"Knowledge is power." — Francis Bacon

Teamwork —

The EkA Team is recognized for their excellence in providing unassailable solutions and insights

Managing Partner — Hugh Effinger provides the leadership for the management consulting practice.  His areas of competence includes —

A diverse background in servicing the financial service needs of Fortune 500, Global 2000, government, and start-up organizations

Consultative services have benefited both domestic and international firms' entry into and development within 28 countries

Management of Business Development, Client Services, Marketing, Operations, and Sales

Over 30 years of in-depth experience in leading strategy, performance, and change management programs

Clients are typically from the following industries and sectors —

Offerings cover the entire lifecycle of transactions

Hugh likes to win and enjoys helping other to succeed.  He has successfully — 

Increased profitability 400% by improving productivity

Managed, trained and motivated over 350 professionals

Orchestrated mergers and acquisitions in excess of US $1 billion

Produced US $2.8 million in annual profits

Provided solutions for both Fortune 500 and start-up organizations

Won over US $12 billion in new business

Presentations — He is an experienced presenter on subjects including — 

Education — Hugh’s education includes —

B.A. in Economics with Honors from San Diego State University

M.B.A. in International Management degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management

Both Series 3 and 7 certifications with the National Association of Securities Dealers

Management — His contributions to management include being an author, an expert witness, and a speaker.  Hugh has worked, lived and traveled extensively outside the U.S. and he speaks English, French and Spanish

Concurrently, Hugh is a Director and Managing Consultant with Navigate International, a global management firm that is recognized for offering clients access to “inaccessible” foreign market information and worldwide entrée to decision makers and senior managers.  Navigate provides and applies field based, market research, analysis, strategy, and business development solutions that identify both opportunities and risks, and;

 

Hugh is the Director of Partnership Development for Gravity Investments, a global financial engineering firm that is recognized for its financial engineering expertise and customized portfolio optimization platforms that deliver diversification via visual 3-D asset allocation models, and;

 

Hugh is a Director with RedFire Technology, a startup electronics manufacturer and development company delivering innovative product definition by establishing creative proprietary products for sale and licensing

Membership — Hugh is a member of the —

Association of Investment Management Sales Executives (AIMSE)

Internet Chamber of Commerce

Omicron Delta Epsilon Honor Society

The Society of Industry Leaders (SIL)

Third Party Marketers Association (Founding Member)

Philanthropy — His philanthropy includes —

Serving as a volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America as District Chairman, an elected position responsible for the growth initiatives of 155 Units

Sponsoring Childreach, a global, non-profit, development organization helping children and their families around the world since 1937

Alliances — In meeting the client's needs, EkA's leverages strategic partnerships.  This allows EkA to offer a diverse array of global expertise while maintaining low overhead and offering competitive consulting services.

Through EkA's partnerships, clients have access to “inaccessible” foreign market information and worldwide entrée to decision makers and senior managers.  This is achieved through field based, market research, analysis, strategy, and business development solutions that identify both opportunities and risks.  Clients benefit from the expertise of 153 multi-lingual seasoned business professionals with extensive foreign market contacts, immediate presence in 51 countries plus additional decision support in 139 other countries.   EkA's Global Ambassadors or "feet on the street" offer clients an unique value proposition.

 Additionally, through EkA's partnerships, clients have the support of over 270 full-time professionals who include —

Professional researcher and problem solvers with advanced degrees in —

Cognitive and Psychology Measurement

Communications

Economics

Finance

Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Sociology

Management

Marketing and Sales

Specialized industry experts

Skilled focus group moderators

Statisticians specializing in data analysis, multivariate techniques, sampling, and weighting issues

Programmers and system specialists

Professional field staff who manage and monitor the data collection process

Dedicated Research and Development staff

Advisors — EkA's 14 Global Advisors who are experienced business development, research, and strategy specialists with an average of 30 years of proven capabilities and demonstrated experience in the Capital Goods, Energy, Food and Beverage, Financial Services, and Technology marketplaces with focused specialization in Finance and Investments, Management, Marketing, Research, and Sales

