Strategic Growth

Growth initiatives require insight, expertise, and experience – and the SA team delivers with each strategic growth project.

Our clients choose SA to help clarify product line expansions, improve sales positioning, or fine-tune an acquisition strategy with our proven methodology because we know the road.

The SA Difference

Unlike every other big consulting firm you may have worked with in the past, an SA project is a growth project that is focused on
actionable content.
Ideas and creativity are celebrated, but establishing a process to get things done is the overarching goal.

The SA Process

Every project is lead by an SA partner with real-world experience in the client’s market.
Our project workshops are highly interactive, using proven tools that draw the best out of your sales, marketing, and operations teams.

As true aftermarket insiders, Schwartz Advisors helps companies create solid, actionable strategic and tactical approaches to growth – always based on a foundation of expertise and a finely tuned understanding of industry nuance.

We have the experience and connections to identify new channels, evaluate existing go-to-market strategies, analyze product portfolios, anticipate competitive threats, and devise a game plan based on differentiated and sustainable competitive advantages.

What We’ve Done | Engagements

Strategic Growth

Distribution Expansion

Assisted a major Canadian distributor with a footprint-expansion project.

Strategic Growth

Market Penetration

Formulated a strategy to guide a South American supplier’s entrance into the North American aftermarket.

Strategic Growth

Growth Strategy

Worked with a global automotive supplier to develop organic growth strategies.

Strategic Growth

Acquisition Strategy

Worked with a global automotive supplier to develop an acquisition strategy.

Strategic Growth

Performance Analysis

Worked with a major collision MSO to analyze the performance of >300 locations to identify trends.

Strategic Growth

Market Research

Developed research for a private equity client that helped guide their approach to aftermarket investments.

Pete Kornafel

Partner

For more than five decades, Pete has played an important role in the motor vehicle aftermarket, first as a distribution business owner and later as a senior executive at General Parts International. Pete brings a wealth of experience and sage advice to deals involving both small and large distributors. As an industry leader, Pete chaired aftermarket scholarship programs for the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium and the University of the Aftermarket Foundation and served as Chairman of AWDA. He is the proud recipient of the industry most prestigious awards – the AWDA Leader of the Year Award and the MEMA Triangle award.

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Mort Schwartz

Partner

The SA team – and the industry at large – look to Mort for his advice and industry insights. A true icon in the motor vehicle aftermarket, Mort is widely considered one of the most influential thought leaders and inspirational mentors in the entire motor vehicle aftermarket. Throughout his career, Mort has embodied the values that drive SA – integrity, hard work, and a passion for the motor vehicle aftermarket and the opportunities it represents.

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Shireen Doultani

Director of Project Management & Research

Shireen brings 18+ years of diverse and rich experience in global manufacturing, process and project management experience. She is a chemical engineer with a Masters from UW-Madison and is an expert in research and diagnostic and descriptive data analysis for a variety of projects in finance, optimization and forecasting. Shireen is PMP certified and has led and executed a variety of innovation projects, new product launches and factory setups. She is currently pursuing an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and is on the board of the Auto Care Association’s Women in Auto Care.

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Rick Guirlinger

Partner

Nobody in the aftermarket understands the numbers better than Rick. A CPA and a life-long aftermarket professional, Rick has guided some of the most influential aftermarket distributors in the industry. At General Parts/CARQUEST, Rick worked in a variety of senior management positions including treasurer, controller, vice president of strategic planning and CFO. Rick helps SA clients maximize their investment through an in-depth understanding of financials based on decades of aftermarket experience.

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Curtis Draper

Partner

Decades of experience in the auto aftermarket, aerospace, and industrial sectors enable Curtis to generate innovative and actionable strategic solutions for clients in both large and small companies. His background in aftermarket and OE segments ensures a balanced real-world perspective. Executive roles have ranged from direct customer interface with many of the world’s most demanding domestic and international companies to C-suite strategy creation and subsequent tactical strategy execution.

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Arun Coumar

Vice President

Arun has always loved cars and that passion has fueled his career in the motor vehicle aftermarket. Starting his career in deal structuring and capital markets at PwC in San Francisco, San Jose, and London, he found his niche focusing on automotive clients. As a financial expert, Arun helps clients navigate even the most difficult due diligence issues, always with the goal of surpassing client expectations. His passion for the auto industry has allowed him to work with scores of clients, creating growth and profitability in segments that include performance tuning, classic restoration, e-commerce and on-line influencers.

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Michael C. Buzzard

Managing Partner

Mike brings more than 20 years of automotive aftermarket executive leadership and management experience to the SA team. On the sell-side, his experience in discovering, evaluating, negotiating, and closing win-win deals with strategic and financial buyers has produced the right results for the businesses he has represented. Mike is known for delivering successful outcomes for his clients by aggressively identifying and vetting the right deals, advising clients in making the right decisions, and walking them through the process of getting the deal done. As a buy-side advisor, Mike works with sponsors to better understand opportunities in the aftermarket, identify potential strategic acquisitions and fine-tune the due-diligence process for pending acquisitions.

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Derek Kaufman

Managing Partner

For 45 years, Derek has worked in the transportation industry with senior executive positions in a wide range of automotive and heavy truck companies. At SA, Derek works with clients on growth strategies as they relate to new and existing technologies. He is well versed in ICE and electric drive powertrains and is the one the industry calls on when it wants to know what the future will bring. Derek serves as a director on several corporate boards and is a regular conference speaker focusing on emerging technologies that affect automotive and commercial vehicle service providers.

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