William H. Wentz headshot
Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent, Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence, 2024

William H. Wentz

Practice Areas

  • Business Services
  • Mergers & Acquisitions

Contact

Biography

Mr. Wentz advises and represents privately-held companies, from start-ups to large corporations, in the full range of business matters. He is particularly experienced in structuring transactions relating to the acquisition or sale of a business, or involving financing, licensing, employee retention and domestic or international joint ventures and partnerships.

Mr. Wentz gained national attention as a principal architect of leading antitrust cases involving the prescription drug industry and as the founder of one of the first e-commerce companies. Early in his legal career, he served as Associate General Counsel of the Civil Aeronautics Board in charge of the Board's litigation and enforcement during airline deregulation. Prior to the CAB, he was an attorney-advisor to two Chairmen of the Federal Trade Commission.

For the past two decades, Mr. Wentz's primary interest has been privately-held businesses. He started the Entrepreneurial Roundtable for the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business in 1991 and still serves as its chief Coordinator. He was also one of the founders of the MBBI, the leading organization of professionals in the Midwest concerned with mergers and acquisitions.

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • 1970
    • Honors: cum laude
    • Honors: Outstanding Editor of the Law Review
  • Brown University
    • 1967
  • University of Chicago GSB's Executive Program
    • M.B.A. - 1988

Professional Associations

  • Business Executive Exchange of Naperville, Member and Past President

Honors

  • Business Ledger Entrepreneurial Excellence Award
  • Midwest Business Brokers & Intermediaries, Member of the Year
  • Midwest Business Brokers & Intermediaries, Largest Deal
  • Midwest Business Brokers & Intermediaries, Overcoming Transaction Issues
  • DuPage Area Association's Founder's Award
  • Service to Entrepreneurs Award from Oakbrook Association of Commerce and Industry

Pro-Bono Activities

  • Lutheran Church, Naperville (Former Chair of Endowment Board and Member of Church Council)

Past Positions

  • ShipNet Systems, Inc., Founder
  • Civil Aeronautics Board, Associate General Counsel
  • Two Chairmen of the Federal Trade Commission, Principal Advisor