• Organizational strategy
• Strategic planning
• Change management
• Market analysis
• Succession and leadership coaching

Credentials

Master’s degree in Business Administration, Strategy & Leadership Major, Kelley School, Indiana University

Bachelor’s degree in Music, Boston University

What Clients Value Most

Erik Finley helps leaders turn complex challenges into clear strategic direction. He combines analytical rigor with a deep understanding of organizational dynamics to drive sustainable growth. Erik works with clients to clarify differentiation, spark innovation, and build entrepreneurial cultures. Drawing on his experience with nonprofit and creative organizations, he helps teams strengthen performance and organizational health—even in resource-constrained environments.

Getting Results for Clients

•  Utilized market analysis, product mix, and product differentiation strategies to impact one-year annual revenue growth across three different organizations ranging from 15-17%
• Facilitated strategic capital investments, cost efficiencies, pricing and market strategies to improve net profitability of a company’s product line by 70+%
• Advised CEOs, board chairs, and search committees for executive and artistic leadership succession planning and onboarding across 4 organizations
• Collaborative partner to various C-suite non-profit leaders navigating complex operational constraints, financial turnarounds, and rapidly changing external environments

Prior to CSI

•  Vice President at Minnesota Orchestra for three years
• 13-years of executive experience at four non-profit arts organizations and venues ranging in size from $9M to $42M, leading departments ranging from 4 to 120

In The Community

Erik has held an eight-year relationship with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as General Manager and Consultant. In such role, he has partnered with a variety of community cultural and educational institutions and led operations and artistic endeavors during planning for the Orchestra’s $140+ million capital expansion and renovation project. He currently serves as the board chair at Forest Park Montessori School in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood.

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• Fundraising and Development Strategies
• Capital and Comprehensive Campaigns
• Leadership Development & Coaching
• Board Planning
• Capacity Building

Credentials

• Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Washington University
• Master’s degree in Speech and Hearing, Washington University

What Clients Value Most

Stephanie guides clients in developing a compelling vision and ensuring that the appropriate individuals, programs, and systems are in place to bring that vision to life. Clients appreciate Stephanie’s extensive experience as a non-profit leader, encompassing her tenure as a founding executive director of a prominent institution and her subsequent interim leadership roles. Additionally, clients value her deep understanding of the St. Louis philanthropic community.

Prior to CSI

• Founding executive director of the Center of Creative Arts (COCA). Stephanie oversaw the organization’s growth from a start-up with an annual budget of $80,000 to the fifth largest multi-disciplinary community arts center in the country, serving 50,000 people.
• Founded The Riven Company, a consulting firm that has served a wide range of clients in the arts, education, health, and youth development.

In the Community

Stephanie was one of the founding members of Central Reform Congregation. She remains active there and continues to serve in leadership roles.

The post Stephanie Riven first appeared on Collaborative Strategies Inc.

•  Fractional HR Leadership
• Talent Acquisition
• Talent Assessments
• Succession Planning
• M&A

Credentials

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis

360 Degree Facilitator Certification

Greater Missouri Leadership Challenge, class of 2014

What Clients Value Most

With over 20 years of diverse HR experience, Lauren is a trusted advisor for executives and business owners. Known for building cohesive teams across HR and the business, Lauren has a track record of developing talent strategies and systems that drive meaningful business value. Her experience spans family business, private equity, and large public corporations.

Getting Results for Clients

• Launched and led a Connecting Talent to Value initiative that identified critical roles to drive organizational growth. Developed acquisition and retention strategies resulting in 0% turnover in identified roles.
• Successfully built and implemented talent management strategies with a focus on talent assessments, succession planning and buy/build strategies ensuring pipeline of ready-now candidates for key positions.
• Successfully led multiple C-suite confidential searches and played an integral role in transition management resulting in successful onboarding and decreased learning curve for new executives.
• Led HR due diligence and integration for 6 acquisitions over three years doubling revenues and headcount for a privately held firm.
• Led the development and implementation of talent acquisition strategies and improvements resulting in a 13% increase of hires and decreasing time to fill by 20% for high volume positions.

Prior to CSI

• Senior Vice President, Human Resources at Compana Pet Brands for 4 years
• Director of Human Resources, Dierbergs Markets for 5 years
• Multiple HR Leadership roles with Monsanto over 5 years

In The Community

Since returning to St. Louis in 2010, Lauren has been active in the community, particularly with organizations that support animal rescue and well-being. She is passionate about supporting the fight for a cure against cancer as a fundraiser for Swim Across America, St. Louis, benefiting Siteman Cancer. Prior to returning to St. Louis, Lauren was on the board of Junior Achievement of the Heartland and led the launch of Monsanto Muscatine’s volunteer tutoring program through Muscatine Connected targeting at-risk youth.

