Client Testimonials

Mike’s coaching was excellent! It didn’t matter whether we were tackling a pop-up issue, developing an MRD, or formulating a voice-of-the-customer plan. Mike’s guidance was always appreciated, useful, and actionable.

Justin Roller, PhD

Product Marketing Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific

We knew that in order to reach our growth and profitability objectives, we would need to become a more market-driven company. To get there, we needed to understand our customers’ problems better, develop the best possible solutions to those problems, and be compensated for the value those solutions provide to our customers.

Our strategy included creating scalable business units to serve each of our target market segments and then staffing those business units with product managers with the skills to grow product line profitability and market share. We brought Mike in to help us drive this effort and develop the competencies that we needed.

This has been a real success story, and I can’t thank Mike enough. Today our market-focused business units are up and running; we have developed customer value definition, creation, and marketing skills in our product managers; and we are winning more orders at prices that reflect the value that we deliver to our customers.

Benjamin Loh

Chief Operating Officer, FEI Company

Our annual Executive Summit is attended by the senior management teams of each of our portfolio companies. They come to share ideas, best practices, and challenges. The need to attract more customers and improve pricing is always a primary objective for our companies, and a core element of building enterprise value.

To that end, we asked Mike to develop and lead an executive session at our summit this year on how to implement a value-based strategy. Mike’s content and delivery was spot on. Several of our CEOs and heads of marketing & sales made it a point to tell me that it was a thought provoking session and that they came away with ideas they can use to improve their companies.

Mike’s contribution to our event was exactly what we were looking for!

Rick Winegar

Lead Operating Partner, Blue Wolf Capital Partners

Mike has delivered some of the most effective product training for our global sales team. He understands what the sales person needs, works with the marketing team to develop it, and then delivers it all in a dynamic, productive training workshop.

David Bruns

EVP and GM, Veeco Instruments

Mike’s an expert in both strategy development and high-tech capital equipment, so he understands the unique challenges of our business. There was no learning curve with Mike, and his approach was perfect for us.

He drove the process, provided the tools and coached the team. In very short order we had our integrated multi-year product strategy. I’ll call on Mike whenever I need help with strategy, marketing, product management, or business development.

Jeannine Sargent

CEO, Oerlikon Solar

We brought Mike in to help us develop a strategy to engage the HB-LED industry. Mike really did a great job connecting our quantum dot technology to clear value propositions for this market. As a result of Mike’s work, we now know where our best opportunities lie, how to approach them, and who to engage. Leveraging his proficiency at connecting dots and articulating opportunities, Mike delivered the goods in a timely and effective manner.

Dan Button

CEO, QDVision Inc.

Mike’s “How to Implement a Value-Based Strategy” workshop, connected the dots for me. By using examples directly related to our industry, Mike made each value-strategy concept immediately useful. I came away with a toolbox full of practical techniques to that I can apply right away.

Stephen Ranney

Product Manger, Brooks Automation, Inc.

We needed to quickly mature our ability to define, develop, and market our products. If we didn’t, our growth in a new market segment would not be sustainable. We turned to Mike to help us get it done. Mike played the role of advisor, facilitator, and even implementer to ensure that we developed the capability that we needed. He helped us with it all: strategy, voice-of-the-customer, product development, marketing, organizational design, program management and more.

Mike’s work with us made a significant contribution to our strong market position, rapid growth, and new market entry. Plus the knowledge, tools, and mentoring that Mike gave the team put us on solid footing for continued success.

Rick Tattersfield

Vice President and GM Sapphire Equipment Business, GT Advanced Technologies

It’s the speed at which Mike assimilated the situation and defined our turn-around strategy that still amazes me. After being with us just 2 weeks, it was like he had been in our industry his whole life. But what really makes Mike unique is his ability to both define the top level strategy and drive the actionable steps to make it happen.

Tekcess International is on my short list of who to call when I need expert high technology management and implementation help.

Ed Samaha

VP and GM, Veeco Instruments

We brought Mike in to drive the market validation effort for a new business opportunity that we were exploring. In very short order, Mike’s efforts resulted in the clarity that we needed make decisions and plan our next steps. Perhaps more importantly, Mike worked closely with members of my team, improving our internal capability to tackle projects like this on our own.

Bob Oates

EVP and GM Data Storage, Veeco Instruments

Mike’s a world-class coach. His process, time, energy, and enthusiasm set in motion a complete change to how we approach sales-and-marketing-tool creation. As a result, my business is more profitable, and I am a more capable marketing professional. Thanks, Mike!

