Industry: Retail
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

Advisor, Redstone Road LLC
Executive, Palantir Technologies
Founder, Pure Growth Partners
Principal, Bain & Company
MBA, Wharton School of Business
BA, Economics, Princeton University
Representative Projects
- Transformed of one of America’s leading luxury brands, resulting in 25% profit uplift, 4x EBITDA increase, and 70% reduction in outstanding debt
- Drove digital transformation of portfolio of media brands, driving >$20MM savings by integrating edit teams, developing new digital products, transforming customer acquisition, and eliminating under-performing publications
- Conducted 30 diligences across multiple industries, ranging from 2 weeks <$100MM to multi-month, multi-billion dollar highly complex acquisitions
- Led diligence process for the Singapore Ministry of Finance to select a best-qualified developer to build the world’s largest casino resort
- Led successful bid for large regional payments processing system, including developing proprietary forecasts for evolution of credit and debit markets, and extensive diligence of legacy internal IT systems
- Developed 100-day plan for successful post-merger integration of two, multi-site heavy industrial manufacturers
- Created new opportunity screen for one of the nation’s leading CPG manufacturers
- Created, launched, and marketed celebrity-backed beverage, from initial concept through formulation, testing, and successful distribution in 40k doors
Expertise
Industries
- Media
- Technology
- Luxury
- Consumer Products
- Retail
- Data & Analytics
- Payments
- Financial Services Technology (Fintech)
Project Types
- Growth Strategy
- M&A Strategy
- Marketing
- Business Development
- Organizational Design
- Due Diligence
Representative Clients
Companies
- Meredith Company
- Mack Weldon
- David Webb
- Conde Nast
- Anomaly Corporation
- American Kennel Club
- Dresser-Rand
- Vocativ
- MTV Viacom
- NASDAQ
- SourceMedia
Companies
- Blackstone Group
- Bain Capital
- Advent International
- Warburg Pincus
- Silver Lake

Founder, Miami Strategica LLC
Partner, GoGlobal Advisors
Founder & President, The Engaged Minds Factory
SVP, Sales and Strategy, Jenzabar
Principal, Hamilton Boston LLP
Senior Manager, EY Corporate Finance
Manager, Bain & Company
Engineer, IBM
MBA, INSEAD
MS, Mechanical Engineering, Technical University Munich
Visiting Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Representative Projects
- Led the post-merger integration of two information services companies with 300 FTEs
- Developed a turn-around strategy for a big box retailer in Chapter 11
- Led the org design and process design for a green field company launched to provide closed-loop payment solution to the U.S. government
- Led the ramp-up of a near-shored Shared Services Center consolidating 20 payment processing operations around the globe for a global energy company
- Led the Agile transformation of a global software company
- Led the post merger integration of the dispersed IT groups of an acquisitive global company into a coherent organization, provided strategic talent management support to lay foundation for a cloud migration
- Built the valuation model for the acquisition of a container manufacturer for a strategic buyer
- Led the development of an operational strategy for an LTL road hauler
- Developed a go-to-market strategy with individual sales goals for the tax division of a Big 4 company with >1000 partners and principals
- Led the post merger integration of a PE sponsored roll-up of 5 ERP software companies
Expertise
Industries
- Consumer Products
- Financial Services
- Manufacturing
- Retail
- Software
- Technology
Project Types
- Strategy Development & Implementation
- Performance Improvement
- Sales and Sales Management
- Organizational Design
- Strategic Talent Management
- Post-merger Integration
Representative Clients
Companies
- Coca Cola
- Ford
- DHL
- Compaq / HP
- Sabre
- World Fuel Services
- Banco Santander
- ThyssenKrupp
- Caldor
PE Firms
- TPG
- Investcorp
- Welsh Carson

Venture Partner, Praxis
CEO, Kammok
Lecturer, University of Texas
Consultant, IDEO
Consultant, Bain & Company
MBA, Stanford
MA Education, Stanford
BBA, Business Finance, University of Texas at Austin
WFR, National Outdoor Leadership School
Representative Projects
- Coached and advised executive team on organizational design and product development methodology
- Led design for global network virtual convening; facilitated working sessions with stakeholders across several organizations and wrote proposal
- Executed omni-channel retail strategy to grow revenues over 350%; grew direct-to-consumer sales while expanding retail footprint to several hundred doors across the U.S. and Canada
- Designed and served as lead facilitator for a new career methodology and inaugural series of workshops delivered to over 400 participants
- Conducted six weeks of user research and workshops to inform service platform redesign for large US independent broker dealer
- Led eight-person client team to design and launch change management plan for $12B aeronautics company transformation
- Built strategic plan for youth services organization, enabling organization to increase placement capacity by over 40%
Expertise
Industries
- Consumer Products
- e-Commerce
- Nonprofits
- Retail
Project Types
- Coaching and Facilitation
- Design Thinking
- Go-to-Market Strategy
- Consumer Packaged Goods
- e-Commerce
- Organizational Design
- Experience Design
Representative Clients
Companies
- Ceresa
- Capita
- Praxis
- Kammok Gear
- Stanford University
- American Enterprise Institute
- University of Texas
- Openfields

