EMH Strategy offers customized solutions to assist businesses experiencing periods of profound change or grappling with complex and ambiguous issues. Our mission is to provide our clients with the expertise and knowledge of a large consulting firm combined with the superior customer service, rigorous methodologies, and sensitivity to local context made possible in a boutique firm. To that end, we employ a collaborative, process-oriented engagement style that emphasizes a deep understanding of the client’s business environment.
EMH is the premier boutique consulting firm in the Gulf South, specializing in growth strategy, operational efficiency, project management and obtaining financing for our clients. We are a well-rounded team of professionals and subject matter experts with varied backgrounds and credentials, and our principals have access to a wealth of resources through our professional and academic relationships. EMH consultants take a hands-on, collaborative, analytical, methodical approach to creative problem solving; and we don’t leave prior to implementation. We are a nimble firm, able to react quickly to client needs, and we pride ourselves on our follow-through and our commitment to our clients.
We used EMH Strategy to develop projections to help
us better understand where we are as a business, and
where we’re going. EMH can do that analysis, no
prob-lem, but where they really excel is understanding and
articulating the strategic implications of what those
numbers are telling you. That’s where we found them
to be critically valuable to our continued growth.
EMH was integral in helping us plan for a large-scale
expansion of one of the world’s top arts educational
facilities —an undertaking that depends on a complex
partnership between public, private, and corporate entities.
EMH approached the project with a sincere desire to
understand our organization, its culture, and our
long-term goals. Today, we have a much better understanding
of the challenges we face, as well as the multitude of
opportunities that await us.
S
allyP
erry// e
xecutiveD
irectoratNocca
B
riaND
aNoS// a
rchoNINTRODUCTION
EMH was integral in helping us plan for a large-scale
expansion of one of the world’s top arts educational
facilities —an undertaking that depends on a complex
partnership between public, private, and corporate entities.
EMH approached the project with a sincere desire to
understand our organization, its culture, and our
long-term goals. Today, we have a much better understanding
of the challenges we face, as well as the multitude of
opportunities that await us.
EMH’s management consultants combine familiarity with public, corporate and private funding with experience in venture development and management. This expertise allows us to create, raise funds for and manage venture funds, especially those in underserved markets. Through our network of individual, venture and institutional investors, we are able to leverage total investment to a high multiple of our own investment in each deal.
Our consultants’ extensive experience within the restaurant industry both nationally and abroad places EMH Strategy as the leading consulting firm for the vibrant New Orleans food services industry. From improving internal operations to addressing new feasible markets and growth opportunities for promising restaurants, EMH consultants understand not only what it takes to be successful within the restaurant industry, but also the external market factors that drive success and how restaurant owners can capitalize on them.
EMH VERTICAL MARKETS
VENTURE CAPITAL
RESTAURANT AND FOOD SERVICES
SOCIAL-PUBLIC SECTOR
CLOSELY HELD / FAMILY BUSINESSES
The needs of closely held/family businesses are centered on a strong long-term interest in strategy, succession and continuity. This work requires our management consultants to form particularly close relationships with our family business clients, acting as trusted advisors and mentors to both current leadership and the next generation. We understand the particular financial, cultural and operational challenges of closely held/ family businesses and work every day with small, mid-size and large firms in this sector.
EMH consultants are sensitive to the unique set of constraints and opportunities found in both the public and private sectors, and we design and implement projects in this area to maximize economic and social returns for our clients. We not only develop effective solutions but also help our public sector clients respond to the demands of their constituents and provide tangible evidence of the benefit to their stakeholders. EMH also has expertise in developing public-private partnerships that combine the best practices and resources of both sectors while ensuring that all solutions developed are practical, innovative, and sustainable.
Business Design
•
Concept Development
•
Strategic Planning
•
Organizational Structure
•
Market Research
•
Business Model
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation (ELF) supports non-profit organizations that provide educational programs, life skills development, culinary training, and cultural enrichment. EMH Strategy assisted the ELF with the research, planning, and implementation of an urban agriculture project incubated by the ELF.
• EMH worked to help ELF design an optimal project structure for a new farm program building from existing strengths within the organization and community presence to maximize sustainability.
• To achieve these results, EMH consultants produced a financial model showing all implications from managerial decisions, a recommended path to optimal financing and strategic operations, and a clear and easily communicated plan to develop the project at hand.
Project Study
Financial Services
•
Capital Raise
•
Financial Modeling and Planning
•
M&A Analysis
•
Venture Capital Fund Management
•
Investor Pitchbook
The New Orleans Startup Fund is a nonprofit venture fund focused on business creation and innovation in the 10-parish Greater New Orleans region. NOSF approached EMH while in its nascent stages with the goal of creating an operating plan to guide how the fund would first raise and then deploy both capital and ancillary services. In addition to providing the Startup Fund with strategic guidance and technical assistance, EMH oversaw the initial three investments in high-growth portfolio companies. EMH also executed the following:
• Designed and built the fund from the ground up
• Prepared individual entrepreneurial ventures for investment in order to maximize the chance of a successful capital raise
• Developed advanced financial models for fund applicants
• Identified new markets for entry and the strategies necessary for action
Project Study
EXPERTISE
Project Management
•
Data-Driven Process Models
•
Operational Infrastructure
•
Interim Leadership Positions
The State of Louisiana sought the services of EMH Strategy for the design and implementation of a statewide legislative reform.
• EMH consultants developed a data-driven process model to establish a systems and operational infrastructure, communication and marketing strategy, and a method for the reception of incoming applications. Additional guidance and strategic assistance was provided for the implementation of the process model for the program.
