Expertise: Profit Improvement
Stephen Blunck
Senior Consultant, Maven Associates
VP, Serent Capital
Associate, Advent International
Senior Associate Consultant, Bain & Company
MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
BS, Brigham Young University
Representative Projects
- Developed and implemented procurement and cost reduction initiatives for multi-billion-dollar public retailer
- Designed organizational growth strategy and decision-making framework for charter school network expanding across regions
- Led the merger of two human capital management enterprises to consolidate market share and drive growth synergies
- Created strategy to accelerate company growth for data center company
- Implemented value creation initiatives for at-risk healthcare entity, including leadership build-out, growth strategy, and new geography expansion
- Supported ed-tech company with merger integration, financial operations, capital structure, and tracking against key performance indicators
- Negotiated with lenders to obtain ~$600M in financing to facilitate company recapitalization
- Led due diligence workstreams for multiple potential private equity transactions, with combined enterprise value of ~$6B
Expertise
Industries
- Business Services
- Healthcare
- Financial Services
- Retail
- Education
- Technology & Software
- Human Capital Management
- Pharmaceuticals
Project Types
- Growth Strategy
- M&A Strategy
- Finance
- Profit Improvement
- Organizational Design
- Due Diligence
Representative Clients
Companies
- JCPenney
- Uplift Education
- TalentWave
- Professional Health
- Care Network
- KEV School Solutions
- Data Center Co.
- ATI Physical Therapy
- InVentiv
PE Firms
- Serent Capital
- Advent International
VP Strategy, Blucora
AVP Corporate Strategy & Development, AT&T
Case Team Leader, Bain & Company
Ops Officer, U.S. Intel Community
MBA, Duke University
BS, Electrical Engineering, Missouri S&T University
Representative Projects
- Planned and executed multiple domestic and international high-stakes telecommunications auctions with $18B+ acquisitions
- Developed growth strategy for recently-acquired specialty insurance company resulting in customer acquisition of $30B anchor client
- Led development of wealth management M&A growth strategy with $20B in asset growth potential
- Established and led annual strategic planning process for Fortune 10 firm
- Formed and led program management of new global joint venture for five major telecommunications firms achieving technical prototypes in 6 weeks
- Established program management organization and governance committee for $81B in wireless radio spectrum assets
- Conducted due diligence of $1.4B U.S. Government subsidy auction, identifying significant flaws in auction and program design, and advocating for change with FCC
- Led due diligence team of new 5G technology and resulting deployment cost model
- Managed creation of wealth management profit improvement plan with new pricing to realize $45M in incremental gross profit
Expertise
Industries
- Financial Services
- Military & Intelligence
- Speciality Retail
- Technology
- Telecommunications
Expertise
- Growth Strategy
- Auction Planning & Execution
- Strategic Planning & Program Management
- Due Diligence
- Profit Improvement
Representative Clients
Companies
- AT&T
- Blucora, Inc.
- $10B Speciality Insurer
- Fortune 10 Financial Services Firm
- $15B speciality retailer
- Top 5 private equity firm
- Top 20 private equity firm
- U.S. Intelligence Community Agency
Founder, Viking Vision Consulting
Global Strategy Director, AB InBev
Strategy Director, Mattel
Strategy Senior Manager, Mars, Inc.
