OUR TEAM
David Ascher is the Founder and Managing Partner of Transom Consulting and oversees the Firm’s consulting services to market leaders in financial services, private equity, consumer goods, professional services, technology, media, and telecom. David leads the Firm’s Financial Services practice with a focus on strategic, transactional, and operational advisory for specialty finance platforms, banks and credit unions, private equity firms, insurance carriers and distributors, credit card issuers, payments providers, and financial technology companies. David also co-leads Transom’s M&A practice, a broker-dealer-affiliated investment bank with both buy-side and sell-side mandates. He previously co-founded Transom Capital Group, a middle market private equity firm, and was a senior consultant at McKinsey & Company. David has a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Public & International Affairs from Princeton University, and is Series 63 and 79 licensed.
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Felix Recht is a Partner at Transom Consulting and co-leads Transom’s M&A practice. He has experience in operations, strategy, turnarounds, and both buy-side and sell-side engagements. Felix advises clients (from startups to the Fortune 50) in financial services, consumer goods, technology, media, and telecom. Previously, Felix worked as an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company and a manager at Transphorm, a power electronics startup company backed by Google Ventures. Felix earned a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UC Santa Barbara and an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from RWTH Aachen University. He is Series 63 and 79 licensed.
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George Olive is an Associate Partner at Transom Consulting, where he works with clients on growth strategy, innovation, sales force effectiveness, and asset productivity. As a senior consultant at McKinsey & Company, George focused on operations, organizational design, capability building, and change management in chemicals, electric power, and oil and gas. Prior to joining Transom, George served as the Chief Operating Officer of Everytable, a QSR chain focused on nutritional inequality, and as VP of Sales at DipJar, a fundraising platform for charities. George has an M.Phil. in Economic and Social History from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a B.A. in Economics and Environmental Science from Columbia University.
Paul Yoo is an Associate Partner at Transom Consulting, where he leads the Consumer Goods practice with expertise in sales, marketing, manufacturing, supply chain, and innovation functions. Paul previously served as CEO of This Saves Lives, a socially responsible food company, and as Head of Business Development at The Honest Company, an ethical producer of household products. He also served as a senior strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company and as an intelligence officer for the federal government. Paul holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University.
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Patrick Kim is an Engagement Manager at Transom Consulting, where he specializes in strategic planning and operational transformation for industrial, consumer goods, and financial services clients. Patrick also works on buy-side and sell-side mandates within Transom’s M&A practice. He previously worked as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles, where he served primarily Fortune 500 companies on strategic planning, operational restructuring, and pre- and post-acquisition planning and integration. Patrick earned a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Science and an M.S. in Engineering and Applied Science from Harvard University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology.
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Linda Cohen is a Senior Advisor and former Partner of Transom Consulting Group. Linda serves on the Compensation Committee and leads the Women’s Initiative. She also co-founded and served as Partner at Transom’s M&A practice, a broker-dealer-affiliated investment bank with both buy-side and sell-side mandates. Linda also currently serves on the board of Children’s Music Fund and on a civic investment review board. Linda previously founded GlobalVision Consulting Services, a management consulting firm, and was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. Linda has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois. Linda completed FINRA Series 63 and 79.
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Eric Martin is a Senior Advisor at Transom Consulting, where he specializes in enterprise growth through innovation and organizational transformation. Eric is also the director of the Galant Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Virginia. He has designed and delivered executive leadership programs at leading global corporations. Eric has operating experience as an entrepreneur, CEO, global consultancy partner, and change agent. He has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics from UNC Chapel Hill.
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Evan Schlessinger is a Senior Advisor at Transom Consulting, where he specializes in innovation, consumer insights, strategy, and marketing and distribution initiatives for consumer goods and financial services clients. Evan has an extensive consumer goods background, including leading new product efforts at Crystal Light Diet Soft Drink, Entenmann’s Cakes, Oroweat Breads, Boboli Pizza Shells, and Bumble Bee Foods. Previously, Evan served as a Senior V.P. of Marketing for Safeway Inc., where he led the launch of the gift card retailing program that became Blackhawk Networks, and since 2003 he has managed a new product / innovation consulting firm. He holds an M.B.A. from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania).
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Man Jit Singh is a Senior Advisor at Transom Consulting, where he advises leading technology, media, and telecom companies on growth strategy, business development, new product innovation, and global operations. Man Jit has a track record of achieving profitable growth at both startups and large companies across a range of industries and four continents. Most recently, Man Jit served as President of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, after his role as CEO of Sony Pictures Network in India. He has an M.B.A. from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, a post-graduate degree in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and a B.A. in Economics from St. Stephen’s College.
