Principal Consultant:
 

PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consulting Services
Strategic Change - Corporate and IT Strategy

Mr. Rollyson is currently a principal in the B2B Accelerator, MCS's new business creation services offering.  He manages strategic alliances with major players and entrepreneurs, and he consults to entrepreneurs on their business strategies for startups and spinouts.  He also serves as a subject matter expert in e-business engagements in which companies adopt e-business and e-commerce strategies.  This usually involves assessing the corporate vision in light of e-business, designing an e-business/traditional business integration strategy and leveraging information processes and resources through intranets, extranets and websites.  Engagements often entail adopting a knowledge enterprise model, significant change management, redesigning work processes, designing knowledge solutions and mentoring client personnel through implementation.

Mr. Rollyson has fourteen years of consulting, e-business and marketing experience with high technology and professional services firms that have included: financial and technology consultants, systems integrators, software developers, VARs, ISVs, telecoms, finance and hospitality.  He has held these accountabilities in entrepreneurial companies, in which he has worked for the CEO, as well as in matrixed global organizations.  He also consults on building strategic alliances, including knowledge sharing and cooperative marketing programs.

Relevant Experience:
 

• Currently co-lead creation of MCS's new business creation services, the "B2B Accelerator."  Create and manage strategic alliances with market leading venture capitalists, investment bankers, attorneys, marketing firms and executive recruiters.  Devised model and processes for creating and managing alliances and partnerships.  As principal, help to build the team and processes; shepherd business plans through the approval process, advise entrepreneurs on their business strategies, and refer them to advisors to assist with their success.  Formulate models that shrink B2B enterprises' time to market by maximizing the efficiency with which they use financial and professional resources throughout the life cycle, from ground zero through exit strategy.

 
• Technology strategy lead for e-business strategy for market-leading bricks and mortar home products company.  Involved IT assessment and coaching executive team through formulating the e-business strategy.

• Strategy lead on engagement for e-markets/electronic community start-up in which formulated business plan and advised CeO on presenting business proposition to secure new round of funding.  Organized competitive intelligence, and helped to manage rapid dynamic teaming process that focused start-up’s unique resources to create high growth potential unique selling propositions.  Created rapid development implementation plan for e-business and IT strategy.

 
• Engagement manager for global knowledge strategy and implementation for global consulting firm.  Created teams in all theaters of operation, and designed iterative engagement plan that enabled the flexibility necessary to organize collaborative effort among teams facing varied constraints and states of readiness.  Built alliances with other firm groups that enabled significant cooperation and efficient use of resources as well as enhanced impact of knowledge solution.

 
• As subject matter expert for e-commerce engagement for consumer electronics company, provided leading edge research and strategic guidance to team advising client on mission-critical launch of e-commerce website.  Created and applied innovative analytical techniques to assist client to identify and address key issues relevant to launching a competitive site.  Advised team on strategic vendor selection.

 
• As subject matter expert for e-business strategy consulting team, played key role in creating e-business agenda for global consultancy’s chemicals and energy group.  Provided leading edge market analysis, and created original model for market development.  Directly contributed to major new market offering.

 
• As subject matter expert for automotive e-commerce strategy engagement, played significant role in creating visionary presentation that presented convergence of automotive industry and e-commerce.  Led team’s rethinking of “conventional wisdom” regarding e-commerce impact on markets’ expectations of time to market, product specialization and relationship management.  Moved project team’s expectations and assumptions in line with market dynamics.  Introduced several key concepts regarding e-commerce market, contributed Website Adoption Curve/Life Cycle Model as well as strategy for channel conflict.  Identified key issues such as incompatibility of e-commerce (short life cycle, interactive, prosumer, “pull” outlook) and auto industry (long life cycle, internal, consumer, “push” outlook), and helped to address.  Contributed to initial project design, transferred knowledge to project team, and completed early due to knowledge transfer achieved.

 
• As engagement manager, designed and led implementation of strategy engagement to advise executive team of market-leading software company on likely impact of the software company’s product line transformation from COBOL to Java architecture.  Researched insurance trends for Internet-based transactions as well as customer base reaction to major technology initiative, and anticipated how industry would adopt web applications.  Challenged view that new software would just “put a web front end” on existing COBOL product, and informed executive team that the new product direction would enable them to transform their company due to vastly shrunk time to market for new products and increased customer focus.  Recommended approach for client to make aggressive market move into new segment by organizing around e-business model and educating strategic partners and customer base on opportunities gained by change in technology profile.  Credited by CIO with moving the executive team far ahead in its thinking.  Leveraged findings to generate enthusiasm within organization to mobilize for major change; garnered broad support for paradigm shift by involving majority of functions and departments in information gathering and interpretation.

