Senior Consultants

Wendy has almost two decades of experience in strategy consulting, marketing communications, and public relations. She has provided media relations and strategic communications counsel to a number of companies ranging in industry focus from high tech and Internet technologies, to financial management and FDA regulated environments, including Intacct Corporation, Callidus Software, CellMania, Hewlett Packard, LifeScan Corporation (a Johnson and Johnson Company), Genesys Telecommunications, Guidant Endovascular Solutions (a Boston Scientific Company), Mediaplex Inc., OmniCell Technologies, Vicinity Corporation, and WhereNet.

Wendy has substantial experience in business plan development, as well as strategic marketing, writing and public relations consulting for industries including high-tech, RFID, Internet, consumer electronics, medical technologies and biotechnology, entertainment and professional sports.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Canterbury University in the United Kingdom.

Antonio approaches engagements for Growthink clients with a blend of creative, strategic and financial skills. As a Senior Consultant, he develops business plans, growth strategies, and financial models for start-up and existing businesses.

Antonio joined Growthink directly following his tenure at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Italy as an Experience Associate. His career at PWC began in Public Accounting, with a focus on the Financial Services industry, but soon transited into strategic consulting. In this regard, he collaborated with the Sustainability & Climate Change Advisory team to assess the viability of sustainability strategies for several Fortune500 companies in Europe.

Throughout his career he has worked in the fields of Energy, Transportation, Banking, Food & Beverage, and Social Media, among others. Antonio is also an experienced entrepreneur – he co-founded and managed a start-up company in the green energy business.

Antonio completed his Bachelor in Economics and Master's Degree in Finance at Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Italy. During his graduate program, he studied at Santa Clara University, Leavey School of Business, and conducted a dissertation on private equity and venture capital partnerships in Silicon Valley. Antonio is fluent in Italian and English.

David has completed more than 100 strategic advisory engagements during his eleven-year tenure with the firm.

Before joining Growthink, David served as a financial and operational advisor to numerous early and late stage ventures. David has an extensive grasp of the key strategic issues that growing companies face and how to address them.

David has an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, and earned his Bachelor's degree from Stanford University.

Andrew brings to Growthink a vast background in social psychology and new media content development.

Prior to his work at Growthink, Andrew spearheaded online and offline marketing initiatives, oversaw content creation, and aided in the development of strategic partnerships for an online music news provider. A published scientific author, he has also created articles which generated significant traffic and were syndicated across the internet on sites including SportsIllustrated.com, CollegeHumor.com and Maxim.com.

In 2008, Andrew managed tech development and search engine marketing for a group of niche social networks.

With the Growthink marketing team in New York, Andrew has assisted in the creation and growth of the Publishing and Products division into a 7-figure business. In addition to the production of in-house audio/visual materials, Andrew has produced viral videos for Growthink clients that have attracted nearly 1 million YouTube views. Andrew currently manages email marketing and membership programs for Growthink Publishing.

Andrew earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Harvard University.

"What excites me about working at Growthink is the creative energy of entrepreneurship which constantly surrounds us. Through working with talented business owners and entrepreneurs, we're afforded the opportunity to be hands-on with the embryonic companies, ideas, and products that go on to revolutionize our world.

I also love the educational aspects of what we do in the publishing division:

What continues to amaze me is that across industries, there are some fundamental skills that are essential to every business's ability to survive and thrive in our new economy. Regardless of whether you are a fresh college graduate with a novel idea or a seasoned MBA with decades of industry-relevant experience, your ability to grow your business will be contingent upon your ability to communicate your mission to your team and your ability to deftly raise capital. 

Here in New York, we work hard to provide timely and accurate information on those areas that are most critical to entrepreneurial success."

"The Growthink team works hard to provide its clients with the ability to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams.  It is exciting to work with innovative professionals that transform ideas into action."

Phillippe Chau brings a myriad of finance, marketing and business law experience to the Growthink team. He began his career interning at the New Orleans Traffic and Municipal Court, where he created subpoenas for trial witnesses and served as a court clerk. He then became a financial intern at LPL Financial: Planning Associates in Louisiana, where he performed analysis on several financial advisory platforms and gained a wealth of experience in financial modeling.