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Eduardo Urdapilleta is a Senior Advisor at Transom Consulting, where he specializes in digitization and transformation, data analytics, and modern marketing techniques. Eduardo previously served as the Chief Transformation Officer at Banco Supervielle, Chief Marketing Officer of Axos Financial, Director of Business Analytics at Citi, Senior Financial Economist at World Bank, and a Partner at McKinsey. Throughout his decades-long career in finance, Eduardo has spearheaded the transformation of global finance and transaction ecosystems through state-of-the-art marketing initiatives and data analytics. He holds a M.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. from UCLA, where he was named a Carter Fellow Award for academic excellence. He also holds a degree in Industrial Engineering.
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Abhigna Mandavilli is an Associate at Transom Consulting. At Transom, he has worked extensively on strategy and valuation projects related to financial services, healthcare, technology, real estate, and travel. Abhigna graduated with the highest GPA from his M.B.A. program at USC, where he was also a portfolio manager for his school’s Student Investment Fund. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras.
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Igor Tischenko is an Associate at Transom Consulting. His areas of expertise are strategic plan development and operational enhancement for financial services institutions. Recent projects have focused on market expansion, organic and inorganic growth strategy, sales enablement, data management, and organizational design. Igor holds an M.B.A. from Oxford University and a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Claremont McKenna College.
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Jordan Epstein is a Senior Consultant at Transom Consulting. He specializes in market and competitor research for financial services companies, segmentation analyses, financial modeling, and formulation of strategic growth plans. He most recently worked to design and prioritize strategic growth initiatives for a specialty finance lender and conducted market research and quantitative analysis for a financial services provider. Jordan holds a B.S. in Business Administration from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
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Makari Krause is a Senior Consultant at Transom Consulting. His expertise includes top line growth strategy, M&A, and marketing and distribution initiative development and implementation. Makari’s recent work includes a distribution channel redesign effort for a top national insurance carrier and buy-side M&A support for a diversified financial services institution. Makari received a B.A. in Environment, Economics, and Politics from Claremont McKenna College.
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Katie Kuosman is a Senior Consultant at Transom Consulting. She has experience in operations, strategy, and M&A, with a focus on capital raises. Recent projects have included financings for specialty lenders, facilitating the wind-down of a subprime auto lender, and developing a strategic and operational roadmap to launch a new lending platform. Katie graduated with a B.S. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College.
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Coulter Loft is a Consultant at Transom Consulting. He specializes in strategic and operational planning. Most recently, his project work has included a distribution overhaul for a financial services client seeking to improve operational efficiency, a top-line growth initiative for a consumer goods client focused on new revenue generation strategies, and a feasibility study for a niche specialty finance platform. Coulter holds a B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley.
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Calvin Luu is a Consultant at Transom Consulting Group. His project experience includes competitive analysis, strategic planning, M&A and due diligence. Recent projects at Transom include designing an implementation plan for a mid-sized CPG company and a capital raise for a fast-growing specialty lender. Calvin holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Austin Newton is a Consultant at Transom Consulting. His expertise lies in strategic planning, innovation process design, and go-to-market initiative development and implementation. Recent projects include new product roadmap development for a consumer goods manufacturer and an internal diagnostic study for a national grocery distributor. Austin holds a B.A. from UCLA with a major in Business Economics and a minor in Film, Television, and Digital Media Studies.
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Adhithya Ravi is a Senior Consultant at Transom Consulting. His experience at Transom has included innovation process design, strategic planning, valuation/capital markets analysis, and process optimization. He also manages Transom’s recruiting and mentorship programs. Adhithya graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research.
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Kelsey Ridley is a Senior Consultant at Transom Consulting. She specializes in data- and research-driven strategy development at Transom, and also helps lead Transom’s recruiting program. Recent work includes an opportunity evaluation based on analytics and voice-of-the-customer research for a financial services client. Kelsey earned a B.A. with Honors in Environment, Economics, and Politics at Claremont McKenna College, where she graduated magna cum laude.
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Anderson Sauceda is a Consultant at Transom Consulting. His areas of expertise include new market entry, competitive analysis, and process optimization. Recently completed projects include ideation and implementation of human capital management strategy, private equity due diligence of a CPG company, and a capital raise for a technology firm. Anderson holds a B.S. in Business Administration from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
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Adam Stein is a Consultant at Transom Consulting. His areas of expertise include new market entry, competitive analysis, and process optimization. Recent Transom projects have included new market feasibility studies and product roadmap development for financial services clients. In Transom’s M&A practice, Adam has also contributed to a sell-side capital raise for a commercial fix-and-flip lender. Adam holds a B.S. in Business Administration from UC Berkeley