Wayne rivers is a family business expert, an extremely popular television and media consultant, and the author of The Top Nine Reasons Family Businesses Fail – And the Eight Building Blocks for Creating a SUSTAINABLE Closely Held Business.  His latest book, a follow-up on his highly successful previous offerings Prescriptions for a Healthy Family Business and You Don’t Have to Die to Win, Rivers builds on his life’s work of helping families and their businesses so they can better interrelate, operate more efficiently, and ultimately achieve breakthrough success.

Rivers knows first-hand what operating a successful family business means.  He has grown The Family Business Institute from a two man operation to a thriving professional consultancy. In 1995 he co-founded with his father-in-law the Family Business Institute.  The depth and breadth of his knowledge combined with his personal experience as a family business owner allow him to personally connect with business owners in a powerful and applicable way. He now devotes himself full-time to helping audiences understand the forces behind their family business distress and how to set things right – financially, operationally, and interpersonally.

Rivers offers life-changing advice on CNN, CNBC, and Retirement Living TV.  He has written dozens of articles for various magazines and trade publications (Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Smart Money, etc…), and produced an acclaimed quarterly newsletter, “Family Times,” for over ten years. He was also the host of "Family Business Doctor," a 1-hour program on closely held business issues which aired on the BusinessTalkRadio Network.

Rivers is the creator of GAMEPLAN™, a proven, comprehensive approach to family business planning that spans the entire analysis and implementation process from beginning to end.

He has also created the Performance Roundtable program in an effort to help CEOs and executives improve their businesses with the goals of making more money in less time with fewer headaches and higher quality of life. These programs enable business leaders to rise above day-to-day operational issues and reap the benefits of other members' seasoned experience, insights, and knowledge.