Advisor, Coach, Consultant, Mentor

It is hard for you to know all the questions
let alone all the answers.

Find value in your advisor relationship.

Wisdom from 30+ years business experience.
Real-world experience as top corporate executive or small business owner.
Empathy with challenging issues in difficult situations.
Devoted to supporting you and your business dream.
Connected to business community to help solve specific needs.

Find the best path forward. Select from our network of highly experienced, thoughtful advisors who fit your business needs.

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Describing the Advisors

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CEO Roundtable Advisor

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Becoming a Better Leader

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Member Testimony

Advisors and Associates Specialties

Our Advisors and Associates work independently. Business engagements are available and must be arranged separately with each individual.

Engage an Advisor

Our Advisors provide support for a broad range of business areas.

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Don Baird

Operations and Sales Executive
George Connelly

Tax Attorney
John Curtiss

Technology Sales & Marketing
Diana C. Dale

Veteran Affairs
Ralph D’Onofrio

Brand Management & Product Development
Margarita Farmer

Entrepreneurship
Noel Graubart

Real Estate and Property Management
Henry Florsheim

Community Relations
Geoff Griffith

Leadership Development
Rich Hall

Success Guide, Executive Coach
Richard Hendee

Bank Financing & Planning, Advisory Boards
William Herman

Start-Up & Financial Management
Jim Iden

Building Scalable Companies
Herbert Kalman

Accounting & Financial Reporting
Mary L. Kole

Strategic Planning & Advisory Boards
Gerald Merfish

Managing a Family Business
Hank Moore

Corporate Strategist
Ned Mueller

Entrepreneurship
David Neuberger

Financial & Strategic Planning
Monte Pendleton

Specializing in established companies with up to 50 employees.
Dan Prosser

Business Advisor, Author
J. Howard Rambin

Vision Building, Planning & Marketing
Ibrahim Saleh

Start-ups, Business Development
Rick Schissler

Entrepreneurs & Non-Profits
Lane E. Sloan

Strategic Planning & Leadership Development
Austin Tenette

Strategic Direction and Execution
Doug Thorpe

Leadership Development
Ken Wells

Physician and Business Executive

Entrepreneur, mentor, and consultant, Margarita Farmer utilizes her proven negotiating skills and organizational savvy to assist in structuring companies, providing perpetual training and implementing new technologies as they become available. She inspires entrepreneurs to create and sustain an environment that encourages excellence and motivates productivity.

As co-founder and COO of US Signs and US Signs and Service, she was instrumental in growing the start-up sign company into a large virtual sign company utilizing a network of 800 installers and 20 manufacturers, while managing the in-house staff of Project Managers and Service Coordinators. The most important key to the company’s success was recruiting and training vendor organizations so that all parties would operate efficiently, maintain quality control and uphold the reputation of her organization; all while maintaining profitability for each of the parties concerned.

After 31 years of successful operation, she and her co-founder sold US Signs for full value.

It is not surprising that Margarita has now turned her depth of knowledge and experience towards working independently to help other entrepreneurial companies achieve the same measure of success by restructuring their companies and redesigning their methods. She is presently consulting with a growth-oriented, high technology information systems company. As Ms. Farmer points out, “All successful companies are necessarily customer service driven, so they must engineer their organizations to efficiently deliver the service levels and products their customers/clients expect.”

Recognition of her business success and leadership skills is evidenced by her membership in, and Southwest Chairman of, The Committee of 200, an organization of highly successful women executives and entrepreneurs based in the United States, but whose influence and work is conducted globally. Ms. Farmer is comfortable participating with individuals and groups on any continent, or dialoguing on panels with business professionals, professors and university students like Pepperdine, Fudan (Shanghai), Tsinghua (Beijing) and Pretoria (Johannesburg) Universities.

What sets Margarita Farmer apart is that she understands the motivation and challenges which confront the entrepreneur; she knows every step, pitfall, and triumph because she has lived them all. She is particularly well qualified to instruct the person who sets out to create a new business enterprise that can ultimately provide jobs and careers for many industrious people. She understands the importance of building a company of service-oriented people who can cordially and competently deliver the products and services their customers and clients have a right to expect because she has done all of that.

Her “down to earth” style is simultaneously confident and humble, making her an ideal mentor and consultant for people who are just setting foot upon the path of entrepreneurship, or for those who are facing any of the many challenges which constitute the adventure of growing a business.

While Real Estate Development has been his main area of activity, Noel Graubart has been an entrepreneur/owner of a variety of business ventures for more than 50 years. He has extensive experience in finance, marketing, leasing, construction, management, manufacturing, and long term planning.

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

1966 – Present – Formed Graubart & Co., I.M.E. Company, Central Park Associates, J.M. Noel Homes Inc. N.R. Martin Homes Inc.

Most of these firms have been involved in construction, marketing and management of approximately 3,000,000 square feet of commercial property and 1,000 single and multi-family units. Activities have been mostly in Houston, Texas, with a branch office in Austin. Activities included site selection, construction financing, permanent financing, design layout, marketing, interaction with subcontractors, leasing, management etc.

1967 – Mr. Gleem Car Wash Systems Inc. – Built, owned and operated a full-service car wash selling Texaco gasoline and related products.

1990 – Southwest Retirement Ltd. – Formed to operate a retirement home with 183 rooms catering to individuals who lived independently, required Supportive Living help or needed care involving Alzheimer’s disease.

* Participated as an Expert Witness in a variety of matters involving Real Estate issues

1960 -1966 – Divco Wayne Corp. Manufacturers of trucks, school buses, hearses, ambulances, and mobile homes. Vice President of financing division, which handled customer financing and leasing arrangements as well as dealer inventory financing. Experience in turning around a losing manufacturing facility after 22 months of consecutive losses.

1954-1960 – Vice President – Conditional Sales Credit Corp. – Time sales financing and leasing of a variety of income-producing machinery and executive aircraft. Responsible for sales, marketing, credit criteria, internal bank lines of credit. Located in New York but operated nationally.

EDUCATION

1957 – New York University – Graduate School of Business Administration – M.B.A. in Banking and Finance

1953 – Syracuse University – B.S. in Finance and Real Estate.

