The Site Selectors Guild has announced the addition of six new members, one new associate member, and two members advancing from associate to full members. The Guild, the only association of the world’s foremost professional site selection consultants, is now comprised of 63 full members, four associate members, and three emeritus members.
Guild membership is the highest standard in the corporate site selection industry. All members must be actively engaged as site selection professionals and adhere to the Code of Conduct established by the Site Selectors Guild. At least seven years of business location strategy experience is required of full members and three years of experience is required of associate members.
“We always look forward to welcoming new members to the Guild,” said Larry Gigerich, Site Selectors Guild board chair and Executive Managing Director of Ginovus. “The collective wisdom and expertise of our Members are the Guild’s most valuable assets, and we believe the new and advancing members’ contributions will undoubtedly enhance the excellence of the Site Selectors Guild.”
Matt Szuhaj, membership chair for the Guild and managing director at Deloitte Consulting LLP, added, “We are excited to welcome our new members and pleased about the inclusion of five international site selectors in this class. These members will enhance the diverse range of perspectives and deepen our impact on the global site selection industry.”
New Full Members:
Alex Ash
Alex Ash is the Managing Director of Alpha Strategies based in London, England. Ash has 17 years as a Management Consultant dedicated to leading large operational and organizational transformation projects at leading international companies across the full spectrum of corporate functions, including HQ, Global Business Services/CoE and Back Office, Technology, Manufacturing, and R&D. He is a specialist in service delivery and footprint strategy, Business Case development, Fitness and Readiness assessments, stakeholder engagement/alignment, location strategy, site selection and due diligence, economic development incentives negotiations, strategic workforce planning and analytics, corporate real estate, transition management/planning. Ash has extensive on-the-ground experience of primary, secondary, and tertiary markets for corporate expansion across EMEA, the Americas, and APAC.
Johan Beukema
Johan Beukema is Managing Partner at BCI Global, leading the firm’s global practice in Manufacturing Footprint Optimization, Location Strategy and Site Selection. Beukema, based in BCI’s headquarters in The Netherlands, joined BCI Global in 1999 and has since then advised many companies on their global location footprints and in selecting the right location for their manufacturing plants and distribution centers, headquarters and support centers. He has managed and executed projects across the EMEA region, North America including Mexico as well as the whole of Asia. His industry experience covers amongst others life sciences, industrial machinery, automotive, high tech, chemicals and food.
Matt Ryder
Matt Ryder is a Principal with the Avison Young. Ryder focuses his consulting practice on location strategy and economic development incentives analysis and negotiation, helping clients evaluate and select locations for operations throughout the world. As part of this practice, Ryder identifies, analyzes, negotiates, and administers tax and financial credits and incentives. Over the course of his career, he successfully completed projects throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Central and South America. These projects include manufacturing and distribution facilities, call centers, R&D operations, and headquarters. He has served clients in multiple industry sectors, including private equity, technology, energy, manufacturing, BPO, financial services, health care, and pharmaceutical. Matt was a founding partner with Honour, a company acquired by Avison Young in 2020.
Spencer Schobert
Spencer Schobert is the Senior Managing Director of Newmark based in San Francisco and a member of Newmark’s Global Strategy and Consulting team, a practice within the firm’s Global Corporate Services (GCS). Schobert brings two decades of experience to the Newmark team, with a comprehensive background in expansion and location strategy and experience across multiple verticals including consumer products, technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, financial services, retail, shared services, and government relations. He has worked throughout the U.S. and North America and more than 23 countries across Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
Patsy Van Hove
Patsy Van Hove is the Global Leader for IBM-Plant Location International based in Brussels. Van Hove has more than 25 years of corporate location experience. She has been involved in several 100 strategic location and supply chain optimization projects, helping corporate clients prepare for the future in an ever-evolving world and disruptive operating environments. She also regularly supports IBM internally with its global location and sourcing strategies. Patsy Van Hove has assisted multiple economic development and investment promotion agencies around the world with strategic advice on how to create resilient and thriving economies, preparing their location for the new ways of working and connecting them with the right ecosystem partners in doing so.
New Associate Member
Andrew Ratchford
Andrew Ratchford is a Director with Site Selection Group focused on industrial site selection and economic development consulting engagements. Ratchford is well versed in all phases of site selection, with experience both in North America and international markets. Alongside the Site Selection Group team, he develops and executes custom location strategy plans to meet customer demands effectively and efficiently. Prior to joining the Site Selection Group, Ratchford was a Senior Consultant with Global Location Strategies, where he provided site selection consulting with a particular focus on energy, mobility, chemical, and consumer product sectors. During his time there, Ratchford advised projects whose total announced capital investment exceeded $7.5 billion.
Advancing Members
David Dera
David Dera is a Senior Managing Director at Newmark based in Germany and heading Newmark’s location strategy practice in the EMEA region. He has more than 8 years of consulting experience with a dedicated focus on business strategy, location strategy, supply chain optimization, and economic incentives. David has served clients from various industries, such as automotive, electronics, chemicals, construction, technology, financial services, and economic development. During his career, he gained on-site experience in more than 20 countries throughout Europe, North Africa, and North America.
Carter Wood
Carter Wood is a Director with Ernest & Young’s Global Incentives Innovation and Location Services (GIILS) team, assisting EY clients with global location investment decisions for over a decade. Wood is based in Singapore with a focus on foreign inbound investment, Wood supports businesses by examining capital investment plans and assisting companies with location strategies for expansions and relocations both in the U.S. and abroad. Wood’s experience includes helping clients with state benchmarking studies, site identification and evaluation, location labor studies, cost comparison modeling, and governmental incentives, in addition to other services.
About the Site Selectors Guild
The Site Selectors Guild is the only association of the world’s foremost professional site selection consultants. Guild members provide location strategy to corporations across the globe and for every industry, sector, and function. Founded in 2010, the Site Selectors Guild is dedicated to advancing the profession of international corporate site selection by promoting integrity, objectivity, and professional development. Members are peer-nominated, vetted, and must demonstrate significant professional location advisory experience. In 2022, Guild members facilitated the announced creation of approximately 120,000 jobs and $268 billion in announced capital investment by corporate clients, which required location analysis across 81 countries. Guild membership is the highest standard in the site selection industry.
For more information, visit siteselectorsguild.com or follow @siteselectguild on Twitter.
Media Contact
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