Most recently, he was a marketing assistant for one of Keller Williams’ top producing real estate agents in Beverly Hills.  In this position, he was responsible for the marketing efforts of several multi-million dollar properties and provided technology support to the agency.

Phil received a Bachelor of Business Administration in entrepreneurship and business law at Loyola Marymount University.

"Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service. It is capable of being presented as a discipline, capable of being learned, capable of being practiced." - Peter F. Drucker

As a Senior Consultant, Evan Chen is responsible for helping clients shape and grow business ideas, structuring business plans, performing market research, and building financial models.

Most recently, Evan worked at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney as a financial analyst intern. At Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Evan helped structure and manage client portfolios. Throughout his tenure Evan picked up invaluable knowledge on analyzing the financial market and learned to manage equity investments. 

Prior to Growthink, Evan worked in the marketing division of Sony Pictures. It is there that Evan learned to come up with creative ideas to help conceptualize products to the consumers. Evan also worked at Warner Brothers in the international distribution division.

Evan received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Global & International Studies and Film & Media studies at the University of California Santa Barbara.

Simone Chen is responsible for managing business planning assignments and supporting investment banking initiatives at Growthink.  Her strong market research and analysis background, along with her bilingual skills in Chinese and English, has made her an invaluable asset to multiple international firms. She has worked with a number of different clients in the healthcare and biotechnology spaces on both consulting and translation projects.

Prior to joining Growthink, Simone worked at a boutique investment banking firm in Pasadena where she performed market research, valuation and translation services for cross border clients seeking to tap into the Chinese market. She began her professional career in Taiwan, where she performed competitive analysis for Asia-Learning, an online E-learning company for further education. She then later interned with Synthes in Shanghai where she conducted industry analysis in the surgical implant space and worked alongside management to generate proposals for a newly implemented sales model.

Simone holds a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Psychobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a volunteer for the emergency department in Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

Ryan has been engaged on more than 100 consulting and investment banking projects since joining Growthink in 2008, and has written numerous research reports on emerging industries such as Green Dry Cleaning, Green IT Consulting, Disease Management, and Enterprise Network Security. His functional expertise includes business planning, strategy development, financial analysis, market research, internet marketing and M&A advisory. His vertical expertise covers banking and financial services, consumer products, clean technology, alternative energy, entertainment, healthcare, Internet software and services, the public sector and non-profits, real estate and information technology.

Prior to working at Growthink, Ryan rebuilt the athletic program at the prestigious Racquet Club St. Louis while executing operations within his own limited liability corporation. In this role, he was also the promoter responsible for establishing the inaugural 2008 Racquet Club Pro Series, a Professional Squash Association (PSA) Super Satellite Tournament where he assisted in raising $98,000 with 7 different countries represented in the event. As a result of the success of the inaugural event, the prize fund has increased 30% year-over-year since 2008. His functional experience includes budgeting, logistics, personal marketing, website development, promotions and fundraising.

Ryan brings a diverse background of experience to Growthink. He has lived abroad in England and South Africa, and is a recent gold medal recipient at the 2008 Pan American Federation Games in Cuenca, Ecuador. Recently, Ryan was a semi-finalist at the S.L. Green US National Championships held in Newport, Rhode Island.

Ryan earned a B.A. in English Literature from Dartmouth College. As an alumnus of Dartmouth, Ryan is very involved with the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network, which connects like-minded entrepreneurs and venture capital firms to promote entrepreneurism from Dartmouth Alumni. Furthermore, Ryan is an MBA candidate at Tulane University, A.B. Freeman School of Business and is a member of the Tulane Energy Club, a student-led organization that brings in leaders from across the energy industry in order to educate its members on issues of particular importance and keep them up to date with trends and emerging opportunities in the energy industry.

In addition to his day-to-day duties at Growthink, Ryan also holds an advisory board role with StreetRebuttal.com, a social media platform that promotes discussion of proposed topics and current issues through non-partisan video commentary, as well as with Crescent City Squash Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides after-school tutoring and squash training to underserved children in the New Orleans region.

