Strategic Results Group was founded by Don and Jim Sando in 2002. Operating under the name Achievement Partners until 2005, the firm began serving small and mid-size businesses, earning accolades as LMI's Rookie Franchise of the Year in 2003, as well as tremendous appreciation from clients served. In 2005, Jim earned accreditation from the prestigious IIB. The firm is now poised to offer a wide range of services and access to an extensive group of experts for its clients.

Our mission is to professionally assess improvement opportunities, identify and implement the most effective processes and programs that will produce measurable results for our clients.

Don Sando is a senior executive with more than 25 years of progressively responsible positions with leading high-tech design and manufacturing companies, including Hewlett Packard. He is a leader in developing business plans and strategies for domestic and international markets, generating multi-million dollar results. He became a recognized leader at facilitating the strategic planning process within several companies, including pursuing & closing strategic acquisitions. His responsibilities have included worldwide sales and marketing, engineering design, as well as manufacturing outsourcing. In addition, he has facilitated total quality improvement programs and ISO 9001 certification. He has worked with high tech corporate giants worldwide, including IBM, Siemens, HP, Citizen, Samsung, Olivetti and Fujitsu, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for a high growth start-up. He is a strong communicator and team builder, a problem solver with a sense of urgency and a demonstrated ability to increase revenues & profits in every environment, including small business.

Don has taught at the college level, and is a guest speaker in MBA programs. He has a wealth of experience in public speaking, leading seminars, and consulting. He is a certified trainer of Leadership Management International. Don has an M.S. degree in Computer Engineering from USC, plus is a graduate of Hewlett Packard’s Executive Marketing Management Program.

 

Jim Sando is a results-oriented manager with over 25 years of demonstrated ability to cut costs and successfully re-engineer processes in a variety of settings. He is known for exceptional profit enhancing skills, analytical and problem-solving abilities and organizational leadership. Jim possesses extensive systems experience and polished negotiation skills. While working on college campuses, Jim was an innovator who acquired and operated nine fast-food franchises, and was a founder of the nation's largest buying co-op for non-profits.

Jim has served as CEO of a $40M corporation, and has developed expertise in retail management, franchise acquisition and operation, supply chain management, and has a strong background in financial analysis and process development. He has extensive experience in turnarounds and culture transformation. Also, Jim was the key business advocate in filing a brief accepted by the California Supreme Court. He has been involved in public speaking, and has conducted numerous seminars and workshops. Jim has served on numerous Boards of Directors and has been active in leadership with regional trade associations. He is accredited as an Executive Associate of the Institute for Independent Business and is a certified trainer of Leadership Management International. Jim earned his B.A. degree in Political Science/Pre-legal option from California State University , L.A. and is a graduate of Indiana University 's Executive Program.

Julie Diedrich joined Strategic Results Group in the fall of 2008. The former founder and President of JK Consulting, LLC, a Maryland based Organizational Development / Human Resources consulting firm, Julie is a highly experienced professional who specializes in working with small to mid-size companies to improve organizational performance.

To date, Julie has worked with over 50 companies of varying industries including, but not limited to high-tech, professional services, construction, architecture, real estate / mortgage, food service, wholesale / distribution, and healthcare. The life stages of these organizations range anywhere from start-up to fast growth companies as well as veteran businesses undergoing significant organizational change.

Julie also facilitates the Inner Circle of Irvine, an exclusive peer advisory roundtable for business owners, CEO's, and Presidents to share ideas, cross-breed strategies for growth, and help meet their unique challenges of owning and operating a company.

Julie is an active member of numerous professional, networking, and volunteer organizations both nationally and locally such as SHRM, ProVisors, and Girls Inc.

Julie earned her Masters degree in Applied Psychology from the University of Baltimore, specializing in Industrial / Organizational Psychology, and her Bachelors degree in Psychology from the University of Arizona. Julie also holds a Professional Human Resource Certification. In her spare time, Julie enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and the outdoors.

Vince Ferraro is a results-oriented, global, senior marketing and general management executive with over 20 years of experience in Hewlett-Packard's Imaging and Printing Group. He has worked for a variety of lines of B2B and Consumer businesses within HP. Vince has a track record of helping HP grow businesses and market share, while maintaining profitability. He has been particularly successful in developing innovative and market-leading new products/solutions that deliver a world-class customer experience, executing results-driven marketing programs and operational initiatives that drive growth, and leading and driving transformation in dynamic, hyper-competitive markets.

Ferraro was most recently the VP of Global Marketing for HP's LaserJet Business Unit. In this CMO role he headed a worldwide marketing organization generating $6B in annual revenues. His other executive positions have included senior worldwide and regional roles in marketing, finance, and category operations functions, based in the U.S., Singapore, and Boeblingen, Germany.

