Biography of Harvey Wigder
After a corporate career with that included executive Human Resource Management positions at Chase Manhattan Bank and American Express Corporation, Harvey left corporate life in 1986 to form a firm to consult to single owner and family managed businesses.
Up until this year, Harvey’s firm was called Fulcrum Executive Search. Search industry statistics show that about half of senior placements failed, mostly because of poor cultural fit. Harvey assumed that the cause of failure was as likely the owner not being ready to delegate as a lack of skill or motivation on the part of the person placed. If the owner was willing to examine and make changes in his or her behavior to make the investment in a new executive successful, Harvey gave a no questions asked, full year replacement guarantee and provided coaching throughout the integration process.
When Harvey became active in the Exit Planning Exchange, he immediately grasped the mental and emotional readiness parallels between what he was doing in search and the emotional and mental issues facing a transitioning owner. He was attracted to the work of the Successful Transition Planning Institute in facilitating exit strategies. He first did his own Transition Plan with Jack Beauregard (resulting in his move from Boston to Maryland) and then was trained by Jack to become the Institute’s first certified Transition Consultant. He has made Transition Consulting a focus of his practice, changing the name of his company to Fulcrum Transitions.
Harvey is active in the exit planning and family businesses spaces. He is President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Exit Planning Exchange and on the Board of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Family Firm Institute.