Independent advisory for high-net-worth individuals and business owners. We bring structure, strategy, and discretion to your most important negotiations.
Confidential Consultation
Structured Decision-Making: We bring clarity to chaos. Using proven frameworks, we break down complex situations into clear, manageable decisions. At every step, you’ll know your options and the risks and rewards of each choice. This structured approach means you’re never making a blind leap; every decision is informed and deliberate. In high-stakes negotiations – whether selling a business or dividing assets – this rigorous clarity protects your interests and helps eliminate second-guessing.
Communication Planning: In critical negotiations, how and when you communicate can be as important as what you say. We develop a careful communication plan for your situation, mapping out the timing, tone, and content of each message or proposal. By planning your communications, we reduce the chance of missteps or emotional outbursts and ensure your message lands properly with the other party. The result is a more controlled negotiation process where you set the pace and narrative, rather than reacting to events.
Advisor Alignment: Big negotiations often involve a team – lawyers, financial advisors, accountants, sometimes family members or business partners. We make sure everyone is pulling in the same direction. Ramsden Consulting acts as a coordinating hub among your advisors, aligning legal strategy with financial insight and personal priorities. We facilitate confidential, behind-the-scenes collaboration so that your attorney, banker, or any other expert is on the same page about your goals and strategy. This prevents conflicting advice and streamlines the entire process. With your team aligned, you can move forward confidently, knowing that all angles are covered cohesively.
Complex Divorce Settlements: When a marriage entwines a closely held business, layered finances, or parenting stakes, the negotiation is no longer a simple asset split—it becomes a multi-layered decision process that will shape wealth, control, and family life for years to come. Our job is to bring a quiet, strategic lens to that complexity. Working strictly behind the scenes, we build a step-by-step plan for valuations, equity or trust questions, and parenting-time proposals. Every conversation is mapped in advance, every advisor aligned, and every detail handled with discretion. The result: a durable agreement that safeguards the enterprise you built and the children you love—without the prolonged conflict that can erode both.
Business Sales & Acquisitions: Guiding owners through the sale of a company or acquisition of a new venture. We help you negotiate deal terms that maximize value and minimize disruption. From preparing for due diligence to final purchase agreements, we ensure the process remains confidential and strategic. (For example, selling a family business to a larger competitor or negotiating the sale of a startup to an investor – we manage the behind-the-scenes strategy so you secure the outcome you want without unnecessary publicity or conflict.)
Partnership Exits & Buyouts: Helping partners disengage on amicable and fair terms. Whether you’re a co-founder exiting a tech firm or a stakeholder in a family enterprise looking to be bought out, we facilitate a smooth negotiation. Our approach protects relationships and the business’s continuity. We clarify buyout valuations, plan the messaging to employees or other partners, and coordinate with legal counsel to finalize agreements quietly and efficiently.
Executive Compensation & Transitions: Navigating high-level employment negotiations, from CEO contracts to executive exit packages. We assist executives (and business owners hiring or parting with them) in structuring compensation packages, equity grants, or severance deals. Our involvement ensures that sensitive discussions about salary, stock options, non-competes, or golden parachutes remain constructive. We map out negotiation strategies that respect both the executive’s contributions and the organization’s constraints, often finding creative solutions that satisfy both sides.
High-Asset Divorce Settlements: Providing strategic guidance in personal negotiations such as complex divorces or separations involving substantial assets. When a marriage dissolves and millions are at stake, emotions run high – but our role is to bring calm perspective. We work alongside your divorce attorney (without replacing them) to plan negotiation strategy for property division, business interests, trusts, or child settlement terms. The goal is to secure a fair, workable agreement while preserving your privacy and dignity. We emphasize civility and foresight, helping you avoid protracted battles so you can move forward on solid footing.
High-Asset Divorce with Dignity: After 15 years of marriage, Rachel must untangle a closely held family business, layered investments, and parenting arrangements for two teenagers. We begin by helping her sort true non-negotiables—maintaining controlling interest in the company and preserving stable time with her children—from elements she can trade, such as a vacation property or excess liquidity. Together we script each conversation with her spouse and advisers, schedule valuations in the right sequence, and keep counsel, CPA, and parenting coordinator moving in lockstep. The result is a discreet, quietly signed settlement that secures the enterprise she built, protects her children’s routines, and stays entirely out of public view.
Selling the Family Business: John founded a Midwest manufacturing company and now wants to retire. Our work with owners like John starts by clarifying priorities beyond price—legacy, employee security, confidentiality—then shaping a communication plan so every disclosure to the buyer is timed and intentional. By keeping his attorney and CPA fully aligned, John moves through diligence with calm leverage and exits on terms that protect both wealth and reputation.
Exiting a Partnership Amicably: Sophia is a departing co-founder of a private-equity firm. We map the valuation, notice period, and transition messaging before a single announcement is made. With a structured decision list and carefully scripted conversations, Sophia negotiates a fair buy-out and leaves on good terms—preserving relationships and the firm’s stability.
Negotiating an Executive Contract: Michael has been recruited for a C-suite role with a complex mix of salary, equity, and bonus triggers. Together we review every clause, identify where to push, and craft a data-backed counterproposal. Working in concert with his employment counsel, Michael secures stronger equity, a flexible severance clause, and starts the new role viewed as both assertive and reasonable.
Our firm operates almost entirely through referrals and word-of-mouth. We do not advertise case studies or client lists – our clients’ identities and deals remain confidential forever. This quiet reputation has been built on advising complex negotiations across industries and personal matters.
We limit the number of clients we work with at any given time. You receive our full attention and a highly personalized strategy. Your emails and calls are answered promptly by the advisor handling your case – not junior staff. Our commitment is to be your steady, behind-the-scenes partner from start to finish
Our clients include entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 executives, investors, and families, all with one thing in common: the need for a steady hand in a pivotal negotiation. They trust us because we blend analytical rigor with unwavering discretion. We never forget that these negotiations often shape the course of your business, wealth, or personal life. We treat that responsibility with the gravity and respect it deserves.
Whatever negotiation you’re facing, you don’t have to face it alone. Reach out to Ramsden Consulting for a strictly confidential, no-obligation initial consultation. We’ll listen to your situation, discuss how our approach can be tailored to your needs, and outline the next steps – all under the protection of an NDA from day one.
