Philip Benson
I'm an operator at heart. For 28 years I've built, scaled and fixed consumer businesses, and for most of that time I've been the one accountable for the P&L.
I grew up among the lakes and forests of Northern Wisconsin, studied at Marquette, and earned my MBA at Wharton and an MA at the Lauder Institute. I started in finance and operations at large global companies, moved into growth strategy at L.E.K. Consulting, then spent most of my career building brands in the outdoor, hunting and footwear world.
Today I live in San Diego, where I run competitively with the San Diego Track Club, ride, and shoot archery. The industries I serve are the ones I live in.
Why "heritage"?
Heritage brands aren't born old. They're built one sound decision at a time, and they last because the business underneath is as good as the product.
Closely held brands face a particular set of pressures: limited senior bandwidth, thin systems and a founder carrying too much. I started The Heritage Approach to bring big-company discipline to those brands without the big-company overhead, so the business works for you instead of the other way around.
Our line has always been generating value, matched to your values. The plan has to fit the owner's goals, not a consultant's template.
Four principles.
Operator first
I've carried the quota, the inventory and the payroll. My advice comes from running businesses, not from studying them.
Candid by default
You'll hear what I'd do if it were my company, including the parts that are hard to hear.
Built to hand off
The goal is a team and a set of systems that run without me. Success means I'm needed less over time.
Right-sized help
I stay lean, and I bring in trusted specialists from my network when the work calls for more hands.
Background at a glance.
- Education
- MBA, The Wharton School
MA, The Lauder Institute
BS, Marquette University - Certification
- International M&A Expert (IMAA): M&A process, valuation and integration
- Industry
- Board of Directors, San Diego Sport Innovators
Member, Active Lifestyle CEO Group - Languages
- English and Spanish (native), Italian (working)
- Systems
- NetSuite, SPS Commerce, Shopify, Zendesk, Avalara, Celigo
- Based in
- San Diego, California. Working with brands across North America and Europe.
Let's see if we're a fit.
Tell me about your brand and what's in the way. If I can't help, I'll point you to someone who can.