1967 – Licensed Real Estate Broker State of Texas

PAST & PRESENT AFFILIATIONS

* Instructor of Real Estate at Society of Advanced Real Estate Subjects at Texas A&M University * Vice President Greater Houston Builders Association * International Council of Shopping Centers * Houston Apartment Association * Society of Industrial & Office Realtors * Texas Association of Retirement Communities * Board of Neighborhood Centers Inc./Baker Ripley * Board of Healthcare & Nursing Education Foundation * National Board of Governors American Jewish Committee * President Jewish Federation of Greater Houston * Board Republic Bank Post Oak * Prostate Cancer Committee of American Cancer Society

Success Guide, Executive Coach

Ideal Clients

Owners that want to achieve their vision of success for themselves and their business
Leaders desiring to become world-class and need someone to help them get there
Businesses going through transition that want to obtain long-term growth in a fiscally responsible way
Privately held and family-owned businesses with revenues between $1M and $150M

Executive Coaching and Leadership Development Expertise

Rich focuses on developing leaders to become better every day and to overcome their personal challenges for success. He helps develop high-performing teams and elevates each member along the way. He will roll up his sleeves and work relentlessly to help clients identify core barriers for success and help them develop a plan to destroy those barriers.

Rich understands the nuances of private and family-owned businesses and the challenges they present. He provides expertise as needed in the following roles:

Servant Leader and Success Guide
Executive Coach
Leadership Development Professional
Succession Planning and Family Member Development Guru

Business and Career Background

Rich is the Founder and Chief Success Guide for Rich Hall Group, an executive coaching and services firm. He has extensive experience in the corporate world that he leverages for his clients. Representative successes are:

Leader of a global 68-year family-owned business that he led the transformation from stagnation and financial losses to record profits and revenue in the same year.
Executive leading Client Services at a 25-year family-owned software company in a very mature market. He transitioned the company to a world-class service organization (as measured by Net Promoter Score) that participated in a very successful exit.
Key leader of a small, outsourced service company to participate in an event within first year of hire. Result was a triangular merger that achieved a strong exit for investors.
Leader of team that developed the world’s highest capacity legal discovery processing solution for the largest and most complex bankruptcy in the world (Enron). Savings for the creditors were identified as over $150M in two years.

Rich’s specialty is to leverage his experience to help clients rapidly identify the challenges holding them and their companies back from achieving outstanding success. He then helps them develop a plan and guides them along the way. He ensures the leadership team is prepared to continue without him through leadership training, coaching, and mentorship.

Education, Certifications, and Key Associations

Rich earned his Bachelor of Science in Management Science from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). He earned his MBA at the University of Houston in the evenings and weekends while working full-time leading Enron’s legal data processing team during the bankruptcy. In addition, Rich is a Birkman Certified Professional (premier personality assessment tool).

Rich is a mentor for military veterans and spouses through Veterati. He is a volunteer with Prison Entrepreneurial Program (PEP) to help prepare felons to achieve lifelong success after parole.

Visit his blog at richhallgroup.com to learn more.

Ideal Clients – (New clients are being accepted)

Businesses seeking conventional financing (including SBA Loans) for working capital, lines of credit, business expansion, fixed asset (equipment and real estate) acquisition and/or refinancing, purchasing a business, or a complete debt restructure.
Small to mid-sized business in any type of business segment with revenues from $1.0 million to $50.0 million which are located in the greater Houston, Texas marketplace.
Business owners seeking financial assistance, directional guidance, general business advice and solutions to business questions, problems, and challenges.

Financial Services Industry Executive with years of experience working with and listening to small business owners’ desires, ideas, plans and concerns and developing well thought-out and researched solutions that meet their individual needs or accomplish their respective goals in a mutually agreed upon manner that can actually become reality.

Proven track record in the following areas:

Business Plan Development	Effective Negotiating	Working with Financial Institutions
Financial Management	Relationship Building	Strong Analytical Skills
Organization Improvement	Strategic Thinking and Planning	Dealing with Difficult Situations
Budget and Forecast Modeling	Setting up Advisory Boards

Business and Career Background

Richard has worked for large national financial institutions as well as regional and local community banks. He has held positions as Regional President, Senior Vice-President, Department and Group Manager, and National Marketing and Sales Director, and Branch Manager. Financial services groups reporting to Richard have included small business banking, international and domestic private banking, executive and professional banking, consumer banking, indirect auto, student lending, central credit, mortgage lending, workout solutions, and community development.

As Director, President, or Officer with over 30 different organizations, Richard has a long history of serving in leadership capacities in the non-profit and community service sectors. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Silver Fox Advisors and President of the Linda Lorelle Scholarship Fund. He was the first non-attorney to Chair a State Bar of Texas Committee and a local Houston State Bar Grievance Committee. He is also a life member of two public service entities. He has received numerous awards including the Independent Bankers Association of Texas’ President’s Award.

Horizon Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 55
Katy, TX 77492

Ideal Clients

Unfunded start-up product and/or service companies
Small to mid-sized business with revenues from $5MM to $500MM positioned for growth at topline, their profitability, and their leadership team
Leaders who are committed to learning and growing professionally and personally

Seasoned Executive with demonstrated intrapreneur results obtained through leading start-up businesses, building global finance infrastructure, operational improvement, clinical service, product development, and marketing teams.

Proven track record in the following areas:

Strategic Planning	Global Business Integration	Process Improvement
Product & Service Development	Business Start-up	Change Acceleration
Financial Management	Physician Practice Management	Lean Six Sigma
Organization Development	Leadership Development	Continuity Planning

Bill is currently utilizing his 35 years of experience as a general manager, financial officer, product/service development and marketing leader to assist owners/leaders of various size businesses achieve their initial or next level of growth. His clients are well-positioned to get Angel Funding, understand how to steer their companies to successful short-term and long-term goals, achieve organization effectiveness, and continuously improve their business and management processes. Bill is strong in finance and will ensure you understand your financials and can accurately speak about the financial health of your company. A must if you want outside investment.