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• Strategic Planning and Strategy Implementation
• Change Management and Organizational Design
• Stakeholder Relations
• Marketing Strategy and Brand Development

Credentials

• Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration, Management and Organization, U Turku, Finland
• Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration, Management and Organization, U Tampere, Finland

What Clients Value Most

Ida Martikainen helps organizations and executives develop resilient strategies and robust stakeholder relations. She empowers clients to navigate the challenges of transparency, collaboration, and rapid change. Ida has developed, communicated, and executed plans that create intentional change, purposefully aligned with strategic goals, for both privately held and public entities across the globe. Her experience with global operating environments as well as background with technology and innovation offer a fresh perspective for any strategy planning initiative.

Getting Results for Clients

• For three years, led a team that created and executed a successful go-to-market strategy for a consumer technology company (part of Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL)) that opened their first European market in Finland.
• Redefined the investor relations function for a $65M software and IT provider to support more active collaboration with investors and analysts.
• Was an advisor for a European pharmaceutical company that redefined their purpose and approach for stakeholder relations.
• Planned and executed a purpose initiative for a global confectionary brand that redefined both the physical shape of their product and the marketing/communications of the brand. This initiative led to 15% increase in market share, compared to a month before the campaign launch.
• Planned and implemented operations strategies for St. Louis area manufacturing and distribution companies. Coached clients to leverage a tech platform for flexible labor to achieve operational efficiencies and cost cuts.

Prior to CSI

• Director of Business Development for a US nationwide industrial innovation company, Veryable.
• Director of Partnerships and Senior Consultant for a fast-growing strategy advisory, Ellun Kanat, in Helsinki, Finland for five years. Member of the consultancy’s leadership team.
• Prior to consulting, Communications Lead for a consumer health technology startup Beddit for four years. In 2017, Beddit was acquired by Apple.
• Long-time member and coach in the Nordic startup and entrepreneur community.

In The Community

Ida currently serves on the board of World Trade Center St. Louis. She is also a partner at Social Venture Partnership, which focuses on capacity building for St. Louis nonprofits, and serves as a judge for Arch Grants, the region’s annual startup competition.

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• Business and strategic planning
• Product development and marketing
• Financial analysis and modeling
• Project management

Credentials

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Truman State University
• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Webster University in St. Louis
• Licensed Certified Public Accountant, Illinois and Missouri
• Member: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MSCPA)
• Six Sigma Green Belt

What Clients Value Most

Natalie Hilfiker Roberts is an outcome-focused strategist with a rare combination of sales and operational leadership experience in privately held companies.  As a CPA, she also brings a keen understanding of the drivers of business value.  Natalie has a holistic and measured approach that CEOs and senior executives value.  She is equally comfortable leading a collaboration among senior managers and jumping into a complex financial model.  Her style is marked by superb attention to detail, rigorous execution, and thoughtful communication.

Getting Results for Clients

• Led the sales and service for the Walmart account, doubling the business to over 2,400 locations in 17 states and 18,000 assets under service through relationship building, data analytics, and thought leadership.
• Created and executed go-to-market strategy for highly specialized industrial equipment lines; created and implemented marketing and branding initiatives for a family of industrial equipment companies including acquisition targets and geographic expansions.
• Conducted financial feasibility studies for healthcare clients to explore significant adaptations in go-to-market strategy to improve long-term profitability.
• Created analytical and reporting tools to help healthcare clients meet reporting requirements for Cares Act funding of more than $100M.

Prior to CSI

• Senior Consultant, Wipfli LLP (formerly Mueller Prost LLP) for 2 years
• National Account Sales, Director of Marketing, et al at Wiese USA for 13 years
• Product Manager, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals for 1.5 years

In The Community

Natalie is an active member of the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants.   She also volunteers regularly at regional community health organizations.  As a fourth-generation beekeeper and member of the Eastern Missouri Beekeepers, Natalie is committed to bee conservation and strengthening local environments.

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• Strategic and business planning
• Advisory boards
• Board governance
• Benchmarking

Credentials 

Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, Carleton College

Master’s degree in Information Science, The School of Information, University of Michigan

Master’s degree in Business Administration, The Marshall School, University of Southern California

What Clients Value Most

Paul Ellebrecht has many years of experience advising leaders in diverse industries and partnering with executives to tackle complex business challenges. Paul’s technology and implementation experience enables him to help clients balance high-level strategy with the practicalities of implementation. Moreover, having worked for companies with 3-350,000 employees, Paul is able to cross-pollinate the best practices of entrepreneurial businesses and large corporations.

Getting Results for Clients

• Conducted quantitative as well as qualitative 360 assessments both for-profit and non-profit executives through a combination of interviews and survey feedback.
• Analyzed financial and user data as part of a national benchmarking initiative for a network of 40-plus organizations to assess sustainability and excellence.
• Identified gaps in board practices for local and national non-profits in order to improve governance.
• Facilitates 3 corporate advisory boards across a range of industries.
• Worked with the development organization of a non-profit in order to redesign job roles and the group’s structure.
• Assisted a $50B client with the creation and build out of an IT organization from initial planning through early stages of implementation.
• Led a team to develop a new IT strategy which created millions of dollars of business simplifications and resulted in reduced IT costs of over 50% per year in preparation for a divestiture.
• Managed technology implementation projects across all parts of the project lifecycle.

