---
title: "Our Team — Seven Specialists, One Plan | Exit Engine"
description: "Meet the Exit Engine team: M&A and QofE, operations, wealth, legal, due diligence, tax, and founder transition — one coordinated team on every engagement."
url: https://exit-engine.com/team.html
last_modified: 2026-09-10
---
# Specialists, working as one team.

Exit Engine's team is seven specialists — legal, tax, financial, operational, wealth, diligence, and founder-transition expertise — coordinated under one roof, working from one shared plan. No handoffs between advisory and brokerage.

1. Sell-Side Brokerage & QoE
2. Operations & Process
3. Wealth Management
4. Legal & Deal Structure
5. Due Diligence & AI Impact
6. Tax & Structuring
7. Owner Education & Founder Transition

One shared plan 0 handoffs

- ![BJ Thomson](https://exit-engine.com/assets/team-bj.jpg) · ## BJ Thomson, MBA, CM&AA · Sell-Side Brokerage & QoE · BJ is a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor and Managing Partner at Milestone Financial Engineers, which provides outsourced accounting and fractional CFO services across industries. Within M&A, his team specializes in buy- and sell-side Quality of Earnings reports, valuations, and industry benchmarking. BJ primarily manages the sell side of the brokerage — Market Value Analyses, QoE, CIM preparation, and key-point negotiation. · CM&AA · QofE · CIM · NEGOTIATION
- ![Dave Hinckley](https://exit-engine.com/assets/team-6.jpg) · ## Dave Hinckley · Operations & Process · Dave is an entrepreneur, business advisor, and the founder & CEO of Alloy Companies. He identifies operational inefficiencies and installs durable processes to close them, working across people, process, and profit. Dave believes in genuine win-wins and helps owners reach the operational potential — and the company value — that's actually available to them. · OPS STRATEGY · OS & ALIGNMENT · DASHBOARDS
- ![Jake Rust](https://exit-engine.com/assets/team-jake.jpg) · ## Jake Rust, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, CEPA® · Wealth Management · Jake is a Managing Partner at Hudson Oaks, a boutique wealth management firm. They prepare business owners for the influx of capital that comes from a sale — best-of-breed investment and trading strategies optimized for risk, cost, and tax. Most owners mishandle a windfall; Jake and his team help our clients navigate money and wealth thoughtfully. · WEALTH · LEGACY · TAX-EFFICIENT STRATEGY
- ![Josh Freeman](https://exit-engine.com/assets/team-josh.jpg) · ## Josh Freeman, JD · Legal & Deal Structure · Josh has an extensive background in entrepreneurship, M&A, and corporate legal matters. The entrepreneurial-focused business and real estate lawyers at Freeman Lovell give us a partner at the brokerage level. Josh prepares companies ahead of sale by structuring properly and mitigating legal issues — maximizing returns while minimizing risk. · DEAL STRUCTURE · IP · LEGAL DUE DILIGENCE
- ![Ryan Freeman](https://exit-engine.com/assets/team-ryan-f.jpg) · ## Ryan Freeman · Due Diligence & AI Impact · Ryan is a senior M&A paralegal who has worked the buyer and seller sides of transactions of all types and sizes. He leads Exit Engine's focus on the AI landscape — how AI is impacting, and will impact, company value, business operations, and M&A transactions — and translates that fast-moving picture into what it actually means for the value and sale of your business. · DUE DILIGENCE · AI IMPACT · DATA ROOM
- ![Ryan Rees](https://exit-engine.com/assets/team-ryan-r.jpg) · ## Ryan Rees, CPA · Tax & Structuring · Ryan is a Certified Public Accountant and Managing Partner at Hartle & Rees, specializing in tax compliance and consulting. At Exit Engine, he helps selling companies navigate the tax complexity of a sale. The work is intricate — pre-transaction planning has an outsized impact on after-tax proceeds and is costly when it's missed. You will want Ryan in your corner. · CPA · M&A TAX · STRUCTURING
- ![Spencer Wright](https://exit-engine.com/assets/team-spencer.jpg) · ## Spencer Wright · Owner Education & Founder Transition · Spencer is the founder of The Pod Mill, Utah's largest podcast network, and of the Founder's Therapy podcast — deep conversations on the psychology of building, leading, and letting go, which he brings to Exit Engine. Selling a business isn't just a transaction; it's an identity change. Spencer works the gap most M&A advisors leave open: the mindset, emotional readiness, and personal transition that decide whether an owner is truly ready to let go. · FOUNDER'S THERAPY · MINDSET · PERSONAL TRANSITION

Every Exit Engine engagement is staffed across these disciplines. You don't choose between an advisor or a broker — you get the team.