Consultant, Bain & Company
MBA, Columbia Business School
BS, Mathematics, The University of Texas at Austin
BA, Economics, The University of Texas at Austin
Representative Projects
- Developed a multi-year regression-based forecast and conducted portfolio analysis to identify growth and margin improvement opportunities for a ~$350M consumer durables business
- Defined and developed the data and analytics service portfolio and supported the Tableau implementation for the largest public healthcare system in the United States
- Developed investor pitch deck for the cosmetics division carve-out of a $600M+ consumer products business
- Led development of the 5-year strategic plan for the Asia Pacific unit of a $4B+ global consumer products company
- At AB InBev, created 10-year total forecast and scenario development tool to support long-range strategic planning and CAPEX investment prioritization
- At Mattel, led diligence and post-acquisition integration efforts of a children’s tablet and software manufacturer
Expertise
Industries
- Consumer Products
- Media & Entertainment
- Packaged Food & Beverage
- Restaurants
- Retail
- Toys & Games
Project Types
- Growth Strategy
- Profit Improvement
- Marketing
- Analytics
Representative Clients
Companies
- $350M+ privately held emergency vehicle lighting company
- $600M+ consumer products company
- $48M+ global consumer products company
- NYC Health & Hospitals
Founder, Corbett Consulting
COO, Array Marketing
Partner, McKinsey & Company
Leader, Wiremold Company
Toyota Motor Company
Manager, CIBC
MSc, Chaminade University
BComm, Carleton University
Representative Projects
- Integration of 3 “bolt on” acquisitions in electrical conduit manufacturing
- Led development of Strategy to consolidate and relocate manufacturing in Mexico reducing labor costs by 80% for an Auto supplier
- Developed and implemented post-acquisition consolidation plan generating over $2MM COGS reduction and multiple real estate opportunities
- Improved product flow in Hydraulic Systems that reduced labor by 15%, inventory by 30% and Leadtime by 50%
- Improved call center operations resulting in 20% reduction in required staff and an improvement in the Net Promotor Score (NPS)
- Created evaluation/audit process to drive continuous improvement across range of businesses that delivered 2 points of EBITDA 3 years in a row
- Optimized retail store operations that reduced store labor reduction of 20%
- Redesigned order sequencing and processing to increase “On Time In Full” by 12 points
Expertise
Industries
- Manufacturing
- Machining
- Aerospace and Defense
- Automotive
- Call Centers
- Hospital Operations
- Retail Operations
- Purchasing
- Supply Chain Optimization
- Mortgage Processing
- Insurance
Project Types
- Operations Optimization
- Due Diligence
- M&A Strategy
- Post Merger Integration
- Organizational Design
- Profit Improvement
Representative Clients
Companies
- Caterpillar
- IBM
- Livingston
- International
- CHS
- Intercos
- Thrivent Financial
- Cobham
- Argyle Investments
- Minute Maid
- Textron
PE Firms
- TorQuest
- Carlyle
- TPG
- Birchill
- Sun Capital
- L Catterton
Founder, Galileo Preschool
Co-Founder & Director of Strategy, EarlySpark
COO, Identified
PE Associate, H.I.G. Capital
Consultant, BCG
MBA, Stanford University
MA, Education, Stanford University
MS, Comp Sci / Electrical Engineering, M.I.T.
BS, Comp Sci / Electrical Engineering, M.I.T.
Representative Projects
- Created a 5-year roadmap for a global non-profit to solidify their change model and scale their organization
- Implemented a global restructuring of a Fortune 500 company through several worldwide workshops, redesigning the organization layer-by-layer starting with the CEO down to the front-line workers
- Designed and executed a successful sales strategy workshop for Sales VPs and Executive Leadership to boost global revenue
- Conducted multiple PE due diligence projects in the craft, healthcare, manufacturing and transportation spaces
- Developed and implemented the user growth blueprint and analytics platform for a B2C Internet platform
- Designed a large-scale research study (RTC) and secured Stanford faculty to oversee the study and publish the findings
- Developed a profit improvement plan for autobody chain
- Built a growth strategy for a national home décor company
- Designed educational assessments for preschool and elementary school students, following global assessment standards
- Developed a data pricing model for a biotech company
Expertise
Industries
- Consumer Products
- Financial Services
- Manufacturing
- Technology
Project Types
- Growth Strategy
- FP&A
- M&A
- Profit Improvement
- Organizational Design
- Due Diligence
Representative Clients
Companies
- Global Fortune 100 Bank
- Fortune 500 Biotech Company
- Fortune 500 Materials Manufacturing Company
- EarlySpark, a global non-profit focused on transforming education in India
- Top Systems, the leading banking systems provider in Latin America
- DCWV, leading paper craft company and numerous acquisition targets
- Founder, Wander New Mexico
- Case Team Leader, Bain & Company
- Associate, Good Harbor Consulting
- Senior Consultant, Booz Allen Hamilton
- BS, Economics, Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
Representative Projects
- Developed a strategy to accelerate company growth and maximize exit valuation multiples for a ~$300M metal manufacturer
- Developed a growth strategy for a ~$200M online consumer loan business
- Created a roadmap for a ~$40M publisher to improve profitability and pursue new strategic growth opportunities
- Developed a growth strategy for a hydraulic seal manufacturer
- Developed a 5-year value creation plan for a ~$600M wine distributor in Canada post acquisition by a PE fund
- Led team of big data analysts in customer churn root cause analysis for Fortune 500 SaaS business. Analyzed massive amounts of data from nine corporate databases to identify $30M in customer retention improvement opportunities.
