Our Team

Built for the Lower
Middle Market.

Three senior advisors with complementary expertise — legal, transactional, and operational — working together on every engagement. Whether you're acquiring a business or preparing to sell one, you get the full team, not a junior associate.

BEN
CALKINS

Founding Partner

Ben Calkins is one of Northeast Ohio's most recognized business attorneys, with a career spanning four decades. Ben graduated with honors from Harvard College before earning his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. After a Federal judicial clerkship, he joined Squire Patton Boggs before founding The Calkins Law Firm. At Fast Forward Business Advisors, Ben leads every client-facing relationship from the initial consultation through closing.

Credentials & Recognition

  • Harvard College

    Honors Graduate

  • University of Michigan Law School

  • Federal Judicial Clerkship

  • Squire Patton Boggs

    Partner

  • Avvo Perfect 10

    Fewer than 1% of U.S. attorneys

  • Martindale-Hubbell Client Distinction Award

  • Super Lawyer

    Multiple Years

  • Co-founder, Center for Free Enterprise

  • Co-founder, North Coast Angel Fund

  • Former President

    Harvard Club of Northeast Ohio

  • Former President

    Ohio Venture Association

BRAD
CALKINS

Managing Partner

Technology & Deal Infrastructure

Brad Calkins designed FFBA's operational platform from the ground up — the AI-assisted deal management system, the buyer-matching engine, and the demand generation infrastructure that drives deal flow on both sides of the market. A Harvard Economics graduate, Brad spent 15 years in enterprise technology before building FFBA's proprietary deal infrastructure. He manages all marketing, technology, and operations for the firm, and leads the structured off-market search program for buy-side clients.

GARY
BURDEN

Managing Director

Deal Execution & Exit Planning

Gary Burden brings a discipline to deal execution that is rare in the business brokerage industry — and that traces directly to his background. A West Point graduate with a degree in Systems Engineering, Gary served as an Airborne Ranger before building a career at the intersection of financial planning and business transition advisory. Gary founded Financial Stewardship Group in 2007 and closed four business sales in his first eighteen months as an independent advisor. He holds the Certified Financial Planning designation and is a lifelong Ohio resident. At FFBA, he manages the sell-side engagement process from signed agreement through closing.

Get in touch

Forty years of expertise. Modern process.

Forty years of expertise. Modern process.

                                                                                                                                                        

An exit on your terms.

An exit on your terms.

Schedule a Consultation
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