Freeborn Partner Michael D. Whitty Elected President of Attorneys for Family Held Enterprises

CHICAGO, IL – At its most recent Board of Directors conference call, Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises (“AFHE”) elected Michael D. Whitty (of Freeborn & Peters LLP in Chicago, IL), previously its Vice-President and Treasurer, as President of the organization. Laura Wartner (of Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP in Atlanta, GA)  was elected Vice-President, Emmanuel “Manny” Fournaris (of Gordon, Fournaris & Mammarella, PA in Wilmington, DE) was elected Treasurer, and David Burleigh (of The Family Enterprise Office, LLC and Buechner Haffer Meyers and Koenig Co., LPA in Cincinnati, OH) was re-elected as Secretary. 

“I would like to thank our outgoing president, Andrew Karlen, for his leadership, commitment, and tenacity during his tenure, during which AFHE faced three major challenges, the most recent being having to cancel our 2020 Annual Conference due to the COVID-19 breakout,” Whitty said. “I would also like to thank our Board of Directors for their efforts, guidance, and wisdom, and our Executive Director Denise Downing for providing excellent support as well as advice from her service for other organizations.”

Michael Whitty is a Partner in Freeborn’s Corporate Practice Group. He concentrates his practice in estate planning, taxation, and estate and trust administration. Michael represents business owners, principals of venture capital and private equity funds, key executives, investors, and other high-net-worth individuals in planning for the preservation and transfer of their wealth

Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises (AFHE) is an international organization with a mission and commitment to be the leading resource for the on-going advancement, collaboration and education of practicing attorneys and other professionals who provide multi-disciplinary counsel to family-held enterprises.  AFHE holds a spring Annual Conference and a fall Mid-Year Conference for continuing education, idea sharing, and thought leadership.  To learn more about the organization, visit https://afhe.com/.