Better Executive Decisions Start with Better Perspective
The Advisory Bench helps growth-minded CEOs make smarter strategic decisions by surrounding them with experienced operators, advisors and leadership talent who have solved similar problems before.
I've been in your shoes. — Chris Hessler, CEO
Chris Hessler built his first Advisory Board because he needed help solving a problem.
I built my first Advisory Board as a CEO because I hit a wall.
We had just landed a major USPS contract. The opportunity was enormous. There was one problem: we had to print 84 million guides, and we had absolutely no experience in printing.
At a cocktail party that weekend, I met someone who had spent his career in the industry.
So I asked him to join an Advisory Board I hadn’t even formally built yet. That one decision changed the trajectory of the company. Over time, we added more people with expertise we didn’t have internally. The business grew. Eventually, we sold it to a public firm.
That experience shaped how I think today:
Most business problems have already been solved somewhere else. The advantage comes from getting access to that experience early enough to act on it.
That’s why we built The Advisory Bench.
growth decisions | hiring decisions | capital decisions | risk decisions | market decisions
Being a CEO can be lonely…
it comes with a lot of responsibility
Welcome to The Advisory Bench
Because the right room changes the quality of decisions.
The Advisory Bench helps growth-minded CEOs make smarter strategic decisions by surrounding them with experienced operators, advisors, and leadership talent who have solved similar problems before.
This is not about adding names to a slide.
It’s about improving the quality of thinking around the decisions that matter most.
We build you an Advisory Board with people who can:
- pressure-test major decisions before significant time or money is committed
- help CEOs see around corners and avoid avoidable mistakes
- bring pattern recognition from similar growth stages and business challenges
- open doors to talent, customers, partners, and investors
- identify leadership gaps before they become expensive problems
expertise | networks | pattern recognition | strategic perspective | leadership talent
What Changes When the Right People are at the Table?
The goal is not more meetings. The goal is better executive decisions, stronger pattern recognition, and fewer expensive mistakes.
Here’s how clients describe the difference:
“Great leaders know when to bring in people who’ve solved similar problems before.”
Chris Hessler, CEO
Customizing Advisory Boards for Success
1
Understand
Your Needs
We work closely with you to define the exact expertise your company needs next.
2
Source the
Right People
We identify and vet candidates for each seat and help you select advisors with both expertise and chemistry.
3
Launch and
Manage the Board
We structure meetings, coordinate engagement, and keep advisors contributing, so the bench actually works.
“Chris combines operating experience, deep networks, and real credibility with leaders. That’s a rare combination—and it shows up in the results.”
Customer, The Advisory Bench
When You Need the Right Hire
Sometimes the board process reveals a leadership gap that needs to be filled.
We help with that. too.
The Advisory Bench supports executive and leadership search when companies need the right operator for the next stage of growth, from fractional leadership to C-suite roles.
Because the right perspective helps.
But the right hire can change the trajectory of the business.