"When you cease to dream you cease to live." - Malcolm Forbes

Jesse Gaitan focuses on the firm's consulting and investment banking initiatives. With five years of investment banking experience, Jesse has played an integral role in a variety of corporate finance transactions including leveraged and management buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and debt/equity financings.

Jesse began his career as a financial analyst with Kann Capital, a middle-market investment bank, focusing on sell-side M&A and debt/equity financings. While at Kann, Jesse participated in the recapitalization of a consumer finance company, debt offering of an oil and gas service provider and equity offering of a technical staffing company.

Jesse then served as a financial analyst with De La Rosa & Co., a full-service municipal investment bank. As a financial analyst, Jesse was responsible for financial modeling, developing presentations for rating agencies and bond insurers, drafting request for proposals (RFP’s) and analyzing the debt capacity of the firm‘s clients. During his tenure at De La Rosa, Jesse worked on debt offerings for the City of Los Angeles ($1 billion tax and revenue anticipation notes), San Francisco International Airport ($500 million revenue bonds), County of Riverside ($300 million tax and revenue anticipation notes), and Anaheim Public Utilities ($90 million power revenue bonds).  

Most recently, he was as an associate consultant with William and Henry Associates, a boutique middle-market investment bank. During his tenure with the company, he completed transactions for clients across various industries including healthcare, consumer products, media, software and technology. Notably, Jesse worked on the sale of a medical supply company and a consumer products company as well as the recapitalization of an emergency communications company.

Jesse received a Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics from San Diego State University.

Brinnon brings 10 years of professional and research experience to Growthink. Her work in financial and strategic planning ranging from small non-profit organizations to large pharmaceutical companies offers a level of understanding and expertise in practical business strategy and competitive analysis.

Brinnon has led engagements with companies in the biotech, healthcare and life sciences sectors, offering strategic advice, business planning, marketing expertise and e-commerce strategies.

With extensive international experience in market and operations research, Brinnon has demonstrated leadership in helping organizations and companies achieve financial objectives and operational efficiency, and assessing opportunities for public-private partnerships and strategic partnerships. Past work experience includes Pfizer, Chemonics International, the World Bank, Dain Rauscher, and Johns Hopkins University.

Brinnon holds an MBA and an MPH from Johns Hopkins University.

“Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.” -Peter Drucker

As an Engagement Director with Growthink, Jeffery Harrold focuses on overall business development and project management across the firm’s consulting and investment banking practices.

Prior to Growthink, Jeff was a client development associate at Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ. At Capital IQ, Jeff was responsible for relationship management and overall business development for the Midwest region.  He also worked with the firm’s Client Relationship Management and Excel Modeling product groups, serving as the regional point person for both products.  Before joining Capital IQ, Jeff was an analyst at UBS Investment Bank in Chicago, where he worked on a variety of financing and M&A advisory projects in the industrial sector. Jeff has also served in multiple leadership capacities within the not-for-profit sector.  

He is a co-founder and former board member for Inconcert Chicago, a former board member and Financial Literacy Program Coordinator for the Chicago Chapter of Sponsors for Educational Opportunities (SEO). He also served on the junior board for the Sue Duncan Children’s Center, which provides after school enrichment programs on Chicago’s South Side, as well as an auxiliary board member, treasurer and mentor for High Jump Chicago, the city’s leading tuition-free academic enrichment program for talented and motivated middle school students.

Jeff holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Finance, Entrepreneurship and Marketing and is a proud alumni of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

“An entrepreneur is one who shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher yield” –J.B. Say, French Economist

As a Senior Consultant, Sean Harty is responsible for structuring business plans, helping entrepreneurs to develop their ideas, performing market research, and building financial models. Prior to joining Growthink, Sean worked in the accounting department at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, solving customer discrepancies and handling all accounts receivable. Previously, Sean has also worked for Wells Fargo Bank at the Los Angeles metro headquarters in a financial planning and forecasting capacity for branch locations.  Sean’s financial planning experience began with The Barclay Group, a start-up financial planning firm that provides financial advice and services to individual private clients.