Pierre Mitchell

Senior Product Manager, Axcelis Technologies

We had what we thought was an impossible role to fill. GSI Group had made a strategic decision to focus on high-tech component level products. We therefore needed to divest our laser equipment business which at the time did not have a general manager. This was a board-level initiative that needed someone that could instantly understand the business, run it, and then market it to potential buyers.

That someone was Mike Chase. Mike took command of the situation immediately. He addressed critical product and market issues, held the team together through the uncertainty of a divestiture process, and secured a buyer for the business. Mike did an A+ job in an assignment that had an “off the charts” degree of difficulty.

John Roush

CEO, GSI Group

I was asked by my management to investigate an adjacent market and then present my findings. This was a mountainous project, and I needed guidance. So I asked Mike to be my coach. Mike helped me climb that mountain in small, logical steps. Week-by-week, we chipped away at it until we finished. Mike kept me on task and was there for me anytime I got stuck.

Once I completed the opportunity analysis, I had to communicate my product and market engagement recommendations. My audience included the c-suite, so I wanted to get this right. With Mike’s help and guidance, I was able to put together a pitch-perfect presentation that very effectively communicated my message .

Like any good coach, Mike got the best out of me. Plus, I added new skills and learned new approaches that will help me on future projects. Thanks, Mike! I look forward to the next time we can work together.

Somit Joshi

Senior Director of Strategic Marketing, Veeco Instruments

As my coach, Mike helped me on my journey from an engineer with a tremendous amount of product knowledge to a product manager with the skills to grow my business. A 100% positive experience!

Trevan Landin

Product Marketing Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific

I very much enjoyed Mike’s value-based strategy workshop and found the content directly applicable to my business. With Mike’s coaching, I’ve applied value-based pricing to my current portfolio and developed a roadmap that focuses engineering efforts on solutions that drive economic value for our customers.

As a result, my customers are getting products that they highly value, and we’re getting paid for that value. Since working with Mike and adopting a value-based strategy, we’ve literally added millions of gross margin dollars to our bottom line each year.

Todd Templeton

Product Marketing Manager, FEI Company

I’ve had the opportunity to work with outside consultants on a variety of projects. Often when engaging consultants one invests a lot of time educating them on your business before any real progress is made. This was not the case with Mike.

When we engaged Mike to help us prepare for an important investor event, he was able to contribute from the moment he walked through the door. Mike really helped us craft and articulate our growth strategy, which in turn lead to a very successful investor event. The speed in which he grasped both our business and the task at hand has been unmatched by any other consultant with whom I have worked.

Scott Gish

Vice President Marketing, Photronics, Inc.

Mike put together the team, product roadmaps and the selling tools that reversed a multi-year market share decline and lead to a number one position for us.

John Aldeborgh

VP of Sales, Varian Semiconductor

Prior to Mike’s assignment, we had identified a core technology that could be expanded from our current product line to a high volume product used in a new emerging market. Mike integrated himself into the sales and marketing team, and developed a comprehensive and successful product introduction.

This included value proposition, market launch, marketing communications, and customer selling strategies. We successfully developed relationships with 80% of the companies in less than nine months. Mike is highly recommended for any business strategy, marketing, or product-launch initiative.

Jeff Hohn

VP and General Manager, Veeco Instruments

To get our company where we needed to go, we were going to have to get a lot better at defining, developing, and marketing our products. We had work to do with the team, the process and the tools. The problem was our plate was already full with critical initiatives, and to be honest the list of people to pick from that could really whip our product management capability into shape was pretty short.

I had worked with Mike before and knew he was the right person for this job. He knows our industry and is among those few who can really put all the pieces together when it comes to managing and marketing capital equipment. Mike tackled it all including product strategy development, life cycle management, and positioning. His efforts made a big improvement in how we manage and market our products. More importantly, Mike left behind a team fully trained and equipped with everything they need to ensure the improvement continues.

It’s easy to recommend Mike to anyone looking to improve the way they define, develop, or market their products.

Bill Bintz

SVP Marketing, Axcelis Technologies

I engaged Mike to help guide growth options development for our business. Mike provided us with an approach and coaching that resulted in a more efficient process and an improved ability to assess our opportunities.

Michael Chalsen

GM Integrated Solutions Business Unit, Newport Corporation