Brandon is available for hire
Hire BrandonBrandon Pearlman
Verified Expert in Finance
Management Consulting Expert
Location
Chicago, IL, United States
Toptal Member Since
September 6, 2023
Brandon is a technology executive with 19 years of experience, including working as a management consultant for the Global 1000. He has successfully founded and exited his startup and executed a GTM strategy that yielded an ARR of $20 million in year 1—and a projected $200 million in year 2. Brandon expertly helps accelerate early and growth-stage companies, identifying sustainable growth opportunities and enabling informed decisions with in-depth analysis.
Career Highlights
Principal | Growth Executive
BP Genesis
Education Highlights
Master of Science Degree
Illinois Institute of Technology
Bachelor of Arts Degree
University of Iowa
Case Studies
Expertise
Work Experience
Principal | Growth Executive
2017 - PRESENT
BP Genesis
- Worked on a B2C fintech platform that combined banking, mortgage, and insurance product offerings. Performed as an executive team member across business units, ensuring operational consistency across product lines and dozens of external vendors.
- Acted as an interim CEO and entrepreneur in residence for a corporate venture incubation team at a $3 billion industrial-focused company. Led the team from ideation to presentation to the board of directors and secured follow-on capital.
- Served as a strategic advisor and consultant to companies focused on innovation, disruption, and digital transformation and worked with clients across various industries and customer segments.
- Turned around an event management company by reorganizing its focus on an enterprise SaaS model, developing a business strategy, and building a new financial model from the ground up. The company was able to raise a second round of investor capital.
- Advised the CEO of a growing consumer packaged goods company on the operations and sales strategy, growing the business from $4 million to $10 million.
- Prepared the CEO of a food delivery platform for investor questions and due diligence by developing KPIs to help tell the company's story, in addition to analyzing sales data and developing metrics. The company raised a seed round of funding.
- Reorganized priorities and revamped the product roadmap, turning around an underperforming hospitality platform.
- Analyzed prospective capital investments' business strategy, finances, and management team and delivered recommendations to a venture capital firm.
- Reviewed the intellectual property portfolios of Chicago-based universities and assessed inventions for commercialization opportunities.
- Assessed a satellite-based platform for Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund while working with Nasco. Identified issues and advised on terminating the acquisition process, potentially saving tens of millions of dollars in capital.
Focus areas: Management Consulting, Strategy, Startups, Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Big Data, Product Strategy, Operations, Private Equity, Acquisitions, M&A Modeling, Due Diligence, Strategic Planning & Execution, Product Operations, Business Process Optimization, Analysis, Analytics, Business Strategy, Process Optimization, Business Development, Partnerships, Go-to-market Strategy, Healthcare, Wellness, Fundraising, Venture Capital, Pitch Decks, Market Assessment, Financial Modeling, Valuation, Growth Strategy, Executive Coaching, Organizational Design
Co-founder | Chief Operating Officer | Chief Product Officer
2012 - 2017
Digital H2O
- Founded, raised funding, and scaled a big data AI and machine learning software company that provided operational data-driven intelligence for the energy industry. Successfully exited the business to a multinational public company.
- Directed day-to-day operations, including general management, product roadmap, operations, strategy, fundraising, finance, and sales.
- Created $24 million in enterprise value in under four years and achieved a sixfold revenue growth year-over-year.
- Converted over 40 major oil-and-gas companies to customers, negotiating contracts with management and C-suite buyers.
- Developed industry-leading AI and machine learning analytics products.
- Integrated public and private disparate datasets into a unified architecture, enabling industry-leading data analysis.
- Scoped, implemented, and drove joint development projects with companies, securing customer-funded pilots.
- Executed the company's successful exit to an industry-leading strategic buyer.
- Managed a team of engineers, data scientists, a UI/UX architect, and offshore contractors on all software and analytics development projects.
- Achieved a product-market fit and managed all product-related development, roadmap, strategy, and resource allocation.
Focus areas: Big Data, Entrepreneurship, Product Strategy, Growth, Project Management, Sustainability, Economics, Management Consulting, Strategy, Startups, Innovation, Operations, Private Equity, Acquisitions, M&A Modeling, Due Diligence, Strategic Planning & Execution, Product Operations, Business Process Optimization, Analysis, Analytics, Business Strategy, Process Optimization, Business Development, Partnerships, Go-to-market Strategy, Fundraising, Venture Capital, Pitch Decks, Market Assessment, Financial Modeling, Valuation, Growth Strategy, Executive Coaching, Organizational Design
Vice President of Operations | Business Development
2008 - 2012
CG
- Managed operations and business development. Identified and negotiated the firm's most successful acquisition for a renewable energy-focused private equity firm.
- Acquired a financially distressed biofuel plant, raised $4 million in equity, and leveraged that to secure $36 million in bank debt. Also secured a $10 million seasonal revolver to fund operational inputs for the plant.
- Saw the asset generate revenue of over $150 million with around $20 million in net income by the end of the second year following the acquisition.
- Developed a business plan and pitched to investors on a 25-acre tomato-based greenhouse using renewable energy, the evolution of which is now the successful Chicago-based company, MightyVine.
- Evaluated the biomass market, identified an unmet need in the market, and licensed proprietary tech to serve that market need, including negotiating and securing an exclusive agreement.
- Secured $660,000 in incentives from the State of Kentucky while working with the Secretary of Energy.
Focus areas: Acquisitions, Operations, Private Equity, M&A Modeling, Due Diligence, Product Strategy, Sustainability, Economics, Management Consulting, Strategy, Startups, Innovation, Growth, Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning & Execution, Product Operations, Business Process Optimization, Analysis, Analytics, Business Strategy, Process Optimization, Business Development, Partnerships, Go-to-market Strategy, Fundraising, Venture Capital, Pitch Decks, Market Assessment, Financial Modeling, Valuation, Growth Strategy, Organizational Design
Senior Consultant
2006 - 2008
Smart Business Advisory and Consulting
- Deployed a legal management system and managed deliverables.
- Spearheaded joint application development with client stakeholders.
- Acted as an executive stakeholder regarding reporting and project tracking.
Focus areas: Management Consulting, Strategic Planning & Execution, Project Management, Product Operations, Economics, Strategy, Product Strategy, Operations, Business Process Optimization, Legal, Analysis, Analytics, Business Strategy, Process Optimization, Business Development, Partnerships, Pitch Decks
Analyst
2005 - 2006
Huron Consulting Group
- Collaborated on engagements with Fortune 500 companies spanning multiple industries.
- Developed and deployed a multi-million dollar enterprise software system across a global law department for a Fortune 500 company. Worked with developers to customize it to meet business-specific needs.
- Overhauled the law departments' processes and procedures by developing a detailed process flow map and conducting interviews. Recommended business process optimization improvements.
- Examined servers and C-suite computers at the forensics level for an SEC investigation of financial accounting, corporate governance, and internal control practices of a Fortune 25 company, which led to a $2 billion earnings restatement.
- Analyzed the server and computer data for an SEC investigation involving earnings restatement for a Fortune 500 company, ensured the chain of custody, and conducted a metadata-level forensic analysis.
Focus areas: Management Consulting, Business Process Optimization, Legal, Analysis, Analytics, Business Strategy, Process Optimization, Economics, Strategy, Product Strategy, Operations, Partnerships
Education
2012 - 2014
Master of Science Degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability
Illinois Institute of Technology - Chicago, Illinois, USA
2000 - 2004
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics
University of Iowa - Iowa City, Iowa, USA
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