Andrew Schafer - Principal

Mr. Schafer has over 15 years Market Research and Strategic Planning experience. With his market research experience on both the vendor and client side, Mr. Schafer is experienced in a broad range of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Mr. Schafer founded SMI to provide business decision makers with customized, leading-edge strategic analysis of market data, the business environment, and the competitive landscape.  Prior to founding SMI, Mr. Schafer was with Caspian Networks, a Silicon Valley start-up, where he led the Strategic Planning function. His responsibilities included leading all market research activities, market sizing and sales forecasts, development of a life cycle cost tool for sales engagements, competitive analysis and strategic response development, technical marketing, partner strategies and product feature/functionality research.

While completing his MBA from Syracuse University in Marketing and Statistics, Mr. Schafer started working with Knowledge Systems and Research (KS&R), a top-50 full-service market research and consulting company. Examples of projects Mr. Schafer led include market segmentation for large telecommunications providers, awareness and brand loyalty tracking studies for a large regional retail drug store, new product development and evaluations, business case development, pricing models, employee proficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Mr. Schafer was part of a select group at Nortel Networks that was charged with identifying, developing and determining the value of new product initiatives. His career also includes a stint at IBM Market Intelligence where he was responsible to leading primary market research efforts as well as providing the division with product, financial and channel analysis of competitors.

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Dr. Todd Powers - Principal

Dr. Todd Powers has over 30 years of marketing research experience. Dr. Powers has a proven track record of designing, implementing and analyzing market research projects using the most advanced methodologies available including: multivariate inferential statistics, conjoint, cluster analysis, factor analysis and perceptual mapping.

Currently, Dr. Powers is Manager of Market Intelligence for IBM's Software Group. In this current capacity Dr. Powers leads a team of market intelligence professionals who conduct primary and secondary market research efforts and perform competitive research. Dr. Powers and his team are responsible for implementing marketing research efforts that support numerous brand teams and their year-round strategic planning efforts.

Prior to IBM, Dr. Powers worked for Nortel Networks as a Senior Market Research Advisor. Dr. Powers was part of a select team designed to develop new product concepts, as well as determine the market acceptance of new service and product opportunities. In this role, Dr, Powers was responsible for interacting with senior management to determine best-in-class research methodologies, and to advise them on the business aspects of new product introduction.

Before going to work for Nortel Networks, Dr. Powers founded and was President of PG Research in Raleigh, NC from 1991 to 1997. At PG Research, Dr. Powers was responsible for all aspects of the market research continuum including: client acquisition, methodology selection, proposal writing, data collection monitoring, data analysis, report and recommendation writing, and client presentations. PG Research grew to 12 employees and garnered clients such as BellSouth, Golden Corral, Nortel Networks, Bennigan's, Pepsi, 7-Up, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, HealthSource, Austin Foods, Goodmark Foods, Ameritech, NationsBank, Square D and Siemens.

Dr. Powers has a PhD. in Social Psychology from North Carolina State University and has been an Adjunct faculty member at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

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Wayne Miller - Principal

Wayne Miller has over 30 years of domestic and international marketing experience and has held senior positions with nationally prominent organizations. Mr. Miller has a proven track record of improving profitability during reorganization efforts he has led and has senior experience in retail marketing for domestic and international food distribution.

Mr. Miller’s current position as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Southern Produce is an example of what he brings to the table. Within one year, Mr. Miller led the company from one that had monthly operating losses and was deeply in debt to one that is profitable. Through Wayne’s leadership, Southern Produce has also doubled their food service and international sales after one year.

Prior to his position with Southern Produce, Mr. Miller was the Director of Marketing for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for 13 years. Here he managed a staff of 225 people and developed and implemented a program that oversees a $45 billion dollar agricultural business industry. While with the State of North Carolina and using his great familiarity with local government and USDA programs, Wayne co-founded NC Promotions, Inc., and has served as President since its inception. NC Promotions has generated several million dollars of private sector funds to enhance various governmental programs. Mr. Miller generated new global market distribution in Japan, Germany, UK, Mexico, China and Canada. As a testament to Mr. Miller’s marketing skills, the North Carolina Markets are used as models for the states of Tennessee and Kentucky and the North Carolina Division of Marketing received the “Best in the United States” award at the Food Marketing Institute in 1993.

His experience as Vice President of Marketing for Big Star Foods has given him valuable experience in the introduction of new products to the marketplace and increased market share domestically as well as globally. Here Mr. Miller developed and implemented regional merchandising plans for 58 stores. Wayne handled all buying, advertising, pricing and space allotment for grocery, general merchandise, produce, meat, seafood, bakery, deli and cheese shop departments.

Recognized by his peers, Wayne was president of the North American Association of Agriculture Marketing Officials in 1995 and serves on the board of the Stedman Center at Duke Medical School. He has been a guest lecturer at N. C. State and Duke Universities as it relates to marketing and merchandising.

Mr. Miller holds a BS degree in Marketing from the University of Georgia.

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Penny St. Clair-Holmes- Principal

Penny St. Clair-Holmes is the founder of the Marketing Difference Consulting Group. Penny has nineteen years of industry experience with five years at the executive level in Sales and Marketing. She has the proven ability to identify and capitalize on business opportunities, market products/services and create competitive value. She is widely experienced in global business initiatives, from market and technology analysis through launching and directing new business units.

During her 16 years with Nortel Networks, Penny demonstrated the ability to work within sales, marketing, and finance at diverse management levels. Before leaving Nortel in 1999, Penny was the Director of Succession Marketing. She branded and launched the product that drove more than a 50% increase in Nortel's stock price and became (and currently remains) one of Nortel's strongest performing business units and brands. At SBS Technologies, Penny led business strategies to commonize independent business units into one functioning unit with a universal marketing message. Efficiencies generated 32% cost savings year-over-year. She implemented CRM modules; the first time the company had a central repository of customer contact information to execute marketing and lead generation.

At Caspian Networks, a Silicon Valley infrastructure start-up, Penny developed and executed a comprehensive marketing plan. The plan included competitive differentiation, product positioning, and a communications strategy that generated 50 press articles while in stealth mode including being named 'one of ten companies to watch' by Red Herring Magazine. The positioning and messaging was also critical in building credibility and raising $85M of investor funding.

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