2025 was a huge year for the Exit Planning Institute® (EPI). From an increase in new Certified Exit Planning Advisors (CEPA®) and team members to award-winning content and research that pushed the exit planning discussion forward, the organization elevated nearly every aspect of the business.
This year-in-review looks back at how EPI scaled its people, programs, and platform in 2025, and what that momentum means for advisors and business owners heading into 2026
New Faces and a New Place
As an organization, EPI has experienced tremendous growth over the last 13 years. In 2012, when Christopher and Scott Snider purchased the company, EPI had one employee. Since the start of 2022, EPI has added 30 new employees. In 2025, EPI experienced its most significant influx of talent, adding 16 new team members to support the exit planning community:
- India Brown, Fulfillment Manager
- Mackenzie Cook, Executive Assistant
- Rob DiFranco, Junior Copywriter
- Bridget Ebner, Business Development Manager
- Alexandra Gray, Fulfillment Coordinator
- Kara Guy, Business Development Manager
- Jazlyn Hernandez, Fulfillment Assistant
- Emily Hoffner, Account Manager
- Sophia Johnson, Employee Engagement Coordinator
- Sydney Leslie, Demand Generation Specialist
- Kaylie Norris, Marketing Coordinator
- Matiss Reineks, Member Experience Representative
- Maria Romano, Marketing Assistant
- Mark Schoppe, Senior Business Development Manager
- Anna Storms, Junior Graphic Designer
- Brian Willmott, EdD, Product Manager
To get to know our newest additions and our veteran team members, visit our About page and explore our newly updated staff bios.
To accommodate this new batch of team members, EPI needed a new space to call home. In early 2025, we relocated about 15 minutes east to our new headquarters, remaining within the Northeast Ohio region. Our new headquarters in Westlake, Ohio, is the perfect space to come together, collaborate, and grow as we look to the future.
New Research and Content
When EPI released its first State of Owner Readiness™ Report in 2013, it revealed that many business owners in the United States lacked adequate exit planning. Over the past decade-plus, with the support of CEPAs, owners have become better prepared than ever for their eventual business exits.
In 2025, EPI released its first Generational State of Owner Readiness™ Report, examining the 2023 National SOOR in greater detail to provide insights into how owners from different generations perceive exit planning.
This research revealed the difference in the importance of exit planning between Baby Boomers and Millennials.
EPI’s expansion continued over into the podcast realm as well. In addition to Exit Is Now: Plan Accordingly, hosted by EPI President Scott Snider, we launched a new podcast, Partners and Pours, hosted by EPI’s Director of Strategic Relationships, Josh Koza. In this new podcast, Josh sits with members of our partner network to discuss strategy and the methodology
In total, we released 28 podcast episodes in 2025, featuring a wide array of guests, ranging from 2025 Exit Planner of the Year Joe Seetoo to EPI employees, such as Director of Membership Drew English.
One of EPI’s newest initiatives was Annual Exit, a new magazine that spotlights not only the Peter Christman Exit Planner of the Year, but the hottest topics in the exit planning community. In 2025, topics covered included business owner mental health, debunking exit planning, and more.
The 2025 issue won the MarCom Awards Gold Award in 2025. This award celebrates the strategy, storytelling, design, and execution that went into bringing this year’s issue to life. To learn more about the 2026 issue of Annual Exit, stay tuned to the EPI blog and our social media accounts.
A Revamped Exit Planning Summit
The 2025 Exit Planning Summit in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, brought members of the EPI community together, delivering best-in-class education and ample networking opportunities
In 2025, the Exit Planning Summit focused on helping CEPAs better connect with their business owner clients through the Value Acceleration Methodology™. In addition to returning favorites like the “Mastering the Triggering Event” workshop taught by EPI CEO Christopher Snider, we introduced new events, including an Advanced Tax Planning workshop led by Joe Strazzeri and Shelley Lightfoot.
NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson was among the keynote speakers at the Exit Planning Summit, coinciding with EPI’s partnership with Legacy Motor Club and the No. 42 car driven during the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Nashville Superspeedway on June 1, 2025.
In conjunction with this partnership, EPI released the Tennessee State of Owner Readiness Report Survey, which indicated that a younger demographic is represented among business owners in Tennessee, with Gen X and Millennials accounting for more than half of the respondents.
Looking to the Future
Heading into the new year, EPI aims to continue its momentum and growth. To help enter 2026 with a cohesive plan, we gathered our Exit Planning Summit sponsors and community VIPs for our first EPI Vision & Alignment Collaborative. This meeting, held at EPI headquarters in October, strengthened partnerships and brought new ideas to foster growth in the exit planning community.
Want to get involved with us in 2026? Consider joining us on April 19-21 in Nashville, Tennessee, as we celebrate the exit planning community at the 2026 Exit Planning Summit. To see the agenda and learn how to register, visit ExitPlanningSummit.com.
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