Managing Director

Nexus Global Advisors

November 2010 - present

I lead Nexus Global Advisors, a nimble advisory firm that provides counsel to senior leaders and managers about the future, thriving amid volatility, corporate strategy, and developing profitable business models for the age of climate change. Clients range from CEOs of Fortune 500 food and beverage, retail, financial services, energy, and healthcare companies to senior leaders at mid-market consumer packaged goods companies.

Our services include:

• Developing scenarios for the future of your business
• Supporting strategic decisions about new business ventures, acquisitions, and divestitures
• Crafting sustainable business strategies that balance environmental, social, and economic interests
• Revealing business blind spots that, left unchecked, would disrupt even the strongest of companies
• Coaching executives through transitions within their careers, their positions, and their companies

Success stories include:

• Consumer Packaged Goods company: Our recommendations on new products and an acquisition led to 90 percent growth over two years
• Food Manufacturing company: Our recommendations led company to divest two business units before consumer shift to organics and fresh foods
• Energy company: Our recommendations led this Western Canada based energy company to develop three new service lines and reduce reliance on fossil fuel revenue by 20 percent

Specialist Master, Sustainability

Deloitte Consulting LLP

February 2010 - November 2010

Strategic consulting, including serving as sustainability and strategy subject matter expert for public and private sector clients.

Research Fellow

Accenture Institute for High Performance

March 2006 - November 2009

I was a research fellow at the Accenture Institute for High Performance, where my research focused on the connection between sustainability and high performance.

Led Accenture's Sustainability Research Program:
Managed $500K budget to deliver several high-impact sustainability points of view to position Accenture as sustainability thought leader among its peers. Most recent articles include:
Driving Sustainability in a Downturn (published on Forbes.com)
Sustainability and its Impact on the Corporate Agenda (co-published with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development)
Compatible Aims: Sustainability and High Performance (published on Accenture.com)
Convinced five Fortune 500 companies to provide Accenture access to between 10 and 25 executives to conduct interviews and develop case studies on the companies' sustainability strategies.
Served as sustainability subject matter expert on client projects for several prominent private and public organizations.

Previous Institute Roles:
Co-led research and develop point of view on the emerging role of the chief strategy officer. Article published in the Harvard Business Review.
Co-led research for and composition of Competing on Analytics, a book published by Harvard Business Press in 2007.

Director, Market Research and Analysis

Fidelity Investments

June 2001 - January 2006

Created strategies to grow market share in three market segments based on primary and secondary research and analysis. Result: National Financial increased its market share in all three market segments by at least five percent.
Led competitive, industry, and Fidelity business research efforts to identify emerging client needs, competitor strategies and business trends in support of strategic planning and development efforts of President and senior management team.
Guided the strategic planning process for Hospitality Services Company by incorporating direction from four different business units. Gained and held management's support throughout the process.
Led cross-Fidelity team of eight individuals in effort to optimize mutual fund distribution analysis and reporting process.

Senior Consultant

Accenture

January 1996 - June 1999

Promoted twice in four years; Developed merger integration plan to combine the Finance departments of two merging firms. Result: plan combined the departments two months early, and saved the client $2M.
Built economic model, interviewed 40+ management personnel and analyzed back-office processes to quantify savings from large-scale transformation project. Result: work quantified $100M in potential cost savings over five-year period.
Directed three-person team, which built internal client portfolio management and evaluation process. Result: internal client approval process is now globalized, less time-consuming and more effective.

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.)

1999 - 2001

Dual major in strategic management and ecommerce

Kansai Gaidai in Kyoto, Japan

Bachelor's Degree

1993 - 1995

Convention challenger - Biked through towns that had never talked with a gaijin (foreigner), especially a blonde gaijin who spoke fluent Japanese.

Food experimenter - Became a connoisseur of natto (spoiled bean curd) and taught my Japanese host family to make the best chicken parmesan in Kyoto.

Boundary pusher - Spoke only Japanese for weeks on end; dreamt in Japanese; actively sought to be as uncomfortable as often as possible.

State University of New York at Albany

Bachelor's Degree

1991 - 1995

Dual majors: Japanese Studies and Finance/ Marketing

Phi Beta Kappa

Developed scholarship program with the U.S. Department of Defense to send American students to study in non-traditional countries