Our Team

EXECUTIVE TEAM 

DENISE PIRROTTI HUMMEL, J.D. is the CEO and Principal Advisor of Universal Consensus. As a well-respected cultural strategist and published author, she develops and executes strategies, processes, and training to help clients to succeed in cultural transformation and integration projects. Hummel has been appointed to The U.S. State Department Worldwide Speaker and Specialist Program, a program that allows American experts to engage with foreign audiences globally. Hummel was chosen due to the BMIA model she developed where pain-points of an organization are evaluated through a series of six comprehensive lenses and used to improve operating performance worldwide across all cultures.

Hummel has consulted at the Pentagon, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, where she conducted a presentation entitled, “Beyond Multi-Lingual: The Future of DoD” during the Obama Administration. She is also the developer and instructor for a series of global training courses that the University of San Diego (USD) offers as a Certification in Cross Cultural Competence & Global Emergence Strategy.

Hummel is described by clients and colleagues as a compassionate, but driven “can do” connector of people and ideas. In addition to her responsibilities at Universal Consensus, Hummel is Executive Director of Global Peace Solutions, a non-profit organization; an editorial contributor for Oracle’s Profit Magazine; a global speaker on cross-cultural business for Vistage International; is Chair of the International Law Committee of the San Diego Bar Association; is a certified mediator for the Superior Court of San Diego; is a Member of the Advocacy Committee of the World Trade Center San Diego and the Advisory Board of the Citizen Diplomacy Counsel of San Diego; and a Board Member of the United Nations Association of San Diego and the Chief Learning Officer Magazine Business Intelligence Board.

Ms. Pirrotti Hummel is an Ivy League graduate, with a Bachelor in Psychology from Columbia University (emphasis on organizational development) and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Washington College of Law, American University. She began her career as an international attorney litigating, negotiating and arbitrating high-profile disputes. Domestically, she tried and won the first class action under the Americans with Disabilities Act, obtaining Emergency 9-11 services for over 200,000 hearing impaired New York City residents. That same year she was named one of the Top 20 Young Attorneys in the US by the American Bar Association. Throughout her career, Hummel has devoted decades to international concerns and to the promotion of peace on an individual and global level. She helped champion the movement known as Peace Through Tourism, mentoring and promoting the concept of global citizenry. Ms. Pirrotti Hummel was a keynote speaker at the International Institute of Peace Through Tourism Global Summit in Pattaya, Thailand, where she shared the podium with dignitaries from all over the world. Recently, Ms. Hummel was an honored invitee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of China’s Central Government. Her cultural solutions consulting and training programs  have taken her to almost every continent. She speaks English and Italian fluently and French and Spanish, conversationally.

ANDREAS FRIED is Vice President of Product Development and Senior Advisor. Andreas holds a M.Sc. in International Business and Economics and has studied at Södertörn University, Warsaw School of Economics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and University of California, San Diego. Andreas is President of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce, Southern California, and he has previously held positions as Business Process Management Manager and Global Supply Chain Manager at various European mobile phone operators. Prior to joining Universal Consensus Andreas worked as an International Trade Specialist at the World Trade Center in San Diego. Mr. Fried was a speaker on the topic of global business at the Annual Gateway California Conference in 2011, a panelist on global business trends at Deloitte University in Dallas at the 2012 Annual Global Employer Services Conference, and speaker at American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) 2012 Annual National Conference. Andreas speaks Swedish, English, and Norwegian, and is conversational in German and Danish.

JOHN DUNHAM is Vice President of Sales and Operations at Universal Consensus.  John oversees the operational aspects of the company. He also manages the sales process enabling the smooth running of the organization. Building on more than 25 years of experience, Mr. Dunham has consulted with clients who needed to enable business agility through improved operational function. He specializes in product development, professional services and sales development, and has a strong background in technology enablement. Prior to Universal Consensus, Mr. Dunham spent 12 years in various leadership roles in information technology resale, 12 years in high tech manufacturing services, and 4 years in high tech distribution. He has put these skills to use working for both startups and large organizations. Mr. Dunham makes sure that Universal Consensus clients get world-class support and guidance during both the decision and implementation stage of a project.

