Asper Group Principals

Experienced venture and business advisors, entrepreneurs, and operating managers with strong industry/market knowledge and with access to a substantial network of business partners, talent, and funding sources.  The Asper Group works best in shoulder-to-shoulder, team-based environments with co-founders and leadership teams. 

David Asper

An experienced operating and financial line executive, coupled with significant work with early-stage startups in investing, fund raising, advisory and governance activities.

Exposure to high-beta/risk endeavors started as a farm boy with independent, hard-working, entrepreneurial parents … progressing to early-stage venture investing, with an extended detour adding education, quant/analyst skills, advisory, client handling, leadership, governance, and deal experience. Along the way, accumulated an extensive global network of high-content collaborators.

Enjoy team-play sports/games … a gym rat, open roadster.  

FOCUS

David’s sector experience is focused on retail, CPG, high tech, telecom, financial services throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia​.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

David is a Senior Partner Emeritus of A.T. Kearney, having recently withdrawn from his Senior Equity Partner role with the Firm. His consulting experience has focused on client service for multinationals regarding growth strategies, M&A/PMI, and large-scale restructuring and transformation initiatives.

His experience with the Firm also includes many years in various operating and Firm leadership and board member roles: Finance Committee Chairman, Partner Committee Chairman, CFO, Global Operations Unit Head, Co-Head of Venture Group, and numerous practice leadership roles.  

David is working with George Washington University’s B-school Dean, the Office of Entrepreneurship, and the GW’s Investment Institute to launch a venture investment cirriculum and an associated student-led VC fund. Student “venture partners” are teamed with sponsoring VCs to develop applied research/diligence and investment skills and to accumulate valuable experience as both aspiring investors and entrepreneurs.  

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

• CapLinked, Advisory Board

• The George Washington Investment Institute,
  Board Member

Mindy Asper

Entrepreneurial executive with a passion for developing and leading innovative solutions for retailers and fast-moving consumer goods companies.

Expertise in creatively solving customer’s critical business problems with a combination of analytics, technology, and innovative merchandising and marketing strategies. These solutions have consistently resulted in increasing topline and lowering operating costs as well as improving the overall online and in-store shopping experience.

Thrives in start-up environment and excels at building relationships and teams to take companies to the next level.

FOCUS

Mindy’s main focus is on retail, CPG (consumer packaged goods), and high tech in North America.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Mindy is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hawthorne Markets, an e-grocery venture. She is a Principal with Impulse Marketing Company, an advisory firm focused on helping CPG brands and retailers analyze productivity, develop new merchandising and marketing solutions, and implement programs efficiently across stores – leading to incremental shopper conversion. 

Previously, Mindy held key roles on the leadership team at Market6, a VC-backed startup providing web-based retail collaboration solutions with advanced analytics that help retailers and suppliers work together more effectively to drive insights, make smarter decisions, and deliver measurably better results.  As VP Customer Solutions at Market6, Mindy led the customer team that translated customer business needs into analytic supply chain and merchandising solutions driving increased sales and improved supply chain performance.  As VP Product, Mindy’s team led the overall redesign and delivery of Kroger’s vendor collaboration platform that increased participation from 16 to 500 vendor partners in less than 2 years.  Market6, following a rapid development roadmap, gained the #6 spot on Crain’s 2014 Fast-Fifty of the fastest growing companies in Chicago.  In 2016, Market6 was acquired by Kroger and merged with Kroger’s data analytics subsidiary, 84.51.

Mindy started her career as an Account Manager at efficient market services, an early-stage venture company that became an industry thought leader in real-time supply chain and category management analytics.  She accumulated significant successes and role responsibilities, concluding her time there as SVP-Client Service and Sales, reporting to the CEO.

EDUCATION

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana