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Recent Experience
WDG Consulting,
LLC - Principal
The Wadley-Donovan Group has specialized in advisory services for business
location strategy, location selection, and the relocation of business
operations since 1975. It grew to become the largest independent
location consulting firm in North America, competing directly against the
services of larger firms which do not specialize entirely in this niche,
such as the major accounting and tax firms, corporate real estate networks,
and engineering firms. In response to the changing needs of major clients,
it has expanded capabilities directly and through alliances in recent years
to support direct investment projects in international markets. The
firm was originally specialized primarily in North American location
decisions, especially for office projects, but in recent years has also
performed more manufacturing projects. In Europe, it has collaborated with
Buck Consultants International as the largest independent location
consulting firm in that market. Similarly, in Asia it has collaborated
with Tractus.
Dennis Donovan teaches professional certification
courses for corporate real estate executives in the business location
selection specialty, and is a frequent guest speaker at professional
conferences in this niche, including CoreNet Global and other organizations.
The firm also provides some advisory services for economic development agencies,
especially in North America, which contributes to more detailed and timely
knowledge of many leading business locations. Most of the work,
however, is for corporate clients. |
Contact Information:
Dennis J. Donovan
WDG Consulting,
LLC
991 US Highway 22
West, Suite 202
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
in the New York
City metro area (NJ)
TEL : 908-864-5580
Fax : 908-575-3269
e-mail
Additional
contact
information |
Optional photo |
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Website :
www.wdgconsulting.com
Current biographic
information for Dennis Donovan is published on their website along with
the two other Principals of the firm, John Gutshaw and Katie Burdorf.
The information for Dennis has been repeated here for convenient reference
through the Search feature. |
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Previous Experience Formerly
known as the Wadley-Donovan Group, this independent consulting group became
part of the Grubb & Ellis Knight Frank corporate real estate network a few
years ago. It subsequently became independent again as the new Grubb &
Ellis leadership changed strategic direction to refocus on traditional
corporate real estate transactions rather than consulting services. |
Scope of Professional Services (present and past) Their
Corporate
Location Services include
- Strategic planning : how the operations of a firm
are deployed geographically
- Relocation feasibility : whether to relocate
existing or future operations
- Location selection : picking the areas in which
to grow business operations
- Site selection : finding, picking, and
negotiating for specific properties
- Labor market studies : analysis of HR factors in
existing or new locations
- Logistics : warehouse network analysis with a
strategic alliance partner, Synergy Solutions
- Human resources mobility consulting (e.g.,
employee relocation) with a strategic alliance partner, Enterprise
Achievement Services
- Incentives negotiations, with a strategic
alliance partner,
Stadtmauer Bailkin Biggins
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Examples of professional support of major projects
Their approach is described in the
Site Selection Decision Process on their website. There are also
examples of past projects.
"Why
Use Wadley-Donovan-Gutshaw Consulting?" |
Sample list of clients served (if available - recent and
past) A sample
client list is published on their website, and repeated here for
reference. |
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Industry specialization |
Types of projects supported Refer to their website for a few "project
case studies" or contact directly.
Their project experience covers a wide variety of
industries and types of projects, such as headquarters, regional offices,
customer contact centers, manufacturing, and distribution. |
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Articles published, recent media coverage, events
Recently
published articles
are highlighted on their website. Dennis has been a guest speaker at
various events, including the Site Consultants' Roundtable at the IEDC
Annual Conference. He has led professional training courses about
corporate site selection, and has often been quoted as a source by writers
doing articles about this niche market.
Dennis Donovan wrote the introduction article for the Site
Selection & Workplace Planning Resource Guide special advertising section in
Fortune magazine (issue date December 12, 2005) for distribution with
Fortune's North American Edition and their Industrial Management &
Technology edition (estimated 200,000 distribution to subscribers).
His article addressed corporate site selection strategy issues affecting
decisions about where to do business, including a review of emerging trends
in office and industrial project location decisions.
This Fortune custom feature included advertorial content,
case studies of success stories, testimonials, and ads as provided by
economic development organizations and service providers which chose to
advertise in it. It also included a listing on the
Fortune magazine website and their
online reader service web site, and a digital version of this advertorial
supplement was also being promoted through the website of
Foreign Direct Investment magazine
(Financial Times) and their newsletters. It will probably be
posted in the
Special Sections part of the Fortune website, which includes
advertorials on various US regions as well as their International Investment
Guide series of national advertorial sections. |
Association memberships Dennis
has been active in CoreNet Global (and its predecessor, IDRC) for a long
time. Alliances with other firms -
see their website for additional details
By the
nature of this specialty, the group often needs to work with other
specialists to offer a more complete service, and has therefore developed
alliances with :
There are also other informal relationships for
specialties such as move management, call center design, architectural /
engineering work, and telecommunications. |
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Academic background |
Language skills and Personal Interests |
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Other related services of the firm -
Unlike accounting, tax, or general management consultancy
firms or real estate firms which offer a wide variety of other services, WDG Consulting
is specialized in this niche of corporate direct investment projects and
just teams up with specialists at other firms for specific project
requirements beyond their own capabilities. |
NOTE - Economic Development Organizations : refer to
the Comments section
of GDI-Solutions.com for
remarks about the information which they typically need to request from
EDO's. They already know where to find most of the information they
need, but some standard questions require timely local market knowledge
which isn't readily available through published sources. It would be
helpful to provide such information through the local EDO websites, and make
it easier to find quickly through this channel. |
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Suggestions for Tour or familiarization / hospitality
events Given their focus on corporate projects,
they participate in few "familiarization" events per year. A priority
of such visits is to meet informally with executives of major companies in
the area. A fun break from the usual pace of work - sports, music
event, etc. - helps to be memorable. Spending long days going from
place to place to place is less effective. |
Participation in Tour events
This will list Tour events attended, and link to the visit Reports |
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This Biographic Profile has been compiled for convenient
reference from information openly published on their website or provided
personally by the individual for such publication. Refer to the
company website as above for the most current information. The Profile
makes it easier for users to Search for relevant
experience and specialization. |
Participation in the Professional Site Selection Tour does
not involve any express or implied warranty by such participants about our
services, nor by us about theirs. To suggest corrections for any
of the content above, or to provide testimonial or other feedback about this
professional, please contact
Bruce Donnelly at 847-304-4655. |
