Strategy fails in silence. I start there.
After 40 years in the room, I’ve learned that the hardest part of strategy isn't the plan. It's the truth no one is saying out loud.
Mark Haas, CMC | Founder, Haas Strategy Solutions
BIOGRAPHY
Most strategy consultants come from one world. I’ve worked in several.
Field ecology. Urban planning. Petroleum engineering. Computer simulation. National policy. Strategy. Governance. Each field asks the same question: Given what we know and what we don’t, what’s the best decision we can make right now so this system survives and adapts?
That question is the core of corporate strategy. It’s what I bring to every engagement.
Four Decades in the Room. I’ve sat across from CEOs and leadership teams at every stage of capability. Some were building a strategy for the first time, others inheriting a broken one, still others facing a crisis they couldn't describe. My work has spanned:
Midmarket companies:
From startup tech companies to logistics, biomedical research, financial services, and professional services.Federal & Research Agencies: Facilitating countermeasures for bioterrorism, coordinating naval science and technology R&D, and reorganizing biomedical research.
National Associations: Advising executives at the American Medical Association, and in diverse areas such as sports, biodiversity, and finance.
Global Infrastructure: Training government executives in Tanzania and renovating the management consulting industry across Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
Social Impact: Guiding reorganization at Volunteers of America, Children’s Home Society, and Planned Parenthood,
The Range is the Point. Complex problems rarely stay in one lane. Neither do successful strategies.
I founded Haas Strategy Solutions because most CEOs don’t need more information. They need clearer thinking and a fiduciary willing to challenge their own. It isn't about slide decks, dashboards, big project teams, or work products that AI can generate. It is direct, high-stakes engagement with you and your leadership team on the decisions that actually matter. It’s about how your team’s thinking evolves.
The Focus is Narrow by Design. I work with a limited number of CEOs and boards of organizations between $5M and $100M. This ensures my 40 years of experience are applied directly to your specific "Strategic Gap".
CREDENTIALS
The Professional Standard
My work is aligned with the same global standards for technical and ethical performance that I spent two decades enforcing for the profession.
20 Years as a National Ethics Officer: I investigated and adjudicated ethics cases for the Institute of Management Consultants USA (IMC USA), the professional association and certifying body for the management consulting profession. This is why I’ll say what others may not. Your strategy is my fiduciary obligation. My duty is to the truth of the strategy, not the comfort of the room.
Former Chair and CEO of IMC USA: I led the national organization and received their Fellow and Lifetime Achievement Award for my contributions to the profession.
Certified Management Consultant (CMC®): This is the internationally recognized, peer-reviewed credential representing the highest standard of performance in the profession. It is an assurance that my methodology is grounded in proven, global ISO standards.
Education: Colgate University and Harvard University.
For more details, see Mark’s credentials and professional recognition.
TESTIMONIALS
Mark’s services are and continue to be integral to the development of the business plan for a 580-person not-for-profit service provider. He was able to identify problem areas, recommend remedial actions, and assist the CEO with staff assignments in each problem area. His quick assessment of the operation and the creation of interim steps helped to provide a much-needed kick-start to progress in the right direction. Mark’s integrity and attention to detail are exceptional. His experience with a variety of businesses makes him the consultant of choice for any CEO wishing to improve performance in their organization.
Russ Snyder, CEO
Volunteers of America Chesapeake
We could not have done it without you. You helped us work through a tremendous amount of material in a short time. As I am sure you could see, we have been thinking about these facets of our business for a long time. But it was fantastic to have the chance to get all of those thoughts organized and laid out in a way that can help us advance our business more effectively.
Mary Klein, CEO
NatureServe
SELECTED ADVISORY CLIENT EXPERIENCE
Mark’s clients reflect four decades of work across industries, sectors, sizes, and growth stages, in science and technology, biomedical research and healthcare, social services and nonprofits, and domestic and international public sector organizations.
Some engagements require a different kind of trust. These organizations brought an outside facilitator into rooms where the stakes were high, participants were senior, and outcomes mattered. From military strategy at West Point to bioterrorism countermeasures at BARDA, from naval R&D coordination to crisis response planning at the US Coast Guard, these were not routine meetings. They required someone who could hold the room, challenge assumptions, and move decisions forward.
SELECTED FACILITATION AND TRAINING EXPERIENCE
| Facilitation | ||
|---|---|---|
| European Bank for Reconstruction and Development | Developed curriculum and ran pilots to stand up a management consulting industry in Eastern Europe and Western Asia | |
| Office of Naval Research | Facilitated fleet and force coordination of the Navy’s global Science and Technology R&D roadmap | |
| American Medical Association | Developed a strategy for national disaster emergency response professionals | |
| COLGEN (Colonels and Generals) | Facilitated development of the WWIV military strategy of Cognitive Dominance at West Point | |
| BARDA | Facilitated development of countermeasures for bioterrorism and other public health threats | |
| US Coast Guard | Facilitated development of a coordinated public/private response to nuclear terrorism |
SPEAKING AND WORKSHOPS
Mark also brings structured strategy thinking to CEO peer groups, conferences, and chamber programs.
The Strategy Workshop is a half-day working session for 8 to 12 executives from different companies. Participants apply real tools to their own organizations during the session to gain insights from their executive peers. This is not a lecture and not a panel. Designed for CEO peer groups, business conferences, or executive programs.
Why this workshop works:
Puts you in motion. You actively realize your strategy is either incomplete or fragile
Demonstrates judgement, not frameworks. The focus is on a proven way of thinking, not just filling out templates
Creates urgency for next steps - you leave with just enough discomfort to create a path to true clarity
If this sounds like the kind of thinking your situation calls for, start with a conversation.