Business and Career Background

When Bill left McKesson Specialty Health, he was the Senior Vice President responsible for growing the depth, reach, and operational performance of the US Oncology practices in Florida. Bill joined US Oncology (purchased by MCK in 2010) in 2001 and where he held a wide range of executive positions ranging from building standalone cancer centers, growing the Radiation and Imaging service line, and developing a comprehensive quality program grounded in Six Sigma in order to compete in a value-based reimbursement environment. Additionally, he led the creation of, and taught at, US Oncology’s Leadership Institute.

Prior to joining US Oncology, Bill spent 20 years with General Electric. During his tenure with GE, he held a wide range of financial, product development, and operational positions in GE Healthcare, GE Motors, and various Corporate Departments. His executive roles in financial management, global product, and services business units, and started a consulting business focused on bringing Six Sigma to healthcare.

Education and Certifications

Bill earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a major in accounting, from Auburn University. He is certified as a Six Sigma Greenbelt and is a non-practicing CPA. Additionally, Bill attended numerous Leadership and Business Development courses at GE’s Crotonville Education Center. In addition, he has co-written articles on Improving Quality and Service, Clinical Productivity Improvement; and Leading Change. Bill is a Board Member of SpringSpirit, a Houston organization focused on developing at-risk children and is the current President of Silver Fox Advisors.

CPA/Business Owner

During his over 50-year career, Herb has had various roles including Partner with three National Accounting Firms. Twice started a local accounting firm to be the springboard for mergers, acquisitions, and the eventual sale of the accounting business. Experience also includes role of CFO with a start-up publicly traded company and a start-up private company. Currently on the Board of Directors of a distribution company.

Skills and Abilities

Accounting and Auditing – Audited private and public companies. Herb can be valuable as member/chair of the audit committee as well as a resource to the CFO in connection with the impact of changes in accounting principles.
Growth through acquisition– Herb has participated in numerous company acquisitions and business sales both as a principal and as an advisor.
Organic growth – Herb has grown accounting firms through the addition of services and key people.

Professional Organizations

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants
Houston Chapter of Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants
National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts
The ESOP Association (served on finance committee)
Founder – Houston Chapter, Private Director’s Association
Silver Fox Advisors

Volunteer Organizations

Congregation Beth Yeshurun, Board of Trustees and Budget Chair, 2004-2014, Treasurer, Vice-President and member of Executive Committee 2014-2017. Formed and served on audit committee. Currently Chairman of audit committee and member of the Board of Trustees.

Speeches/Seminars

Speeches at ESOP Association conferences:

A Journey in Re-leveraging.
Corporate Governance – Views from an Appraiser, a Trustee, and a Banker.
Advanced Accounting Issues for ESOP Owned Companies.
How to Get More Value From Your Appraiser.

Speeches to Merger and Acquisition Forum, Houston

Seller Due Diligence.
Employee Stock Ownership Plan as an Exit Strategy.

Seminars to Houston Chapter of Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants

Principals of Business Valuation.
Employee Stock Ownership Plan as an Exit Strategy.
Exit Strategies for Privately Owned Business.
Managing an Accounting Practice.

Speech to National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA)

Valuing ESOP Owned Companies.

Speeches to University of Houston Bauer School of Business Alumni

Employee Stock Ownership Plan as an Exit Strategy.
Exit Strategies for Privately Owned Business.
The Annual Business Check-Up. How Good Corporate Governance Adds Value.

Specialties

Advisory Boards
Leadership Development
Operations Management
Strategic Planning

Background and Experience

After 30 years of working in line and staff positions in multi-national corporations, Mary Kole started a consulting practice focused on assisting leaders of public and private companies with the development and implementation of strategies to achieve company or organization objectives. Her recent clients have included integrated energy, engineering services, power generation, business consulting, software development and service companies as well as non-profit organizations. Mary is a professional Business Leadership Mentor and former Chairman, President and Vice President of the Silver Fox Advisors.

With multi-national energy companies, she held various positions of increasing responsibility including General Manager, Global Operations where she led a global organization responsible for transportation of refined products via ships, barges, pipelines, and railcars, for inventory levels throughout the supply chain, for a recycled-oil processing plant and for ship bunkering operations in the Panama Canal. As Manager of Retail Marketing, she managed an organization with profit & loss responsibility for supplying a network of 2000 retail service stations including service station acquisitions and divestitures, real estate sales, credit exposure, brand presentation, advertising, and retail imaging.

As President of Industry Model Enterprise LLC, an organization she created, she led 140 employees from 14 oil companies to develop a breakthrough vision for streamlining the industry’s mid- and back-office processes through a standardized, web-enabled solution.

Mary also managed a commercial trading business, directing a team of refined products and feedstocks traders engaged in short-term and long-term trading, purchase and sale agreements. She held the position of Accounting and Finance Manager where she supervised a team that provided financial analysis, accounting, and back-office support for crude and refined products physical, futures, and options trading.

Earlier in her career, Mary served as a Market Research Analyst with a major Japanese motor company, designing and conducting market research studies for current and future car models.

Mary holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, both from the University of Southern California. Having lived in Mexico City as a child, she is fluent in Spanish.

Ideal clients:

Company at a crossroads, needing to grow, merge or roll up.
Company and industry groups needing the wisdom of a credible second opinion from the Big Picture of Business perspective.
Company planning retreats, with Hank Moore as featured speaker-presentor.

Hank Moore is the highest level of business overview expert and is in that rarified circle of experts such as Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Steven Covey, Peter Senge and W. Edwards Deming. Drucker termed Hank Moore’s Business Tree™ as the most original business model of the past 50 years. The Business Tree™ is his trademarked approach to growing, strengthening and evolving business, while mastering change.

Hank Moore has advised many of the top CEOs on strategy, leadership and growth, including Disney, Marriott, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T, United Way, Texaco and hundreds more. He advises companies about the Big Picture issues which profoundly affect the business climate. He has presented Think Tanks for five U.S. Presidents and has spoken at six Economic Summits.

Mr. Moore has provided senior level advising services for more than 5,000 client organizations (including 100 of the Fortune 500), companies in transition (startup, re-engineering, mergers, going public), public sector entities, professional associations and non-profit organizations. He has worked with all major industries over a 40-year career. He advises at the Executive Committee and board levels, providing Big Picture ideas.

