“Companies, large or small, often get stuck. Their business model falters, their products stall, innovation retreats, their customers hesitate and then flee, decision makers become risk averse; in short, the value creation machine sputters to a stop. Solutions are both complex and elusive, often requiring radical changes in competitive positioning and operational tactics. For over thirty years, I have been fortunate enough to work on problems such as these, as an advisor, as a CEO, and now as a director of both private and public companies. The challenge of unlocking the value-creating engine is exhilarating and enormously satisfying. It is the synthesis of my life’s work, made much richer by the opportunity to help others through their difficult moments in guiding their companies.”

​

John R. Gaulding is a co-founder and director of Sage Partners. He currently serves on the board of directors of Monster Worldwide, Inc., (Nasdaq: MNST) the parent of Monster.com, the world’s largest internet career site. He also serves on the board of Yellow Pages Group, Inc., the largest media company in Canada (Toronto: YEL) and ANTS Software, a publicly-held database software company.

​

Previously, he served as Chairman for Advanced Ticketing Systems Ltd., a secondary ticketing provider headquartered in London, and as Chairman of Novo Media, Inc., a new media design firm in San Francisco, sold to BCom3, one of the world’s leading advertising firms. In addition, he has served on the boards of Ortel, Inc., an electro-optical components manufacturer (sold to Lucent in 2000), and National Insurance Group, Inc.

​

Until recently, Mr. Gaulding served as a senior advisor to the strategy consulting practice of Deloitte Consulting, and served such clients as Bergen Brunswig, Longs Drugstores, Hewlett-Packard, 3Com, Boeing, SBC Communications, and PG&E. Prior to that, he was Chairman and CEO of National Insurance Group, Inc., a provider of financial information services, and President and CEO of ADP Claims Solutions Group, a provider of expert claims adjudication systems for the property and casualty insurance industry. Mr. Gaulding was also President and CEO of Pacific Bell Directory, the yellow pages publishing unit of Pacific Telesis (AT&T). Previously, he was a senior partner with two global strategy consulting firms.

​

Mr. Gaulding holds a BS degree in Engineering from UCLA and an MBA with honors from the University of Southern California, where he has taught and served on the Board of Visitors. He also served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dominican University of California. He is the recipient of the USC Alumni Merit Award and the President’s Medal for Meritorious Service at Dominican University.