Kevin Acker’s blog

Kevin Acker is a widely traveled international consultant in the fields of corporate development, strategy, planning and product development with a knack for high-level strategic thinking and scoping and implementing innovative new products and services.

Kevin Acker has served since 2004 as Practice Manager, Product Development and Innovation in the IT Practice of the Corporate Executive Board, a Washington, D.C., membership-based firm that provides best-practices research, decision support services and executive education to corporate executives.

Kevin Acker’s responsibilities at Corporate Executive Board include leading product development and quantitative research for the IT Practice. The firm boasts a member base of senior IT executives at more than 1,000 companies, including most of the Fortune 500.

As practice manager for Corporate Executive Board, Kevin Acker led the development of a number of key products and services, including: 

• A benchmarking service focused on IT budget and spending metrics;
• The IT Practice Platinum and Gold Portals, websites offering exclusive services to the firm’s most important clients;
• The Vendor Knowledge Exchange, an online service targeted at collecting vendor ratings and facilitating vendor-related networking conversations among members; and
• The IT-Business Alignment Diagnostic, a survey-based service designed to gauge the extent to which IT strategy supports business needs.

Kevin Acker has also led several quantitative research projects at the firm. Examples include measuring how competency in the IT function impacts corporate performance, and gauging the most effective ways to increase secure IT behavior among end-users, a study that involved surveying more than 20,000 individuals around the world.

Between ’01 and ’03, Kevin Acker worked as an independent consultant. During that time, he conducted strategy, finance and organizational consulting projects in a variety of industries. One project called for a strategy review and restructuring of the Australian operations of an electronic security and cash-in-transit services firm. Kevin Acker analyzed profitability , and redesigned the sales and marketing organization to address the most attractive market segments. He also helped the organization improve its structure and identify redundancies.

While an independent consultant, Kevin Acker also created a financial and accounting organizational framework for a Los Angeles-based CLEC focused on marketing to the Latino community. Kevin Acker helped determine the appropriate financial accounting system and redesigned the organizational structure for the finance and accounting staff.

From ’00 to ’01, Kevin Acker served as Corporate Development V.P./Acting CFO and then CFO with USLaw.com, a Washington, DC area-based marketing partner for small law firms and legal reference Web site for consumers. During his time with USLaw.com, Kevin Acker prepared a private placement memorandum for a $15MM equity offering. In addition, Kevin Acker guided the company through a restructuring, which included reducing the headcount, renegotiating vendor contracts and transforming the company’s cost structure to break-even, facilitating a venture capitalist-led takeover.

From 1998 to ’00, Kevin Acker worked in director-level strategic planning and corporate development positions for Startec Global Communications, a telecommunications and Internet service provider headquartered in Bethesda, Md. He led several acquisitions and spearheaded the company’s business expansion efforts in East Asia through extensive on-site work in Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. While there, Kevin Acker developed strategies for the company to offer Internet transport, VOIP and collocation services in region. He also negotiated the acquisition of a Hong Kong telecommunications provider.

Prior to joining Startec, Kevin Acker served with ATX Telecommunications, Philadelphia, Pa., as Manager of Strategic and Financial Planning. From ’97 to ’98, his accomplishments include leading a team to pursue a joint venture with a cable television company to provide Competitive Local Exchange Carrier services, and creating, implementing and managing the company’s strategic planning process.

Kevin Acker gained valuable experience from ’95 to ’97 with William Kent International, a Washington, D.C.-based management consulting firm that specializes in strategy development and investment for Fortune 1000 companies. As a Consultant, he conducted a business restructuring for a $250 million division of an abrasives manufacturer, centering on the redesign of the company’s product offerings, inventory management system and sales policies. His recommendations became a cornerstone of the client CEO’s five-year strategic plan. He also directed a market-assessment study for a $2 billion manufacturer of contact lenses, lens care and ophthalmic pharmaceutical products in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

Kevin Acker earned a Master’s degree with honors in business administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in government from Dartmouth College, graduating in the top 10% of his class, where he served as editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth, the nation’s oldest college newspaper.

Kevin Acker’s hobbies include modern art and design, hiking, mountain biking, classical music and high-end audio equipment. He has traveled in 37 countries, and has worked in such countries as Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, U.K., Norway and Pakistan.

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