Hank’s book series “The Big Picture of Business” has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. “The Big Picture of Business” is a trilogy, with Book 4 in production. Two others in the series are “Non-Profit Legends” and “Pop Icons and Business Legends,” both also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. All 12 of Hank’s books have just been named to the Great Books Section of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (where Hank was inducted in 1992).

Proven track record in the following areas:

Visioning & Strategic Planning	Company Reorganizations	Crisis Management Preparedness
Growth Strategies Programs	Reorganizing Board of Directors	Creative Idea Generation
Re-Engineering	Mergers& Acquisitions	Executive Think Tanks
Non-Profit Consultation	Performance Reviews	Board & CEO advising

Categories of Speaking Engagements:

Executive Think Tanks for corporate leadership
Association and corporate leadership development institutes
Economic development symposia and conference Futurism keynoter
Instructing business leaders how to conduct Strategic Planning

What sets this series apart from other business consulting:

Discerning sources of business advice. Collaborations, partnering and joint-venturing. How to create and change corporate cultures. Vision that transcends hype and pretense.
Understanding and dealing with distractions. Avoiding the rabbit holes to stay focused. Getting the success that you deserve. Properly mentoring the next generation of leaders. Results based planning.
Taking the offensive to be strategic. Creating a career body of work. Customer focused management. The business leader as community leader. Keeping it real and sustaining success in the long-term.
Getting, keeping and inspiring stakeholders. Performance based budgeting. Learning from the past to master the future. Branding and marketing under the umbrella of Big Picture strategy.
Mastering the Big Picture. Escaping the partial-niche mentality. Meeting marketplace demands with innovations. Learning from failures in order to succeed. Fine-tuning people’s behaviors into collective strength.
Why businesses go bad and how to avoid the traps. How to succeed beyond previously-held beliefs. Evolving the workforce into professionals who go the distance. Cause related marketing as a definitive success strategy.
How to innovate. Creative business after-markets. Benefiting from change. Discerning true business consultants from vendors. Creating business partnerships that previously did not exist.
How and why to move the future. Understanding trite expressions in order to create real strategies. Why good organizations click. Professional development they are not getting. Communications strategies.
Crisis management and preparedness. Quality control. The path from innovation to success. Businesses in transition. Public company obligations. Charity involvement. How good companies do great things.

Ned Mueller is a highly effective leadership professional, who rapidly and astutely identifies critical organizational issues, system drivers, and essential dependencies to build and implement effective programs.

Mr. Mueller is Founder and CEO of Mueller Consultants LLC, a Veteran-owned business providing sound and effective Operational Risk Management and Senior Leadership insight and guidance to Business Owners and C-level Management. Mueller Consultants brings in-depth and highly effective operational backgrounds in Aviation, Aerospace, Maritime, Nautical, and Oil & Gas Surface and Subsurface environments. We bring “Technology to Business and Sound Business Fundamentals to Technology.” Ned is also a certified Six Sigma Black Belt Professional and Change Management Specialist.

Upon graduating from the U. S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Marine Engineering, Ned received his commission as a Marine Corps Second Lieutenant in 1976. Subsequent to completion of The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia and flight training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in 1978. During his career as a Marine fighter pilot, he held a number of leadership positions in operational squadrons. A graduate of the U.S. Navy’s Fighter Weapons School (Topgun) and Test Pilot School and member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, he also completed course requirements toward a Master’s in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee. His active service included flight instructor duties during the introduction of the F/A-18 in the early 1980’s and heading F/A-18 flight test at Patuxent River, Maryland from 1990 to 1993. During this tour, Ned served as lead government representative establishing the F/A-18E/F Integrated Test Team. Mr. Mueller served in combat as an augment pilot to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232 in Desert Storm and as Commanding Officer of VMFA 312, deployed aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), during Operation Deliberate Force.

After retiring from the Marine Corps in 1997, Mr. Mueller joined Lockheed Martin and led contractor tasks on NASA’s X-38 International Space Station Crew Return Vehicle Prototype at Johnson Space Center (JSC). Until February 2005, Ned served as Advanced Vehicle Manager for Lockheed Martin Space Operations in Houston, Texas. In addition to the X-38 project, his responsibilities have included tasks associated with: Orbital Space Plane; Crew Escape System; STS-107 Columbia Mishap Investigation and Recovery Efforts; and Space Shuttle Program Return to Flight Activities. Subsequent to the STS-107 tragedy, he performed additional duties as Columbia Task Force (CTF) Johnson Space Center (JSC) Representative, responsible for coordinating JSC’s technical, institutional, and programmatic interfaces with the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). After completion of his duties with the CTF, Mr. Mueller assumed added responsibility as Management Panel Representative for NASA’s Return to Flight Task Group, which was charged with independently assessing NASA’s compliance with CAIB report recommendations. He subsequently worked for ARINC, headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, to develop opportunities and establish company capabilities in aerospace, transportation, energy, security, and public safety sectors for Houston and the Western Gulf Coast region. During late 2006 Ned joined GB Tech, Incorporated, a high technology, and aerospace firm headquartered in Houston, Texas, region with additional activities in the contiguous United States and overseas. He subsequently assumed responsibility for all operations and business development as Vice President and General Manager, Operations.

Ideal Clients

CEOs struggling to execute a revenue growth strategy through others
Sales VPs and Sales Managers whose teams and team members aren’t producing sufficient results for continued employment
Independent Business Consultants, Sales trainers and Fractional Sales Managers who want their advisory work to result in sustainable traction and and to improve their value to clients by solidifying the systems and processes they put into place
Small to mid-sized businesses with revenues from $2MM to $100MM who want to generate double and triple-digit revenue growth
Business owners with commoditized businesses who want to de-commoditize and eliminate the competition

Five Decades of Entrepreneurship building and selling three service business in provisional staffing, telecom technology management, and enterprise software development, plus 20 years developing and executing radical strategies to improve performance of struggling businesses, mentoring CEOs in double and triple-digit revenue growth, and leading clients in the achievement of ‘INC 5000’, ‘Best Places to Work’ and ‘Fastest Growing Companies’ awards.

