Projects

The following lists include work undertaken solely by J.E. Black & Company as well as projects led by Jill Black while with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

CORPORATE
NOT-FOR-PROFIT
POLICY

Corporate

  • Helped the Media Division of a broadcast distribution company develop a Customer Experience Strategy for its Online Group. This work involved extensive research on the evolution of the broadcast business from TV to multi-platform. Subsequently worked with this client on the strategy for its core business.
  • Developed the Environmental Strategy and Customer Service Strategy for a major financial institution working with an Executive Vice President and two senior executive teams.
  • Determined how a Canadian entertainment company could realize greater value from an acquisition; worked with its business units to prepare strategy reviews for several annual Board retreats.
  • Provide assistance, as needed, to a Senior Vice President of The Boston Consulting Group for idea development efforts – e.g. led teams of grad students to investigate effects of off-shoring on the US economy and employment, and to research the impending infrastructure crisis in N.A. and Europe.
  • Helped a small software developer with a strategy to greatly accelerate its growth. This was a difficult exercise as the recommended direction differed significantly from the initial expectations and desires of the clients’ senior executives but was much preferred by the Board and major investors.
  • Led a team of BCG consultants to develop a new strategy for the company’s global Web presence focusing on content and services for clients, recruits and alumni. This built on Jill’s experience while at BCG in leading its award winning Web site strategy and implementation efforts.
  • Developed global strategies for a US-based small appliance manufacturer, a Mexican glass manufacturer, and an international beverage alcohol company – assessing opportunities to leverage brand franchises to expand in existing markets and identifying new markets to enter. (BCG)
  • Led the design and guided implementation of corporate and business strategy processes for a Canadian insurer and a NA transportation company, improving performance and instilling greater management discipline at the business unit level. (BCG)
  • Assisted a major Canadian retailer in achieving greater value from its IT investments, and improving the relationship between business units, other functions, and IT. (BCG)
  • Developed a creative strategy for serving an existing market at lower cost for a U.S.-based specialty chemical service facing a dominant competitor. (BCG)
  • Led a strategy effort to ‘reinvent’ a large Canadian consumer and business services company leading to significant profit improvement. (BCG)

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Not-For-Profit

  • Assisted several major performing arts organizations in developing and implementing strategies for growing audiences.
  • Helped the management team of a College assess the potential for selling its interactive online courses in international markets. The work involved extensive research and interviewing to understand the market for e-learning in a number of Asian countries. Unfortunately the business proved to be highly competitive and the client lacked the scale, and important capabilities required for success.
  • Helped refine the proposed governance structure for an international relief and development organization to better serve the needs of its member countries.
  • Led strategy development efforts for a regional theatre, a national cultural institution, and a public broadcaster to help them continue to deliver their mandates in the face of declining government funding. (BCG)
  • Led a strategy review of an organization that addresses youth unemployment through internships to ensure that its efforts remain relevant at different stages of the economic cycle. (BCG)

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Policy

  • Conducted extensive research and wrote a paper on “The Financing and Economics of Affordable Housing Development; Incentives and Disincentives to Private Sector Participation” for the Neighbourhood Change initiative of the Cities Centre at the University of Toronto and St. Christopher House, a multi-service community development agency. The paper can be found at: http://neighbourhoodchange.ca/publications/research-papers/affordable-housing/
  • Served as Project Director and Working Group Co-chair for the ‘Task Force to Modernize Income Security for Low-Income Working-Age Adults.’ The Toronto City Summit Alliance (now CivicAction) and St. Christopher House initiated this two-year effort (2004-2006) and assembled a group of over 50 leaders from the business, community service, labour, academic, and government sectors to tackle the issues. The report of the Task Force, “Time for a Fair Deal,” can be found at: http://www.civicaction.ca/time-fair-deal
  • As the first Executive Director of the Toronto City Summit Alliance (now CivicAction), led a dozen Working Groups to develop proposals to address critical issues facing Toronto.
    Recommendations accepted by a multi-stakeholder group of civic leaders were published and discussed at a June 2003 summit. Many have since been implemented. More recently wrote the report on the TCSA’s winter 2007 summit. The summit reports can be found at: http://www.civicaction.ca/publications

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