Prior to CSI

• Senior Consultant for IBM Global Business Services in the Strategy and Analytics Practice for 3 years.
• Experience working at two early stage startups across various roles.

In The Community 

Paul is passionate about the arts and building businesses in St. Louis.  He serves on the board of Craft Alliance where he was previously on the Executive Committee and the chair of the Governance Committee. He is also a Judge for the Arch Grants start-up competition and a member of the Board of Visitors for the McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas at Austin.

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• Strategic planning
• CEO coaching
• Management team facilitation
• Board development
• Succession planning
• Sales and marketing consulting
• Executive Compensation Plan Design
• Sectors Served
  • Distribution
  • Manufacturing
  • Construction
  • Professional Services
  • Transportation
  • Financial Services

Credentials

• Bachelor’s degree in management, University of Illinois-Springfield
• Master’s degree in business administration, DePaul University
• Post-graduate studies, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

What Clients Value Most

Jack helps clients grow the market value of their companies, develop outstanding management teams, achieve profitable revenue growth, and successfully expand the number and depth of customer relationships. His longstanding focus on personal effectiveness equips him to be a powerful coach to corporate leaders. Jack has established productive consulting relationships with 400-plus organizations spanning more than 40 industry sectors in manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and construction. The value of his consultancy is reflected in the business performance of his clients and the number of new referrals his clients generate for CSI each year.

Getting Results for Clients

• Experienced working with firms owned by families, partners, and private equity.
• Provided long term strategic guidance and executive coaching to a firm growing from 100 employees to number 258 on the Fortune 500.
• Guided multiple “Entrepreneur of the Year” companies to achieve exceptional and sustained earnings growth.
• Developed and helped implement a strategic plan that in four years tripled the market capitalization of a prominent St. Louis bank.
• Guided a global manufacturing and distribution firm through two buyouts and a market value increase in excess of $200M.
• Formed and facilitated more than a dozen advisory boards, each with a quantifiable record of contributing to improved company results.
• Helped launch the Regional Business Council and continues to provide strategic guidance and support.

Prior to CSI

• Various management positions in marketing, operations, sales, finance, information technology and human resources for firms in four different industries.
• Relocated to St. Louis in 1987 to head CyberTel Corp.’s St. Louis market for five years and to serve as President/CEO of Highland Packaging Co. (sister company to Bock Pharmacal) for five years. During his tenure, the combined market value of CyberTel and Highland Packaging/Bock Pharmacal grew from $50 million to more than $600 million.

In The Community

Jack is active in the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO-Gold).  He continues to play an active role in support of the Regional Business Council (RBC), a key business group in the St. Louis Region civically engaging over 100 CEO’s to act on high impact affairs for the betterment of the region including K-12 Education, Workforce Development, Talent Development/Retention and Crime/Public Safety.

The post Jack Smith first appeared on Collaborative Strategies Inc.

• Strategic planning
• Organizational design
• Succession planning
• Performance enhancement
• Leadership team development and executive coaching

Credentials

• Bachelor’s degree in economics and psychology, Indiana University
• Master’s degree in business administration, Saint Louis University

What Clients Value Most

Jim Del Carmen provides his clients a focus on both the people and organizational aspects of change.  He has been leading strategic planning efforts since 1997 across multiple industries including professional services, distribution, financial services, manufacturing, technology, and not-for-profit.  To complement strategy development, he has a proven track record in assisting clients with implementation plans that achieve profitable and sustainable growth.  He also leverages expertise in organizational design, process reengineering, and project management for the realization of exceptional outcomes from planning endeavors.

Getting Results for Clients

• Facilitated strategic planning and guided the deployment of the resulting plan that produced better than 20 percent annual growth in succeeding years for a mid-size professional services firm.
• Mapped and executed the successful transition of key corporate functions between two Fortune 500 companies for increased productivity, reduced costs, and a more fully integrated culture.
• Led annual planning for the board of directors of a not-for-profit organization resulting in consistent achievement of targeted annual performance goals.
• Addressed key performance issues resulting from rapid growth by mobilizing and realigning primary operating areas of a financial services organization, yielding higher efficiency, improved client service and increased capacity.
• Helped a diverse group of regional stakeholders forge an economic development agenda with shared objectives and priorities and an operating model that was implemented by all parties.

Prior to CSI

• Member of two of the largest multinational management consulting firms, Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and Ernst & Young (now EY), serving the Fortune 500 clients of each for over five years.
• Lecturer for various management forums (such as Enterprise University and AAIM), presenting workshops on strategic thinking, execution for results, and leadership development for over 15 years.

In The Community

Jim currently serves on Habitat for Humanity’s Board of Directors.  Previously, he also served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for St. Patrick Center, the largest provider of services to the homeless in Missouri.

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