Barbara Close
Principal Consultant & Founder
Barbara works directly with clients and other stakeholders to find business value opportunities aligned with corporate environmental strategies. Her background in operational management, competitive strategy and M&A coupled with a passion for sustainability helps her clients “go green” while meeting growth and profitability targets.
She has in-depth knowledge of the consumer and industrial product and retail sectors gained through extensive experience in growth strategy, business development and M&A. Representative clients include the innovative startup Terracycle, numerous private equity firms and major companies such as Kraft, Frito Lay, Coca Cola, Marks & Spencer, VF Corp, Future Foam and Nike. A former director of strategy with Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, Barbara has also held senior strategy and corporate development roles with Tyco International and Ingersoll Rand and has done projects in the UK, Finland, India, China, Australia, Qatar and across the US.
Barbara brings a broad perspective to her work, based in part on her range of professional experience and exposure to eclectic industries. Before graduating from engineering school she spent two years as a space systems test engineer for Lockheed, and she continued her first career as an engineer serving as a Threat Assessment Analyst for TRW. Her "second" career included ten years as a professional equestrian, operating a service business training horses and riders for competition on the west coast hunter/jumper circuit.
Barbara holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. She has been a panelist at Nike’s Closed Loop Collaboratory, the Conference on Sustainable Supply Chains, the Cambridge University/Prince of Wales Conference on Business and the Environment and the Sustainability Leadership Forum.
Barbara lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband, Edwin, and six cats.
Principal Consultant & Founder
Barbara works directly with clients and other stakeholders to find business value opportunities aligned with corporate environmental strategies. Her background in operational management, competitive strategy and M&A coupled with a passion for sustainability helps her clients “go green” while meeting growth and profitability targets.
She has in-depth knowledge of the consumer and industrial product and retail sectors gained through extensive experience in growth strategy, business development and M&A. Representative clients include the innovative startup Terracycle, numerous private equity firms and major companies such as Kraft, Frito Lay, Coca Cola, Marks & Spencer, VF Corp, Future Foam and Nike. A former director of strategy with Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, Barbara has also held senior strategy and corporate development roles with Tyco International and Ingersoll Rand and has done projects in the UK, Finland, India, China, Australia, Qatar and across the US.
Barbara brings a broad perspective to her work, based in part on her range of professional experience and exposure to eclectic industries. Before graduating from engineering school she spent two years as a space systems test engineer for Lockheed, and she continued her first career as an engineer serving as a Threat Assessment Analyst for TRW. Her "second" career included ten years as a professional equestrian, operating a service business training horses and riders for competition on the west coast hunter/jumper circuit.
Barbara holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. She has been a panelist at Nike’s Closed Loop Collaboratory, the Conference on Sustainable Supply Chains, the Cambridge University/Prince of Wales Conference on Business and the Environment and the Sustainability Leadership Forum.
Barbara lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband, Edwin, and six cats.