Distress, disruption, and economic swings sound frightening to business owners and shareholders. Ron Miller – Managing Director and lead for our Restructuring and Performance Improvement Practice, considers them a welcome challenge. This month’s Cascade Colleague brings unbridled enthusiasm and a wealth of knowledge to the practice, having personally owned and operated several businesses and through years of working with challenged organizations.

We recently asked Ron what he liked most about his current career. He shared, “I enjoy helping business owners and leaders face challenges, improve performance, save jobs, strengthen stakeholder relationships, and build enterprise value. The greater the challenge, the more satisfying the result.”

Investment banking isn’t Ron’s first career. Still, it became an obvious transition after almost three decades of leading or owning manufacturing businesses, in which he facilitated over a dozen M&A transactions on his own behalf.

Ron is a true team player, readily sharing his experience and knowledge with all of us. He also has the crucial talent for taking complex business situations and breaking them down into manageable solutions. Before joining Cascade Partners in early 2023, he founded BlueWater Partners in Grand Rapids, MI, in 2001.

A passionate advocate for ending child abuse and neglect for the past 30 years, Ron has raised funds for and served on several non-profit boards. .

When asked what advice he would give his younger self, Ron said, “Accept defeat and move on.”

He’s a member of the Turnaround Management Association, serves on the boards of two privately held companies, is always up for a round of golf, and has a wicked sense of humor!

His greatest joy in life? His wife and their 13 grandchildren.