Guillermo Birmingham
Guillermo Birmingham
Baru Exit Partners
7918 Jones Branch Dr, 4th Floor #418, McLean VA 22102
Biographical Info
Guillermo Birmingham is the founder of Baru Exit Partners, an independent advisory firm helping owners of privately held businesses understand, build, and realize the value of what they have built. Baru brings enterprise value growth and M&A advisory under one roof, guiding owners from an early, honest read of what their business is worth through preparation and, when the time is right, the transaction itself. One advisor, from first assessment to close, with the owner's confidentiality protected at every step.
Guillermo's focus is the question most owners cannot answer on their own: what is my business worth to a buyer today, what could it be worth prepared, and what will it take to close that gap. He works with owners well before a sale to build value deliberately over time, so that whatever they decide, they decide from a position of strength.
Guillermo has over 35 years of experience across financial and operational leadership in the private sector, nonprofits, government, and United Nations organizations. That breadth lets him advise on the full range of challenges business owners face, not just the transaction at the end.
Guillermo is a highly decorated retired US Air Force Colonel with postings throughout the world. He was personally recognized for outstanding performance and, as a squadron commander, led two separate organizations to earn global recognition as best across the USAF, each winning the Major General Eugene A. Eubank Award. Prior to retirement, he served as Chief Financial Officer of a $2 billion per year global operation focused on the quality of life of the Air Force community.
Since leaving the military in 2008, Guillermo served for 3.5 years as Director of Administration of the World Health Organization's Americas Region, overseeing Finance, Information Technology, Procurement, and Human Resources; as Senior Vice President at Global Communities; and as a partner in a nationwide CFO services firm. As Regional Leader of the DC, VA, and MD territory for B2B CFO, the largest CFO services firm in the United States, he worked with an owner who had received offers around $2 million for his business. Over the next 3.5 years, Guillermo helped him build enterprise value and prepare for sale, and the company sold for $23 million, more than eleven times the owner's original offers. Helping owners prepare their businesses to command more and higher offers has been his focus ever since.
Guillermo is also an advocate for those who need social, legal, or financial assistance, and has been appointed to many boards, commissions, and committees throughout his career. He served two consecutive terms on the Audit Committee of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Geneva, Switzerland; as Board Treasurer of Ayuda Inc., a Washington-based nonprofit providing legal and social services to immigrant communities in the DC metro area; and as Board Chairman of Express Microfinanzas SAS, a Bogota, Colombia microfinance institution, where he oversaw the sale of the company to a larger firm entering the Colombian market.
Guillermo holds a Master of Science in Professional Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Global Management Accountant, Certified Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor, and Certified Exit Planning Advisor. He is a native Spanish speaker.