What makes us unique
Tangible impact in a sea of PowerPoint slides
Navigating profound change – ranging from hypergrowth and leadership transition to business transformation and distress – requires a unique skillset that is often lacking at companies around these key inflection points.
That gap is compounded by a lack of multi-million dollar consulting budgets and an inability to wait 6-12 months to hire a unicorn CxO.
Yet the reality remains that sponsors, CEOs and boards have ambitious agendas and inaction is not a viable path forward.
Blair Hall Partners was founded to solve this intractable problem.
We are a force multiplier for company leadership and serve as an outsourced portfolio operations group for private equity firms lacking sufficient capabilities in-house.
Perhaps most importantly, because we have led cross-functional organizations and owned complex P&Ls as an operator we have a unique understanding of the challenges involved in landing an aggressive change agenda while continuing to deliver financial results.
How we partner with you
Interim & Fractional Executive
Experienced C-level leader with diverse domain expertise deployed flexibly across your organization
Strategic
Advisory
Guidance from a former Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Partner who has sat in your shoes as an operator
Outsourced Portfolio Operations
Capital is commoditized and operational value creation is key for fund differentiation; we offer a flexible alternative for firms that can’t build out relevant domain expertise internally
A track record of impact
Proven ability to create measurable value across industry, geography, company size, and functional focus
Interim CMO
Middle-market B2B library services company
Built 90-day value creation plan across book and media businesses
Led cross-functional team in scoping and executing initiatives focused on ramping momentum before key selling season
Guided teams to reposition core brand, launch an entirely new pricing and loyalty strategy, negotiate access to value-add content from a top publisher, and revamp tradeshow strategy
Result: trend-bend from revenue decline to YoY growth and 6% beat versus budget
Chief Commercial Officer
Distressed middle-market wine company
Owned $170M commercial P&L across wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels
Exceeded revenue budget by 25% and delivered 73% YoY reduction in operating expenses
Owned 13-week commercial cash flow forecasting in partnership with restructuring advisor and investment banking partner
Led 155-person cross-functional organization through Chapter 11
Interim Transformation Lead
Top 20 global retailer
Responsible for catalyzing turnaround of multi-billion dollar-pound division
Operationalized transformation strategy and developed new operating model in priority categories
Led cross-functional working group and launched pilot stores across the UK
Accelerated early omnichannel strategy development and unified value proposition across stores, website and mobile
Growth & GTM Advisor
Leading warehousing and fulfillment provider
Engaged by direct lending arm of a private equity firm
Conducted rapid market assessment and identified go-forward priorities across service lines and customer segments
Analyzed prospecting pipeline and pressure tested financial projections
Sized customer acquisition and pricing ‘go get’ required to deliver against budget
Built an actionable go-to-market roadmap focused on needle-moving initiatives
Head of Media Platforms & Marketing AI
$27B food and beverage company
VP with board-level mandate to launch company’s first ‘personalization at scale’ offering
Scaled consumer profile infrastructure and piloted use of machine learning to precisely target and engage consumers
Personalized website and launched loyalty program pilot (+208% spend vs. control)
Owned company media properties including a top food website and a print magazine with over 1 million paid subscribers
Opex Reduction Advisor
Middle-market food and beverage company
Built granular spend cube covering tens of millions of dollars of spend
Engaged cross-functional stakeholders in a zero-based revamp of spend based on return profile and impact on competitive differentiation
Rationalized thousands of vendors/suppliers to consolidate spend and secure improved pricing and terms
Aggressively moved to cut superfluous spend and implement changes in a matter of weeks (not months), leading to millions in projected savings
Testimonials
A consistent theme of strategic thinking, decisive leadership, and collaborative partnership…
Seth Kaufman
VWE CEO and former President & CEO at Moët Hennessy North America
“Ryan is a phenomenal change leader, data-driven decision-maker and champion of creating value for businesses in an agile, refreshing way that challenges the status quo. His depth and breadth of experiences contribute to his ability to bring forward novel solutions to complex problems. I look forward to seeing the impact he has across multiple businesses and industries, leading this new endeavor.”
Former Head of Transformation
Tesco PLC
“I worked alongside Ryan on a huge transformation project at Tesco. There wasn’t a part of the business that was not overhauled. We worked on everything from omnichannel strategy to merchandising and sourcing…we even spent days in a dusty 50,000 sq ft warehouse building it all out. Ryan’s innovation, attention to detail and ability to synthesize vast amounts of data into a precise strategy was extremely helpful. He remains to this day a highly trusted advisor.”
Former VP & Group Leader
Kraft Heinz
“Ryan has a unique ability to drive higher order strategic thinking while also delivering on tactical execution to unlock growth. He is adaptable to a variety of business dynamics and the leadership he brings to any situation is unmatched. He is able to marry business thought leadership, financial acumen, creative thinking, and an operational ability to execute the plan. Ryan brings credibility and authority with Board members while also working closely alongside junior team members.”
Our experience is your asset
founder & managing partner
Ryan Watson
Founder Ryan Watson has a unique twenty year track record of value creation in some of the most demanding corporate environments, ranging from Amazon, Kraft Heinz, Goldman Sachs and Boston Consulting Group to VC-backed growth-stage disruptors and distressed middle market companies. He combines the strategic horsepower of a BCG Partner, the commercial mindset of a P&L owner, and the deep domain expertise of an executive who has led organizations of 150+ across multiple functions.
Importantly, Ryan has supported PE-backed companies in interim C-level roles, has executed multiple quick-turn diligence projects as a consultant, and has held C-level operating leadership roles at several PE/VC-backed companies.
EXTENDED DOMAIN EXPERTISE
Industries, Geos & Functions
Needs evolve in real-time and Blair Hall Partners is able to nimbly match this evolution by deploying a tailored mix of seasoned leaders.
Recognizing the importance of deep experience across geographies, industries and functions, we have built a group of established experts that complement our core to ensure we can meet the needs of our clients. No more need to shop around and cobble together a disjointed group of partners…Blair Hall Partners is purpose-built to be the only change agent your organization needs.
A proven formula
Every partnership is unique, but over two decades we have honed a repeatable model that guides how we co-create value with you and your team
Diagnose
Forensic deep dive uncovers hidden dynamics and provides strategic clarity
Roadmap
Complexity distilled down to create actionable roadmaps
Implement
In-the-trenches execution with your organization’s existing team
Contact us
Ready to explore how Blair Hall Partners can partner with your organization as a change agent?
Don’t be a stranger!