TOM McMAKIN is the CEO of Profitable Ideas Exchange (PIE), a leading consultancy focused on helping professional services firms with business development by building peer communities of likely buyers, and in training those who deliver professional services in how to grow their practices. Tom is the author of Bread and Butter, in which he described his work at Great Harvest Bread Co., and how he and his team created a nationally recognized corporate learning community and culture of best practices using collaborative networks. Before joining PIE, Tom was a cofounder and Managing Director with Orchard Holdings Group, a private equity firm as well as an Operating Affiliate at McCown DeLeeuw and TSG Consumer. He served for a decade as the chief operating officer of Great Harvest Bread Co., a multi-unit operator of bread stores. Tom is a graduate of Oberlin College and a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, having served in Cameroon, Africa. He and his family live in Bozeman, Montana.

Tom can be reached at [email protected].

DOUG FLETCHER currently splits his time between teaching at Montana State University's Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship, and speaking/writing/coaching on the topic of business development in professional services and consulting. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of The Beacon Group, a growth strategy consulting firm headquartered in Portland, Maine. Prior to that, he was cofounder and CEO of North Star Consulting Group, a technology-enabled consulting firm that specialized in global web-survey projects. North Star led the research that was the foundation on which the leading voice on professional services, David Maister, wrote his widely acclaimed book, Practice What You Preach. Earlier in his professional life, Doug served as a consultant with the management consultancy, A.T. Kearney, and was trained at General Electric in its leadership development program. He is a graduate of Clemson University and has an MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business Administration. Doug has called Bozeman, MT home for the past 20 years where he enjoys alpine skiing, mountain biking, and fly fishing with his friends and family.

Doug may be reached at [email protected].