Sean graduated from the Hilton School of Business at Loyola Marymount University and received a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Marketing.

“Growthink helps entrepreneurs take big, bold dreams and put them into action.”

As a Senior Consultant, Ishan Jetley operates within the managerial consulting and investment banking initiatives at Growthink.  Prior to Growthink, he was a Business Development Associate at Revolution Capital Group, a Los Angeles based private equity firm where he helped source and analyze a range of private investment deals. He has also worked at The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in Singapore where he assisted in the trading of sovereign credit, corporate bonds and corporate default swaps. Prior to that, he worked at the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) department at Standard Chartered Bank, where he helped formulate the bank’s China launch strategy. 

Ishan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business from the University of Southern California.  He is an alumnus of the United World College SEA, Singapore and is currently pursuing his CFA accreditation. He has lived in India & Singapore, and is fluent in both Hindi and English.

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." ~1997 "Think Different" ad campaign for Apple Computers

As a Senior Consultant, Derek Kato helps entrepreneurs succeed by developing their business plans, growth strategies, and financial models.

Prior to joining Growthink, Derek spent two years traveling and teaching in Asia. Before this, he worked for an investment supervision firm providing due diligence on fund managers and economic analysis for ultra high net worth individuals. Derek brings to Growthink a deep understanding of the mechanics of funds, asset allocation and portfolio management. Derek also worked as a credit analyst intern for Mid-Peninsula Bank in Palo Alto, where he analyzed financial statements, provided loan profitability analysis, and priced loans.

Derek graduated from Santa Clara University with Honors, and holds degrees in Finance and Economics.

Over the past 16 years, Chris has led the successful development of multiple new hardware and software products, analyzing markets, creating new product concepts, and presenting business cases.

Chris worked with leading technology companies such as Verizon, Motorola, Cingular, Nokia, and China Unicom to design, build, and launch compelling new hardware and software products. Chris also provided technical consulting services to a wide variety of organizations ranging from small sole proprietorships to Fortune 500 companies to various US government departments.

At Growthink, Chris has led engagements for companies in the green/sustainability market, e-commerce and social networking, and technology, providing analysis and recommendations on product design and development, project management, marketing, and operations.

Chris has an MBA from the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon and earned his Bachelor's degree in Geology from Carleton College.

"What makes us great at what we do, and what makes working at Growthink exciting, is that we're always looking towards the future; we're on the edge of the newest technologies and marketing practices; we utilize new opportunities instead of hiding from them.  We embrace what's coming next instead of bracing for impact.  At Growthink we're aware of the constant uncertainty of entrepreneurship and we have the 'negative capability' necessary to love that very aspect of it. The joy is in the countless possibilities."

Kevin fell in love with web technologies when he was just barely a teenager.  He mastered HTML before he entered high school and continued picking up skills in CSS, Javascript, and PHP throughout college.  By the time he started at Growthink he had a strong set of technological skills for creating and updating web pages.

Since he has been at Growthink, he has designed graphics and websites, coded and maintained sites with server-side and client-side programming, and started advertising campaigns focused on both paid traffic (PPC) and organic traffic (Search Engine Optimization).

He's gained an understanding of search and content network marketing, eCommerce, lead generation, page optimization, customer service/retention strategies, and email marketing.

Kevin earned his bachelor's degree in English and Psychology from the University at Albany.

Bridget Quinlan has a broad background in public relations and marketing. Bridget’s expertise is used to work with Growthink clients across various sectors to develop and implement marketing and customer acquisition strategies.

As the public relations director and a member of the pre-opening team at the Elysian hotel, Bridget was responsible for introducing the property as the premier luxury hotel in Chicago and build awareness of the newly launched Elysian brand. In addition, she developed and implemented a comprehensive public relations and marketing plan, establishing national branding and generating positive media coverage for the hotel. 

Prior to joining the Elysian, Bridget spent three years at the renowned Peninsula Chicago Hotel as the public relations and marketing manager, where she developed an aggressive and on-going media relations campaign that generated strong local, regional and national awareness of the hotel, spa and restaurants as well as directed the marketing campaigns for the property.

