Chairman
Kenneth Serwinski co-founded Prairie Capital Advisors with Robert Gross in 1996 after the pair of industry veterans recognized a universally under served need for objective financial advisory consultation for closely-held businesses. Currently, he serves as Chairman of Prairie’s Board of Directors and is a shareholder in the firm. Ken has dedicated his vast experience to providing closely-held companies with the guidance and expertise needed for some of their most critical business decisions. He continues to grow Prairie’s reputation as a widely-respected firm of its kind, designing, structuring and implementing customized ownership transition strategies, including private sales, management buyouts (MBOs), employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and more, for businesses nationwide.
As a lifelong educator and respected industry expert, Ken is widely published in a variety of formats and is a frequent speaker around the nation on subjects including valuation, ESOPs and ownership transition planning. Notably, he co-authored Making Sense of Your New ESOP: A Leader’s Guide. Whether sitting across the table from clients or speaking at workshops and seminars, he strives to ensure business owners have the complete, accurate information they need for confident decision-making. Ken is on fiduciary boards of five private companies and an advisory board of a 2nd/3rd generation family business – a service provider to the life sciences industry, a healthcare solutions provider, a billion-dollar+ bank, a general contractor and design builder, an IT Services provider to the retail industry and a wholesale supplier for commercial plumbing, mechanical contracting, industrial repair and manufacturing. Ken is a current member and past chair of the Advisory Committee on Finance, and he is a past delegate to the Interdisciplinary Committee of Fiduciary Issues for The ESOP Association in Washington, D.C. In 2020, Ken was inducted into the ESOP Advisor Hall of Fame by ESOPMarketplace.com.
Corporate Directorships:
Prior to forming Prairie, Ken was a Senior Vice President at Merrill Lynch Business Advisory Services, where he initiated its succession planning strategy, was responsible for the management of Merrill Lynch’s middle market investment banking business development staff and headed the ESOP Advisory Group. In this executive role, he coordinated all private company mergers and acquisitions (M&A), ESOP and valuation assignments on a nationwide basis. Before joining Merrill Lynch, he held various corporate and commercial finance positions for ABN LaSalle National Bank, Chemical Bank and Société Générale, a French bank.
Ken received his Master of Business Administration degree in International Business from DePaul University in Chicago. He also received his Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce, with a concentration in Finance, from DePaul University.
