Steve

Manager, Retail and Consumer Products Group

Office:

Atlanta

Degree:

B.S. in industrial engineering, Georgia Tech

Why did you choose Kurt Salmon?

Kurt Salmon has a big-firm reputation with a small-firm feel. I have the opportunity to work alongside some of the brightest minds in retail and consulting, and Kurt Salmon embraces an open-door and horizontal culture. We have a nurturing and family feel; you’re not treated like “rank and file” or just a number.

What is the best part of consulting?

The learning curve.

What has been your favorite project?

A merchandising and planning transformation for one of the largest and most iconic luxury retailers. It’s one of the best client-consultant partnerships I’ve been a part of—with the most compelling results.

What is the hardest lesson you’ve learned?

• The aisle is better than the window, but watch your elbows on the drink cart.
• Twenty-two inches is the maximum length of a rolling bag that will fit wheels-first into the overhead.
• The seats in the row directly before the exit row do not recline.

What is your favorite industry term?

Plannogramming: in grocery, the art of deciding which products go where and on which shelf—a seemingly simple but really a sophisticated and complicated decision