Rich Russakoff is an internationally acclaimed business coach, speaker, author, and serial entrepreneur. President and CEO of ‘Coach to The Best’, Rich is sought after by CEOs and entrepreneurs all over the world (www.coachtothebest.com). Rich’s entrepreneurial career began in the early 70s as co-founder of R&R Junction, an artisanal gift shop on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. When Rich sold R&R a decade later, he became interested in how businesses changed hands and joined VR Business brokers where he became one of the nations top M&A specialists. With this solid foundation under his belt, Rich launched his own Business Coaching career. This led to him becoming a Senior Consultant for INC Magazine’s consulting division. His coaching successes include 7 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and over 100 wins of the INC. 5000 award. Rich is always in demand as a speaker, presenting as a featured speaker for INC Magazine Conferences, the Fortune Growth Summit, The International Franchise Association, and at over 100 other entrepreneurial conferences and workshops throughout the world. He has also been a member of faculty on the Entrepreneurial Masters Program at MIT for the past 20 years. The author of How to Make Banks Compete to Lend You Money, and the chapter on bank financing in Verne Harnish’s NYT’s bestselling book Rockefeller Habits, Rich’s articles have appeared in CBS “Moneywatch,” CNN’s “Ask the Expert,” and the Austin Business Journal. Rich lives in Chapel Hill, NC with his wife and business partner, Maureen “Moe” McBride.