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Kate

Managing Director / Consultant at Wade Strategy, LLC

Chicago, United States

Strategy │ Growth │ Market Insight │ Change Management

Domain experience

Relevant Total Experience: 20 years

Seniority Level: Senior

Sector Experience: 

Communication Services Consumer Discretionary Consumer Staples Energy Financials FinTech Health Care Industrials Information Technology Materials Real Estate Utilities

Skills

Skilled in: Corporate Development, Due Diligence, Legal, Portfolio Services & Add-on M&A, Private Equity & Growth Capital, Sell-side M&A

Languages: English

Work Experience

Wade Strategy, LLC

Managing Director / Consultant

1/8/2017

 

- Now

Wade Strategy, LLC is an independent consultancy specializing in strategy, market insight, change management, and execution management. Provides consulting and project management support to clients, helps companies develop long-term strategies, identifies customer and client insights, recognizes trends, and designs / executes growth plans. Clients range from start-ups to top 5 Property and Casualty insurance firms, to global Fortune 200 Food and Beverage companies to one of the largest retailers in the world. www.wadestrategy.com Specialties include: • Identifying and defining strategic initiatives • Commercial due diligence • Marketing and sales strategy • Competitive landscape and analysis • Industry trend analysis • Customer value proposition • Voice of the customer • AI/Machine learning • Data and analytics modeling • Strategy execution • Change management and organizational design • Survey development • Quantitative and qualitative research

Accenture

Business Strategy Senior Manager

1/8/2021

 

- 30/11/2022

Developed and delivered strategies for how insurance and financial service firms and their partners should transform by identifying customer demand, addressing their competitive landscape, evaluating and designing current and future digital footprint, and generating shareholder value. Key responsibilities include leading teams to help clients evaluate their current and future processes to define the business and/or needs and system requirements, identifying market trends, capturing user requirements, conducting stakeholder interviews, and designing/facilitating workshops.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Corporate Director, Strategy and Internal Consulting

1/8/2015

 

- 31/8/2017

Worked with senior executives across multiple business divisions to address the company’s high-impact strategic initiatives. Work included identifying and defining strategic priorities, market trend analysis, customer segmentation, cross-sell sales strategies, assessing critical business process issues, new process innovation, operational and workflow improvement, change management, creating executive presentations, and data analysis and implementation.

Allstate

Senior Manager, Strategy and Innovation, Emerging Businesses

1/9/2012

 

- 31/8/2015

Responsible for strategy, strategic planning, board of directors’ presentations, identification of M&A targets, market sizing, segmentation and market trend analysis, new product and service innovation, and other enterprise-level business development opportunities. Advised business unit presidents and led the development of significant strategic and innovative initiatives. Emerging Businesses unit included select personal lines, small business P&C insurance, voluntary health benefits, and roadside and dealer services businesses.

The Cambridge Group

Consultant

1/4/2007

 

- 31/3/2012

Developed growth strategies for Fortune 50 companies in diverse industries, including consumer goods, retail, and insurance, leveraging consumer/customer insights to identify untapped demand. Client engagements included creating customer segmentation and targeting strategies based on qualitative and quantitative research, identifying and quantifying new product opportunities, developing portfolio management tools, designing strategies to improve and tools to track marketing ROI, and optimizing brand and product positioning and communications. Responsible for leading large teams of consultants to deliver client work, managing project financials, and building client relationships.

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Consultant

1/6/2004

 

- 30/4/2007

Developed various business growth, operational improvement, and market entry strategies. Managed the supply chain restricting recommendations for two major parts categories for a leading automotive manufacturer with more than $80M per year protective savings. Analyzed market trends and recommended product portfolio improvements for a direct mail organization that resulted in client increasing revenue projections over 20% within 3 years.

Dell Professional Services

Business Analyst

1/8/2000

 

- 31/3/2003

Developed metrics, designed financial forecast models. Managed the calculation and trend analysis of usage and adoption metrics to show an ROI of 325% and productivity improvements equal to adding 30 full-time staff in order to justify a major technology initiative for a global investment bank. Spearheaded the evaluation of internal financial forecasting data for the NY office, including marginal cost analysis for projects, utilization and pipeline trends, change in variables analysis, and anomalies in P&L monthly reports. (Left in 2003 to get my MBA full time)

American Management Systems

Business Analyst

1/8/1998

 

- 31/8/2000

Identified business problems and develop strategies for managing and leveraging information, knowledge, and experience within large organizations. Led the redesign of the customer service, employee withholding and investment/disbursement divisions for the federal government's 5.3M employee and retiree program. Developed a 5-year strategy for a Fortune 50 equivalent quasi-Federal Agency’s knowledge and document management groups.

Morningstar

Marketing Intern

1/3/1997

 

- 30/6/1998

Managed a sales pattern project analyzing variables, including: the progress of the stock market, press mentions, and advertising efforts. Monitored ROI for the company’s marketing expenditures to determine future marketing initiatives. Organized focus groups and user advisory committees to measure customer satisfaction and feedback.

Education

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Strategy, Marketing

Graduated with honors, dean's list every quarter.

University of Chicago

Pre-law, History

Dean's list

Licenses / Certificates

Microsoft

Career Essentials in Data Analysis by Microsoft and LinkedIn

1/2/2023

 

LinkedIn

Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy

1/2/2023

 

LinkedIn

Learning Data Analytics Part 2: Extending and Applying Core Knowledge

1/2/2023

 

Udemy

Generative AI - Risk and Cyber Security Masterclass 2023

Qualtrics

Qualtrics Platform Essentials

Udemy

Storytelling for Change and Crisis Management

Udemy

Applying Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) Theory

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