Partners — EkA's Global Advisory Team and their partners provide a worldwide entrée to decision makers, senior managers, and invaluable market insight

Global Points of Presence —

EkA's 14 global advisors in Boulder, Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Mexico CityNew Delhi, New York, Paris, São Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney, and Tokyo, 

Immediate presence with global ambassadors located in 51 countries

Additional resources in 139 other countries

Publications  — EkA's White Papers include —

Alliances — Building Blocks of Success

Applying Business Knowledge — Facilitating Entrepreneurial Growth

Branding Investment Management Services — An Intangible Guarantee of Expertise

Business Protection and Recovery — Crisis/Emergency Management and Continuity

Managers, Marketers, and Consultants — A Recipe for Success

Marketing Research — Knowledge is Power

Partnership Management — Cause and Effect

Performance Management — Juggling Profitability

Profits Through Effective Presentations — Communications Strategies and Processes

Project Management — Initiatives that Deliver Solutions

In The News  —

Denver — July 2008 —EkA is retained by Gravity Investments, a firm recognized for its financial engineering expertise, and is responsible for forming and managing Gravity's New Line of Business to focus on partnership development with institutional financial professionals that provide investment-consulting services.

 

Boulder — April 2008 — Hugh Effinger, Managing Partner of EkA is asked to serve on the Colorado Change Board as an advisor and communications liaison between Boulder Elections, the Governor, and Secretary of State and assist with Change Management.

 

Boulder — February 2008 — Hugh Effinger, Managing Partner of EkA is appointed a Director of RedFire Technology, a Startup manufacturer of high fidelity stereo fireplace sound generation systems.  He will direct the development of a strategic marketing plan and the implementation of a tactical sales initiative.

 

Boulder — January 2008 — Hugh Effinger is appointed to serve as the Boy Scouts of America, Longs Peak Council’s Chairman of the District Implementation, and Realignment Committees, and Member of the Council’s Realignment Committee overseeing the Council’s change management.

 

New York — August 2007 — Hugh Effinger, Managing Partner of EkA is asked to become a member of Standard & Poor's  Vista Research Inc., as a partner with The Society of Industry Leaders (SIL) a carefully selected global network of thought and industry leaders.

 

Boulder — February 2007 — Hugh Effinger, Managing Partner of EkA is recognized by Association for Corporate Growth for his whitepaper on  Alliances - Building Blocks of Success.

 

Boulder — January 2007 — Hugh Effinger is elected to serve a two year term as the Boy Scouts of America, Longs Peak Council, Arapahoe District Chairman and is responsible for the success of growth initiatives and objective for 155 Units comprising 3,828 Scouts and 1,470 registered Adult Leaders.

 

Boulder — November  2006 — In his fifth year the past 5 years, Hugh Effinger is as an Elections Judge for the Election Division of Boulder County Clerk and Recorder and has been involved in the management of all aspects of the election's process.

 

Seattle — May 2006 — Under the direction of  Hugh Effinger, EkA's Global Advisory Team in partnership with Navigate International is retained by Coinstar to Identify Opportunities, and execute strategy in 14 countries.

 

Kuala Lumpur — September 2005 — Hugh Effinger, Managing Partner of EkA is the Course Director for Success Strategies for Change Management, a two day workshop covering — The Role of Change Management in Organizations and Process Reengineering.

 

Kyrgyzstan — April 2005 — Under the direction of  Hugh Effinger, EkA's Global Advisory Team in partnership with Navigate International is retained by AsiaUniversalBank (AUB) to develop and establish Correspondent Banking relationships

 

New York — February 2005 — Hugh Effinger, Managing Partner of EkA is retained as an Expert Consultant on behalf of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.

 

Frankfurt — August 2004 — Under the direction of  Hugh Effinger, EkA's Global Advisory Team in partnership with Navigate International is retained by Respironics to provide Dynamic Due-diligence and partnership development research for the European Group, in identifying German acquisition candidates.

 

New York — April  2003 — A large investment manager engages Hugh Effinger, Managing Partner of E