Best Selling Author of ‘THIRTEENERS: Why Only 13 Percent of Companies Successfully Execute Their Strategy – and How Yours Can Be One of Them’. Summarized commercially by getAbstract.com and Summary.com, (Audible complete early 2021) and named one of the top 5 English language business books in the world at the prestigious Frankfurt Book Fair.

A history of effective strategy and execution, delivering high touch, hands-on, mentoring of the following issues & subject matters:

Reverse Salient Business Development: Specializing in identifying significant weaknesses (Reverse Salients) in business and technological systems that identify previously unseen, yet pivotal, marketplace opportunities for companies
Business Category Development: Creation of new business categories that de-commoditize companies and make them exceedingly more competitive and able to eliminate competition in the same industry space
Uncovering Hidden Contexts: Uncovering the hidden conversations that run in the background of the workplace that undermine and sabotage employee performance and replace it with a future-based perspective, standing in that future.
Designing Signature Experiences: Establishing unforgettable signature experiences for companies – a journey that leaves clients wanting more
Forging Promise-Based [Business] Management Models: A system of managing employees by stopping the use of hierarchy methods and start managing and measuring employee promises to take bold action.
Constructing Highly Effective Team ‘Accountability Funnels’: Designing essential revenue funnels that assure the elements of diverse internal processes are executed
Launching Proprietary Team Accountability Scorecard®: The ultimate SaaS management tool developed to drive strategy execution flawlessly thru combined deployment of promise-based management and execution funnels

Education

Business education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (1971)

University of Houston/Hilton College – Honorary Alumni (class of 2000)

Community

Officer / Board Member Houston Symphony – leader of organizational transformation, VP 1998-2006

Board Member Hilton School of Restaurant and Hotel Management at U of H (Prosser Endowment) 1993- 2001

Board Member Imago Relationships International 1996-2010

Ideal Clients

People within the Moody Rambin organization
Other business people at all stages of company or career development
Recent college graduates
Addicts
Convicts, both in and out of prison

Background

Howard is a Co-Founder and current CEO of Moody Rambin, one of Houston’s premier, full service commercial real estate firms, serving owners, tenants and investors in the office, industrial, retail and investment sectors, primarily in the Houston SMSA since 1969.

Howard’s experience with the firm has been as a developer and owner of office building, motels, apartments, and condominiums, with the primary focus on the office sector.

Currently, the firm operates as a service provider for third parties. Howard’s specialty in this arena is in leasing representation for owners and tenants. He also offers consulting services, providing his clients with the unique perspective of a developer, owner, and broker/agent.

Throughout his career, Howard has been active in the venture capital space, starting or helping start several firms. In addition, he is active in the venture capital sector in Houston through his membership and participation in organizations such as the Houston Angel Network and entrepreneurial programs at the University of Houston and Rice University.

Currently, Howard devotes considerable time to coaching and mentoring and this stems from his recognition of the statements:

If I only knew then…..
Life is like a bank account, you can’t take out what you don’t put in

Howard’s focus is on helping others in reaching their goals, achieving financial independence, and overall improvement of their quality of life.

His areas of coaching include:

People within Moody Rambin
Other business people at all stages of company or career development
Recent college graduates
Addicts
Convicts, both in and out of prison

His business coaching/mentoring areas of strength are:

Visioning, strategy, tactics
Planning
Marketing
Sales
Accounting
Finance

Howard’s life has taken him back and forth from New Canaan, CT and Houston. He is a graduate of Deerfield Academy, Kinkaid Academy, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and SMU.

Howard is a member of Houston Country Club, The Houston Angel Network and several non profit organizations.

He founded Keep Houston Beautiful in the early 70s’s as an organization to fight litter and beautify the city. For this, he was recognized by the mayor in proclaiming November 3, 2003, as J. Howard Rambin, III Day.

Howard’s family includes his wife, four children and a multitude of dogs.

Ideal Clients

Small businesses with annual revenues from $1MM – $25M
Owner is committed to growing revenues and building a strong organization top to bottom
Owner is willing to establish their personal purpose with the business including their future exit from the business

Experienced entrepreneurial/business owner with over 40 years of quantifiable achievement with start-up as well as established businesses. Business background in the purchase, development and final disposition of multiple businesses; as well as the turn around and leading of strategic business units. BBA with specialty in Real Estate/Finance from University of Texas at Austin and JD from Bates College of Law (UofH)

AREAS OF MENTORING

Company Formation / Start-up Consulting
Business / Enterprise Turnarounds
Strategic / Creative Marketing / Planning
Human Resources Management
Margin Improvement
Contract Review and Negotiation
Relationship and Team Building
Family-Owned Businesses

Business and Career Background

Rick grew up in a family-owned business whose core business became the largest of its kind in North America. The business expanded into other fields which allowed Rick the opportunity to grow into many different positions. He served as director of sales/marketing for over 200 stores, as well as general manager for various business units. When the family business expanded into real estate, he worked his way up from a leasing agent, property and construction manager to become Vice-President of Real Estate operations which oversaw over 100 properties in multiple cities.

The second half of Rick’s career, if you will, started when at the age of 30 he struck out on his own. Rick purchased, started, built and later sold several businesses. Founder and principal of electronics firm that specialized in development and marketing of proprietary chip-based products. First, he led a group of investors who purchased a 70-year-old regional sign business. His next business he started with a partner and a total capital contribution of $1,000.00. The company developed and manufactured automation products for conveyor controls, POS and time and attendance. Rick directed sales/marketing efforts including market planning, distribution network setup and ongoing sales fulfillment.

When he sold his interest in the electronics business to his partner, he started an administrative management company. The company offered outsourcing for insurance, accounting and purchasing management to a number of small business clients. Rick also financed and help a young entrepreneur start a technology service company that provides business technology to small-medium sized professional businesses in the Houston area.

Rick has been a Silver Fox Advisor for 15+ years working as an advisor/mentor with start-ups and small businesses in different fields. He also currently mentors 3 business roundtables sponsored by the Silver Fox Advisors, two of which are made up of area non-profit businesses. His radio show, The Weekly Business Hour, is broadcast every week on Lone Star Community Radio and its video/podcast is distributed world-wide.

