Zarû is pioneering asset-lite Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) to create turnkey businesses for disadvantaged entrepreneurs, equipping them to become owner/operators with 100% equity in $1M+ revenue enterprises. We provide tech enabled services for financing, business support, professional services, training, accounting, tax, legal and customers to sustain client success and bridge America's racial wealth gap. https://www.zarusystems.com

Custom Taylored Solutions is a management consultancy borne of the belief that mission-driven organizations deserve the same high caliber professional services demanded by large for-profit corporations. We are therefore committed to serving the needs of companies whose core mission and vision is oriented toward improving the lives of underserved and disadvantaged communities.

Working to ensure that all regardless of ethnicity, income, or neighborhood have a chance to create better lives for themselves and their children.

Ran a campaign for Oakland Mayor supported by over 200 volunteers, over 2,000 individual donors, and 56,000 voters, coming less than 700 votes short of being Mayor of Oakland. https://www.lorenforoakland.com

Corporate Strategy & Planning, including:• For a global automotive supplier interested in entering healthcare industry, segmented and valued the market, identified and screened acquisition targets, and developed a comprehensive implementation plan that was adopted by the Board of Directors as a company best-practice.• For a global telecommunications company, designed and facilitated the implementation of improved governance structures, decision-making processes, and decision support tools to enable faster and higher quality strategic portfolio decision-makingInnovation Management and Product/Program Development, including:• For the healthcare business of a multinational conglomerate, developed a disruptive innovation engine, Defined the innovation strategy and designed/implemented a flexible operating model which included an innovation incubator and a corporate venture fund• For a major renewable energy provider, redesigned and relaunched an underperforming service program by conducting root cause analysis, modeling the impact of potential solutions and implementing the most attractive ones. The re-launch led to a 39% decrease in cycle time, and a ten-fold increase in program effectiveness.Organizational Design and Workforce Development, including:• For a global pharma company’s fragmented 400 person procurement operation, managed the organizational and cultural transformation, defined the new strategic sourcing process, and guided the training and change management program• For a leading biotech company’s commercial organization, developed a skill/capability model for each role, conducted a gap analysis based on the model, and developed training plans to address high priority skill/ capability gaps for each role

Advise the Executive Director in strategic and operational matters pertaining to the long-term success of the West Oakland Health Council (WOHC) and the health of its surrounding community. The WOHC is a non-profit organization providing primary care, mental health, and substance abuse recovery services to residents of North, East and West Oakland, Emeryville and Southwest Berkeley. Its mission is to improve the health and well-being of residents and to reduce morbidity, preventable disability and premature death in the community.

* Coordinated multiple departments within a leading US service company in optimizing workflow, streamlining service delivery, overhauling communications, and improving interdepartmental collaboration* Developed a roadmap to guide product strategy and product development improvements for a large division of a national healthcare company* Managed the optimization of key service delivery processes leading to a 39% decrease in cycle time and a ten-fold increase in program effectiveness for a leading energy company* Facilitated cross-functional teams of senior and middle management to create and implement a continuous quality improvement process that delivered substantial improvements in product quality in less than six months* Developed a strategic implementation plan that assessed current sales and marketing efforts and outlined a path towards increased effectiveness

Facilitated cross-functional teams of hospital administrators, physicians, and other staff in (a) assessing the medical technology marketplace, (b) identifying the best technologies to meet health system objectives, and (c) managing the procurement, system configuration, and implementation of technology to maximize benefit to patient care.