Kevin Acker

Senior Director @ Corporate Executive Board

Washington, dc

United States

Bio
Keywords

Accomplished in corporate development, strategy, planning and product development, Kevin Acker has served as Practice Manager responsible for product development and innovation for the Corporate Executive Board since January 2004. A Washington, D.C., provider of best-practices research and data services, the Corporate Executive Board provides strategy consulting for senior executives at more than 1,000 companies, including most of the Fortune 500, and Kevin Acker has created many of the company’s most significant new products and services over the last four years.

Recent Accomplishments
Among the new products and services Kevin Acker created while at the Corporate Executive Board are an IT budget and spending benchmarking initiative; IT Platinum Portal and IT Gold Portal websites for top-tier customers; the Vendor Knowledge Exchange, an online networking and vendor ratings site; and the IT-Business Alignment Diagnostic. Kevin Acker has also led sophisticated qualitative research efforts measuring the impact of IT competency on corporate performance and on the most effective ways to increase secure behavior in the IT environment.

As an independent consultant from 2001 to 2003, Kevin Acker conducted strategy, finance and organizational services to leading companies around the world. His major projects included a strategy review and the restructuring of the Australian operations of the world’s largest provider of electronic security and cash-in transit services. He also analyzed customer profitability and redesigned the sales and marketing infrastructure for that company. Kevin Acker also formulated and implemented financial organizational and process framework for a Los Angeles-based Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) marketing to the Latino community, redesigning the organizational structure for the finance and accounting staff and leading the selection process of an ERP financial accounting package.

Kevin Acker has also served as Chief Financial Officer for USLAW.COM, a position he assumed after serving as Vice President of corporate development and acting CFO. In his CFO role, Kevin Acker oversaw the company’s business plan, financial model, and budgeting and planning process. Kevin Acker navigated USLAW.COM through successful restructuring and modified the company ownership structure to facilitate a venture-capitalist takeover.

International Acumen
Kevin Acker held a director-level position at Startec Global Communications, where he led the company’s business expansion efforts in East Asia. While there, Kevin Acker negotiated the acquisition of a Hong Kong telecommunications provider, as well as several other telecom companies. Kevin Acker reported directly to the CEO and was responsible for strategic, financial, and mergers and acquisitions projects. Notably, Kevin Acker took a lead role in negotiating the company’s $160-million high-yield bond offering.

Proficient in Russian and in Spanish, Kevin Acker has traveled extensively, having worked in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom, Norway and Pakistan.

Earlier Accomplishments
Kevin Acker served as manager of strategic and financial planning at ATX Communications, a provider of voice and data services, where he led the strategic planning process and pursued several joint ventures and other corporate development projects. At William Kent International, Kevin Acker served as a consultant, performing client casework and leading marketing projects for Fortune 500 companies with international operations. Among his accomplishments was the restructuring of a $250-million business division of a industrial products client and a market-assessment study for a $2-billion consumer products manufacturer. Before that, Kevin Acker was a consultant and senior associate at the Advisory Board Company, where he prepared best-practices management and marketing studies for an international financial-services client base.

Publications
Kevin Acker has written several articles for the National Journal and Inside U.S. Trade, as well as “Off With Their Overhead: How to Get More Prison Bars for the Buck” and “Poisoning of the Soul: New Leaders of Russia and Central Europe Talk About the Evil Empire,” both for Policy Review.

Education
Kevin Acker earned an MBA with honors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, where he graduated in the top ten percent of his class and was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper, The Dartmouth.

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RESUME

Senior business leader with a proven record of leadership and achievement in assessing opportunities and creating new ventures and products in both startups and established companies. Highly analytical mind, with the ability to break down complex problems into manageable components and apply the right techniques to solve them. Successful in diverse industries with both domestic and international organizations.

