"I attend a fair amount of networking events.  This Women in Family Business was one of the best I've ever been to! I'm a big fan of the speaker, Susan Dench anyway, but wanted you to know I loved the energy and what we learned!"
- Kimberley C. Kalicky, Assistant Vice President - Operations, R.M. Davis, Inc.


Advisory Board of Directors

John Beauregard, Beauregard Equipment
A graduate of Champlain College, John and his brother Carl now run their family business. Beauregard Equipment was founded in 1968 by Bob Beauregard, as a Family-Owned and Operated business, providing construction equipment products and support services. Groomed from childhood and cross-trained in sales and rentals, service and parts, John can answer most questions on the spot. The company has full service locations in Colchester, VT; Concord, NH and Bangor, Caribou & Scarborough, ME. Together, the brothers share a memory of Beauregard Equipment, maintain its character and values, and are proud to see it flourish in their generation. As they grow, they pass on their knowledge and family values to all employees who in turn, carry the personal Beauregard touch to all of their customers. As a family-owned and operated business, they put people before their machines, literally.



Theresa Cloutier, DMM, Inc.
Theresa is a Managing Partner with two sibling’s partners at DMM, Inc. a privately held manufacturing company her father founded in 1983 based in Scarborough, ME. The company specializes in digital document and direct marketing solution’s and in 2010 was named a Xerox Global Service Provider. Theresa is responsible for the marketing and customer experience as well as board governance. She has a BA in Psychology and Marketing from the University of Southern Maine and a Master’s in Educational Psychology from Boston College. Theresa was recently named the 2015 recipient of the Crystal & Company FFI GEN Scholarship in Family Business from The Family Firm Institute in Boston. A graduate of USM’s FastTrack Program for entrepreneurs, she also serves on the board of the New England Direct Marketing Association and a member of the MyPlaceTeen’s 500 Club.



Janet Cole Cross, Career Coach for the Next Generation, Cole Cross Connections, LLC
Janet is passionate about advocating for and mentoring the Next Generation (young people of all ages) to help them develop and reach their personal career goals. For all students she helps them to connect to job shadows, internships and community service experiences. Within family businesses, she works with the next generation to mentor and guide them to advocate for themselves in their personal career journeys. She brings a unique career path that includes working for a large corporation; then entering her own family's business, as a third generation Owner/Executive and Consulting family businesses. She was a founding Board member of the IFOB and has been involved since its inception in 1994. Recently, she created and facilitates 3 Peer Advisory Groups where the Next Generation learn and grow from each other. 



Maddy Corson, AMG Associates
Maddy Corson is known for actively working to preserve the unique legacies of family-owned businesses. As the Chairman and Publisher of the former Guy Gannett Communications, a Portland-based, family-owned media company, Maddy successfully translated into business the skills she had gained from her extensive leadership work for Maine non-profits. After fifteen years of service to the Institute board, Maddy enjoys being on the Advisory Board.



Maureen Costello Wedge, Quad Group

Maureen Costello Wedge is a partner at Quad Group with over thirty years of successful experience in family business management.  Maureen’s passion for family business can be traced back to her early life experiences visiting her Dad at the newspaper and being in awe of the massive printing presses.   As a fourth-generation owner and operator of Sun Media Group, Maureen led the creation of a positive workplace culture, reorganizing the business of a maturing industry, working through the crisis management plan after the patriarch’s passing and the transition of the business through a successful sale of the company.  Maureen specializes in human resources, family governance structures, employee relations, performance management and facilitation.  She has been extensively involved in creating and instituting an outside board of director’s, family participation guidelines, rules for conflict management, defining roles and responsibilities, developing compensation strategies, crisis management and strategic planning.  


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In Memory of Harry Fraser, 1952-2021
For the full obituary click here

Harry was the President of The H.G. Fraser Group, LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in helping businesses move to the next level. Previously Harry held the positions of: CEO of Alcom, LLC, a premier trailer manufacturer headquartered in Winslow, ME; CEO of Johnny’s Selected Seeds, a 100% employee-owned company headquartered in Maine; CEO for Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers of Auburn, ME; Manufacturing Plant Manager of an $800M business segment of Digital Equipment Corporation in Augusta, ME. 