ADITYA REDDY CHINNAREDDY is Vice President of Marketing, Operations Executive and Senior Advisor. Aditya develops and manages the marketing and branding programs. Aditya assists with sales opportunities and associated scoping exercises. He also directs and leads the UC associate program. Aditya is a native of Hyderabad, India, and has a background as Marketing Executive, Operations Manager, and Business Analyst in India. His experience is mainly from natural resource and mining industry. Aditya has a B.Sc. in Engineering and Computer Science from CMR Institute of Technology as well as an MBA from Rady School of Management at University of California, San Diego. Aditya is a business professional who has a keen interest in international business. His goal is to help improve investment in India by finding new markets for novel technologies that are being developed in the US and elsewhere in the world. The advantage of an MBA from a premiere US institution and experience with business in India positions Aditya to have deep insights into global  business.  Aditya is fluent in English, Hindi, and Telugu.

MEGHANN BOYD is our Strategic Business Manager, U.S.A. Meghann manages and executes the sales cycles from prospecting and scoping to sales conversions and establishing business connections.  Meghann has seven years of experience consulting and developing relationships within the financial services industry. She holds both a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from University of Florida and a MBA from San Diego State University. While pursuing her MBA, she studied abroad at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou China focusing on Chinese business practices. Meghann was a speaker at the 2012 American Society for Women in Accounting (ASWA) Annual Conference. Meghann is committed to supporting our clients and bringing cross-border business success to global businesses.

JENNIFER SAALFELD is Strategic Business Manager, Canada. Jennifer is responsible for prospecting for new clients establishing connections and converting sales in Canada. For the past 18 years Jennifer has worked in the software industry in a variety of capacities.  Jennifer is a top-performing professional with proven track record of success of developing and maintaining strong business relationships with a diverse set of international organizations.  For the past 8 years Jennifer and her husband have been hosting foreign exchange students helping them improve their English skills while learning about Canadian culture.  Jennifer studied her Bachelor of Education at Okanagan University and is a certified Special Needs worker.  Jennifer is passionate about helping others and volunteers her time in her local community and is dedicated to help persons with disabilities.

RICHARD HEAPS is the General Council of Universal Consensus. Mr. Heaps is responsible for deal-structuring and strategic business growth. He represents domestic and international technology companies and growth business in areas from business and tax planning, corporate formation, financing, litigation management and compliance. His practice emphasizes international transactions, software licensing, development and transfer agreements, strategic relationships, general business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, finance, business and commercial transactions. In addition to his private practice, Mr. Heaps has held in-house positions with a number of public technology companies including the positions of Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel. He has been a founder and officer of various privately held companies, several of which he participated in taking public. Mr. Heaps graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in Mathematics & Economics. He holds an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he was designated an Arjay Miller Scholar which is awarded to those graduating in the top of their class. He also holds a degree of Juris Doctor from Stanford University’s School of law, where he was the Topics Editor of the Stanford Journal of International Studies.

FUNCTIONAL PRACTICE LEADS

JEREMY SCOTT BOCCABELLO is Practice Lead, Global Risk & Resilience.  Formerly of Booz Allen & Hamilton, Mr. Boccabello leads our growth into the Risk Management and Insurance sectors as well as applying highly effective methodologies to minimize downside and maximize opportunities in international business transactions.  He has 19 years of experience leading both startup and Top 5 consulting firm environments. His areas of expertise are resilience risk management, intangibles risks, intellectual property, investment and startup development, market penetration and execution strategies, globalization, and management of complex businesses in difficult international markets where he has developed global experience and contacts. He has local experience in the United Kingdom, Mexico, The Netherlands, Germany, North Africa and the Russian Federation.  He has served as a senior advisor to the US House of Representatives and to leaders in several US federal departments and agencies including defense, intelligence, and civil service.  His private sector clients have included senior leaders across multiple industries and continents.  Mr. Boccabello holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Clemson University, and a Master’s of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University, having engaged in extensive graduate research on historical intercultural communication working in six languages.

GRETCHEN SEVERSON is our Director of Government & Military Relations. She spearheads Universal Consensus work in Washington, D.C. and also works with our military industry clients. Gretchen went through extensive DOD training that focused on US Military Doctrine and Culture, and counterinsurgency warfare tactics and implementation. After training, she spent time embedded with the US Marine Corps in Helmand province Afghanistan. There she conducted social science research of the local culture, which provided socio-cultural insight to senior military leadership on tactical, operational, and strategic levels, improving their understanding and interactions with the local Afghan population. She also provided intercultural communication training to the Marines. In addition to her civil-military background she has experience in governance and economic development. In Iraq and Cyprus she was a team member on USAID capacity development training projects – working directly with the civil servants from each respective nation’s government. Her experience extends to other countries such as Israel, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Oman, and Turkey. She has also travelled extensively through India, Latin America, and Western Europe. Gretchen has an M.S. in organizational management and a B.A. in culture and development. She holds an active US Government Secret Security Clearance.