Project Study
Expansion Planning
•
Growth Strategy
•
Market Research/Feasibility Analysis
•
Concept Redevelopment
Phil’s Grill is a locally owned and operated restaurant where customers have the unique ability to design their own burger. Owner Phil de Gruy had two successful stores to his name, and wanted to open up a third location in the Warehouse District of downtown New Orleans. In order to help owner Phil De Gruy achieve his expansion goals into his third restaurant, EMH Strategy completed two critical objectives:
• Refine Phil’s Grill’s existing business plan into an
actionable, investor-ready strategic and operational plan in the form of a deal book to be distributed to potential investors
• Identify the optimum size, timing, and deal structure of capital raise for a new restaurant
EMH METHODOLOGY
GOAL
SETTING
Detailed process map outlining the project’s key elements and success drivers Interactive group session with Board of Directors and senior management team
Market Assessment
Capability Assessment
Resource Assessment
Process Assessment
Comprehensive assessment report on current state of organization• Qualitative and quantitative market research
• Ethnographic interview of key employees • Financial analysis and forecasting
• Process mapping
Financial and strategic tool set needed to achieve firm
growth
Rigorous, analytic, and creative problem solving process resulting in a solution unique to the
Business Design
Financial Services
Project Management
Expansion Planning
PHASE
PROCESS
DELIVERABLES
Work with departments and key personnel to find appropriate pace of and method for project implementation and organizational change
Detailed process map for project implementation
Ongoing
Strategy-Making
Implementation
Roadmap Development
Im
p
l
e
m
e
nt
at
io
n
Ad
j
u
s
tm
en
t
As
se
ssm
e
nt
Dr. Ralph Maurer is a principal of EMH Strategy and is responsible for the strategy, culture, and engagement methodologies of the firm. He is also a Visiting Assistant Professor of Strategy & En-trepreneurship at Tulane University and the Strategy Director of the Levy-Rosenblum Entrepreneur-ship Institute at Tulane. Ralph’s work and consulting experience includes time with the Rank Group, Apple, and Daimler-Benz Research and Development. He received a BS in History and Communica-tion Studies from Northwestern University, an MBA in Technology Management and Entrepreneur-ship from the University of Florida and a PhD in Strategy and Organizations from Stanford University in the department of Management Science and Engineering. While at Stanford he was a member of the Center for Work, Technology and Organization and the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.
Dr. John Elstrott serves as Executive Director of EMH Strategy and represents the firm as the found-ing Investment Committee Chair of the New Orleans Startup Fund. As an accomplished entrepre-neur and educator, John is a Professor of Practice in Entrepreentrepre-neurship and the founding director of the Tulane Family Business Center and the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business. Additionally, he has entrepreneurial experience in the natu-ral foods, venture capital, financial service, oil field service, hazardous waste cleanup, telecommu-nications, music, and pharmaceutical industries. He serves as director on many public, private and non-profit boards, including, but not limited to, Whole Foods Market, Fraenkel, Laitram, Danos and Curole, Sambazon, Zehnder Communications, Traditional Medicinals, Regional Technology Strate-gies, Compass Point Research, PreSonus and Synscia. Dr. Elstrott holds a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Colorado and Master’s and Bachelors degrees in Economics from Louisiana State University.
Jeremy Hunnewell serves as President of EMH Strategy. He oversees daily engagements and firm associates. Jeremy earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, with concentrations in Management & Strategy and Analytical Consulting, and a BBA from the University of Massachu-setts at Amherst where he majored in Accounting and Information Systems. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and has extensive financial and control-based auditing experience with major clients from the finance and manufacturing sectors, including Tyco, Fidelity, Honeywell, and Credit Suisse. Most recently, Jeremy completed a one-year fellowship at the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago where he was responsible for planning the chapter’s emergency response activities and instituting process improvement initiatives. Jeremy has taught Entrepreneurial Management at Tu-lane University’s Freeman School of Business, guest lectured in MBA and EMBA classes at Freeman, been a judge for the Tulane Business Plan Competition, and served on Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu’s transition team, City Financial Systems and Policy Task Force.
TEAM MEMBERS
D
r. r
alPhM
aurerD
r. J
ohNe
lStrottJeremy Hunnewell,
CPA
Francisco “Paco” Robert earned his MBA from Tulane’s Freeman School of Business with a con-centration in Strategic Management and Global Business, and a BA from the University of Virginia where he majored in Economics. He also holds a degree in the Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America. Francisco has extensive restaurant consulting experience, most recently with a Boston-based software company where he developed a modern dining facility that incorporated attributes of a 5-star dining experience with the cost constraints of a corporate dining environment. Francisco has opened a restaurant in Vietnam, and has worked at several 3 Star Michelin restaurants around the globe. Francisco is actively involved in the New Orleans entrepreneurial ecosystem as an Accelerator Consultant for Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans (SENO).
Alison Schmitt recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School where she received a BS in Economics and designed a concentration in International Development. While at Penn, she studied abroad at the Universidad de San Andres in Argentina where she took business classes and honed her Spanish skills. She is currently a member of Venture for America’s inaugural fellowship class, a 2- year program that pairs college graduates with startup companies in emerg-ing cities across the US. Before joinemerg-ing EMH, Alison interned with Green Coast Enterprises, a New Orleans social enterprise specializing in green real estate development and project management. Robert Bray graduated in 2012 from Tulane University with a BS in Economics, and also spent a year
abroad at the London School of Economics. Prior to joining EMH, Robert held an internship for political commentator and Tulane professor James Carville, through which he coordinated administrative and research duties for both James Carville and Mary Matalin. He also has research experience at The Alliance for Affordable Energy, where he performed best practice benchmarking across industry and governmen-tal programs in energy efficiency, resulting in optimal energy consumption plans for local businesses. Robert works closely with fellow EMH consultants and principals on all projects, and is actively engaged in the company’s business development.