 
• As Engagement Manager, designed and implemented knowledge infrastructure to drive revenue growth of 12-state (U.S.) region of global services organization.  Conducted needs assessment, created communications and knowledge processes, and led implementation of technology/knowledge solution.  Aligned technology with business strategy, and reengineered marketing and communications processes to drive cross-selling among service and product groups.  Built intranet to serve as knowledge repository and distribution network.  Trained and mentored project staff in intranet development and workflow analysis.  Engagement reduced marketing, practice management and administrative costs while enhancing responsiveness to business development and client service opportunities.

• For global services organization, managed engagement in which outlined design for knowledge management-oriented customer intimacy solution to be delivered through customer extranets.  Designed engagement to: 1) reduce cost of service by enabling client customers to access work as it was being performed, 2) drive additional revenue through high-value clients and 3) convert prospects away from competitors.  Projected involvement of client project professionals as well as 16 high-value customers and prospects, inviting them to participate in R&D beta extranet program.

• As engagement manager, co-launched paradigm-shifting technology via strategic marketing alliance.  Managed relationship between leading edge consulting boutique and global hardware/software/services corporation; utilized boutique's pioneering implementation of new technology with Fortune 500 client as success story to validate new technology.  Executed aggressive campaign to promote success of new technology.  Authored white paper that defined best practices and contributed to successful expansion to Europe and the Pacific Rim.

• Co-launched Internet/intranet business unit for systems integrator.  Conducted competitive analysis, and helped to formulate marketing plan.  Led development of Internet sites, directing consultants and staff.  Developed corporate intranet to showcase new business unit’s expertise and leverage knowledge.  Created and implemented models to transform marketing communications processes from passive “push” to active “pull,” centering on interactivity.

• As engagement manager, conducted strategic and operational assessment of high visibility technology-oriented PR and business development program, and led program execution.  Advised and mentored practice managers in business development processes, and directed marketing team in executing program processes.  Select results were: program participation rose by 50%; finale attendance record exceeded by 25%; program’s relationship building capacity expanded by 400% through introducing new participant value track; significantly increased ongoing marketing leverage through new participant logo identity program in which participants promoted themselves as well as the program itself.

• Led marketing contribution to restructuring of systems integrator with five business units.  Evaluated sales processes, and created new sales management model.

• Have coached hundreds of individuals and groups on organizational change and work habits.  Extensive experience with training and motivating people at all organization levels to become aware of and change their work goals and processes.

Prior to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr. Rollyson:

• Led the reengineering of marketing and knowledge processes for a Big Six firm’s high technology practice.
• Served as the marketing director for a $50 million systems integration firm whose consulting arm is an internationally recognized Java and object-oriented technology consultancy.  Mr. Rollyson built the marketing organization that drove the firm’s expansion into its primary telecoms, multimedia and finance verticals.
• Helped to build a regional telecoms reseller, serving as its marketing director while an independent consultant.
• Served as a consultant within the largest career management firm in the U.S.  Mr. Rollyson propelled his office into a Top Ten leader by innovating a new product line and mentoring hundreds of executives and staff through career planning and changes.
• Served as an interpreter in the Czech Republic, Italy, France and the UK.

 Educational Background:
 

Mr. Rollyson has done graduate work in economics at the University of Chicago and took his undergraduate degree from Kalamazoo College.  While in Europe, he studied at Die Freie Universität Berlin in (then West) Berlin, L'Université de Clermont-Ferrand in France, and Il Liceo Americano d'Aviano in Italy.  He speaks French, Italian and German.

The Current E-Business Landscape: Emerging Strategies, Evolving Business Models and Value Propositions, Strategic Change E-Business Training, May 11, 2000
The Role of Technology in Developing Strategic E-Business Solutions, Strategic Change E-Business Training, May 11, 2000
Principal E-Business Vendors and PwC Alliances, Strategic Change E-Business Training, May 11, 2000
Strategic E-Business Issues in IT  Strategy, Strategic Change E-Business Training, April 14 and May 11, 2000
Digitization, Standards and Disaggregating Organizations, The Midwest Academy of Management Conference, March 30, 2000
E-Business Market Development and Dynamics, DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, October 28, 1999
The E-Business Strategy Center of Excellence: The Subject Matter Expert Role and Success Stories, MCS Strategic Change Learning Day, August 27, 1999

Publications:
 

E-Business Market Development: the Rise of the Extended Enterprise, 1999
Applying the E-Business Adoption Curve and Services Framework to E-Business Strategy Engagements, 1999
Exploring the Communications Economics of Electronic Communities, 1999
Using the E-Business Strategies to Drive Supply Chain Opportunities and Transformation, 1999
Using Websites to Create Electronic Enterprises that Transform Customer Relationships, 1999
E-Business and E-Commerce Strategy Consulting: Services Framework and Approach, 1999
E-Business Strategy Consulting Overview, 1999
The E-Business Adoption Curve: Unlocking the Real Value of E-Commerce, Creating an Integrated Electronic Enterprise, 1999
Using Knowledge Strategy to Drive Intranet, Extranet and Website Development, 1998
Christopher S. Rollyson,1998-present

English: native
French: fluent
Italian: functional
German: conversational

© 1998-2000 by Christopher S. Rollyson