My areas of hands-on expertise include the following:
Acquisition and divestiture of companies/subsidiaries. For the last twenty years, I have assisted American and European clients in the area of mergers and acquisitions. I started out acquiring and managing a chain of hardware stores for a client, and from there this service grew into scouting for major acquisitions in international markets.
More and more, clients realize the complexity of this process, and today, clients bring me in as project manager in charge of all aspects of an acquisition or divestiture process. A typical sell-side project starts with a kick-off meeting during which we review prerequisites for a successful project and practices that enhance the valuation of the company. Then, we lay out the project trajectory, organizational issues, tasks and timelines.
It is not unusual for a project of this scope to take between 12 and 15 months from inception to completion.
Strategic Planning: We are encountering a period of rapid social, technological and economic change that affects the business models of many of my clients. My focus is on preparing them for the unpredictable events that are in front of us and on strengthening their business models so that they can withstand the forces of change more easily and adapt more readily. I have developed a proprietary analytical framework that helps executives address the key issues and prioritize the allocation of resources.
Business Opportunity Development: Throughout my career I have kept an eye on business opportunities that can be developed in sync with the changes that are taking place in the external environment. During the mid-1990′s, I assisted a small group of my clients by forming a strategic cross-border alliance, focused on the pooling of their marketing and purchasing efforts. I also co-founded several companies, including Cooptics of America, a buying consortium for independent optometrists.
Publishing and speaking engagements: I have published numerous reports and articles on issues of relevance to senior executives in the industries I have been involved with. This includes office products, hardware, medical devices, software and health care. My current focus is on the extraordinary conditions in many markets and most recently I addressed the London Forum, where I addressed the challenges resulting from a major shift in globalization patterns.
Expert witness testimony: Several times during recent years I have been asked to provide expert testimony on issues of importance to parties that are involved in legal disputes. Typically, my testimony focuses on business models, business practices, international marketing and contract issues.