ORGANIZATIONS & ACTIVITIES

Active in community affairs – served as President and Vice-President of multiple community associations; Trustee of private foundation; past member of the Board of Trustees Houston Museum of Natural Science and Chairman of Technology Committee; past Chairman of the Board (2013) and Director of Greater Houston YMCA and past Chairman of Facilities and Human Resources Committees, as well as annual Partners of Youth Campaign and Capital Campaign; Deacon, elder and trustee at Windwood Presbyterian Church

Active in business groups – Past Director of State and National Trade Associations; Past President of college business fraternity Houston alumni group; member in good standing of Texas Bar Associations; past member of Business Development Committee and Emerging Business Council of Greater Houston Partnership; currently a director of Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce and head of their business roundtable group.

Ideal Clients

Strong desire to grow business
Revenues greater than 2 million
Believe leadership is ultimately key to success

Profile

Strategic Planning
Leadership Development
Operational Execution

Lane has been a Silver Fox Advisor for twenty years coaching, consulting, and mentoring small business owners, CEOs, and entrepreneurs to grow their companies. After graduating from the University of Colorado, his career goals were to become a senior executive in a large corporation, a business professor, and a consultant to small businesses. He accomplished his first goal with a distinguished career in Shell Oil with multiple executive positions including CFO, Vice President Corporate Planning, Vice President of Business Services (Finance, IT, Purchasing & Administrative Services) Regional Coordinator Far East (Royal Dutch/Shell), Director East Zone Oil Products (Royal Dutch/Shell) and President of Shell Chemical.

On his second goal, Lane became an Executive Professor at the University of Houston teaching leadership, corporate strategy, and energy courses. He authored Develop a Leadership Plan Become a Great Leader, and coauthored Terra Incognita: A Navigation Aid for Energy Leaders.

On his third goal still in progress, Lane works selectively with small companies where he can add value with his strength in strategic visioning, leadership development, and operational execution. His passion to help small companies began with family businesses where his first role while in the third grade was a dishwasher. He has sat on Advisory and Board positions in small companies including the former Houston Technology Center (HTC) accelerator. He has invested in several small companies through the HTC and the Houston Angel Network.

Education and Certifications

Lane earned a BS in Business from the University of Colorado in 1969 with majors in Management and Marketing. He was the Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship winner for the highest GPA in the Business School, a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, and the American Marketing Association. He continued at the University of Colorado to receive an MS in Quantitative Management Science with a minor in Management. In 1979, having attended night courses at the University of Houston he received an MS in Accounting. Later, he became a CPA but no longer maintains that certification. Lane was pursuing a PhD in Finance at the University of Houston but left the program when promoted to Senior Management in Shell in 1985. He received an MBA in Finance upon leaving the PhD program.

Austin Tenette is a certified business coach with the FocalPoint Coaching organization and serves as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence to the HCC Northeast campus. In coaching middle-market businesses to success, Austin focuses on the three drivers of profitable, sustainable and exponential growth:

* Strategic Direction and Execution,

* Customer Experience, and

* Team Dynamics

Prior to Focal Point, Austin was a successful business development executive with two of world’s largest professional services firms, KPMG and Ernst and Young, working with global organizations on their business transformation initiatives.
SELECT CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Leadership and Change

Executed the financial, strategic, and operational success of a $40M business unit with over 300 client relationships, 1,700 employees and 15 managerial direct reports in four branch offices.

Earned global recognition for improving unit’s operating profit by 32% in less than 10 months by reducing indirect costs, implementing strict cost controls, and instituting price increases. Improved client retention by 20%, reduced unbilled labor costs by over 40%, while identifying and exploiting market segmentation opportunities.

Organizational Enablement

Created Corporate Strategy function for a $1 billion revenue services firm, collaborating with business-unit leaders and staff to provide an analytic perspective to strategy development sessions and strategic

initiatives. Led all corporate and business-unit strategy development and implementation activities.

Created the Company’s first-ever five-year strategic plan and led the annual update process; acquired eight security systems integrators, which became the core of the “differentiation” and “security solutions” strategy; company was sold via an industry roll-up at a 26% premium.

Created Board-level and C-suite networks to engage key decision-makers in peer-to-peer dialogue and identification of evolving business trends, while accelerating awareness and sales of service offerings.

Business Development

Execute global professional services firm’s account strategy framework in the energy vertical, focusing on clients’ business issues and strategies, to successfully pursue and win several multi-million dollar advisory and assurance engagements.

Top performer among thirteen peers, in developing/managing new business. Grew annual portfolio from $3M to over $7M in less than three years. Adept at growing new business within existing client group by building new buyer relationships and cross-selling of service lines.

Austin is a native of Southern California and holds a BBA in accounting and earned an MBA in Finance from UCLA.

Ideal Clients

Small to mid-sized business with revenues from $5MM to $500MM positioned for growth at topline, their profitability, and their leadership team
Executives who are dedicated to leadership development and personal growth
Owners and executives wanting to improve team performance via Servant Leadership

Coaching and Consulting Experience

Doug Thorpe brings 30 years’ experience from military, corporate, and non-profit leadership roles. He has coached leaders in multiple industries and global locations. Doug has senior management experience in all major sectors; the military, Fortune 500, entrepreneurial, and non-profit.

Doug provides executive coaching and business consulting services for executives and owners seeking fresh ideas for the development of C-suite talent, high potential leaders, and team development. Doug has created success as an entrepreneur, building several companies and non-profits. Doug’s clients realized significant cost savings, more effective operations, and higher profitability by utilizing his business and coaching expertise.

Business and Career Background

Doug developed his leadership expertise with over 25 years in executive roles that covered several major sectors. As a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army, Doug managed large logistics operations at the Army Flight School in Ft. Rucker, AL. Upon entering civilian life at a large regional bank, Doug earned the title of Division Head leading hundreds of bank employees responsible for multiple support functions serving a $27 Billion bank holding company.

