Kelly O. Finnell, J.D., CLU, AIF®, is one of the nation’s premier ESOP and Ownership Succession Planning consultants and one of the most sought-after speakers on this subject. He has spoken at more than 200 conferences and meetings throughout the U.S. and in London, England, and Sydney, Australia, and has published numerous articles on the use of ESOPs in Ownership Succession Planning. Kelly has spent his entire professional career (more than 35 years) helping small to midsize business owners design and execute succession strategies and ESOPs.

Kelly is a member of the Business Enterprise Institute (BEl), the nation’s leading organization of Exit Planning professionals; the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and The ESOP Association.

Kelly graduated from the University of Memphis (magna cum laude) and from its Law School, where he was published in the Law Review, served as Chief Justice of the Moot Court Board, received the American Jurisprudence Award for Equitable Remedies, was the recipient of the Judge John D. Martin Scholarship and was named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. Kelly has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary- professional designation, awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, which is associated with the University of Pittsburgh.

Kelly has served in leadership roles in numerous professional and community activities, including: President of the Memphis Chapter of the Society of Financial Services Professionals, Vestry Member and Treasurer of his church, President of Family Services of Memphis, as a member of the Board of Directors of Renasant Bank and of the Economic Club of Memphis and on the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Christian Brothers University School of Business.