Over the last few years, I have watched with growing interest as several of my long-time friends and colleagues have sold their companies, hung up their skates and taken up their spot on the porch rocking chair. At the same time, I am often asked an awkward question – what happens to AGS if you get hit by the beer truck? It is a good question because often a relatively small business like ours is closely identified with its founder. Entering into a long-term data supplier relationship with a company whose founder is nearing their best before date can appear risky.

I am now just shy of my 65^th trip around the sun, a condition that I call being ‘senior citizen adjacent’, and I am happy to say that rather than just playing ostrich, we have been proactive. Beyond checking both ways for beer trucks and those horrid electric bicycles before crossing the street, we have recently implemented a transition plan.

Just to be clear: I may be now slightly out of warranty, but I still enjoy playing hockey and am at the top of my game. To continue with the analogy, I have no intention of hanging up my skates but at the same time, I don’t want to play so many shifts every game and am happy to ride the bench from time to time. But I also recognize that the time will come that the team is either better off without me or I didn’t see the beer truck coming, and we – AGS – need to be completely prepared for that.

Our plan is simple – transfer ownership over time to a select group of employees in a manner which doesn’t burden them or the company with debt. It is ten-year plan aimed at dislodging from my brain the accumulated details of forty years in this business while continuing to innovate and develop the AGS brand. If and when I find a rocking chair comfortable enough to sit in, AGS will be positioned to retain its hard won position in the industry as the leader in innovation, data quality, and customer service. And if everything goes according to plan, our users and partners will barely recognize that the transition has occurred.

After nearly thirty years as a sole proprietor, my new co-owners are – in order of when they joined AGS — Matt Needham, Elyse Robinson, and Mike Christenson. Each brings a unique set of skills essential for AGS in the long run and together they make an unbeatable team.

Matt is the premiere small area demographer on this continent. As many know, he has been with AGS for nearly twenty years and for most of that time, my role in building the core demographics databases has been limited to comments and suggestions, most of which Matt gleefully (and wisely) ignored. In other words, we began this transition years ago, and in the event of an emergency, there is no need to panic, let alone break the glass.

Elyse, over the past five years, has been phenomenal in transforming AGS from a nerdy company that didn’t understand the concept of marketing to one which is top of mind in the industry. And – spoiler alert – is currently spearheading our rebranding and web modernization project that will be unveiled in just a few weeks. I would say this even if she wasn’t my daughter: she has brought order into our nerdy chaos and relentlessly pushes the AGS brand.

Mike is a rare gem who combines a deep understanding of the role of demographics in real estate analytics with people skills and business sense that the rest of us simply marvel at. He is without doubt one of the most highly respected voices in our industry, and these days there is nothing in my work week that I like better than being Mike’s sidekick in the sales process.

Our success in recent years – doubling our revenue in just a few years – was possible only by the addition of Elyse and Mike to the longstanding Matt and Gary show. Together, this leadership team will continue to lead and transform the industry with product innovation and an unwavering dedication to quality and service.

And when the time comes, I will plunk my backside into that rocking chair knowing that AGS is in secure hands, but until then, I hear that 65 is the new 50. My brain believes it but my knees and back remain skeptical, and I really did think I would somehow be more mature by this point.