ROBERT GREENE is Practice Lead, Financial Sector. In this role, Mr. Greene works with multi-national Financial Institutions to help them better appreciate where cultural differences can impact cross-border negotiations and global finance. Mr. Greene relies on his 15 year background in international trade and performance improvement to advise our clients on how to truly understand the intent of words not spoken. From Wall Street to Canary Wharf to Beijing Financial Street, Mr. Greene provides insight and expertise to the world’s most renowned banks.  A frequent commentator on NAFTA policy, Mr. Greene chaired a series of meetings in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara to facilitate cross-border North American trade between the US, Canada, and Mexico.  Mr. Greene is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, with an emphasis on politics and organizational leadership.

WARREN D. HEAPS is Practice Lead, Emerging Markets. Warren leads business development efforts focused on developing countries, including all of the countries of Africa. Warren was the Director, International Compensation for the Colgate-Palmolive Company, where he had oversight for global mobility and compensation in Colgate’s operating divisions outside the United States. During his tenure, key initiatives in the areas of business simplification, automation, tax planning, compensation design, and global equity planning were successfully undertaken, resulting in significant savings and improved customer service.  Earlier in his career, Warren was instrumental in designing many of the initial policies that helped Colgate to staff Central European operations immediately following the fall of the Soviet Union. Warren D. Heaps has a B.A. degree in Mathematics from Lehman College, and holds both SPHR and CEBS certification. He is the former chairman of the National Foreign Trade Council Expatriate Management Committee, and past president of the Latin America Compensation & Benefits Forum.

JIM HOFFMAN is Practice Lead, Global Expansion. Jim helps organizations emerge in foreign target markets by helping address complexities of optimizing abroad. Jim is an international development specialist with 20 plus years of experience from salesman through CEO. His core interest in international and cross-cultural business specializing in Asia and the Middle East. Jim is active in adaptive methods for confronting new challenges of intellectual property management and alliance building for global competitiveness. His specialties include International business development, intellectual property, cross cultural management, adaptive leadership, channels and alliances and mergers and acquisition.

ROSEMARY COATES is Practice Lead, Supply Chain at Universal Consensus. Ms. Coates  a China sourcing and manufacturing expert and an Amazon.com Top Selling author. During her 25-year career in consulting and in industry, she was a Managing Director at SAP, Supply Chain Practice Leader at KPMG Peat Marwick and Answerthink Consulting, and Regional Manager at Hewlett-Packard.  She has worked with over 80 clients, worldwide on global supply chain strategies and tactics.  She is also a Licensed US Customs Broker and often assists with import/export projects. Her book, 42 Rules for Sourcing and Manufacturing in China has brought acclaimed success.  Ms. Coates earned an MBA from University of San Diego and a BS in Business from Arizona State University.

DAVID JIANG, PhD is Practice lead, Biotechnology Sector. David works with with our Biotech and Pharma clients, helping them with global growth strategies, product planning and strategic marketing to name a few. Davis is a strategic planning and business development professional with broad industry expertise in pharmaceutical, diagnostics, and life sciences research tool companies. He has extensive experience in assessing customer needs and technology trends at the global level. David is also skilled in developing growth strategies and acquisition plans to address changing markets.He has developed China entry strategies and led executive level partnership discussions in China. He is Fluent in Mandarin.

 Latin America

WAGNER RIBEIRO is our Practice Lead for Latin America. Mr. Ribeiro has more than 15 years’ work experience in pharmaceutical industry In Brazil working in executive sales and marketing positions for companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Akzo-Nobel, and as a General Manager for a Pharmaceutical Distribution Company where he built a strong relationship with the most important scientific academic centers in Brazil. Recently Mr. Ribeiro was part of Strivectin International Team where he was responsible to start all their operation in Latin America, taking the company to Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. Mr. Ribeiro has significant experience within operations and supply chain management and he has helped many American start-ups become successful in Latin America. Mr. Ribeiro has extensive experience in management and negotiation in different cultural environments. Mr. Ribeiro holds an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird, School of Global Management. Wagner Ribeiro speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish and conversant in French.