He received a B.S. in business administration from San Diego State University and a M.B.A. from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He is also a graduate of Stanford University's Strategic Marketing Management Program.

Ferraro consults with a variety of companies, is an advisor for the CMO Council, a Domain Expert in the Connect Springboard Program, and is also an expert consultant with the Gearson Lehman Group, and Coleman Research.

Bill Higley is a seasoned marketing and sales executive with over 27 years of experience in domestic and international markets with Hewlett Packard and IBM. He has personally implemented or managed all elements of the marketing and sales mix. This included direct and indirect sales through channel partners to small and medium sized businesses in a variety of industries as well as the public sector. He has also led the strategic planning process, development of business plans, marketing and sales strategies, implementation, business development initiatives, as well as results monitoring/reporting tools for existing and new business opportunities. In order to ensure effective implementation, Bill developed a strong working knowledge of other functional areas of businesses as well. He is recognized as a strong, results-oriented business leader, focused on driving profitable revenue growth, with an exceptional ability to get things done through other people. This has included experience in identifying and capitalizing on untapped business opportunities as well as turning around problem areas. He has strong prioritization and organizational skills to ensure focus on the critical few items necessary to maximize results within resource constraints.

Bill has lived and worked in Barcelona, Spain where he was marketing manager for HP’s Barcelona Division and in Nurnberg, Germany, while in the Army Corps of Engineers. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Sciences and Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from the University of Wyoming.

Bill Loeber is a highly experienced Marketing and Sales executive with over 25 years of experience in companies ranging in size from 3-person start-ups to Fortune 50 high-technology companies.

Bill has held senior management positions in several industries, including digital imaging at Hewlett-Packard, bioscience, medical products, industrial printing, household consumer goods and web marketing. He has been consistently recognized for his ability to revitalize stagnating, under-performing businesses into healthy, growing enterprises, as well as launch new companies from scratch. His accomplishments include growing a $20 million business at HP into a $100 million operation over 5 years by dramatically expanding the product portfolio and building a marketing strategy that repositioned HP from a niche-player to top supplier in the industry. In another industry he transformed a sleepy $50 million product line into the company's number 1 profit generator by applying many of the principles we teach our clients at Strategic Results Group. He has consulted with a number of start-ups as well, developing their business plans to help them secure seed capital. Bill is also the founder of a web-based specialty digital printing company. He is equally comfortable in large complex organizations and small start-ups where his practical, time-tested strategies get results quickly.

Bill has an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Minnesota.

Kathy MacDougall - As VP of HR for an alternative energy vehicle start-up, Kathy led all aspects of human resources, organizational culture creation, and health and safety practices. Additionally, she assisted with talent acquisition and culture creation. Ms. MacDougall previously led the Corporate Services team for a start-up technology transfer organization located in Southern California. In this role, Kathy created the HR, IT, Legal, and Facilities infrastructures to support 12 start-up businesses in differing industries. Additionally, Kathy began a professional coaching business to support professionals in career transition.

As General Manager of a $150M industrial products global manufacturer in California with 300 employees, Kathy was instrumental in achieving a 95% customer satisfaction rating by leading continuous improvement activity for production systems operations. She was Lead Team Trainer for Accountability Models for Team Leaders, successfully managing in a highly unionized environment. In addition, as Corporate Director of HR, she was responsible for every aspect of Human Resource Management, Health, Safety, and Environmental compliance.

Kathy began her career in manufacturing as HR Manager for Piper Impact, and then Director of HR for a division of Baker Hughes, Inc. In addition to leading the traditional HR functions, Kathy acted as facility project manager for their enterprise wide software solution implementation.

Kathy has her MBA, and is currently finishing her Doctorate studies in Organizational Leadership. She is a certified DISC & Profiles trainer.

Donald Sonck is a leader and a problem solver. For over twenty-five years, Don has successfully been at the forefront in leading companies in various states of transition. Whether the company's need be revenue generation through new sales / marketing initiatives, growth through mergers / acquisitions, or new product / service offerings to existing clients, Don has successfully led teams to achieve the stated goals. Improvements include operational optimization and efficiency, as well as labor relations leadership in both non-union, union, and hybrid businesses during his career with several private and public companies in a variety of industry sectors.

Continual promotion to levels as high as senior management with world-wide information management leader Iron Mountain, and upper-management roles with national telecommunications innovator Cox Communications, among other prominent firms, has immersed Don in high-level partnerships with multi-billion-dollar private and Fortune 1000 companies across the United States and Europe. He is an avid public-speaker and free-lance writer who donates countless hours to local volunteer work. Don's career has now transitioned to that of an outside consultant who is well-versed in guiding firms that are challenged in achieving various levels of growth and development.

Don has a B.A. in Economics from Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.

 

Strategic Results Group LLC is affiliated with Leadership Management International (LMI), Inner Circle and the Institute for Independent Business (IIB). . See Affiliations