Strategic Services

Eric Chriss | Tom J. Gillcrist |

Brynley Lee | Steven C. Petersen

Eric Chriss, Principal, CEO
Eric brings experienced leadership to the executive services division. Distinguished as the first West Coast partner of Tatum CFO Partners, LLP, beginning in 1998 during his seven-year tenure Eric became nationally recognized practice leader pioneering the then-nascent CFO practice model. He co-developed it from a virtually unknown strategy into the now widely accepted financial leadership solution. The firm consistently tapped Eric’s executive talents in the development of a multitude of key programs: partner training in technology and client relationship management; recruiting and partnership retention; international business development; and promotional broadcast and print media campaigns designed to educate and amplify the firm’s brand.

Eric’s experience and knowledge-exchange with a wide variety of clients guided him to form CUSTOMatrix™. The CUSTOMatrix™ methodology begins with recognizing the intellectual value of its client’s management team and their contribution as effective leaders of their company’s operational and financial strategy. Promoting a mutual understanding of this dynamic allows for a custom solution, one designed to maximize organizational effectiveness and to enhance the client’s ability to compete.

Eric has excelled at developing and managing engagements in such diverse industries as: biotech; international aquaculture; pharmaceuticals; medical device; aviation; avionics; homeland security; heavy transportation; industrial equipment; consumer beverage; digital technology and licensing; internationally-based electronics manufacturing; construction; wireless technology; electronic defense systems; software training; animation licensing; fabless semiconductor; and chemical engineering.

He is bilingual in Spanish and began his career with Deloitte Haskins + Sells.

Tom J. Gillcrist, MBA, Principal, Strategic Services
Tom is an aggressive leader, with a history of successfully building and/or restructuring businesses to achieve revenue and profitability goals, while fostering a safe and professionally challenging work environment. As General Manager of the Western Region for MODTECH HOLDINGS, INC., a $130 million modular building manufacturer Tom turned the division around into a profitable enterprise. He was able to re-engineer the company’s functional areas and turn around a previous operating loss of <$5 million> by implementing Lean Manufacturing, re-evaluating over $150 million of sales backlog, consolidating three manufacturing facilities across the Western region into one, elimination of $15 million in fixed cost and overhead, effective reduction in headcount, a 90% reduction in lost time incidents by restructure of the safety program, reduction in worker’s compensation costs by 37%, and a 53% reduction in inventory from fiscal year 2004 to fiscal year 2006. In addition Tom’s initiatives in the way of engineering improvements to the manufacturing process created standard product offerings through R&D and joint development activities with other school districts/architects. By implementing Revit design software, Tom dramatically improved the ability to generate structured bills of material, provide the basis for a perpetual inventory rollout and the development of standard products, and the generation of simplified production shop drawings. Because of his familiarity with finance and accounting he also directed the reduction of accounts receivable from a high of $28 million in 2004 to a more manageable level of $21 million in 2006.

As the General Manager of Ionics, Incorporated, a $600 million global water and wastewater treatment equipment and services provider, located in Phoenix Tom successfully consolidated all microelectronic wastewater technologies and assets into a single division. His accomplishments included global strategic direction with a focused selling effort in Asia, geographic wastewater reclaim/reuse from a product perspective, and the start up and management of a new division with complete P&L responsibility. With his talent for evaluating and improving the company’s technical product offerings Tom was able to generated $4.5 million in sales in the first year of operation including six Asian projects, four of which were reclaim systems, execute the first three projects through customer acceptance including three “serial number one” process applications, and create new product offerings through R&D and pilot and joint development activities with other technology providers, which led to the introduction of five new process developments generating $3.5 million in sales.

In 1995 Tom began a highly successful tenure with U.S. FILTER CORPORATION as Vice President of Operations. During his involvement, U.S. FILTER CORPORATION, a global water and wastewater treatment equipment and services provider had achieved historic growth and success with over $6 billion in global sales. Tom’s responsibilities included the management of a 160,000 square foot facility staffed by both union and non-union personnel. The company’s market dominance flourished with his contributions, which included execution of the largest and most complex capital equipment contract in the history of the company ($33million), which was delivered on time and under budget, successful negotiation of a new three-year labor agreement, successful turn around of the safety program through extensive training and employee involvement (achieving over 1.2 million labor hours without a lost time incident), implementation of vendor managed inventory programs, which reduced inventory by over $1. million, reductions in operating costs by $.5 million and inventory write-offs by over 50%, respectively, and assisting in the development and introduction of a new line of standard products that generated $25 million of new sales and significantly enhanced the competitiveness of the business. Due to his financial training, Tom was also tapped to simultaneously manage the Finance Department as Vice President.

Tom’s career began with Arthur Andersen, Prudential Capital Corporation, and First Wachovia, where he specialized in the management of their large industrial clients.

Tom earned a Bachelor of Arts, Economics, at The College of Arts and Sciences University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration from the Colgate Darden Graduate Business School at University of Virginia.

