William Wu, CPA, has been a member of AM&AA Houston chapter for almost four years, and on the Executive Committee for two years. He currently serves as the Membership Chair. He is currently a Global Enterprise Partner at ERA Group.
How long have you been a member of AM&AA, and what leadership roles have you held?
I have been a member of the Houston chapter for almost 4 years, and I was invited to join the Executive Committee 2 years ago. I was asked to serve as the Membership Chair, and I have held that role the entire time.
What drives your passion for your work and the M&A industry?
A transaction event is an exciting time and so much goes into the process for all parties involved. I enjoy the challenges of playing a part to help maximize transaction value. As an advisor, you always want to deliver value to clients, and our work allows us to quantify that value. And if we don’t deliver value, we aren’t paid any fees.
What’s one piece of advice you wish you had when starting out?
Get involved early and build your network. AM&AA Houston has grown significantly in the past two years, and we seek out good people to join the chapter. Additionally, we launched a Young Professionals group in the past year with the sole purpose of helping those earlier in their career get connected with others in the field.
What’s top of mind in your business right now?
How do you know if your company is leaving money on the table with your suppliers? Would you want to know? We provide cost intelligence to answer that question and then engage with our focused knowledge of the market to secure the best possible pricing and terms in over 60 different cost categories with spend data being captured in over 50 different countries for thousands of clients. The uncertainty of tariffs have caused many businesses to consider alternative strategies to manage their overall cost structure. For companies who are focused on maximizing EBITDA, we should be on the short list of advisors to be called for help. As a former shareholder of a services firm, I know there are areas that are often overlooked or not worth the time to properly investigate.
How has AM&AA membership supported your professional growth?
I joined AM&AA thinking I could be a go-to advisor to maximize transaction value for sellers or to increase enterprise value for the buyer post-transaction. Though most attendees at the conferences are focused on deal flow, my objective is to only to build connections to try to become a trusted resource. My business has grown solely from referrals, and AM&AA plays a part in that. I have also truly enjoyed helping grow the AM&AA Houston chapter with the rest of our fantastic EC members.
What kind of legacy or impact do you hope to leave on the industry?
I don’t have that aspiration. I simply want to be known by anyone I meet as someone they can trust (and enjoy working with) and there is no greater professional compliment than when given a referral. It’s my job (and obligation) to deliver on that trust.