After 20 years in banking and leading three mergers, Doug transitioned into the private sector and established an independent consulting practice. His firm provided guidance to financial service companies across the nation. In addition, he started three other entrepreneurial ventures and one regional non-profit.

Doug’s coaching clients have experienced personal and professional growth in their leadership capabilities as evidenced by case studies including organizational wins for change management, post-merger efficiencies, new venture launches, improved team performance, and better employee engagement.

Being a Houston native, Doug has developed a deep understanding of oil and gas, medical services, real estate and banking. He is also an author and speaker, producing the widely followed program “Leadership Powered by Common Sense”, a series of blog, vlog and podcast content seen by 100,000 subscribers.

Education and Certifications

Doug earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University Mays School of Business and an MBA from Troy University. Doug has obtained coach training from John Maxwell, Marshall Goldsmith, and the International Coaching Federation. He is an associate member of the Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Visit his blog at DougThorpe.com to learn more.

Ideal Clients

Global Enterprises in Healthcare, life sciences, aviation, and technology verticals
Seeking a unique perspective from a distinguished physician and business executive with medical, business, boardroom, social & community experiences

Seasoned Executive with extensive corporate health experience, spanning clinical medicine, health benefits, public health, and pharmacy. He is an experienced board member with global, strategic, and operational expertise applicable to multiple markets. He has served as chairman of multiple boards and board committees. He is a frequent speaker at global health conferences and universities on healthcare policy, population health, and corporate health/benefit strategies.

Business and Career Background Ken’s business career of 30+ years delivering tailored healthcare services and corporate wellness programs around the world ensures a seasoned, even visionary, perspective on how companies build successful businesses. His advanced clinical skills, and extensive, up-to-date knowledge of contemporary medical practices and healthcare trends, bring subject matter expertise. His ability to integrate the objective with subjective, plus a strategic mindset, commercial orientation, technology interests, and disciplined fiscal approach, contributes to boardroom deliberations and decisions. His acumen gained from oversight roles within international, complex, and extremely dynamic organizations is being leveraged in boardroom guidance to senior leaders. He has earned a boardroom reputation as collaborative, thoughtful, focused, and knowledgeable. He is a diversity candidate embracing diversity.

Dr. Wells is currently on the Board of Directors of Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston; he serves on both the Audit and Quality Committees. He is also on the board of the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio and a member of the Academic Affairs Committee. Throughout the past two decades, he has served on nine other not-for-profit boards and six different advisory boards, gaining experience on many committees, including executive, governance, nominations, HR, and quality.

Ken founded Alken Health Resources as an administrative resource to provide medical direction and health consulting services to Fortune-size companies. He has developed and managed dozens of national and international health management programs for clients, delivering substantial savings and efficiencies. He has advised a global conglomerate, major energy, insurance companies, top U.S. municipality, hospitals, NASA, and the nation’s largest railroad, in their efforts to develop innovative health solutions to improve quality and control costs.

Engage a Service Provider

Our Associate members provide specialized services to support specific areas of your business.

Gordon Arnold

Intellectual Property Law
George Connelly

Tax Attorney
Jim Griffing

General Accounting and Tax
Gary Henderson

SBA Banker
Jim Iden

Building Scalable Companies
Melvin Maltz

Financial Planning & Insurance
Philip (Phil)Morabito

Marketing, Advertising & Public Relations
Donnie Roberts

Wealth Management & Estate Planning
John Sweney

Marketing & Sales
Joseph Tung

Small Business Attorney
Rand Wall

Employer Healthcare Benefit Programs
Nooshin Yazhari

Enterprise Technology & Data Security

Ideal Clients

Public and private companies in energy, healthcare, technology, professional and financial services
Mid-sized to large businesses with revenues of $5 million or more
Industry and executive leaders who are seeking to build their corporate reputation and partner on strategic integrated communications campaigns

Seasoned Executive with a history of demonstrated entrepreneurial leadership and proven results for clients across numerous industries through strategic integrated communications, media relations, community engagement, and thought leadership.

Proven track record in the following areas:

Public Relations	Entrepreneurship	Leadership Development
Investor Relations	Media Relations	Crisis Communications
Strategic Communications	Corporate Communications	Reputation Management

Phil has more than 37 years of experience in public relations and marketing, beginning with a Madison Avenue PR firm in New York City before founding Pierpont Communications in Houston. He has led Pierpont to represent the country’s most influential brands across a diverse range of industries. Phil has grown a company that provides proven results by leveraging Pierpont’s insights, expertise and relationships.

Business and Career Background

Philip Morabito, CEO of Pierpont Communications, founded his company in 1987. A born entrepreneur, Phil hired his first employee in 1992 and now oversees the largest independent integrated marketing and PR firm in the southwest – with offices in Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and New Jersey – and was named a 2006 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Houston.

Prior to starting Pierpont, Phil was a Senior Account Supervisor at Robert Marston & Associates in New York City. He managed major accounts with large budgets including Spalding Sports Worldwide, Pillsbury, Levi Strauss, Dean Witter, Control Data Corporation, and The Marriott Corporation.

Passionate about education, Phil has been an adjunct professor at the University of Houston since 1988, and today teaches a course in integrated marketing communications in the Graduate School of Business. He recently established the Advisory Board for the Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston and serves on the Board of Directors.

Education and Certifications

Phil earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from the University of Charleston, where he is actively involved with the Board of Trustees, and an MBA from the University of South Florida. Phil was recognized as the Houston Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO in 2018, and under his leadership, Pierpont has been named a Best Place to Work a total of 12 times. The firm is a five-time Houston 100 company, among other prestigious recognitions. Phil was also selected as the 1999 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Greater Houston Partnership CEO Roundtables for small businesses. Locally, he serves as an advocate for charitable organizations through his involvement with the San Jose Clinic, Theater Under the Stars (TUTS), Houston Technology Center and John Paul II Catholic School. Phil also contributes as a member of several professional organizations including the International Association of Business Communicators, American Marketing Association, Public Relations Society of America, Silver Fox Advisors, and Vistage International.