Brynley Lee , MPA, Associate, Strategic Services

A dynamic, results-driven senior executive, Brynley Lee has over 20 years of proven leadership and success providing IT and management consulting, and enterprise business solutions to clients across various business sectors throughout North America and beyond. He has grown top teams and improved the business model, achieved higher productivity and market performance and has increased both revenues and profitability with all his companies during his career. He most recently accomplished generating $25 million in new business and launched several new successful practices for a national IT and Professional Services consulting firm. He has advised client organizations of all sizes and from many different market sectors. Combining a strong information technology background with a consulting specialty in business processes, well-measured executive decision-making techniques and the strategic application of business systems, Brynley provides uniquely valuable, real world expertise and trusted advisor services to top decision-makers.

A creative, innovative leader with a strong background in analysis, design, strategy, marketing, delivery management, systems and operations, Mr. Lee draws upon a wide breadth of experience implementing solutions and integrating systems, including custom applications, ERP and CRM systems, business intelligence systems, data warehousing, quality assurance processes, SaaS and strategic assessments and plans. Providing top level vendor and product evaluation services and business process optimization planning and execution, Brynley excels at working with business users to help them fully understand and utilize the benefits of automation and improved processes. An excellent communicator, public speaker, change agent and motivator of teams, he works well with Senior Executives helping them achieve collaboration and bring decisiveness to decision making. With extensive experience managing diverse offshore teams and development centers in India as well as US based teams of up to 100 consultants, Brynley rose up through the project management ranks directly managing and/or overseeing the successful completion of more than 60 solutions projects of all sizes and complexity. As an executive with responsibility for managing a large P&L operation, he knows how access to accurate strategic data is crucial to informed decision-making and how the use of automation will harness maximum results and a positive ROI.

Brynley Lee provides valued services by helping his clients:

Assess, plan and implement strategic initiatives;
Document requirements and perform gap analysis;
Evaluate and recommend technology, systems and consulting vendors;
Mediate, facilitate, grow and sustain better communication and planning between IT organizations, business end users and other stakeholders;
Effectively plan and prepare for outsourcing, including qualifying and selecting appropriate outsource partners, particularly for off-shoring;
Build consensus and alignment among executives, business units, visionaries, tacticians and all other stakeholders;
Prepare ROI Analyses and other persuasive collateral/justification required for Board approvals, third-party analysts, auditors, venture capital funding, etc.
Define metrics and perform due diligence, financial analysis, market sustainability (pipeline) analysis, IT infrastructure compatibility analysis and other related tasks required before, during and after M & A transactions;
Write RFP’s and RFQ’s and evaluate vendor proposals;
Achieve and manage organizational culture change and growth, especially in regards to introducing new or different systems and technology;
Forecast and budget for IT and related expenditures;
Conduct program audits;
Provide Delivery Management services to help manage programs and/or single or multiple projects, including building a sustainable structure to support many projects or a few large ones (e.g. building a PMO);
Build top performing teams of A players;
Launch new practice organizations and related go-to-market strategies;
Turn around troubled projects;
Build value proposition-driven, sustainable sales and pre-sales programs;
Grow revenues, gross margins and gross profits.

This is a small but representative list of some of the services Brynley has provided to his long list of satisfied customers and that he looks to continue providing to many future happy clients.

Located in Southern California, Brynley holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California.

Steven C. Petersen, COO, Associate, Strategic Services

Steve’s experience in multiple disciplines and a diversity of manufacturing and distribution industries combined with over 25 year’s management experience make him an invaluable and unique business resource.

Steve’s strategic experience includes both long-range IT planning and executive-level strategic business planning. Steve has provided effective strategic direction for IT and Supply Chain Operations for two companies during periods of growth from $50M to over $100M.

Steve has been responsible for corporate IT and ERP systems strategy, resource planning, and execution for companies in the $50-100M range for the past 25 years. He has conceived, planned, managed, and completed four highly successful corporate-wide ERP implementations. His extensive knowledge of all facets of business is a result of his high level of integrity in meeting the IT needs of his corporate clients.

In addition to executive-level ownership of IT, Steve has been responsible at the executive-level for Supply Chain Operations for the last 10 years. In his eventual role as EVP of Operations Steve developed and directly managed a global supply chain operation of 500+ employees serving big-box retail customers such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Party City. Steve has intimate knowledge and experience with China sourcing, production, and importation. His import experience extends into other regions including other Asian countries, South America, Africa, and Europe.

His industry experience includes Aerospace, Aviation Repair Services, and Consumer Packaged Goods in particular Apparel, Plastics, Printed/ Paper Products, Party Goods, and Home Furnishings. Steve has deep experience in product development, both tactical and process development. He has extensive experience with licensed product development, production, and importation working with such licensors as Marvel and Disney.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science with a minor in Business Management. He is also a Certified Business and Life Coach.