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

Mark Hess   

Founder

  • 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