On an otherwise typical Friday in Princeton 12 years ago, president and founder Alfred Sagarese suddenly became an entrepreneur. “I was working for a Chicago-based firm. I was the partner running the domestic practice on the East Coast. We were acquired by a mega-company, and when that acquisition happened, all the satellite offices were closed in short order—with the Princeton office being the first to go,” he recalls.
With only a five-minute warning, they told him the office was shutting down. His first concern was for his clients and all the projects that he still had open. The company told him to “keep the computer, the fax machine, the office, the reports and whatever money you collect.” His first step was to register the company in N.J. as Forrestal Consultants LLC.
“Originally, on day one, it was just me,” Sagarese said. “I was in the same office working as a solo practitioner, and all of a sudden I wound up with several major projects that had to be done. But they were in Europe, so I called a former colleague in Geneva who spoke German and French. And that started it.” Eventually, several former colleagues from the closed international satellite office joined Forrestal.
Today, the company’s global services include what Sagarese describes as “traditional assignments that cover market research, competitive analysis, market entry and market expansion,” along with projects involving mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and competitive intelligence. The clients are firms in “light manufacturing, like automotive components, advanced materials and building products, as well as the processes industries, such as fine and specialty chemicals, polymers, food ingredients and nutraceuticals. Our active clients include divisions within Fortune-ranked firms.”
Sagarese is a licensed professional engineer in N.J., as well as a Certified Management Consultant (CMC). And the rest of the Forrestal staff is equally well-qualified. “Virtually all of us have two degrees: an undergraduate degree—usually in engineering—along with an advanced degree, like an MBA,” says Sagarese. “And most of us have worked in industry for the Fortune 200.” That expertise and education, combined with language skills and an understanding of cultural business nuances abroad, are critical factors in the firm’s success.
In addition, many of the senior consultants at the firm have worked together since 1981. These long-term relationships give the company stability, and each member’s 20-plus years of experience with clients gives Forrestal its competitive edge.
Though the recent economy has been tough for many firms, since late 2008 Forrestal has worked extensively for strategic buyers in their acquisitions quests. "Today, our traditional services are coming back – big time. We have focused on long-term clients. This allows the company to enjoy relationships that were non-competitively bid; that is, we had no real competition,” he said. So far, this business plan has proven to be successful; forging long-term relationships and a hands-on approach to assignments is what Forrestal Consultants is all about.
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