Meet Our Team

Mike Derrick

 

Mike Derrick is the principal and managing director of VR Business Brokers located in Austin, Texas.   Upon graduation from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 Mike joined an international oil and gas firm in Houston Texas and continued to serve the oil and gas sector through 1997 in various accounting and finance capacities.  In 1998 Mike returned to Austin Texas as Controller and Treasurer for the country’s largest supplier of ad specialty and promotional products.  Mike was a key member of its Mergers & Acquisitions team. 

 

Being mindful of the opportunities to represent the rapidly growing small to mid-market sector of Austin and Central Texas and eager to pursue an entrepreneurial path, Mike opened the Austin office of VR Business Brokers in 2004.  Mike is a Certified Business Broker (CBI) and Board Certified Broker (BCB) and also holds both a Texas Securities License and Real Estate License.  He is also a member of the International Business Brokers Association and the Texas Association of Business Brokers. 

 

 

Wayne is a Director in the office of VR Business Brokers located in Austin Texas and has a career that includes a position as CFO of Occidental’s North Sea Operations.  As a divisional CFO, Wayne was a key member of Occidental’s team and was actively engaged in many mergers and acquisitions. Having resided abroad for many years, Wayne returned to Austin Texas and founded a Stone Mining & Masonry Company serving high end residential markets and quickly grew the business to be the largest in Central Texas.  Wayne sold the company in 2005.  As the oil and gas industry experienced a renewed focus Wayne was approached by educational institutions to participate in oil and gas academic programs and remains active in this arena while also representing business owners tied to the oil and gas industry.   

 

Managing Member

 

Alison Preslar began her tenure in the Austin office of VR Business Brokers and VR Mergers & Acquisitions as the Director of Marketing.  Her strong aptitude for marketing, combined with her analytical skills made her an excellent Intermediary candidate, a position she readily embraced. Furthermore, her background in the hospitality industry has also proven to be a tremendous asset in a high customer service level approach to business. 

 

Alison brings a refreshingly unique viewpoint to the business brokerage industry backed by a high level of energy and tenacity greatly respected by many clients. Alison strictly adheres to her guiding principles of honesty, integrity, confidentiality and compassion.  Her goal is to offer world class brokerage services to companies under the most demanding deadlines and exceed expectations.

 

Alison is actively involved in the community and is a prominent member of the Austin Cosmopolitan Rotary Club.  She sits on the board for both the ACRC and the Austin Chapter of the Texas Association of Business Brokers.  In her spare time, she enjoys refurbishing her home, spending time with family, and playing with her yellow Labrador, Micah.

 

 

Many business brokers share a history that includes business ownership.  Gary’s background includes endeavors ranging from retail food service business to aerospace machining, tooling and fabrication. Gary, as a director of the VR Business Brokers’ office located in Austin, Texas, has also held key positions in the corporate world.  Gary is a member of the International Business Brokers Association holding the Certified Business Broker certification (CBI) and is also a member of the Texas Association of Business Brokers.  Gary holds a Bachelors Degree in Business from Michigan State University.  

 

Terry Hutchens

 

Terry had 10 years experience with Arthur Andersen and Coopers & Lybrand before opening his own CPA firm.  This experience served as a platform for a subsequent venture in the financial services industry including the facilitation and brokering of financing programs for Fortune 500 companies such as Dell, Gateway and Micron.  Terry, as a director of the VR Business Brokers’ office in Austin, Texas, has more than 30 years experience in the financial services industry and this experience has been invaluable when advising clients in business structure and exit strategy.  Terry is a native of Austin, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.  Terry is a member of the Texas Association of Business Brokers.