About
Kathleen Kelly is a Chicago business broker of the well-known Sunbelt - Chicago business brokerage company who helps people sell their business in Chicago, IL and nearest regions. Kathleen has over twenty years of business experience ranging from small business ownership, large corporate assignments, international and various functional disciplines. She began her career as a researcher at Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive recruiting firm. There she worked identifying target companies and individuals from a variety of industries and functional specialties for client assignments. One of her areas of expertise was identifying industry expertise executives to step in and manage firms acquired by venture capital portfolios. She left that firm to study business and work in Barcelona for a year. Upon her return, she joined the Richmark Group, a firm that specializes in business-to-business marketing and channel management consulting. All assignments were custom studies using in-depth qualitative and quantitative interviews with industry members. Client's ranged from Fortune 50 companies to start-ups to M&A firms needing additional resources in due diligence. A short list of industries studied includes: satellite phones, land mobile radio, plumbing tools, international freight forwarding, trucks, commercial printing, computer servers, food flavorings, materials handling equipment, and security and alarm systems. Kathleen was the international specialist at the firm where she managed in-country assignments in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, and Jordan. As Project Manager, she managed internal teams and sub-contractors both in the U.S. and abroad. Eight years ago Kathleen started her own retail business. The business quickly grew to one of the largest in Chicago as well as receiving attention from national magazines, citations in books and magazines as one of the best in the industry. Sharing a business with her sister, Kathleen's role was marketing and purchasing/merchandise mix. As a small business owner she selected locations, negotiated leases, bought commercial property and worked with banks on financing. Kathleen’s vast experience will be invaluable while helping people learn about buying a business, find a business and see them successfully purchase an opportunity and a future.