Independent Consultant, Estee Lauder Companies and Macy’s
Director, What If Innovation
Principal, Bain & Company
Consultant, Bridgespan Group
MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
BA, Public Policy, Brown University
Representative Projects
- Led development of a full potential growth strategy for ~$700M PE owned consumer products company to drive increased profitability
- Created global supply chain strategy for multi-branded clothing retailer
- Developed growth and channel strategy for a growing media business
- Generated consumer insights for consumer health business in the pain category
- Developed an innovation roadmap for <$100M PE-owned consumer products company to drive category expansion
- Designed new salesforce strategy for a major pharmaceuticals company
- Created full potential growth strategy for the US division of a global HR services business
- Led implementation of a digitally-oriented customer loyalty strategy for retailer
- Drove transformation program focused on organization, process, and technology for multi-branded beauty company
- Built an omnichannel growth strategy for department store chain
- Managed a successful post-merger integration effort within the research and advisory industry
Expertise
Industries
- Advertising & Media
- Consumer Products
- Pharmaceuticals
- Retail
- Technology
Project Types
- Growth Strategy
- Innovation
- Transformation
- Process Improvement
- Organizational Design
- Customer Loyalty
Representative Clients
Companies
- Yankee Candle
- ThinkThin
- Estee Lauder
- Sanofi
- HP
- Warner Music Group
- Macy’s
- Liz Claiborne
- Pfizer
- Sirius Radio (pre XM merger)
- Manhattan Mini Storage
- Adecco Group
PE Firms
- TSG Consumer
- Madison Dearborn Partners
- Worked in Bain’s Private Equity Group early in career

- 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

- CDO, LA Promise Fund
- Manager, Mattel Corp. Strat.
- Consultant, Bain & Company
- Business Advisor, Peace Corps
- Analyst, JP Morgan
- MBA, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania
- BA, Business Economics, Brown University
Representative Projects
- Developed a three-year strategic plan for a financial services client (1.5 years+) with ~$45B in managed assets. Worked on product development, strategic planning, advisor productivity, Salesforce effectiveness, and organizational design engagements
- Completed five acquisitions for a PE-backed industrial goods company. Identified targets in adjacent markets, led prospecting, and prepared investment memorandums
- Identified additional revenue opportunities for a leading ridesharing platform by assessing the market size of the music and sporting event industries
- Led strategy and implementation of key organizational turnaround initiatives at LA’s largest charter (~$200M) network of 25 schools
- Analyzed and prioritized 50+ R&D investments for a ~$64B beverage company
- Conducted due diligence for an automobile manufacturer acquiring a large RV competitor. Acquisition was the largest transaction in the company’s history
- Analyzed competitors and industry trends to create a competitive intelligence report for a leading cruise company
Expertise
Industries
- Automotive
- Consumer Products
- Financial Services
- Food and Beverage
- Industrials
- Nonprofits
- Private Equity
- Retail
- Tourism/Hospitality
- Transportation Services
Project Types
- Growth Strategy
- M&A Strategy
- Market Intelligence
- GTM Strategy
- Organizational Design
- Due Diligence
Representative Clients
- Alliance College-Ready Public Schools
- AlphaSights
- Aramsco
- Ares
- Authen Activewear
- Avantax Wealth Management
- ChromoLogic
- Financial Recovery Technologies
- Pepsi
- Singer
- Uber
- Viking Cruises
- Winnebago

- COO, J&S Audio Visual
- VP, Apple Leisure Group
- Principal, Plutus Capital
- Principal, SunTx Partners
- Consultant, Bain & Company
- J.D. University of Virginia Law School with emphasis on M&A
- B.S., B.A. Southern Methodist University Dallas
Representative Projects
- Developed cost reduction initiative for large public property management company based in Toronto/New York. Led business process outsourcing plan for several back-office functions including HR, Payroll, F&A, Call Center.
- Consolidated back-offices functions of three PE-backed travel companies and 10 different business departments including Operations, Call Center Customer Service, F&A, Rate Loading saving $6mm annually.
- Oversaw divestment of large $250M E-commerce business for a PE backed company which included winding down operations and data-centers.
- COO of $100M+ PE-backed hotel services business encompassing 400+ employees. Oversaw FP&A and all aspects of Operations. Created Key Performance Indicators, vision, and strategy for group.
- Created continuous improvement office which identified bottlenecks in a $1B+ Canadian copper mining operation, increasing production by 18%.
- Developed outsourcing plan for large software application company identifying over $20M in annual savings.
- Created Centralized Procurement office for major aero-space defense contractor which consolidated purchasing efforts with company’s largest suppliers saving 12%.
Expertise
Industries
- Airline
- Business Services
- Defense
- Mining
- Private Equity
- Real Estate
- Retail
- Technology
- Tourism/Hospitality
- Transportation Services
Project Types
- SG&A Reduction
- BPO
- Operations Optimization
- KPI Dashboards
- Business Process Transformation
- M&A Assessment/PMI
- PMO
Representative Clients
Companies
- Brookfield Properties
- Apple Leisure Group
- Woolworths (Australia)
- Ned Bank (South Africa)
- Teck Industries (Canada)
- Sabre Group
- Rio-Tinto (Australia)
- Expedia/Travelocity
- Freeman Industries
- United Airlines
- Lockheed-Martin
PE Firms
- Plutus Capital
- SunTx Capital