Professional Expertise

Seth is an experienced coach, consultant, and entrepreneur with a track record in strategy consulting, executive education, software development, and change management. Because he believes that no leadership challenge can effectively be handled in the absence of the business context, Seth ensures that his clients are improving in ways that support their companies’ strategies, operating models, and cultures. His goal is to help clients focus their leadership development in ways that will drive significant business results.

Seth’s easy style and keen sense of humor allow him to be direct and, as one client noted, “to say things in a way that people can hear them.” He prides himself on what another client called “being firm and gentle at the same time.” Seth is able to analyze situations and offer up suggestions that are both insightful and practical, and yet he also “gets out of the way” to let his clients be responsible for their own successes.

Seth’s clients include industries such as: pharmaceutical, health and personal care products, credit card/banking, private equity, financial services, entertainment, retail, toys, building materials, appliances, lawn/garden products, food and beverage, hardware/software technology, insurance, defense contracting, asset management, intelligence information, and building and aerospace.

Seth has taught in executive education programs at Cornell, Dartmouth, University of Toronto, and the International Management Institute. He has recently coached executives as part of custom executive education programs at Dartmouth’s Tuck School.

Recent Coaching Assignments

• New CIO of a regional telecom company to lead IT more strategically and contribute more effectively with other members of senior management team
• CFO and other finance executives at two Fortune 500 manufacturing companies to eliminate micro-management which increased as a reaction to the Sarbanes-Oxley act
• CFO at an established technical publisher to drive the strategic planning process and be seen as CEO successor
• CFO successor at a Fortune 50 company to build relationships with peers across the organization and develop successors within his own organization
• CFO at financial services distribution company to shift his focus from “controller” to strategic CFO
• Divisional CFO at a Fortune 500 company to develop talent pipeline within his finance organization and adapt a leadership style that improved employee engagement
• New CMO (North America) of a global technology manufacturer to work more effectively with the president and drive change within the marketing organization
• CIO of global construction engineering firm to effectively work with lines of business by applying appropriate level of urgency (in contrast to a long-term, futuristic, slower approach)
• CIO of a founder-led financial services firm to assimilate into the culture from a career of senior level IT positions in a larger organization, and lead the change necessary to transform his group to better align with the strategy
• CEO of a healthcare IT firm to determine needs for CIO and CTO and subsequently to shift the IT culture to achieve improved product quality with responsible, replicable, scalable operating principles and process
• Principal at a private equity firm to demonstrate greater executive presence and relationship-building skills; promotion to Managing Director achieved following engagement
• President and leadership team of a $1 billion division of a financial services company to clarify their strategic priorities, sequence their initiatives, and identify cross-functional interdependencies
• Principal at a professional services firm to demonstrate a passion for revenue generation and team selling; promotion to Partner achieved following coaching
• Principal in operating group of a private equity firm to interact in a more senior advisory level with company executives, better leverage more junior resources, and adjust communication style with senior deal team colleagues
• New Head of Sales at a financial services firm to operate more strategically in developing initiatives to close revenue gaps
• VP of New Technology Development and his leadership team in Fortune 100 financial services company to establish trust, embrace difficult discussions, and improve performance
• New VP of Marketing at a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company to establish credibility across the organization, build relationships with key stakeholders, increase pace of decision-making, and demonstrate business value
• VP of R&D at a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company to reduce arrogant and emotional behavior directed at his peers
• VP of a division at a $1 billion professional services firm to prepare himself to assume the President role

Education and Professional Affiliations

• MBA, Harvard Business School
• BA, Economics, Yale University (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa)
• Coaching Certification, Hudson Institute
• Certified to administer MBTI, Hogan, CCL, and EQA assessments