- Designed and implemented capital projects prioritization system for energy company, resulting in savings of $15 million
- Re-engineered procurement processes for leading energy company, resulting in improved supplier relationship management and expenditure planning
Expertise
Industries
- Aerospace/Defense
- Consumer Products
- Economic Development
- Energy
- Manufacturing
- Public Sector
- Retail
- Technology
- Tourism/Hospitality
Project Types
- Growth Strategy
- Profit Improvement
- Marketing
- Process Optimization
- Organizational Design
- NPS/Customer Insights
Representative Clients
Companies
- Arterra Wines
- PDC
- Best Egg
- Publishing Concepts
- Fortune 50 IT hardware company
- Fortune 100 software company
- Gulf region National Oil Company
PE Firms
- Ontario Teachers
- Anchor Partners
- FounFounder, Practiko, LLC
- Managing Director, WM Partners
- Co-founder, PadInMotion
- Principal, Bain & Company
- MBA, Harvard Business School
- MSc, Economics, LSE
- BA, Economics, ITESM
Representative Projects
- Co-led the creation of a ~$300M fund focused on nutritional supplements. Sold to Clorox for ~$700M. Rolled up five nutritional supplement players, doubling revenue and increasing EBITDA 10x within three years.
- Created a customer focused growth strategy for a major pharma company focused on customer driven growth doubling stock value within 12 months
- Co-founder of PadInMotion, providing tablet technology for patients at hospitals, achieving exponential growth in first five years
- Developed detailed growth strategy (brand-pack) to reactivate growth for a beverage company in a mature market to reach >8% CAG
- Redesigned organization of major retailer in Mexico to double LATAM business in 5 years with lower costs
- Redesigned new commercial model to boost efficient growth for a major pharma company
- Developed multiple R&D and growth strategies for a variety of mid and large pharma customers across different therapeutic areas such as oral contraceptives, cardiovascular, and ophthalmology
- Conducted due diligence and created an expansion strategy for a network of radiotherapy centers
Expertise
Industries
- Chemicals
- Consumer Products
- Education
- Financial Services
- Health & Wellness
- Healthcare Services
- Industrials
- Pharmaceuticals
- Retail
Project Types
- Growth Strategy
- M&A Strategy
- Post-merger Integration
- Organizational Design
- Marketing
- Profit Improvement
- Due Diligence
- Strategy Implementation
Representative Clients
Companies
- 3 of the top 5 pharma companies
- National chain of pharmacies
- Mid size pharma
- Network of radiotherapy centers
- Leading mass retailer
- Global beverage company
- Leading multinational food player
- Global beer company
- Leading international green house operator
PE Firms
- Top tier PE firms
- Mid size PE firm
- Founding member of WM Partners focused on health and wellness
- International producer of specialty chemicals
- Founder, Maven Associates
- Principal, Stagen
- VP Strategy & BD, GES
- Manager, Bain & Company
- Engineer, Black & Veatch
- MBA, Tuck-Dartmouth
- BS, Mechanical Engineering, Rice University
- BA, Economics, Claremont McKenna College
Representative Projects
- Led development of a strategy to accelerate company growth and maximize exit valuation multiples for a ~$300M metal manufacturer
- Developed a growth strategy for a ~$200M online consumer loan business
- Created a roadmap for a ~$40M publisher to improve profitability and pursue new strategic growth opportunities
- Conducted a 3-week due diligence of a PE acquisition target in the equipment moving space
- Led the development of a profit improvement plan for a hydraulic seal manufacturer
- Developed a 5-year Value Creation Plan for a ~$600M wine distributor in Canada post acquisition by a PE fund
- Built a growth strategy for a ~$200M luxury recreational boat manufacturer
- Conducted a 3-week due diligence of a PE acquisition target in the land management space
- Developed detailed analysis of the Top 20 competitors of a national big box retailer
- Created a growth strategy for a ~$100M SaaS business
Expertise
Industries
- Business Services
- Consumer Products
- Financial Services
- Manufacturing
- Metal Fabrication
- Restaurants
- Retail
- Technology
- Transportation Services
Project Types
- Due Diligence
- Growth Strategy
- M&A/PMI
- Marketing/Branding
- Organizational Design
- Profit Improvement
Representative Clients
Companies
- Cobalt Boats
- At Home
- Safariland
- PointClickCare
- WorldStrides
- Alliance Equipment
- Arterra Wines
- Craftmark Bakery
- Raybern’s
- PDC
- Best Egg
PE Firms
- Carlyle Group
- JMI Equity
- Ontario Teachers
- Anchor Partners
- Satori Capital
- Manager, McKinsey & Co.