TOMAS SIBAJA is Practice Lead for Mexico.  Tomas is an international contractor with more than fifteen years of experience in promotion, international sales, foreign investment and off-shore marketing strategies in cross-border regions where comparative and competitive advantages existed. Multicultural executive with first-hand professional experience living in Asia, North America, the Middle East, Europe and Mexico. Tomas Sibaja is currently a PhD Candidate from L’école internationale d’administration (ISM) in Paris, France. He holds a MBA from the University of Redlands and earned a Diploma in economic and political studies by the Cambridge University in England. He also has post-graduated Diplomas in related business administration topics in Temple University of Tokyo, Japan; St. John’s University in New York and the Korean Trade Advanced Studies (Kotra) in Seoul South Korea. Career diplomat, businessman and humanitarian advocate, Mr. Sibaja has learned over the years in four continents, to perform in different cross-cultural environments with a result-oriented performance at all times. This included a two-year assignment as Sr. Business Manager in Iraq – since 2004-2006 – in the US reconstruction efforts of hospitals, schools, and water/sewer and electricity projects. Mr. Sibaja is a frequent speaker in national and international forums on a wide array of topics related to foreign investment, international trade and US-Mexico cross-border issues. Tomas Sibaja speaks English, French, Mandarin-Chinese and Spanish.

DENNIS T. FERGUSON is Universal Consensus Practice Lead for Ecuador. Dennis has over 30 years of Human Resource management experience and a strong record of achievement and success in diversified international business settings. As Business Human Resource Manager for Agilent Technologies Inc., Dennis provided internal consulting/coaching to management teams and client groups of three international business units with combined revenue of $240 million. Dennis effectively led organizational change of one of the largest acquisitions into Agilent and drove internal due diligence and implementation of the Global Integration of the Stratagene companies into Agilent Technologies. As Corporate Senior Director of Human Resources for Stratagene, a $100 million company, Dennis provided HR leadership in the movement of the company from private ownership, to public company and finally to the acquisition of the company by Agilent Technologies Inc. Dennis lived and worked in Ecuador, Latin America for four years, as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer. As a Management Consultant Dennis initially worked as part of a team that delivered direct business technical assistance to a 500 member association of small industries and focused Ecuadorian government attention on the development of the small business sector. As a Program Manager Dennis successfully managed the construction of over 15 schools in the Amazon, Andes, and Galapagos Islands and provided oversight to other development projects. Dennis has a Bachelor of Science – Business Administration, California State University, Los Angeles and a Certificate in Human Resources Management, University of California, San Diego. Dennis speaks Spanish and English.

SIMONE T. COSTA ERIKSSON is Practice Lead, Brazil. Simone is an intercultural coach & trainer and a psychologist (member of the British Psychological Society) based in Brazil. Eriksson holds seminars and workshops for HR professionals and for international schools. She has worked on projects for international Brazilian companies in the area of international HR development. Simone’s interest in the long-term impact of expatriation on the executive performance and on family relations started with her own experience of living 13 years abroad (USA, Sweden, Poland, and Italy). Simone T. Costa Eriksson is the co-author of an acclaimed children’s book, in which she explores the difference between adults’ & children’s perception of ‘moving abroad.’ Eriksson’s international education includes an MBA from Lund University, Sweden, a psychology degree from The Open University in Milan, Italy and an international certification in coaching from Integrated Coaching Institute (ICI), Brazil. Her previous professional business experience in international recruitment, headhunting, and customer service was later combined with her passion for human international development. Simone T. Costa Eriksson speaks Portuguese, English and Italian.

ELISA MELO DA SILVA is Latin America Practice, Training & Instructional Design Specialist. Elisa has a Master of Arts in Psychological Assessment from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil as well as a BA in Psychology. She has many years’ experience working with business-related psychological assessment, organizational and clinical phycology, business training, instructional design, and group facilitation. Elisa has also been an Assistant Professor at the University of Guaramirim, developing their personal assessment tools related to Personnel Management and Corporate Human Resources. Elisa has a coaching certification from the Brazilian Institute of Coaching and she has studied business management at UCSD. She has lived and studied in Canada and speaks Portuguese and English.