In her tenure as a public relations and marketing professional, Bidget has honed her promotional skills and established a strong rapport with local and national media constituents.  With a depth of knowledge in this area, she is an exceptional creative and strategic thinker with a brand-focused mentality.

Bridget’s experience as a leader has proven to be a valuable asset to her community as well. She recently sat on the board of the Oak Street Council and was a member of the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association. 

Bridget graduated from Loyola University of Chicago with a Communication degree.

“The true pleasure for me in working with Growthink is engaging with passionate entrepreneurs and helping them to maximize their business’ potential. Our work at Growthink pushes entrepreneurs to think through the conceptual elements of their business as well as through the details, providing them with the necessary tools and support to succeed in business planning, fundraising and strategic positioning.”

In her tenure with Growthink, Jacklyn has worked with a variety of clients, representing over 50 companies, both nationally and internationally.  Her work includes creating business plans, financial models, marketing plans, private placement memorandums and investor presentations.  Jacklyn infuses each project with creativity and aims to provide each client with customized strategic advice to propel their business’ growth and meet their objectives.

Previously, Jacklyn worked as a senior consultant in the Strategic Advisory Department of Ernst & Young’s Tel Aviv office. During her time here, she worked closely with some of the largest international companies consulting them on how to expand their business abroad. Her work was comprised of commercial due diligence projects, new market expansion, market research, start-up consulting, and business planning. Additionally, Jacklyn worked at MTV Networks in their marketing department where she creating integrated marketing campaigns for select clients.

Jacklyn has also contributed to the entrepreneurial community by hosting business planning and fundraising lectures. She has lived abroad in several countries and speaks four languages.  

Jacklyn holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Boston University and a Master’s Degree in Finance from ESADE University in Barcelona, both of which she graduated with honors.

Alex has more than 10 years capital markets experience with an extensive background in both the primary and secondary markets. He began his career with Morgan Stanley in New York City working on the Government and Repo desks, and next developed an expertise in financial futures and credit default swaps. Subsequently, Alex joined Banc of America Securities where his responsibilities included cultivating business relationships and due diligence for origination of over $5 billion in capital in a variety of industries including automotive, chemicals and telecom.

Alex has led several investment banking transactions in the beverage, healthcare and telecom sectors.

Alex has an MBA from Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University with a double concentration with Investment Banking and Corporate Finance and earned his Bachelor's degree at the University of Delaware.

"At Growthink, optimism is an approach. We get to help businesses assess their opportunities and penetrate the marketplace from a position of strength - and that's good work."

Jacqueline brings financial acumen and extensive research and analytics experience to her role at Growthink.  As a Senior Consultant, she works with clients to create business plans and workable marketing, operations and fundraising strategies that enable sound decision-making and decisive action.

Prior to joining Growthink, Jacqueline worked as an investment analyst at Craton Equity Partners, a fast-growing venture capital firm focused on the environmental sector. She evaluated investment opportunities and built strategic partnerships with peer organizations and government to identify strategic advantages for portfolio companies, and was active in the firm's investor relations efforts. Jacqueline also has experience creating and implementing branding strategies and communications programs for companies across industries -- from the high-tech, hospitality and nonprofit industries.

Jacqueline earned a M.A. in Social Entrepreneurship from Stanford University.

“I enjoy my work at Growthink because each and every client presents a unique business idea and vision for success, which provides an exciting and constantly evolving working environment.”

Brian is responsible for executing strategic business plans and financial models as well as conducting market research.   He brings with him strong financial analysis skills and has expertise in a variety of industries including apparel and fashion as well as health and fitness. 

Prior to joining Growthink, Brian worked at the Century City office of UBS Wealth Management, where he performed portfolio analysis and market research for high-net-worth investment clients.  He began his professional career at a Manhattan-based real estate investment firm as a lease analysis intern, working alongside management to develop revenue models for each of the firm’s properties.

Brian attended the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and received a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance.  His key areas of study include Entrepreneurial Finance, Business Law, and Financial Valuation.