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Our Practice Leader

Jillian Alexander Photo

Jillian Alexander, MBA, CM&AA, CHRC
Founder and CEO
Managing Director, Strategy & Corporate Development practice

For more than 25 years Jillian Alexander has been successfully advising on and managing projects on behalf of organizations which seek to remain or become TREND-SETTERS and MARKET LEADERS or seek beneficial EXIT. She has served a wide array of clients -- public corporations, private enterprises, and non-profit organizations operating in various industries, including Agribusiness, BioPharmaceutical, Consumer Products, Energy, Entertainment, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrial Products, Internet, Media, Professional Services, Retail, Technology, Telecommunications, and Travel as well as government agencies.

This highly acclaimed and award-winning Business Strategist, Corporate Development Specialist, Marketer, Deal Broker, and Entrepreneur is renowned for developing breakthrough innovations and breakaway strategies, resulting in catapulting clients toward success. Jillian’s client-specific confidential advice and efforts efficiently leading strategic initiatives have resulted in in-demand products and services; reducing annual operating costs by as much as 34% and improving productivity company-wide; developing profitable ventures and increasing sales in advanced and emerging markets; improving customer and employee satisfaction; award-winning business plans and marketing campaigns; start-ups for which she led strategic planning achieving successful exits or continually operating as going-concerns; increasing market share and profitability; enhanced enterprise value and increased share price; and clients realizing more than $3.4 billion via M&A transactions and IPOs plus billions more through joint ventures, licensing, and strategic alliance deals.

From her experience, Jillian has developed proven approaches and tools incorporating Design-Thinking, Systems-Thinking, and leveraging big data to rapidly identify opportunities and risks; create and execute growth, acquisition, exit, risk management, and other strategies; conceive new ventures; design new products and services; devise operating models; document business plans; source, assess, value, structure, negotiate, and manage acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, licensing deals, and other strategic alliances; produce effective corporate and brand marketing campaigns; assess and improve performance; and plan and manage business transformation. Clients leverage these to expand market share, grow revenue, improve performance, increase profitability, and enhance enterprise value.

Clients consistently commend Jillian for being a quick study; providing strategic insights and innovative, pragmatic solutions; creating effective negotiating strategies; building consensus, often amongst conflicting stakeholder groups; maintaining integrity, professionalism and sensitivity to clients; and ensuring timely completion of accurate, relevant, and robust deliverables.

In addition to Consulting, Jillian teaches Management, Marketing and Strategic Innovation courses as an Associate Professor at Santa Monica College (SMC) and leads workshops and seminars for Executives and Senior Management. SMC courses include Business Strategies, Entrepreneurship, International Business, International Marketing, Introduction to eCommerce, Management Principles, and Marketing Research & Consumer Behavior.

Early Career, Education, Professional Certifications, and Community Service

Prior to establishing international award-winning Conduit Consulting LLC in 2002, Jillian attained expertise in advising on and leading Corporate Development and General Management activities. Throughout two years of her 4–year tenure at Price Waterhouse / Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC), Jillian was the firm's West Region resource with the highest utilization, working full-time advising on client Spin-Offs, Merger Integration, and other Reorganization and Restructuring initiatives. As a Strategy Consultant at PW/PwC, her client-facing role quickly evolved from independent contributor to subject matter expert team leader. Typically, Jillian led creating the "to be" vision of client organizations, then created an implementable migration workplan, and advised on business transformation. Jillian also served as PwC’s West Region Strategy Consulting Practice Area Manager plus co-conceived the firm’s lucrative B2B purchasing consortium e.Conomy business concept and created its strategic plan. As head of Corporate Development at early-stage venture eMemories, she revised business plan documents which facilitated raising $4.8MM from private investors and structured and secured Eastman–Kodak’s $4.2MM investment. As Vice President–Corporate Development at SONY, Jillian not only guided development of eight nascent digital production and distribution businesses and secured four major Entertainment studios' investment as joint venture partners in MovieLink, but also led deals and advised on cross-business unit strategic initiatives as US SONY Ventures team member. Jillian assists consulting clients to achieve similar successes.

Her early career was comprised of progressively more responsible positions through which she developed broad and deep cross-functional management and data science skills –– first in Retail Sales Management roles with Ross Stores, Inc. and Bullock’s Department Stores (then a division of Federated Department Stores, now Macy’s), then in combined Production Management, Marketing Management, and General Management roles with Media and Entertainment companies servicing most Fortune 500 Entertainment studios, networks, syndicators and many other Consumer Products clients.

From her roles, Jillian has gained extensive experience managing projects, relationships, and business activities; and she has attained substantial knowledge of a wide array of industries, business processes, and regions which continually gets refreshed.

Being committed to sustainable economic development, Jillian was selected from a highly competitive field of candidates as 1995 Central & Eastern European Development (CEED) Program Fellow to advise and assist a company adjusting to competing in a market-based economy. Since then Jillian has not only authored business strategy and management articles published by Tribune Media, industry periodicals and professional journals; shared her wisdom during on-camera interviews with regional television and broadcast internet program Candid Conversations and leading industry internet journal Supply Chain Brain; but also has been a featured speaker at Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA), Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN), Institute of Business Forecasting (IBF), Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA), and other international and regional continuing professional education programs. Additionally, she championed municipal purchasing local supplier preference policy adoption and other regional economic development initiatives while serving as a Commissioner on the City of Santa Monica’s Commission on the Status of Women; guided at-risk youths' entrepreneurship, general management, and leadership skill development as a Junior Achievement (JA) advisor; and continues to provide project management, grant writing, fund-raising, and strategic sourcing services on Rotary International humanitarian service projects.

As a professional full-time Management Consultant and part-time Educator, the workshops and courses Jillian develops and delivers are structured in ways to teach methods and provide a forum for course participants to practice their application. Jillian has authored various strategic management and organization design methodologies and related training materials focusing on Strategic Planning and Strategy Development; Merger & Acquisition, Joint Venture, and Strategic Partnership Process (spanning from acquisition/partnership/divestiture strategy, due diligence process and management, valuation, deal structuring, negotiation, and documentation); designing and establishing Centers of Excellence and other Shared Services Organizations; Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, and Contractor/Vendor Management; Intellectual Property Rights Management; Economic Value Analysis; Valuations; Corporate Governance policies and practices; and Operating Performance Planning & Assessment.

Jillian came of age at a time when Executives and Senior Management were expected to be educated and experienced in all business functions and these roles were open to women. She studied Marketing at Arizona State University; completed her product design and marketing studies and received her B.A.A., cum laude, in Fashion Design from the American College for the Applied Arts; and earned her M.B.A. from Cornell University’s S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management where her studies concentrated on International Business and Finance. This dynamic businesswoman's professional qualifications include Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor, CFA Institute Regular Member and Certified Human Resource Consultant.

Innately curious and to enhance cross-cultural understanding, maintain fitness in natural environments, foster cross-border business eco-systems, and strengthen regional economies, Jillian is an avid traveler. Jillian's intrepid adventures span five continents include trekking in Nepal, SCUBA diving the Great Barrier Reef, kayaking amongst Orcas in the San Juan Islands, structuring acquisition plus planning privatization and integration of a Paperboard Mill in the former East Germany, and leading a group primarily comprised of young urban planners through much of the former East Germany during a month-long vocational and cultural exchange.

Due to enjoying the great outdoors and wanting to live in a community with a truly creative and entrepreneurial culture, Jillian recently relocated to Boise, Idaho. She continues to work with clients around the globe.

Our clients deserve and get a team who makes its best efforts and delivers desireable results. Don’t you?

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