About Us: Our People: Directors:
Ed Baker, Director
Ed Baker specializes in financial analysis and modeling, merger integration, operations improvement, and outsourcing advisory services. He also has worked extensively within the gas industry. He is a graduate of the Babcock Graduate School of Business at Wake Forest University, where he was a Babcock Scholar. While at Wake Forest, he won the Kiplinger Prize for academic achievement and leadership potential, the Robert N. White Award for most outstanding management consulting practicum project, and the Babcock Award for managerial potential, based on scholastic performance, leadership, and integrity. Prior to attending graduate school, Mr. Baker was vice president of professional banking with a North Carolina bank. He earned a B.S. in financial management at Clemson University, cum laude.
Recent Assignments
- Assessed a proposed BPO outsourcing contract for a large electric utility to verify whether it was reasonable and at market
- Worked with a large gas and electric company to assess its technical training function and outline a future state vision aligned with its strategic direction
- Provided analytical, packaging, facilitation, and coaching support for the largest retail provider of less-polluting electricity to residential and commercial customers in the U.S. Developed an actionable strategy to serve as the foundation for success in the coming years
- For a merger that will result in one of the nation's largest electric utilities, managed a 17-team, 50+ member merger integration project that assessed the gaps between each company's generation processes and organization, identified best practices, and outlined the means to implement those best practices
- Provided project management for designing, implementing and documenting a joint venture between three nationwide consumer credit reporting agencies established to provide free credit reports. Provided analytical and operational support during start-up
- Managed a 10-team, 80-member project that assessed the current state processes, functions and organization of a large southeastern gas LDC. The teams developed future state designs and business cases to support implementation
- Managed the analysis and documentation of a billing process, determined the cause of manual work and exceptions, and developed the business requirements and implementation plan to improve the process
- Provided diagnostic support to assess staff skill sets and processes in a district field services office, and assisted in developing and executing a recovery plan
- Developed root cause hierarchy and metrics to identify key drivers of performance for a non-regulated division of a large gas utility; implemented new metrics along with newly designed reporting tools
- Researched and interviewed potential vendors, evaluated proposals, and prepared selection recommendations for application/payroll/accounts payable and application service provider (ASP) alternatives; documented HR/payroll/accounts payable processes to support transition