Specialties
• Financial planning & analysis
• Strategy & planning
• Business case development
• Mergers & acquisitions
• Financing & project funding
• Vendor management
• New venture startup & management
• Negotiations
• Product development

Experiences

Corporate Executive Board : 2004 - 2009
Practice Manager/Senior Director, Product Development & Innovation
Led product development and quantitative research for the IT Practice of CEB, a management consulting firm with a client base of senior IT executives at more than 1,000 companies, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500.
• Created a new function that introduced a suite of quantitative services with the greatest impact on client retention of all services offered by the practice.
• Developed the IT Budget and Spending Benchmarking service, focused on key IT spending and productivity metrics. Introduced online platform allowing clients to directly access data and perform custom benchmarking cuts.
• Conceived and rolled out the "Vendor Knowledge Exchange," an online service designed to collect and disseminate vendor ratings and facilitate vendor-related networking conversations among clients.
• Conducted quantitative research, including gauging the most effective ways for the information security function to increase secure IT behavior through an original survey of more than 50,000 end-users. Research received highest client ratings in history of Information Security practice.
Independent Consultancy : 2001 - 2003
President
Conducted strategy, finance and organizational consulting projects in a variety of industries.
• Carried out comprehensive strategy review and financial restructuring of Australian operations of world’s largest provider of electronic security and cash-in-transit services. Reduced cost structure by more than 25% and restored company to profitability through combination of headcount reductions and productivity increases.
• Formulated and implemented financial organizational and process framework for LA-based local exchange carrier. Selected accounting package. Redesigned organizational structure for finance and accounting staff.
USLaw.com : 2000 - 2001
Chief Financial Officer
Managed all planning, finance and accounting functions for Internet's leading marketing partner for small law firms and source of legal information for consumers and small businesses.
• Created and maintained company business plan, financial model and budgeting and planning process. Oversaw selection, implementation and integration of Peoplesoft Financials accounting system.
• Navigated company through successful restructuring. Through reduction in headcount and renegotiation of major vendor contracts, transformed cost structure to bring company to break-even.
• Prepared private placement memorandum for $15MM equity offering and memorandum for sale of company.
Startec Global Communications : 1998 - 2000
Director, Corporate Development
In director-level position reporting to CEO, responsible for a variety of strategic, financial, mergers & acquisitions and corporate development projects for NASDAQ-listed international long distance provider focused on marketing to ethnic residential customers.
• Led company's business expansion efforts in East Asia. Through extensive in-region travel in countries such as Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, developed strategy for company to offer Internet transport, VOIP and collocation services in region. Negotiated successful acquisition of Hong Kong-based telco, including valuation, deal structure, due diligence, preparation of transaction documents.
• Took lead role in $160MM high-yield bond offering. Developed financial projections to model use of proceeds and gauge ability to service debt, prepared roadshow presentation and accompanied CEO and CFO on investor roadshow.
ATX Communications : 1997 - 1998
Manager, Strategic and Financial Planning
As "right-hand" of company CEO, managed team of analysts working on a broad range of strategic and operational projects for $100 million provider of voice and data services to small-and-medium-sized businesses.
• Led team to pursue joint venture with cable television company for the provision of Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) services. Using sophisticated mapping software and real estate databases, determined potential market by examining coverage of partner's network. Prepared projections for venture.
• Created, implemented and managed strategic planning process designed to focus organization on company-wide and departmental goals. Introduced incentive-based compensation scheme for managers.
William Kent International : 1995 - 1997
Consultant
Performed client casework and marketing projects for strategic management consulting firm specialized in optimizing international operations of Fortune 500 companies.
• Conducted comprehensive business restructuring for $250 million division of abrasives manufacturer centering on redesign of product offerings, inventory management system and sales policies. Recommendations used as cornerstone of five-year strategic plan by client CEO.
• Directed market-assessment study for $2 billion manufacturer of contact lenses, lens care and ophthalmic pharmaceutical products in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. Evaluated potential acquisitions. Gauged current and future market sizes and shares and crafted strategic recommendations to maximize market potential.

Education

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School : 01/1993 - 12/1995
Master
,
Business AdministrationSummer Strategic Planning Associate, Den Norske Bank, Norway's largest bank.
Activities and Societies:
Director's honor list (Top 10% of class)
Teaching Assistant, Accounting Department
Dartmouth College : 01/1987 - 12/1991
BA
,
GovernmentStudied international relations at London School of Economics during Fall 1989 semester.
Activities and Societies:
Phi Beta Kappa, Rufus Choate Scholar 1990-1991 (Top 5% of class for the year)