Ideal Clients

Funded start-up and mature growth companies
High net-worth investors seeking development opportunities
Business owners seeking to strategically pivot

Experienced Client-Focused Entrepreneurial Attorney who brings over 20 years of business and legal experience to the table. Joseph’s career began with investment banking and venture capital then advanced through an appellate judicial clerkship, a regional and national law firm, a global oilfield services company, his own firm, and recently joined Grable Martin Fulton to establish a Houston office for innovative law firm specifically designed with the entrepreneurial business client in mind by leveraging technology to eliminate overhead such as expensive office space and support staff while allowing efficient and cost-effective service with top-tier quality.

Practice Areas & Skills Include:

Corporate Structure	Transactions & Contracts	Strategic Planning
Business Litigation	Intellectual Property	Real Estate
Human Resources	Employment Law	Mergers & Acquisition
Risk Management	Leadership Development	Construction
Technology	Securities	Franchises

Business and Career Background

Prior to Gable Martin Fulton and his own practice, Joseph was Senior Legal Counsel for Schlumberger, where he was responsible for the Gulf Coast, Northeast, and Integrated Project Management business units. He started as Legal Counsel for the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Sustaining segment and supported Schlumberger’s intellectual property legal department. Prior to Schlumberger, Joseph was an associate attorney with the Chicago-based law firm of Seyfarth Shaw, LLP and the Houston-based law firm of Porter Hedges, LLP. Upon graduating law school, he was a financial analyst for Founder’s Equity Group and served as a briefing attorney to Justice Tim Taft of the First Court of Appeals.

Education and Awards

Joseph earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University where he won numerous advocacy awards and was named Outstanding Advocate by the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas, where he was a member of the two-time national championship debate team. Joseph has also served on numerous non-profit boards and has coached and mentored hundreds of students over 20 years in speech and advocacy competitions with schools including Bellaire High School, The Kinkaid School, and Thurgood Marshall School of Law. In addition to the Silver Fox Advisors, Joseph is active in the business community as a member of the Houston Business Network™ and Network in Action.

Joseph is passionate about representing his clients. He believes entrepreneurs and businesses should have the best possible representation without having to bet the business on legal fees when faced with opportunities and challenges alike. His experience has molded his approach to the practice of law where solutions are preferable over conflict and listening is more important than arguing.

Background / Experience:

Nooshin is a technology entrepreneur, consultant, advisor, and strategic leader with well-rounded experience in delivering enterprise technology and business solutions and leading business operations. She has deep domain expertise and a successful track record in enterprise software solutions, business automation, and portfolio and program management.

Nooshin is the founder and president of Optimum, a premier software, and digital solutions consulting firm, transforming businesses through the power of People, Technology, and Automated Processes.

Optimum helps organizations gain competitive advantage, increase efficiency, and drive digital transformation by employing strategic planning, innovative technologies, and streamlined processes. Optimum offers a full suite of digital services and solutions, including Strategic IT Consulting, Software Solutions and Services, and Business Process Management & Automation.

Throughout her career, Nooshin has successfully held roles with responsibility for enterprise-level, multi-million-dollar software delivery and execution, digital transformation implementations, PMO and organizational change management, and business operational excellence.

Nooshin leverages her expertise in Technology, Business Operations, Consulting, and Brand Development- for government and large privately-owned corporations- to bring digital innovation, well-defined strategic plans, and successful delivery and execution of projects to her clients.

Nooshin holds a master’s degree in Software Engineering from the Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas and has earned the globally recognized and demanded Project Management Institute Project Management Professional PMP® credential.

Nooshin is awarded the International GRIT Award of 2018, honoring 30 energy leaders from around the world. She was recognized for her inspiring and devoted passion and commitment to bringing innovation, optimization, and automation to the Energy industry.

Non-profit/Volunteer/Community Service:

Nooshin currently serves as the Vice President of eBusiness and Technology for Project Management Institute (PMI) Houston. She is also a member of the Silver Fox Advisors organization and a panelist at the Women in STEM events for HCC. Nooshin also serves on the advisory board of the NSBA and IIB Council. She is also a public speaker at local and state-wide conferences and events.

As a business owner, advisor, and mentor, Nooshin continues to serve the national and Houston community by providing jobs, services, consultation, and mentorship to individual professionals and corporations.

Cash management	Reducing working capital	Financial reporting
System implementation	Efficient internal controls	Audit issue resolution
Acquisitions and divestitures	Cost accounting systems

Advisor, Coach, Consultant, Mentor

Find value in your advisor relationship.

Describing the Advisors

Advisors and Associates Specialties

Engage an Advisor

Our Advisors provide support for a broad range of business areas.

Don Baird

George Connelly

John Curtiss

Diana C. Dale

Ralph D’Onofrio

Margarita Farmer

Noel Graubart

Henry Florsheim

Geoff Griffith

Rich Hall

Richard Hendee

William Herman

Jim Iden

Herbert Kalman

Mary L. Kole

Gerald Merfish

Hank Moore

Ned Mueller

David Neuberger

Monte Pendleton

Dan Prosser

J. Howard Rambin

Ibrahim Saleh

Rick Schissler

Lane E. Sloan

Austin Tenette

Doug Thorpe

Ken Wells

Don Baird

Sales or Operations Executive

George Connelly

Attorney, Chamberlain Hrdlicka

John Curtiss

Technology Sales and Marketing

Diana C. Dale

President, Worklife Institute

Ralph D’Onofrio

Fmr Exec Pennzoil Products

Margarita Farmer

Co-founder & Fmr COO US Signs

Noel Graubart

Formed Graubart & Co.

Henry Florsheim

Former Managing Dir KHOU

Geoff Griffith

Former President Gulfmark Energy

Rich Hall

Senior Executive, Middle Market

Richard Hendee

Fmr Banking Executive

William Herman

Former GE/McKesson Executive

Jim Iden

Building Scalable Companies

Herbert Kalman

Accounting and Finance

Mary L. Kole

Former Energy Executive

Specialties

Background and Experience

Gerald Merfish

Chairman, Merfish Supply

Hank Moore

Author, Speaker, Advisor

Ned Mueller

Lockheed Martin & NASA Exec

David Neuberger

Former CFO/Controller

Monte Pendleton

Serial Entrepreneur

Ideal Clients

Experience

Dan Prosser

CEO