership Award and in 1996 he retired from DuPont.

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  Alice Wojcio, Principal Consultant at Advantage Training & Development, has more than fifteen years' experience in management, education, training, and coaching. While pursuing a master's degree in Computer Science and Systems Science, she provided applications training to over 4000 IBM employees. As an Information Systems manager for nine years, she was responsible for implementing an infrastructure and network system upgrade linking nine buildings. She led an organizational improvement team, served on the management development team, and gave presentations on organizational values, technology planning, and gender issues.

As a consultant, she facilitates customized programs in Effective Communication, Leadership Development, Trust, Conflict Resolution, Customer Service, Team Values, Workplace Frustration, and Career Transition, among others.

As a coach, Alice works with entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, and executive teams in the areas of leadership, work life balance, building trust, career development, career transition, and dealing with difficult people.

She is on the Executive Board of the Southern Tier Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), and Owego Business and Professional Women (BPW) and is a member of both the Broome County and the Tioga County Chambers of Commerce. She pursues her own professional development with attendance at national conferences, workshops and seminars, and through personal research.

Alice is the author of the handbook Every Conversation a Success! Tips and Tools for Improving Workplace Communication and is currently researching and writing a book on workplace trust.