Van's consulting practice is devoted to helping clients avoid bankruptucy and revitalize their companies. Van's typical client is a manufacturer, distributor or service business, including government contract firms.
Van is a Certified Management Consultant and a life-long practitioner of turning things around. He did a stint as National Director of Turnaround Consulting for KPMG BayMark, but returned to private practice after several years.
Van has owned seven other small companies, five of which he started from scratch. Most were successful, but he took it in the gut from one. It's safe to say that Van knows business from the inside out.
Van is a long-time member of the Turnaround Management Association, the Institute of Management Consultants, and the Superior Business Firm Roundtable. He writes and speaks on business turnaround issues for organizations ranging from the World Bank to local chambers of commerce.
Van has been married to Peggy for the last 35 years and has 2 children.
Dave has more than 35 years of hands-on experience in senior management. He gained further experience as an operational/productivity consultant in such diverse areas as hospital restructuring/consolidation, retail, service industries and small to medium sized manufacturing. Dave’s entrepreneurial background includes the startup of a domestic manufacturing business with over 250 employees selling nationwide.
As CEO/Founder of a $25,000,000 company; Dave’s perspective was that of the lender’s customer. He successfully negotiated multi-year credit lines, domestic and international vendor terms and was responsible for all banking relationships. Having fallen victim to Hurricane Katrina he also unfortunately experienced first hand the turnaround, bank workout and bankruptcy process; all from the client’s point-of-view.
Dave graduated from Syracuse Univ. with a major in Advertising/Marketing. He also completed graduate studies in Finance, M&A and Business Administration from Syracuse , Case Western Reserve and Hofstra. He has served on numerous private company Boards, community Boards and the Board of the Tulane Family Business Forum.
Dave and his wife Jill have been married for 47 years. They have two children.
Jeff has led many successful business turnarounds from deep in the trenches. He enjoys working deep within the organization to identify and protect the most valuable parts of a business . Jeff has more than 20 years of experience building, growing and fixing businesses across a wide variety of industries. He brings practical knowledge in executive management, turnarounds, crisis management, LEAN manufacturing, family business, sales and marketing management, new product development and foreign sourcing.
Jeff has restructured supply chains to increase margins, cashflow and turnover. He has also rapidly increased sales by identifying and developing new channels of distribution and by re-engineering current Sales and Marketing efforts.
Jeff is a member of The Turnaround Management Association. He has frequently published Turnaround Articles for national trade journals and often speaks on the topic. Jeff earned his undergraduate studies in Economics from Hobart College and earned his MBA with distinction.
Jeff and his wife Alex have been married for 15 years. They have three children.
Robert Allen - Retail Specialist
Bob retired in 2005 as President/CEO of a nationally known mail order/retail company. During his twenty-year career at the company revenues grew from $4,000,000 to $100,000,000. In each year the company had a double-digit return on sales. Early in his career, Bob was director of stores for a specialty retail chain of 25 stores.
Bob considers himself to be a retail generalist, with a strong interest in merchandising. He is knowledgeable in all areas of retail, catalog and internet sales. Finance, marketing, fulfillment, IT, human resources have all reported directly to him.
Bob currently serves on the board of directors of four specialty retail companies ranging in size from $3,000,000 to $70,000,0000 in sales. Two of the companies are employee owned businesses (ESOP). He serves on the compensation committee of several boards and has a keen interest in developing compensation strategies to attract, motivate, reward and retain senior executives.
Bob lives in Dorset, VT with his wife, Karen, of 27 years and their two children.
John Channing - Manufacturing Specialist
John has over 15 years of manufacturing experience during which he became an expert in LEAN and Six Sigma methodologies. He has run production facilities in excess of $100 Million in annual sales, opened up new plants and has worked in the turn-around of several distressed businesses.
John has spent the last several years consulting with companies both large and small. He has served as a project manager, leading large teams and saving clients millions of dollars in the process. He has also successfully served as a trusted advisor to smaller organizations in need of expert help.
John completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan where he received his B.A. in Business Administration and Political Science. He also has a M.A. degree in Industrial Relations from Wayne State University and a M.S. degree in Finance from Walsh College, where he graduated with honors. John is a Six Sigma Black Belt and has earned Lean Management certification.
John has been married to Karen for 13 years.