- Director, Ford Motor Company
- Manager, General Electric
- Captain, US Marine Corps
- MBA, Wharton – UPenn
- BA, Economics, Harvard
Representative Projects
- Drove a construction productivity effort for a $1 billion methanol plant under construction in Trinidad
- Identified and implemented actions to decrease mining production cycle time for a $200 million mine of multi-national gold mining company
- Led implementation of private-equity driven strategy with 17 initiatives for a $500 million PE-owned automotive business process outsourcing company
- Spearheaded idea generation, valuation and implementation planning for cost reduction and revenue generation for a $23 billion regional bank
- Developed overview of automotive seating aftermarkets in USA, Europe and China for $100 million division of multi-billion automotive tier one supplier
- Drove idea generation and implementation planning to deliver profitable growth for an $11 billion integrated energy company
- Managed process to develop projects to capture savings for a $6 billion trucking and transportation company
- Led effort that identified opportunities to increase productivity for a $150 million PE-owned manufacturer of steel structures
Expertise
Industries
- Aerospace/Defense
- Automotive
- Financial Services
- Industrials
- Manufacturing
- Public Utilities
- Transportation Services
Project Types
- Strategic Growth
- Process Improvement Cost Reduction
- Productivity
- Accountability
- Business Development
- Implementation
- Mergers & Acquisition
Representative Clients
Companies
- Teck Resources
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
- Goldcorp
- Adient
- MSX International
- Valley National Bank
- Entergy
- J.B. Hunt
- Fleetgistics
PE Firms
- Bain Capital
- Harbor Group
- VP Strategy, MeadWestvaco
- Principal, Marakon Associates
- Director Strategy, Xerox
- Associate Principal, McKinsey
- MBA, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- BA, Economics, Harvard
Representative Projects
- Developed a new adjacent market growth strategy for a $3B branded consumer products company
- Led strategic diligence for a branded consumer products company acquiring a $60MM Canada-based supplier
- Evaluated multiple potential new platform acquisition opportunities for a $20B global industrial conglomerate
- Led team developing a new product market entry strategy for the Food SBU of a $6B global packaging company
- Drove annual strategic planning process and re-defined the business model of a $3B global vision care provider
- Co-led the commercial due diligence for a successful $2.4B hospital supplies company acquisition
- Built a PMO capability and led high-value strategic projects to transform a $1.3B PE-backed consumer products client
- Developed a break-out strategy for a life sciences client to shape a new market and grow revenue 6x over 5 years
- Co-led the development of a new international sales and distribution approach for a life sciences client
Expertise
Industries
- Aerospace/Defense
- Consumer Products
- Entertainment
- Industrials
- Materials
- Packaging
- Pharmaceuticals
- Technology
Project Types
- Strategy
- Corporate Development
- New Market Entry
- Profit Improvement
- Program Management
- Team Building
Representative Clients
Companies
- Mead Johnson
- US Pharmacopeia
- Pfizer
- Live Nation
- Scotts
- Timken
- Textron
- Dow Chemical
- Allergan
- Alcon
- Danaher
PE Firms
- Charlesbank
- TPG
- Clayton Dubilier