CHARLOTTE G. WILLINGHAM, cba In 2005, Charlotte formed Gardner Willingham, LLC bringing with her an extensive base of appraisal experience gained from more than 365 valuation assignments. The total asset value of the appraised entities then exceeded $65 billion.
Willingham entered business valuation practice in 1992 with J&W Seligman & Co., Inc., as economic and investment markets analyst. She advanced to senior financial analyst, then appraisal and litigation manager for valuation division president, Philip W. Moore.
Philip Moore was a leading business consultant and valuation expert witness, widely regarded for his authoritative books and articles on business appraisal, as well as, his benchmark study of U.S. Tax Court decisions where discounts for minority interests were at issue. He later acquired the division in a spin-off by J&W Seligman, appointing Charlotte appraisal and litigation manager and vice president. While working under Moore, Willingham contributed to the following assignments:
Appraisal of the Zapruder Film of the John F. Kennedy Assassination, prepared for the Zapruder family for submission to the U.S. Department of Justice arbitration panel charged with establishing value for the film’s acquisition by the U.S. Federal Government for permanent storage of the film in the National Archives.
Valuations of intellectual property including development software, imported software, patented medical devices, trade name protection, territorial distribution rights, works of famous authors and playwrights, and defamation of a professional sports figure, among others.
Lost profit appraisals, including a claim of patent infringement against international electronics firm, Honeywell. A $38 million judgment was awarded to client, American Flywheel. (Honeywell Inc. v. American Flywheel Systems Inc., CV 94-14428 (Marcopia Co. Super. Ct., Ariz.1996))
Estate appraisal of the works of author, V. C. Andrews, that led to a precedent setting decision regarding taxation and subsequent events. (Harvard Law Review, Vol. 108, No. 3 (Jan., 1995), pp. 683-700)
Appraisal of Maris Distributing Company. The family of famous professional baseball player, Roger Maris, was awarded $50 million in its antitrust action against Anheuser-Busch after the company cancelled the Maris Florida distributorship, one of the largest Budweiser distributorships in the US. (Maris Distributing Company v. Anheuser Busch Inc., District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District, 97-4697.)
Numerous other trust and estate valuations, including an assignment to establish the value of certain assets held by the Bishop Estate, the single largest estate in U.S. probate history.
Prior Business Experience: Prior to entering business valuation practice, Charlotte’s experience was concentrated in the field of investor relations. She was Director of Investor Information six years with a Dallas-based real estate investment firm owning and operating over 400 office buildings, apartment communities, shopping centers and hotels throughout the Southwest. Through subsequent mergers, this company is now a major publicly traded real estate investment trust.
Earlier she served as Director of Investor Relations nine years with a Fortune 500 corporation The company owns steel mills, copper refineries and a worldwide network of international metal trading offices. Her primary responsibilities encompassed corporate public relations, individual and institutional shareholder information, press relations and SEC disclosure compliance.
Education: B.S. Business Administration, cum laude, Jacksonville University
Professional Affiliations: Current Memberships:
Institute of Business Appraisers, CBA American Society of Appraisers (Officer North Florida Chapter 04-10) Jacksonville Economic Roundtable, Jacksonville University National Association of Business Economics
Past Memberships:
National Investor Relations Institute (Charter Member Dallas Chapter) Institute of Business Communicators Public Relations Society of America Dallas Advertising League
Other Experience: Presentations
Society of Investment Analysts – Dallas, Houston, New York, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco and other US cities Guest Speaker – American Society of Appraisers, North Florida Chapter
Awards and Recognition in Other Fields: Emmy Award Nomination – World Championship of Tennis
A component of a community awareness program created by Willingham while acting as Director of Investor Relations for Commercial Metals Company. The program was nominated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for an EMMY Award for the company’s sponsorship of the televised broadcast of World Championship of Tennis.
Guest Contributor – Limits to Growth, the Club of Rome
“Depletion of Natural Resources – Iron Ore & Recycled Alternatives”, an environmental position statement paper for the Club of Rome, a non-profit, non-governmental organization examining major trends of global concern including industrialization, population, malnutrition, depletion of non-renewable resources and the environment. http://www.clubofrome.org