John Hansen
Partner, SAS Practice Co-Chair
San Francisco, CA
“In my years of strategy consulting, I have come to realize that, while clients are looking for results when they engage us, the process of working with us to get those results is equally important. We serve our clients best when we: challenge and question our clients to hone and clarify strategy; help clients “tell their stories” internally and externally; assist clients to determine priorities and stay focused; and, roll up our sleeves to assist where and as needed.”
John has spent almost his entire 30-year consulting career assisting the leadership of large businesses, SMEs and start-ups – both domestically and overseas -- to develop and implement business strategies and address other “big issues” of strategic importance.
He has held leadership roles in strategy consulting practices at EY, PwC, Accenture, and Booz & Co (now Strategy&). His consulting engagements have focused on: enterprise, business unit, customer and product strategies; business model development and refinement; value proposition development; growth strategy (e.g., market and product assessment and market entry); strategic marketing (e.g., customer experience, branding, positioning); financial modeling; and, process/performance improvement. John is particularly adept at — and has a passion for — working with clients to create logical, compelling, analytically-supported stories for investors, boards, management and employees.
While much of John’s work has been performed for financial services clients, he has also led client engagements in industries including technology, consumer products and pharmaceuticals. John has spoken at banking and branding industry conferences, has contributed to articles in industry publications and has also led industry studies (e.g., the Bank Administration Institute (BAI) biennial Consumer Payments Preferences Study).
Much of John’s recent client work has focused on early-stage companies. Additionally, John has been an advisor and investor in a number of firms, including Black Letter Discovery (acquired by TrustPoint International), Amba Research (acquired by Moody’s), Juvenon, and Identalsoft.
John holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, where he was elected to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. He also holds a BA in Economics from New College of Florida. He currently teaches strategy and has taught the capstone course for the MBA program at Golden Gate University in San Francisco
John has also served as a Board member at the New College Foundation and at Oakland Asian Students Educational Services (now part of East Bay Asian Youth Center). He also is a dual national, holding US and Italian passports.