He always had a passion for family-owned businesses and was a student of ESOP’S. He sat on the Board of Directors for a number of employee-owned and family-owned businesses. He was also the past chair of the IFOB and was most recently on our Advisory Board. The IFOB Board recently honored him with the 2nd Annual BerryDunn Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Maine Family Business Awards this past October. He was an amazing man and he'll be forever missed.


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Thomas Hussey, Hussey Seating Company
Thomas Hussey is the Perma National Sales Manager and part of the sixth generation ownership of Hussey Seating Company, which was founded in 1835 and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of spectator seating. Thomas came to work at Hussey Seating Company in 1997 after working in the financial industry and management of sports arenas. In his 21 years at Hussey Seating Company, he has gained extensive knowledge of managing a family business and how it differs from other businesses. 


John Isaacson, Lee Auto Malls
John A. Isaacson, past chair of the board of directors of IFOB, is the CEO, an equity partner and a board member of Lee Auto Malls. He started with the company as a salesperson in 1983 and held various management positions within the company before obtaining his current position in 1996. John has held a variety of leadership roles, including board chair and chair of numerous key committees, for St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston. He also serves on the boards of directors of Community Clinical Services; Covenant Health Systems (board chair); Greater Atlantic Insurance Company; Key Royal Insurance; Covenant Health Systems Insurance Limited and is a founding trustee of the Maine Auto Dealers Health Insurance Trust. John grew up in Lewiston, Maine, where his family has lived for over 115 years. He is a 1980 graduate of Lewiston High School and a 1984 graduate of Dartmouth College (cum laude). He lives in Cumberland, Maine with his wife and 2 children. To learn more about John click here. 



John Lemieux,  Anton/LeMieux Financial Group
John LeMieux, principal and cofounder of Anton LeMieux Financial Group, has over 25 years' experience guiding clients through the complex world of financial planning and investing. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, a Certified Investment Management Analyst™, and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™. John's experiences as an entrepreneur, a financial planner, and investment advisor, as well as a college basketball coach, have combined to give him insight into the needs of the individuals, families, family-owned businesses, and nonprofit organizations that he serves. 




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Colleen McCracken, CLMC Business Advisors

After many years working for large public companies, Colleen has been fortunate to spend 26 years working as a non-family member President and CEO of two well-known family businesses in Maine, Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers and Planet Dog. In these leadership roles, Colleen successfully oversaw all functional aspects of the business as well as developed the future growth plans for business success. With a strong financial acumen, Colleen led the successful implementation of several ERP systems as well as a "lean manufacturing" program at Thos. Moser.

Colleen also successfully led Planet Dog through a significant growth period from 2013-2018 resulting in a 75% improvement in bottom line results. From 2018-2019, Colleen completed the sale and transition of both the Planet Dog Wholesale and Retail businesses to a private equity firm. Desiring to share her expertise and work experiences with many other companies, Colleen became a private Strategic Business Advisor in 2019. Colleen has served as Board member and Board Chair for the Institute for Family-Owned Business for many years and currently serves on its Advisory Board.   Colleen also serves as a member of CEO Central, a group she helped create with Tim Hussey.  As a strong advocate for education, Colleen also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board for Junior Achievement of Maine.  





Francis J. O'Shea, CPA/ABV, CVA, Hunts Point Advisors

Francis O'Shea worked as a tax principal with the accounting and business consulting firm of BerryDunn.  Over his 35 year career, Frank has counseled many closely-held and family business clients on the technical and non-technical issues related to income and estate tax planning, as well as business succession and valuation.  Formerly a Principal with Cloudhawk Management Consultants, LLC and a tax partner with Coopers & Lybrand, LLP, he brings a broad perspective to assisting his clients in successfully developing and implementing tax savings strategies and plans for the transition of their business enterprises.


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